tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432611073400817412024-03-01T00:39:10.152-05:00What I Learned from Daniel : The BlogWHAT I LEARNED FROM DANIEL : THE BLOG ~~ Our loving, brilliant, and remarkable,twelve and a half year old son died suddenly, and without clear cause, the day after Thanksgiving, 2008. This blog is a window into how my husband, our children, and I learn what happened to him, and how we survive his passing from Earth. It is also a chronicle of the blessings that envelope us now. How we survive is documented both here in snapshot, and in our book, "What I Learned from Daniel".Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.comBlogger608125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2543261107340081741.post-76035732941304405992023-12-23T09:39:00.002-05:002023-12-23T19:49:23.067-05:00 Daniel's Annual Christmas Letter<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRoUbCVSHE45aSrokfgn-rlFgUxCOltXaG9gJtL5hDZfndn9XLtRqg9GgpLkICDQ6xjSPBy4SdMneY7t-G23m1b8o6q7O4gbDtz7I99iQyzJs5RKVfQhOW6M6kcTQuu17NYZ4pevetPVSFyj0l3lSQcLxq9JboVmjzb-6BQhQH9hsikREQiDxhKHJKq7w/s614/Crdantocrop(2).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="425" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRoUbCVSHE45aSrokfgn-rlFgUxCOltXaG9gJtL5hDZfndn9XLtRqg9GgpLkICDQ6xjSPBy4SdMneY7t-G23m1b8o6q7O4gbDtz7I99iQyzJs5RKVfQhOW6M6kcTQuu17NYZ4pevetPVSFyj0l3lSQcLxq9JboVmjzb-6BQhQH9hsikREQiDxhKHJKq7w/w442-h640/Crdantocrop(2).png" width="442" /></a></div> <span style="font-size: large;"> Daniel as he might appear this week, had he remained on Earth with us.<br /></span><p><span style="font-size: large;"> <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> Daniel,</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> When I first started putting an annual Christmas letter to you in your stocking at Christmas, I wasn't sure how long it would continue. The year you passed, so suddenly, I had so many things I needed to tell you. There were things I was not sure you knew. Last year, I began placing them electronically, here and on your Forever Missed page. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> This past year has been very hard. You have been gone now for fifteen years, and your brother Matthew has been gone for a year. I know you have a basic perspective of how things are or will be, but again, from me, we are doing our best. Some days, we do better than you might anticipate and you would be proud of us. Other times, it's hard to put one foot in front of the other, and to clean and organize for Christmas when sometimes we might prefer just to skip it this year.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> Your memory has never faded. Your jokes, your comments and your attitudes about things are never forgotten, and they are still a source of amusement here. Only one of the animals here on the farm that you knew when you were here, still remain alive. Fifteen years is a long time in the animal kingdom. Warrior Princess Camellia (the black alpaca) still remains alive, although she is quite elderly. She is doing quite well medically at this moment, but as most alpacas do, she will eventually become ill, usually within the course of one day, and pass before the next. She still lives a beautiful life and we hope she remains as long here as possible. I know that you will he there to encourage her when she does eventually depart.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> I love you so, Daniel. Please take good care of Papa Lawrence, your brother Matt and the others there with you, including the animals. I know they will try to do the same for you.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> Your "Turkish brother" and friend Onur has provided a picture of what you might look like if you had remained on Earth and I have posted it above. I love you wider than the oceans and deeper than the seas. Yes, including the inland sea on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2543261107340081741.post-5369272896914056952023-11-23T13:58:00.003-05:002023-11-23T15:35:53.402-05:00A Year of Loss and Confusion<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4rFQVTNW-JTIsLxh4U0UnAji82lkXoHhlhbIDEC5X2n6ScGTVzlbmCBfo9CQbnxMgCXgUy376txxvBjqCR4Kvk5ep5E3mWfXONRfCkMbPkkb4ijHYRz-qfA963it3MGqysmbu7kqUxNiXHFU8giG0wLgrObycLEaZq4r8q88490P7tf48jjXoLaerpbc/s6000/222.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4800" data-original-width="6000" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4rFQVTNW-JTIsLxh4U0UnAji82lkXoHhlhbIDEC5X2n6ScGTVzlbmCBfo9CQbnxMgCXgUy376txxvBjqCR4Kvk5ep5E3mWfXONRfCkMbPkkb4ijHYRz-qfA963it3MGqysmbu7kqUxNiXHFU8giG0wLgrObycLEaZq4r8q88490P7tf48jjXoLaerpbc/w640-h512/222.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><p><span style="font-size: large;"> Daniel at 12, Matthew at 32, joined in</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> an artist's fanciful picture of them.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> Fifteen years ago, Daniel died suddenly, the day after Thanksgiving. A year ago, his brother Matthew, 32, died in his sleep, a couple of days after an influenza vaccine, just a few days before Thanksgiving. In a sense, grieving for Daniel stopped this year, in its frozen state while we tried to wrap ourselves around a new task, settling the estate of a suddenly lost adult son, and the grief and issues that surround his terrible and unexpected loss.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> In some ways, the sudden loss of Daniel, and sudden loss of Matthew, years later, are similar. The loss of each son was also very different. The loss of Daniel was the loss of a child. We lost a child so teeming with potential that it was gobsmacking. He had so many skills and interests and we could not wait to see what he would do with them, and then in an instant, his spark was gone from his flesh suit. We would not be sitting back to enjoy his victories in life. