Naming Names

This morning I got an email telling me I had been nominated to be the Student Ambassador for my program at TC on May 6th. I thought to myself, who keeps nominating me?

About a month ago I was elected to represent the program at a local Second Language Acquistition Conference in NYC on April 2nd by teaching a 75 minute crash course in ASL (http://www.dickinson.edu/nectfl/conf.html). In which, I have to convince the attendees (most will be program chairs and teacher administrators from High Schools across the country) why they should add ASL to their curriculum.

Two weeks ago I was nominated to represent the program at a NCATE (http://www.ncate.org/) review to show the validity of the department providing ASL as a major. Dont get me wrong, but its kinda exciting and A LOT of work. I am glad that I can apply myself as something that can contribute to the TC community.

Wish me luck this weekend!

Great news….as I write, Isaac has been “sprung” from the hospital and
is on his way home!  Just hours from the four-weeks-in-the-hospital
date!

A couple days ago, a nurse had suggested to Kirsta that she ask the doctor if she might try to nurse Isaac around the clock, staying in a hosp. room.  Isaac would be untethered from his monitors and be free to take his only nourishment from Kirsta herself.  If he gained weight,
the nurse said, he should then be allowed to go home.

The doctor agreed and the process began.  Isaac was weighed at  eight-hour intervals and at the first weigh-in, he lost.  :-(  The kids were crestfallen.  But this morning he had gained and that was that!  He had passed his “car seat” test yesterday with flying colors.  (The baby has to be able to ride in the car seat without it disturbing his breathing and heart rates).

So, at 5# 3oz, he is a “real” boy and on his way to meet Jester Dog, Journey Cat and Little Bob Hope Rabbit!  Quite the meeting and greeting party, I’d say!  I, for one, am anxiously awaiting news on how that goes!

Break out the champaign!  Celebrate!
Love, GramMAE

You know, vacation at home wasnt all bad… here is a pix of Jami and I on Davis mountian (it should be called a hill for its so lil’!) in Auburn.

And here is a funnie of my Dad.

You know, Im really lucky that I have a good relationship with my father. For years (most of my childhood) we just consantly bickered and made each other miserable. But ever since the huge break up with Mario, involving the police, Dad and I found new ground to meet each other upon. I love him even though I never tell him that directly- heehee. The consant interruptions from the DHS following up on my mothers false claims really made it harder for him to be affectionate with me so in turn, I learned to be the same way with him.

Gotta go! Work-study in the Media dept.

KEEP your fingers and toes crossed, like this Xxx for it is not only an Easter day cuz Isaac may be discharged today! 

(Does that mean the easter bunny is the one that delivers him home in an egg basket? Whatever happened to the stork?)

HIP HIP HORRAY! *MY toes are crossed!*

Meanwhile, its an enduring process that takes a team effort! See below…

 Isaac: Gosh! I better sleep n’ grow… I wanna be home to see daddy be silly with, Jester, my big brother who is a doggie.

 Isaac: Mommy, do you see anything happening yet?

 Isaac: Daddy, do you see anything?  Is that why you are taking pictures?

 Isaac: *grunt* Growing is hard and tiring- *sigh…zzz* 

 Mom: *Aww* Sleep n’ grow, we will wait for you to pack, for this you know, we love you Isaac.

Attached is a picture Kirsta just sent of the machine used to tube feed
the preemies.  It is set to push the milk up and out of the large tube
and on through the small tube into his nose at whatever rate the baby
is
able to handle the force feeding…usually it took about 20 minutes or
so.  The milk is Kirsta’s that she pumps throughout the day and
refrigerates or freezes for him.

GramMAE

 You can see here that since the beginning of this week, Isaac has been able to sleep soundly without a breathing tube! He is still in the care factility. He is now 4lbs and 10oz. Kirsta stays at the hospital from 8am to 9pm everyday so that Isaac can become an expert lactatee (Kirsta is the lactator of milk, right? So Isaac is the one taking the milk…lactatee!).

   Awww doesnt James look like the picture dad?

 Hee hee, hes smirking because he knows he is “down” with that hat!

 This is Kirsta’s mom and Isaac’s GrandMae! She just left for home this week. Leaving James and Kirsta with less hands around the house and the hospital.

 This blooper shot was taken two weeks ago. Kirsta fondly said he was rude for sticking out his tongue. Hee hee.

Im back to NYC from spring break

I hadnt seen my mother for two months, so when I arrived to her apartment all ready to take her out for her birthday lunch, I knew within seconds of her descending the stairs from her second floor apartment that it was not going to happen today. Her skin was yellow. She barely could move her left leg. She had black spots all over her skin. After hugging her, I asked her if Fred had done it to her. She said no! She fell (oh sure thats what they all say). Then she tells me her breast is leaking puss, its all black around her nipple and that it could be cancer, but the doctors arent sure yet. All this she tells me with long pauses in between her stutters. It was sooo frustrating. Then she tells me she is envicted from the apartment unless she files for a restraining order on Fred to keep him off the premises. Sigh, my mother has been envicted at least 26 times in the last 8 years because of who? FRED! But damn them if they were to be apart for more than several weeks for they cannot live without each other, co-dependency is a disease of the mind…

Anyways, I had to get the paperwork for her, call her landlord, and take her to the courthouse. Its so embarrasing when your parents swear. She was cussing like a teenager (loudly for EVERYONE to hear) in the waiting room because she fuckin’ didnt want to fuckin’ wait to shit around for fuckin’ hours for the damn judges to stop jackin’ around before they finally did their fuckin job. I reminded her that others had been waiting as well- we just got there not even 5 minutes ago and that she should not talk like that. Then she changes the subject and says so when are you going to have a baby? I said, not until after grad school. Right then and there she throws a tandrum, stomping her foot, making a pouty face, and making a weird throaty noise. Man! I did not realise the threshold of my embarrasment! The older I get, the more childish my mother seems to be.

