Update from the States

Yep, I know: it’s been a while. I really haven’t been all that well for the past few months, but now am feeling much more like myself. Only details that I’ll post here are that my doctor tried me on a new medication which made me feel horrible and made my chronic sleepiness much worse; and that I’ve been taking large doses of iron, which – I think, I’m not sure – have brought my levels from either anemic or low normal up to something a bit higher. I got off the new meds, back on the old ones, and my energy level is higher than it has been for years. I’m going to hope that keeps up. Meanwhile, I did have a complete sleep study, and only one abnormality was found. The neurologist is going to treat that if this new surge of energy disappears.

So that was the long, and here is the short: I’m back.

Scott: I just sent you a Christmas thank you note to your office e-mail, and got the automatic reply. We’re very happy to see how the forest faces look.

Terry got a new (used) camera for Christmas. We’ve had so much gloomy weather that it wasn’t until Saturday that he got a sunny, blue day to take it out. He hasn’t yet posted much from his photo excursion that day, but wil as soon as he has his computer back (more about that below). Brady has posted a few. Brady has a new url for his photo site [Ian: Made a link]: www.flickr.com/photos/bradywill.

Computers have been a problem lately. Terry’s desktop, the center of our family wireless net, is down for the count. It is probably that the hard drive has failed. It is awaiting major surgery. Brady’s laptop, only a little more than a year old, has been a bit of a lemon. Brady and I got to work with Dell while he’s been home from university. They inisisted on taking one problem at a time, rather than just taking in the whole computer. As a result we: first diagnosed and replaced a faulty hard drive; second diagnosed and replaced a faulty a/c adapter and CD/DVD drive; and now the computer is at Dell for a motherboard and keyboard replacement. I’m sure that, with all the time the Dell employees (including one of the technical support supervisors) spent online, plus all the costs of courier services and spare parts, they would’ve done better just replacing the whole unit. We spent hours and hours and hours on the phone with Dell.

In any event, Brady’s computer is too big and unreliable to take overseas, so he took money out of savings and bought another one. We’re hoping that his lemon, when it comes back from the repair shop, will be reliable enough that Terry can use it for a while, until we replace his desktop (he doesn’t like a laptop).

Brady’s trip overseas, of course, is big news. He will leave out of Chicago on Saturday, arriving Sunday in Copenhagen. He has been assigned a host family, but we have just received their first names and their e-mail address. Brady’s weekend e-mail to them hasn’t yet been answered. B & I have been doing all the many things that have to be done to prepare for his departure and four-month stay. The program – “The Politics of the Eurpopean Union” – is going to be academically more challenging than most study abroad programs. He will be taking a full schedule. We’ve noticed, looking at the student forum, that most of the students are from Ivy League or other tough private U.S. unverities. There is at least one student from Carlton, in Ottawa, a place Brady has been considering for grad school. There is going to be a contingent of students from Beijing U in China. B will take a week-long study tour to Russia; a long weekend bicycle/canoe trip in Swedent; study trips to places like The Hague. Of course, with the family anxiety running high, Brady is going to be a handful, both for himself and for us in the next week. As soon as he gets there he will be okay, and after a few days he will be great. But the anticipation is a killer for him.

Saturday I had a day long training session in preparation for my volunteering at a hospice. There will be two evening sessions this week and two more next week and then I will be fully qualified for all sorts of roles involved with patients and their families. My hope is to devote my time more to the emotional, rather than the physical, aspects of care. Meanwhile, I have received the minimal training required to serve as an administrative volunteer, and I have spent a little time filling in for the regular receptionist. Another stint is upcoming.

The hospice I have chosen is associated with the non-profit health care organization that Ter works for. It reminds me a great deal of Rosedale. It isn’t quite the homey and plush physical facility as Rosedale, but it is new and well put together, and the people there seem to have the same spirit that the Rosedale people did. That’s the most important thing, of course. The hospice is run in conjunction with the Visiting Nurses Association, and also is involved in providing in-home care for 33 counties in this state. At this point, I’ve said that I’m interested only in working in the residential setting. However, the trainer on Saturday was the person in charge of the home setting volunteer program, and I spoke with her about the possibility of helping out nearer to my home with one particular aspect: the visit by the social worker when the living wills are explained. As you might imagine, this new venture is very exciting to me.

Tim has a real girlfriend now. It’s only been for two weeks, but I think they seem quite attached. He’s known Amy since grade 9 and they have been friends all along. She’s a nice, bright, and extremely talented young woman. She is a cellist, probably one of the top young cellists in the state (part of the state honours orchestra; first seat in a regional youth orchestra). The way I know that she’s devoted to him: She has accompanied him on his first two indoor soccer games this session. One of them required that he pick her up at 7am on a Sunday morning; the other one didn’t start until 11pm on a Saturday night, getting her home at about 1am.

So that’s the news. Do I win the prize for longest entry so far?