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> The loss of Matthew, as an adult of 32, who has achievements,college graduations, good jobs, a network of friends, and who was a partner in the family business wasn't just a personal loss, but a professional one that endangered my husband's business, and leaves its future uncertain. In this year, we worked settling his business matters while simultaneously grieving the absence of another bright spot in our lives. Having Matthew with him in the business meant that it had expanded, and that there was plenty of work for two of them. When Matthew passed, this meant that more work than could be done by one engineer existed, and that deadlines might not be met. It also meant that the business had expanded beyond its abilities to continue to produce, and that it must now shrink. My husband threw himself into work, and worked fourteen to sixteen hours most days, in order to deliver on the businesses obligations.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> I also focused on what could have happened to Matthew. Although vaccines do result in deaths, on occasion, they do not often take adults without a known diagnosis or other health history. I was focused on two autopsies, a VAERS report, and how a simple flu shot could have taken Matthew. There are theories on what may have happened, but they remain just that. Matthew was a healthy man who died in his sleep. His toxicology was negative, and his eventual death certificate reads "cardiac arrest of indeterminate causes". They haven't even mentioned his influenza vaccine, and I am told, they never do. Matthew had not received any of the COVID vaccines, and had a mild short course with COVID at its relative beginning.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> And so we continue. We plod along having the Thanksgiving that Daniel and Matthew would expect us to have. Daniel loved Thanksgiving. He loved the meal and the family gathering, and then our propulsion into the Christmas season. It makes me sad to think that he has missed the last fifteen of them here. Matthew missed last Thanksgiving, and now this one too. He usually contributed a dish or two, and he enjoyed the day off and the gathering with his siblings and their families. As the business became better established, he was likely on the edge of moving out, although we would have seen him often, because of the business at the very least.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> There is no choice though. Both Daniel and Matthew would expect us to be the people we always were when they were here. They would not want us to stop what we are doing, or to be so destroyed by their departure that we did not live our remaining lives, and so we do the best we can. We take one uncertain step forward after another. Eventually, we will have to deal with the essence of their losses. I miss each of their thoughts on situations, politics, and what they wished to do in the future. I miss their friends being part of our lives as they were. I miss seeing the futures that each of them would have had. Happy Thanksgiving to each of you and to your families, regardless of your circumstances this year.</span><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> (Lettering size was increased for those of you who read this blog from a cellular phone.)</span><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2543261107340081741.post-37183948929773811972023-10-29T11:34:00.002-04:002023-10-29T11:34:18.388-04:00Daniel's Forever Missed Page<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_1aVHCP3e62ARPZoNFwsJlAdNFoMOLFNCvQh33_CgULJLhEe1JPDrMHmhR_b1J42uNJhGTPc3mqnYmS7QRhbnr6OLKSKWCQn8BwZK8ymHUJDA3sXYFnmuxM0cV-iYwPqeJ3VXzG12FKFxVDjuX_EQjh4QzX4wBEmnI8CCmYdTAKvtFjAQn5CO6qThyphenhyphenNE/s225/dan12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_1aVHCP3e62ARPZoNFwsJlAdNFoMOLFNCvQh33_CgULJLhEe1JPDrMHmhR_b1J42uNJhGTPc3mqnYmS7QRhbnr6OLKSKWCQn8BwZK8ymHUJDA3sXYFnmuxM0cV-iYwPqeJ3VXzG12FKFxVDjuX_EQjh4QzX4wBEmnI8CCmYdTAKvtFjAQn5CO6qThyphenhyphenNE/w320-h320/dan12.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: large;"> For those who have an interest, Daniel has a remembrance page here:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.forevermissed.com/daniel-krehbiel/about"> https://www.forevermissed.com/daniel-krehbiel/about</a></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /></p>Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2543261107340081741.post-82166895083741607252023-07-28T21:19:00.000-04:002023-07-28T21:19:16.324-04:00Missing Daniel<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoSmX2ggfJuwurczfaaLHNjRl8aGqfq-UmHqEbZJAmoNfTNGo4YtI3jkVm65nLFwGO4X5hqizbYqYtx3Gmiu7fxLhrdDQag9CBMAPsLiGjb2WefE77swessbFcmafXAA6t9892kIcLkG4NZSPC0odZtVy99tkkMFuZSE4J0D__kz7YktCQ7gH4ze4W1qs/s512/indir%20(15).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoSmX2ggfJuwurczfaaLHNjRl8aGqfq-UmHqEbZJAmoNfTNGo4YtI3jkVm65nLFwGO4X5hqizbYqYtx3Gmiu7fxLhrdDQag9CBMAPsLiGjb2WefE77swessbFcmafXAA6t9892kIcLkG4NZSPC0odZtVy99tkkMFuZSE4J0D__kz7YktCQ7gH4ze4W1qs/w400-h400/indir%20(15).png" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p> <span style="font-size: large;"> You might think that after fifteen years, I might understand that you are now twenty-seven years old and that you would be significantly taller, larger, and that you would likely look quite different. Since your father, and two of your brothers have beards, you are very likely to also. And yet, in my heart the soul I miss, the soul often in my dreams, is you looking very similar to the young man when I last saw you alive, walking, talking and speaking.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> I know that from many Christian faiths, we are thought to grow in Heaven if we go there as a child, and that ultimately, the mature soul may stay looking as most of us do around thirty. And yet, it's my twelve and a half year old son who lives on another plane.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> I love you so much, and even after the death of your brother Matthew, I still grieve your not being here, along with him.