Happy Christmas Eve!

Weight 181

I'm sitting with my Nana and Paul next to the Christmas tree at my parents' house.  They wisely opted to put it in the family room this year rather than in the living room.  No one ever goes in the living room, but we all spend hours a day in the family room (it links to the kitchen and the TV is in here too).  It's been nice to get to spend more time sitting near it.  The tree is real, but is so perfect that it looks like a fake one.  My mom picked it out at a local Christmas tree farm the weekend before Thanksgiving and then had it cut and brought to the house the week after.  My dad decorated it -- his first time ever doing that.  I'm going to try and get a picture taken with it in the next couple days. 

Yesterday my grandfather would have been 101.  It's our first Christmas without him.  Though it was his time to go, it's strange to celebrate the holidays without him.  For all of us, Christmas is linked to him especially because his birthday was always sort of the first Christmas party the night before Christmas Eve.

I'm feeling pretty good after two days of laying around doing next to nothing.  Last night one of my drain holes and a spot on my incision line started draining again.  The drainage grosses me out beyond words, but seems pretty healthy too.  This morning the swelling had gone down and it felt less sore.  My hope is that it will have healed pretty much completely by next week.  We'll see.

My time as family invalid is definitely ending anyway.  Last month, my sister Eloise was in a car accident last month and injured her back.  As the swelling has gone down and she's had MRIs and the like, it's become clear that she has two broken vertebrates and three ruptured discs.  It's also become clear that they aren't going to heal on their own -- she needs spinal surgery.  Since she lives in Lima Ohio where the medical care is okay but they don't have much in the way of specialists, my parents are flying her to Los Angeles so she can have her surgery and rehab at Cedars Sinai Hospital's Spinal Institute.   

Eloise had a rather serious back injury 18 years ago and had surgery at Cedars then, making a perfect recovery.  Since then she's had no problems so we feel very hopeful that her surgeon can repeat his success.  She's flying in on January 3 and has a series of appointments and then surgery on January 8.  It's serious -- right now she has no feeling in her legs; they're totally numb -- but we're glad she can be in such good hands. 

That's about it for now.  :)

Comments

[Deluzy]

Ah, I'm sorry about your grandfather -- he shares a birthday with my beloved niece who's in the Peace Corps, I see.

Give your Nana an extre cuddle from me, if she'll have it. Merry Christmas to you and yours, Ezpy -- and your sister's in my thoughts.

xo

[Becky]

Happy Holidays Ezpy! Best wishes to your grandma, and I do hope your sister's surgery is successful.

[harriet]

Please give my best holiday wishes to your family. I didn't realize Eloise's injuries were so severe -- glad she'll be getting good medical care soon. Hugs.

[Ezpy]

Thanks Beck and Alison. I'll be sure to give my nana and sister your best wishes.

And Alison, I'm glad to read you're feeling better.

Thanks Harriet. It is serious, but the upside is that we'll get to see each other.