Dad has surgery, Trav turns 42, and a friend dies

First, my favorite quote of the week:

"I may be a bitch. But at least I'm good at what I do."
-Tabatha from "Tabatha's Salon Takeover"

This week was full of events. Last Monday, Mom and I decided to take Dad to the ER after he had been throwing up for 24 hours straight. He was diagnosed with pneumonia, which was our biggest worry, and a urinary infection. He has been in the hospital all week, getting pumped full of antibiotics. While there, his doctor discovered a few other problems and may have just figured out what has been causing him to be so nauseous. He was also able to get the surgery that he was too sick to get last week. This was to create a fistula in his upper left arm. Let me scroll down to see if I described what a fistula is in my last post.........nope. Okay. A fistula is when an artery is surgically connected to a vein, making a sort of u-turn in the arm. After a few weeks the vein then becomes as large as the artery. At that point, Dad can receive his dialysis there, and it is safe enough to do in a home environment, which is the ultimate goal.

My older brother, Travis, turned 42 on Friday. It's hard to believe we are getting that old. When I'm home on the ranch and in the house I grew up in, I feel like that dorky teenager all over again. But, I will be 37 in January. Trav celebrated by running his horse right into a badger hole, which threw them both down nearly breaking the horse's leg and severely bruising Trav's collarbone. Then we all went to dinner. Tough being a cowboy...

On a sad note, a friend of mine died over the weekend. He and I went to school together starting in preschool and going all the way to high school. He also helped out several summers on the ranch. He was a funny, smart, irreverent guy. He had been battling alcohol for many years now and when he was in jail 2 years ago, my dad introduced him to Alcoholics Anonymous and became his sponsor. But unfortunately, he lost his battle. He hung himself.

On a lighter note, Michael repainted Vanna's room. She has been wanting to paint it over in her favorite colors...namely...pink, pink, PINK!!! But, Chris kept vetoing the idea. I think he liked the cool jungle mural Michael had previously painted in her room. I guess with Michael there for a full week...Vanna won out! It is now painted in pink and white stripes with black trim. Sounds very French princess, to me! Perhaps Chris will post some pictures online (hint, hint).

That's all for now!

Cheers,
Ernest