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> Please know I try hard to keep all the promises I made to you the day of your sudden departure.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /></p>Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2543261107340081741.post-56900899257044879852023-07-04T20:35:00.010-04:002023-07-04T21:29:57.832-04:00There Have Been Too Many Passings<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7qIKExGqb8UEaxPpd68MEJdyA_W48LvZsRcck8Ugg7HczIOQ0c8r9JU7eMbR5qZoQkF202NPQ7sbG5R45CCPsu8WejxouPJiwT0ocvbQgEa03B8FDJZr-D3Bsi9brAGRj8fKIFAoFUvceI61AZ3LJQomB6djOA8kUko5mtpMK3S9hWc1tR6bEU5rn0Aw/s379/fruit9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="236" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7qIKExGqb8UEaxPpd68MEJdyA_W48LvZsRcck8Ugg7HczIOQ0c8r9JU7eMbR5qZoQkF202NPQ7sbG5R45CCPsu8WejxouPJiwT0ocvbQgEa03B8FDJZr-D3Bsi9brAGRj8fKIFAoFUvceI61AZ3LJQomB6djOA8kUko5mtpMK3S9hWc1tR6bEU5rn0Aw/w249-h400/fruit9.jpg" width="249" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> <br /></p><p> <span style="font-size: large;"> Some years ago, when our family first moved to this intensely rural area, there were few general stores. Once a week or so, the kids and I or occasionally just Daniel and I would go to a general store for milk or bread if we had no other plans to go into a distant town for something else. These general stores also had a couple of gas pumps.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> Not long after we moved to the area, one of the general stores sold to a couple of men who were partners, and who had big plans for the store. They planned to have a small bakery, a delicatessen with quality meats, and to make quality pizza and calzones on certain nights during the week. Once they adapted to country life, which took some time, our kids often didn't wish to accompany me to the store, even if it meant the possibility of getting a Yoo Hoo or a couple of small York peppermint patties. One day Daniel came with me, and the storekeeper was making homemade oatmeal raisin cookies and offered one free of charge to Daniel. The cookie must have been pretty good because after that, Daniel almost always wanted to accompany me, either to try a chocolate chip cookie or just to say hello to the shopkeeper himself, who liked Daniel and often spoke to him while I was there.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> As Daniel grew, and then died suddenly at 12 1/2, the storekeeper I mentioned was devastated. He questioned me on what I had seen and what I had missed, and how such a thing could have happened. I explained that the medical examiners had believed Daniel's death to be due to something called sudden arrhythmic death syndrome, and that under present technology of the time, that it likely could not have been anticipated, and therefore prevented. Somehow the poor man got the idea that the almost weekly cookie he had been giving to Daniel had contributed to his death. I did my best to explain that Daniel's coronary arteries on autopsy had been as clean as a whistle. His passing had been surmised to be a failure of or short circuiting of the rhythm system, the electrical system of the heart. Still, the man seemed to carry some guilt about this, and he occasionally mentioned making better food choices to people who shopped in the store, and he also periodically dieted himself.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> I wasn't sure how to convey to the man that what had happened had not been his fault by any stretch of the imagination. Of course, I too was struggling from time to time with my own insensible guilt. How good a cardiac nurse could I really have been if I saw absolutely nothing before the day Daniel passed ?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> Afterward, my husband and I honored a wish that Daniel had, and we adopted another child. The ultra rural place in which we lived had more new homes built, but after 2010, many changes came. Our shopkeeper friend became disillusioned with the tax structure, and decided to move to another nation where he had relatives. We were sorry to see him go, but we understood he wanted to move to a place with more certain profits before starting his own family. He and his partner sold their business, and no one locally seemed to know anything about them afterward.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> This week I learned that our shopkeeper friend indeed moved out of the country. He married and had just had a baby boy before he too died suddenly. I cannot tell you how sad I am about this. Not only did we lose Daniel just after my father in 2008, but we lost our son Matthew in 2022 just after an influenza vaccine.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> In the COVID era, I cannot tell you how many friends and acquaintances in our rural area, of all ages, have passed suddenly. A few of them had a pre-existing medical problem they were battling, but many did not. They were physicians, housekeepers, builders, nurses, writers, school teachers, county administrators, teens, children, and they were from all races and walks of life. Many of them were couples. One would pass, and then within a year, so would their spouse.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwQJb58WEPhY62RMJ6s8N-xW78ZT9iukRftGAiXqb6LTljBbidJpsR3kiTT-ZQevn1v8GBqYPbHx-S5tsst4ijHU6gHcyjXCbN4IWx1jSuywh60zkqk3TaqFRX2ZDBq_DnklJ-Mdqvu3xqsF-hm9P9isxdK_WETxB6yuidLy1i6LgB6o5Mfqkq9-x75FY/s960/festivefourth.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwQJb58WEPhY62RMJ6s8N-xW78ZT9iukRftGAiXqb6LTljBbidJpsR3kiTT-ZQevn1v8GBqYPbHx-S5tsst4ijHU6gHcyjXCbN4IWx1jSuywh60zkqk3TaqFRX2ZDBq_DnklJ-Mdqvu3xqsF-hm9P9isxdK_WETxB6yuidLy1i6LgB6o5Mfqkq9-x75FY/w400-h400/festivefourth.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> I am consoled only by the idea that in Heaven Daniel can greet our shopkeeper friend, and Matthew can show him how he learned to make his own dough for calzones, inspired by the shopkeeper. My Dad can laugh as they all swap stories about the rural place with unyielding summer heat that we all have loved so much.