Rapier's Wit

Maureen came through surgery like a champ. The surgeon wasn't able to perform the various procedures due to the wonky nature of the carcinoid. A biopsy was done and sent to pathology. I haven't heard the results at this time. At this point it's a matter of recovery from this surgery and consult with the oncologist team at Loyola to make a new plan of action. The abdominal mass, in essence, needs to be reduced in size so the other surgical procedures can be done. If I understand correctly, the carcinoid has a webbing effect and was leeched on to vital vessels, intestines and bowel. So, removing a large portion could lead to severe bleeding and compromise Maureen's stability while under anesthesia. The surgeon made a 2+ hour attempt to remove it without jeopardizing Maureen's health and internal organs. I spoke with Maureen today and, although groggy, she sounded as well as can be expected. If she's able to pass the tests posed to her by her doctors and ...

This is not a frivolous post. I implore anyone who reads this, regardless of your religious beliefs, to pray. If you're not one for praying, then send positive energy into the universe. My sister Maureen is undergoing a serious surgery tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. Loyola University Hospital. The surgery is expected to last 3-5 hours. She'll have a tumor removed that is the size of a large grapefruit. It has compromised one of her kidneys. Therefore, they will remove the damaged one. In addition they will attempt to give her a hysterectomy. Due to excessive scar tissue this may not be possible. Depending on the damage within, she may require a colostomy. Her liver, heart, lungs are all healthy. They don't anticipate any serious problems, but during the initial discussion of the surgery they had to give the run down of the possible things that could go wrong. Even when it's a million to one chance, they have to disclose the risk ... even death. When I first heard...

I totally lifted this from my pally Jane aka Citizenjaney aka Suburban Diva . Color me lazy. Call me irresponsible. Call me any of the following names ... Let's play the Name Game, y'all! 1. Rock Star Name (first pet; current car) Kitty Saturn 2. Gangster Name (favorite ice cream flavor; favorite style of shoe) Chunky Monkey Mule 3. Native American Name (favorite color; favorite animal) Pink Tiger 4. Soap Opera Name (middle name; place of birth) Lynn Kankakee 5. Star Wars Name (first 3 letters of second name; first two of first name) Rapma 6. Superhero Name (2nd favorite color; favorite drink) Periwinkle Margarita 7. NASCAR Name (first names of grandfathers) Eugene Charles 8. Exotic Dancer Name (favorite perfume/scent; favorite "candy") Snuggle Cherry Ball 9. Newscaster name (Fifth grade teacher’s last name; major city beginning with same letter) Whitaker Warsaw 10. Spy name (favorite flower; favorite season/holiday) Daisy Fall 11. Cartoon name (favorite fruit; arti...

Part 3 in a series of however long it takes me to finish I'm about to tell you another fantastical aspect that helped make my birthday week a banner seven day stretch (and it keeps getting better) was what occurred when I texted a friend and former boss about my date. Whew! That's a winded sentence. The date guy, who shall be referred to as Sum Yung Guy -- SYG for short -- transferred to another location shortly after working with me. I had nothing to do with that, by the way. Another store closer to his home needed a lab technician with experience and we really didn't have the hours to give. My former boss had transferred there, I believe, shortly before that. Former boss, KC, and I got along swimmingly. He called me his right hand. He nicknamed me jukebox and often dropped a quarter in my pocket to encourage me to sing a song. We've remained in contact. First let me say that he was surprised; yet, happy to hear that SYG asked me out. He's a decent dude and every...

Part 2 in a series of however long it takes me to finish There are fundamental things about me that you should know: 1) I am insecure as hell. 2) I laugh when in an uncomfortable situation -- rely on comedy to rescue me. 3) I will always love music and singing. 4) When I'm comfortable, I'm totally opposite of the woman you initially met. Call me Eve or Sybil. Because of those basic aspects of my personality, I love to be on stage. For me, life has footlights, receptive audiences, an interesting supporting cast and eventually a curtain call ... let's hope the latter doesn't come for a long time. While having lunch with my family on my birthday, I was encouraged to audition for our local theater company's fall musical: STATE FAIR (Kankakee Valley Theatre Association - KVTA .) The problem was that I was already scheduled to work during the first night of auditions and I had a date for the second night. I didn't want to lose out on a chance to return to the mos...

Part 1 in a series of however long it takes me to finish Wow! Where do I begin? Let's start with the calendar beginning of the week. August 10. My sister Maureen's birthday . That in itself is a great beginning for a seven day stretch. Celebrating the anniversary of the birth of a loved one is always fantastic! Unfortunately, I had to work that day. That aspect sort of wreaked, but I trudged through and ended the very busy business day with a bang! At the time I didn't think it was potential TNT. While making eye wear I was alerted that I had a phone call. Man-cub had already called a couple of times as he was stressing about the computer getting pop-up warnings from McAfee or inquiring about what could be consumed for lunch. I answered hurriedly and mildly agitated (making eyeglasses under a time limit will do that.) The voice on the other line was not that of my offspring. A voice from the not so distant past chimed musically to my ears. A former co-worker -- short-term ...

I work with people who rarely use the internet for things other than eBay, email and Idunnowhat. If I discuss my blog, blogs I read, plurk, myspace, etc... I get the melodious sound of crickets. I found this photo while searching for funny t-shirts. This hit me to the core, folks. I think I almost shed a tear. The bottom line is that I care. So, neener neener booger eater!