Apparently, even though the paperwork went through, Fred still stubbornly lives with my mother- he sneaks in at like 2am when all the neighbors are asleep. He really just doesnt care what happens to my mother- he has told Grampy and I several times that he doesnt love my mother but hes around just because. Well I think its because he likes taking my moms foodstamps, Social Security, and likes to live for free.

So as a result…Grampy and I will get power of attorney over my mother asap.
And get her into a residential area where there’s a front desk where she’s living with other people who are disabled in one way  or the other. She needs people, she can play cards all day long in the lobby with other residents. This way her co-dependant partner, Fred, can’t sleep in her room or overstay his visits. It will keep fred away from her.She always hits bottom when fred is around. She does better without him. Bleh.
Sometimes I wonder if it couldnt have been better for her to have died when I was 13 instead of surviving her organ failures.That way she wouldnt suffer so much. Its hard to watch her cry in agony, its so deep and its a wailing from within herself but she fights to supress it bec she wants to be strong. But her body gets all fetal, so I guess it seeps thru her viens instead. Weird…

Kirsta and Isaac have been doing great! From being a itty bitty 16 and 1/2 inches and 13 lbs and 16 ozs, he has been showing progress by putting on weight and “centimizing” little by little. (Centimeters=centimizing is a logical inflection to make it work as a verb…heehee)

He also wore clothes for the first time yesterday (Wed) and his mother said it was adorable. At that point he had begun to suckle a little… so now he is allowed to suckle two times a day until he becomes stronger and the doctors will up the sucking schedule which in turn means Isaac will be closer to the point of going home to his parents domain.

For those of you who wondered, Kirstas mother who likes to be called GrandMae, flew in last friday. GrandMae describes in one of her emails to her family that James is a wonderful father, very sentimental and a master at handling Isaac. He suggested for the family to go to a favorite local restaraunt (I am guessing, the “Samurai”) last tuesday to celebrate Isaac’s 1 week birthday.

7:14pm: Kirsta hold her ball of heaven for the first time. Arent they gorgeous! Oh my! (Yes, that is a blanket made by courtesy of ME-4-U!)

Can you blame me? Ive been working on this midterm paper for 3 days, the stress already taking its toil on me and on my sleep, and my dear friend tells me at 3:30pm yesterday that she has to go to the hospital because she may have an early birth (she is 7 months and a half along). At 4:50pm it is confirmed. She has preeclamsia and has to stay there for at least 3 days to be monitored. By the end of last night my two months of not biting my nails were forgotten. They now look like they did before new years. At 1:40am, I finally felt sleep welcome me. This midterm on the “Intellectual History of the Deaf” really needs to loose some fat (too many words creates a grade deduction) before I can sleep good again.

I just got an email from my friends mother at 10:14am today- Kirsta’s water was broken yesterday and her blood pressure was too high for the doctors to keep waiting so she had to be inducted. The baby is estimated to be 4 1/2 lbs. She is not yet experiencing contractions tho. Man! If only I had more fingernails! Due to the snowstorm, Kirsta’s mother has to wait before she can catch a plane from Maine to New Mexico. I am hoping that she will be able to depart soon so Kirsta would have maternal energy and love in her presence.  

Whats more, last night I dreamed of Keri. She and I had to share a seat and obviously she had to sit on my lap because of her belly. I cannot remember why we had to share a seat tho. How odd, all these dreams with Keri outlined with the pregnancy theme has been coming since November. Smile.

12:11pm: Kirstas contractions are 5 minutes or less apart and her cervix has diliated 1cm so far. Theres hope for a natural birth.

12:37pm: Kirsta’s mother decides to wait until both kirsta and the baby are home from the hospital before flying in.

1:56pm: Kirstas chances of a c-section birth is rising by the hour. There is not enough oxygen getting to the baby…

2:03pm: Kirsta decides she wants Robin, her mentor, to be with her if surgry is confirmed.

2:04pm: C-section is confirmed, the situation is getting serious and is is scheduled to begin when a doctor is next available.

2:25pm: The c-section is scheduled to begin in a half an hour. The procedure will take about 2-3 minutes but the whole thing takes an hour, depending on the blood, kidney, and nerves.

3:00pm: Kirsta goes in as scheduled.

4:35pm: Its a BOY! Isaac James Carver, 3lbs and 13.5oz. The mother and the baby are both fine. James, his proud father says, “Issac look healthy!” He is currently in ICU.

9:54pm: Recieved pictures from James’ sidekick- (Isnt he so cute! And my, what big hands he has!)

10:14am: I spoke with Kirsta. She is doing well. She hopes to hold Isaac today. Speaking of which, Issac’s name is really spelled Isaac. James must have been too happily distracted to spell his name correctly yesterday! Hahaha. Isaac made it through the night breathing on his own. Whee! Meanwhile, James continues to visit and hold Isaac. Due to Kirsta’s drip to treat her for Preeclamsia (Sp?) she is confined to her space as he is to his own.