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> I and the rest of the family still think of you all often, especially on this sweltering Independence Day.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2543261107340081741.post-69438094170179538022023-05-29T07:43:00.005-04:002023-08-28T12:32:16.038-04:00Daniel Finally Gets His Cat<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUnT2Z7KbV5DFvakQm4i5BIpTDrePX-ytgJ4kPwrbdWRIqBDGKhGOyHaRJtMiBF9k8DqSBb2-6e3FPlrYrAGOreRnennXCy8aKF6wSwDMYiQnUIThx9V90oMPeu46RN8ftpOoqpzUL0JZ4zCG-A_Yz2BxyinB05yCuaDH2lJOdHseAE8o6raEfZDNQ/s3008/TOSH1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="3008" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUnT2Z7KbV5DFvakQm4i5BIpTDrePX-ytgJ4kPwrbdWRIqBDGKhGOyHaRJtMiBF9k8DqSBb2-6e3FPlrYrAGOreRnennXCy8aKF6wSwDMYiQnUIThx9V90oMPeu46RN8ftpOoqpzUL0JZ4zCG-A_Yz2BxyinB05yCuaDH2lJOdHseAE8o6raEfZDNQ/w400-h266/TOSH1.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Readers of this blog may remember that Daniel, 12, passed in late 2008, and that on his birthday the following year, a friend of ours said they had a gift for Daniel. Our friend Jan allowed us to pick one of her six week old kittens as a birthday present for Daniel. We would love and raise him, and someday when he passed, Daniel would finally get the cat he wanted, but couldn't have, due to allergies during his time on Earth.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> I picked a beautiful sleeping kitten who was about six weeks old, and took him home. We named him, exactly as Daniel would have, which was <b><i>MacIntosh II</i></b>, after a cat who belonged to a friend that Daniel liked a great deal.<b><i> MacIntosh I</i></b>, actually attended Daniel's <i>Celebration of Life</i> in a cat carrier.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Very quickly, <i><b>MacIntosh II</b></i> became Tosh. He was a healthy, inquisitive and a very bright cat who adapted to life inside our farm house. Tosh was not only highly intelligent, but he was adaptable as well. Over time, we added two little dogs inside the house. We have other dogs in a kennel on the farm who do patrol and animal corralling duties. When we would leave the house, we would tell the tiny indoor dogs, "Be Good. The cat's in charge", and he was.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiytJ75gvV2AG0uUt3tQekuHCsnZoUO32LXNGakUS7AKeH5yNYisrxffqq1EsS-9J0-iwD8n6uYL_10RAUACdjYQlxYZTDrPfqUWCcq7wObgbSXijYbnZ7E-CgTbLtUH5D01Q8uTamZdSBkp-6SFcYJRbsQRInLH5VpNY39dmz-CxDfKPJ1-YHJ4pC3/s800/adamandtosh.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiytJ75gvV2AG0uUt3tQekuHCsnZoUO32LXNGakUS7AKeH5yNYisrxffqq1EsS-9J0-iwD8n6uYL_10RAUACdjYQlxYZTDrPfqUWCcq7wObgbSXijYbnZ7E-CgTbLtUH5D01Q8uTamZdSBkp-6SFcYJRbsQRInLH5VpNY39dmz-CxDfKPJ1-YHJ4pC3/s320/adamandtosh.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> </span><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Tosh has been a special family member to my husband and I, our adult kids, and he's special to our grandson, Nik as well.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglc-sbhoGL_05zmu0OQBE2NU5DP_6i5YVpCdFJYGi_h3hYl4u7MlEV_1fcyTpCopNt1PTvj-zxb0OZd79vpr4YcZ6nAGQNZ9Pm6zmIxfO6s0hbRRWEdtKviRL2zd1KDJsRRJmpNoEXoQ2tetGWDDGZRv1hZVsqCXlZoaifNReewc_KIXaRhK71PTg4/s400/IMG_0599.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglc-sbhoGL_05zmu0OQBE2NU5DP_6i5YVpCdFJYGi_h3hYl4u7MlEV_1fcyTpCopNt1PTvj-zxb0OZd79vpr4YcZ6nAGQNZ9Pm6zmIxfO6s0hbRRWEdtKviRL2zd1KDJsRRJmpNoEXoQ2tetGWDDGZRv1hZVsqCXlZoaifNReewc_KIXaRhK71PTg4/s320/IMG_0599.JPG" width="240" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpmknrsnfiWM_BXCkZxR08k9YQO-5cAcvd0e8Jsi3tXRPsoZ6TsUedlNejSNoR9phpcUSKxaRx0QdFJjhfEQv4vO8fanCZMaugLCDIXZzqB33XunM_tMj3wC88Q2AIS_s6CBWb-zXaPAgE_P8REjkf0-gp2qgy7nu0ihUM8mOxcGIhidEyVKvjsyf7/s333/IMG_0605.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="333" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpmknrsnfiWM_BXCkZxR08k9YQO-5cAcvd0e8Jsi3tXRPsoZ6TsUedlNejSNoR9phpcUSKxaRx0QdFJjhfEQv4vO8fanCZMaugLCDIXZzqB33XunM_tMj3wC88Q2AIS_s6CBWb-zXaPAgE_P8REjkf0-gp2qgy7nu0ihUM8mOxcGIhidEyVKvjsyf7/s320/IMG_0605.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrEKi0wL6BpozEUjV4m78EyzMENVTt7DS9bWlUyVaW31M2vgiTXe7vI1Z9YdY6cCzraNZzqGXKmSkI_TVcG_8JPxfotT-gbF7CF-ezblsfuxBLWzvkMblG-xBKO_ASR8vcIQpuBMbqa4ntwxQ_ipI6dCATWfe2OJ8vdlsfgSi4_a6Bp-Pj4R6ZqZ23/s533/IMG_0603.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="533" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrEKi0wL6BpozEUjV4m78EyzMENVTt7DS9bWlUyVaW31M2vgiTXe7vI1Z9YdY6cCzraNZzqGXKmSkI_TVcG_8JPxfotT-gbF7CF-ezblsfuxBLWzvkMblG-xBKO_ASR8vcIQpuBMbqa4ntwxQ_ipI6dCATWfe2OJ8vdlsfgSi4_a6Bp-Pj4R6ZqZ23/s320/IMG_0603.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQUZFV9yerE0eE1FgIzTe-r1Motrc4lpBvbc1PDwI6jGR3tSupftOeVEo0oJy6svMI8G8Tl8ErbSMWxBJrNHKVmiZFue9gat7iy0ZeD55lXV4Ta2YYHdo2Cb1rj7r4GK-700TY4Cp4z-3Q99YJYAI8Smjw1DAMMzQSAvXPneJ2BZruMjUdEAnfbu-i/s533/IMG_0600.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="533" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQUZFV9yerE0eE1FgIzTe-r1Motrc4lpBvbc1PDwI6jGR3tSupftOeVEo0oJy6svMI8G8Tl8ErbSMWxBJrNHKVmiZFue9gat7iy0ZeD55lXV4Ta2YYHdo2Cb1rj7r4GK-700TY4Cp4z-3Q99YJYAI8Smjw1DAMMzQSAvXPneJ2BZruMjUdEAnfbu-i/s320/IMG_0600.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Tosh as a baby cat</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Tosh has truly been a joy. He was incredibly gentle even after Nik was born and spent a lot of time here. Toddlers are often tough on cats, but Tosh always knew he was a growing child, and never once scratched him. Our daughter sent us a video recently that shows Tosh walking on the piano as if to simulate practicing scales. Tosh found many ways to entertain himself and to entertain us.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> It's hard to believe that fifteen years has gone by. So much here has changed, and so much has stayed the same. We knew that Tosh was getting older but he was healthy and moving well and we didn't dwell on it much. A couple of weeks ago, Tosh had a stroke, and was recovering from it. Then, a couple of days ago, he wasn't eating well, and was just drinking. He was checked for diabetes, which was negative.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Tosh was a little anxious last evening and we made sure he got a lot of love and attention. We told him that we thought soon he would pass and go to God, and that God would make sure Daniel got his cat. This morning, I checked on Tosh, helped him drink some water, repositioned him, and told him how much we loved him. At 6:36 am, he passed. The cat is as beautiful as a cat whose soul has passed to the next plane, as he was alive.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Thank you Tosh for helping us as we were grieving for Daniel. Thank you for giving us endless hours of companionship, amusement and joy. You were an uncommonly bright, loving and human cat in so many ways. I know Daniel will be thrilled to have you join him. I love you Buddy, and we all do. Please send love to Brielle (Adam's cat) also.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Today, it is raining hard as if the angels are crying, just as are we. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Prior posts on the subject of Tosh, "Daniel's cat"</span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://learnedfromdaniel.blogspot.com/2022/06/an-update-on-daniels-cat-tosh.html">https://learnedfromdaniel.blogspot.com/2022/06/an-update-on-daniels-cat-tosh.html</a></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://learnedfromdaniel.blogspot.com/2013/02/time-with-tosh.html">https://learnedfromdaniel.blogspot.com/2013/02/time-with-tosh.html </a></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://learnedfromdaniel.blogspot.com/2009/06/tosh.html">https://learnedfromdaniel.blogspot.com/2009/06/tosh.html </a></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><br /></p>Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2543261107340081741.post-40161623660673907872023-05-03T18:09:00.001-04:002023-05-03T18:09:03.087-04:00Happy Twenty-Seventh Birthday, Daniel !<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx5fng8f8ldCeXxwPIGsIiVNuNAyepYX02EeTMGRoMa98aAn62uTyMlwwwRJz1OwdkYW3FRL7z2IoqtDfkuTUdqmX7fK51Tr-RAZjEBe8CVIA7g1plGOoysBwKY0xeJM22y2PphC5dLAg_6RBDcxAcTzgOoNLjeRPWJ1LCs4sVAFCwrUx8vL7qvnux/s400/laptopcake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx5fng8f8ldCeXxwPIGsIiVNuNAyepYX02EeTMGRoMa98aAn62uTyMlwwwRJz1OwdkYW3FRL7z2IoqtDfkuTUdqmX7fK51Tr-RAZjEBe8CVIA7g1plGOoysBwKY0xeJM22y2PphC5dLAg_6RBDcxAcTzgOoNLjeRPWJ1LCs4sVAFCwrUx8vL7qvnux/w400-h300/laptopcake.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"> This laptop cake did not exist when you were last on Earth, but I would have made one for you now !<br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> This week it will be your twenty-seventh birthday, and yet I can remember the day of your birth and the day of your passing with a crystal clear clarity that may not be true of many other of the events of my own life. Please know that as we mark your birthday here on Earth, that we know that you, and now your brother are beyond our horizon, and safe in the world beyond this one. There is not a day I don't remember you, and there is never a day I don't laugh at something you once said, and I often share it with your oldest little nephew. I am not good at being without you, but I am determined to make you proud. With much love to you, Daniel. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /></p>Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2543261107340081741.post-83512772054840357552022-12-24T20:17:00.005-05:002023-05-04T11:23:49.651-04:00 Daniel's Christmas Letter: Christmas Eve, 2022<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ1A1uRAMIQto9rD66OWGTbDTBOJ_1tBS10zRoFn7C4CTVCG9TUkWS0HRY5LEpuYUPdQJ1h3D-jbj01-psBPwRWM7pi040PnQ2hPbjnv1VfnXD9VIbEhESFHvTDct6D_iKpMxD9lg0C6uuvL8IEWHlHgsmHtNal4lQU1aejeh4l-1PgxabjRpA4BKS/s482/XmasTree.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="321" data-original-width="482" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ1A1uRAMIQto9rD66OWGTbDTBOJ_1tBS10zRoFn7C4CTVCG9TUkWS0HRY5LEpuYUPdQJ1h3D-jbj01-psBPwRWM7pi040PnQ2hPbjnv1VfnXD9VIbEhESFHvTDct6D_iKpMxD9lg0C6uuvL8IEWHlHgsmHtNal4lQU1aejeh4l-1PgxabjRpA4BKS/w400-h266/XmasTree.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> </p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> D<span>earest Daniel,</span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span>
</p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> I
know I haven’t been very available lately. As you know, your
brother Matthew passed in his sleep seven days before the fourteenth
anniversary of your own departure from Earth. Losing a second son
has been difficult, and also very surprising. In some ways, the time
of year, was like your passing, but in many other ways it was quite
different. You went from being awake and conversant and collapsed
and died quite quickly. I was able to try CPR, but I got nowhere. We
had trouble reaching EMS on the phone that day, and it took twenty
minutes to get someone out to help and to get an AED. This time,
Matthew had gone to sleep late the night before and also had been
perfectly fine. He passed sometime in his sleep, probably in the
early morning hours. With you, we knew right away, but with Matthew,
it was likely hours before we knew, because it wasn’t unusual for
him to sleep late after being up late the night before. This time, I
wasn’t able to try CPR, and the AED we bought to keep here in the
house could not be used because Matthew had been dead too long. This
time was also different in that when we called for help, the
dispatcher answered immediately and a paid EMS crew, no helicopter
this time, arrived at the house in what I believe was about four
minutes. With you, I was in shock, and I didn’t cry until your
body had been taken from the house. With Matthew, I knew too quickly
this horror, and I cried immediately. I was less together this time.
With you, I felt your spirit was probably hovering above the room and
that you needed me to handle everything, and that I might frighten
you by descending into tears and hysterics and so I didn’t. With
Matthew’s passing, I felt that it had occurred possibly hours ago
and that he’d followed you to Papa Lawrence and to God as soon as
he could. I felt terrible that I had not known in time to try to save
him.</span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>
This time was also different in that the medical examiner declined to
examine you last time. We procured a private autopsy, which didn’t
really give us much other than a cardiac arrest potentially due to a
potentially hereditary sudden arrhythmic condition, such as Long QT
Syndrome. This time, the politics of sudden death is quite different
and the medical examiner claimed jurisdiction. We never did receive
a phone call from them and we waited a week through Thanksgiving.
Eventually, we transferred Matthew to the same location that did your
autopsy. We still don’t have a report, but we surmise from the
things said that could be related to the flu shot he had received 38
hours prior to dying in his sleep.</span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>
Yes, we are all deeply sorrowful for this turn of events. We also
tried to correct the things Matthew had not liked in your Celebration
of Life, and had one for him that would have been more to his liking.
I believe you both saw what we tried to do there.
</span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>
Please know that although it is desperately difficult to have half
our children beyond our own horizon, we know that you and he accept
that we all belong to God and that we return to Him. I don’t know
why God chose to call each of you, but I know we will all eventually
be together again. Until then, you are both still our sons, and we
will see you again. Please know we will continue to do our best with
your siblings, your niece and nephews, and your animals, some of whom
are still alive from your own time, Daniel.</span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>
Please know that we love you, Matthew, and my Dad with all our
hearts. You also have your Dad’s parents there, who knew Matt and
loved him very much. They both passed before you were born. There are
other ancestors there who can also guide you. Please tell Matthew
what I have said in this letter, and tell Papa Lawrence also.
Matthew’s friends also miss him a great deal.</span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>
Merry Christmas Daniel, and everyone. I still remember our last
big hug as if it were yesterday.</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> Love, Mom<br /></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> </span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</p>
Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2543261107340081741.post-52805148626113022762022-11-22T12:13:00.002-05:002022-11-23T10:22:23.485-05:00Sudden Death Strikes Again.<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpvs5rX8uiEqylcuybT2qvrON5djOha4EJwjA8zUhwvTXo0wVCzeGTYkC0t3axAG7sOCtxIm9huViaZVisUdoJUQK8UFjFUyUw55rlNaDLhCSj7y5Y7m5h_shzR44PjJeOK5OjcfBMi9sUS0hvSQfbH6NF24zMOdaluQmYX742qQxqRbDbUyfVwH_H/s321/mattpc.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="321" data-original-width="321" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpvs5rX8uiEqylcuybT2qvrON5djOha4EJwjA8zUhwvTXo0wVCzeGTYkC0t3axAG7sOCtxIm9huViaZVisUdoJUQK8UFjFUyUw55rlNaDLhCSj7y5Y7m5h_shzR44PjJeOK5OjcfBMi9sUS0hvSQfbH6NF24zMOdaluQmYX742qQxqRbDbUyfVwH_H/w640-h640/mattpc.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <b><i><span style="font-size: large;"> It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved son Matthew. Matthew died suddenly, as of yet uncertain cause. Matthew had a flu shot two days before his sudden passing, but it is also fourteen years ago this week that his younger brother Daniel, died suddenly of what is surmised to be Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome. Matthew had been worked up for this following Daniel's death, as were his other siblings, and although one sibling had a cardiac ablation as a result, Matthew was felt to be clear of such a problem. In this life, there are no guarantees.</span></i></b><p></p><p><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"> We await autopsy results, and pray they are definitive.</span></i></b></p><p><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"> Matthew was in his early thirties and had worked as a Cybersecurity Engineer, and most recently as a Fire Alarm Design Engineer. He was a terrific son, brother, uncle and great friend. His passing is a great loss.</span></i></b></p><p><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.forevermissed.com/matthew-d-krehbiel">https://www.forevermissed.com/matthew-d-krehbiel</a><br /></span></i></b></p><p><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></i></b><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2543261107340081741.post-20439004282218163492022-06-21T13:18:00.003-04:002022-06-21T13:29:22.684-04:00Perhaps an Answer<p> <span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitoaBChJqUtgCL_K1qUge3Lnlc6izz1slYoYVz4IKmkpSufWUdWVNX5l_DNwN6P4-7BpDovZvVPmWffMnKC-MARivA_tzmixT2POElUcm1xneJoySa1G8rWXC5lzZoYSEiHe-_ZpARMKKK8ml8jLwaxgVq7vgzjmiC4sRNmrvibSeqdeBnKZlzxHka/s400/DanielXY.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="289" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitoaBChJqUtgCL_K1qUge3Lnlc6izz1slYoYVz4IKmkpSufWUdWVNX5l_DNwN6P4-7BpDovZvVPmWffMnKC-MARivA_tzmixT2POElUcm1xneJoySa1G8rWXC5lzZoYSEiHe-_ZpARMKKK8ml8jLwaxgVq7vgzjmiC4sRNmrvibSeqdeBnKZlzxHka/w462-h640/DanielXY.jpg" width="462" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">Any parent who loses a child here on Earth carries a certain amount of insensible guilt. God gives us a child, and our first obligation is to try to keep that child safe in a world that is full of hazards, at almost every age. The challenge, which is to love, educate and teach that child not only to live in the world but to flourish in it, is a large one. So, we look for the best schools, the best churches and the best doctors, and even then sometimes, we miss something, or something somewhere goes awry.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> I remember the day Daniel died as if it were yesterday. One moment my extremely bright youngest son was talking to me, and the next moment, I heard a crash in the bathroom. I found him in a full cardiac arrest, and I began CPR. I asked other family members to call 911 and ask for the medical helicopter for a child in a full cardiac arrest. I remember wondering what could possibly have done this to my healthy child who'd had a clean physical just a couple of weeks before.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Despite the sheriff's office using the AED and a very competent team of professionals from the helicopter, we were not able to restart Daniel's heart at any point during his code. This has always bothered me because I have been lucky. In the hospital setting or outside it, I have never had a patient who received immediate CPR for a witnessed cardiac arrest, not respond. (Although in all honesty, I might have gotten them back only to have them die later that day.) It has always bothered me that Daniel did not respond in any way to the CPR. It was as if he were gone when he hit the floor.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> As longstanding readers will recall, initially his autopsy was very good. His coronary arteries were as clean as a whistle, which is not true of a number of 12 1/2 year old American children. His brain was normal, although they were some incidental findings that did not cause death. Pathologists were left with a healthy child who was clearly dead. Daniel was made a teaching patient, and different pathology teams at a world class teaching hospital each took a crack and what might have happened. Because Daniel had entered the bathroom, vomited, collapsed and fallen forward, the pathologists felt that this had likely been a sudden arrhythmic death, which is basically a spontaneous disruption of heart rhythm of unknown cause. While toxicology was sent, the doctors used the time to question our family on other cardiac or arrhythmic deaths among our relatives, or other arrhythmic disorders among those who remained living. I shared that we had a fair amount of atrial fibrillation among the over age seventy members of the family, although no one we knew had died in the manner of Daniel. Eventually, because sudden arrhythmic death syndrome or the other diagnosis SUDC, which is sudden unexplained death in childhood, are disorders from a functional problem not a structural one, and nothing of any interest was yielded from toxicology, Daniel's passing was attributed to a sudden cardiac arrest of uncertain etiology, or cause. His DNA and other samples were sent to the Mayo Clinic who was studying whether he might have one of the many identified familial causes sudden cardiac arrest. Some of these are Brugada Syndrome, Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, Long QT Syndrome, Short QT Syndrome, etc. A long time afterward, Mayo Clinic communicated that Daniel did not show evidence of any of the familial arrhythmic syndromes that could be identified from DNA samples at that time. Perhaps he had a syndrome that has not yet been identified, they speculated. (Of course, this began the odyssey of having our remaining children examined and having a preventive cardiac ablation done on one of them.)</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Fourteen years later, I am still left with the feeling that I have missed something, and that this is somehow my fault, even to some small degree. Since then, some clues have emerged within the remaining family. There are family members who have erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP), some with Crohn's Disease and one with cystic fibrosis. All of these disorders are associated with, or can lead to a Vitamin D deficiency. Interestingly, even as a young person, I have been found to have a very low Vitamin D level at intervals. I have also been fairly resistant to having this corrected, requiring relatively large amounts given over a long period of time before it is corrected. How could this be ? I have asked. The answer I get is that some people lack the enzyme to manufacture Vitamin D from sunlight and cholesterol. No one asked whether this could have been a familial issue. Even if it had been, there had not been an association between low Vitamin D levels and sudden arrhythmic death. <b><i>However, there is now.</i></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Recent studies have shown that people, including children with low Vitamin D levels have a much higher rate of dying from a sudden episode of arrhythmic death. If Daniel had a familial tendency to have low Vitamin D, coupled with a missing enzyme in order to make Vitamin D from sunlight, could this be the missing part of the puzzle ? Physicians do not routinely test for Vitamin D levels, and they don't often check in children. There was no known reason to check, and at the time, no known association with sudden arrhythmic death. It is only now that we know from several recent studies that low Vitamin D is associated with ionic channel disorders which can lead to sudden alterations in the EKG such as the QT interval. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> For those of you who have a medical or personal interest in this, this is one of the authoritative articles, which I believe is the easiest to understand.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><a href="https://journals.viamedica.pl/kardiologia_polska/article/download/82363/61698"><span style="font-size: medium;"> https://journals.viamedica.pl/kardiologia_polska/article/download/82363/61698</span></a></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> When Daniel died, we had not had history with other family members that indicated that we were all Vitamin D deficient. We all took vitamins, except for Daniel who wouldn't swallow pills and was not sold on taking his chewable Flintstone's vitamin daily. I do so wish I had known this. In 2008, physicians did not suspect that any of us were low in Vitamin D, and perhaps they didn't even know of familial Vitamin D use disorders.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> It is my hope that this post reaches someone that it may help. Some of us persist in having low vitamin D levels even when supplemented, and this may require regular monitoring as well as prescription amounts of this vitamin. To simply blindly replace Vitamin D without proper monitoring may be equally dangerous. If you suspect this is an issue for your family, please see your doctor and ask for a Vitamin D blood test.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><br /></p>Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2543261107340081741.post-60202575867295765362022-06-19T17:22:00.003-04:002022-06-19T17:22:29.256-04:00An Update on Daniel's Cat "Tosh"<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNMnpbOnWoGqzdl1YHW5nwsTFhvh-eLEcm9sd-NMYxpKG_8kJOzxAk6MimIJlGmaeUc4FxZx10HSJdIzx2pxKKTBxOG9RetJi9V9tEux0PozKSvlYgVrqiKIn9b2vQFpTnsAgVyu_Xh6Zx2Va7RPI_CLLK_uBiF3y3FozC_Vs-TDuti3-4flqNg0Xz/s3008/TOSH1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="3008" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNMnpbOnWoGqzdl1YHW5nwsTFhvh-eLEcm9sd-NMYxpKG_8kJOzxAk6MimIJlGmaeUc4FxZx10HSJdIzx2pxKKTBxOG9RetJi9V9tEux0PozKSvlYgVrqiKIn9b2vQFpTnsAgVyu_Xh6Zx2Va7RPI_CLLK_uBiF3y3FozC_Vs-TDuti3-4flqNg0Xz/w640-h426/TOSH1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: large;"> The original post concerning "Daniel's cat" Tosh, was written thirteen years ago tomorrow.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> Tosh is now a mature cat, still has occasional respiratory allergies and is doing very well.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> As you may remember, the last thing Daniel and I spoke about before his
passing was a cat. We spent the prior day, Thanksgiving with my eldest
son Adam's fiancee and her family, and they had a remarkable cat named
MacIntosh, which they call Mackie. Mackie had been rescued by Adam's
fiancee's sister and myself from the inner workings of a new car at the
Post Office. I had been unsuccessful and Adam came with tools and the
owner of the car was gracious enough to let him remove and reattach
parts in order to save the little cat. Despite his cat allergy, Daniel
became quite attached to MacIntosh and took Claritin in order to play
with him. Of course, I had to turn down Daniel's request for his own
cat. He accepted this, due to his allergies, and a moment later, he went
into the bathroom, and passed away.<br />
Yes, those of you who attended Daniel's "Celebration of Life" saw a cat
in a carrier politely and seriously enduring his funeral, and that was
MacIntosh.<br />
A couple of weeks ago, a friend of Daniel's and mine, gave us a kitten.
It is a cat that resembles MacIntosh a great deal. This cat will be
raised as "Daniel's cat" and will be loved and cared for. Eventually,
when his full life is complete, he will pass and become Daniel's very
own cat. Meanwhile, "Daniel's cat" is bringing great joy here. He is
named MacIntosh II, or "Tosh" for short. This cat is similar, though
not identical to MacIntosh the First in appearance, and I think is a bit
more active and perhaps more of a mouser.
</span></p>Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2543261107340081741.post-34442089604718583462022-06-05T00:03:00.003-04:002022-06-05T00:03:18.354-04:00A Culture in Decline<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUJbY-dgT_GohusGZ3RSReJH_0s6WaYRgtqkve2g8qFNszzmXVTQkUW9EhFA1n-n_rglHPT_9-jho3BJlWHmwd8mRXA1rbaMUDX8qDpFrZNdwoxQpzjUDqLPZzxqvvkSmdumVTwpMkzJR9LckVr3zATz9EzGhT_qh3Yq1SlqNU5QliTu7dxlNNMNWk/s960/likechester.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUJbY-dgT_GohusGZ3RSReJH_0s6WaYRgtqkve2g8qFNszzmXVTQkUW9EhFA1n-n_rglHPT_9-jho3BJlWHmwd8mRXA1rbaMUDX8qDpFrZNdwoxQpzjUDqLPZzxqvvkSmdumVTwpMkzJR9LckVr3zATz9EzGhT_qh3Yq1SlqNU5QliTu7dxlNNMNWk/w400-h266/likechester.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: large;"> Some years ago, our family lived in a lovely neighborhood in a Virginia suburb. We had four large bedrooms, a full finished basement, an acre lot, and it was an ideal home for homeschooling. It also had the benefit of having been my in-laws home. When they had died in their fifties, and my husband had inherited a quarter of the home, he financed the remainder and bought his siblings out. My in-laws would have been happy to know that their grandchildren would be growing up there. This enabled us to have the space we needed to raise our family without a high mortgage. Daniel was born while we lived in this lovely home.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> Although we lived there for a few years, our disillusionment with the area began fairly quickly. It was a good neighborhood, but almost immediately, strange things happened, that had not been happening in the neighborhood our last house had been, even in the same county. At our new colonial, children would show up during the school day and tell us that their mother had said that if they were ever sent home from school sick that they were to come to our house, because we were the only home where someone was home during the day. We wouldn't have minded this had a prior arrangement been made, but we had no idea who these children or their parents were, and we had intended to go to a dental appointment one of those days. We became aware of a number of homes where domestic issues were common. We also had a schizophrenic man come to the door one day claiming that "People in the neighborhood wanted him dead". Once, a beautiful mailbox flag I had hanging beneath the mailbox was shredded, most likely with scissors. As time passed, there were more and more feral children running through the neighborhood, seemingly without any sense or supervision.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> When Daniel was one, we bought large acreage in another part of the state, built a smaller home than we had in the suburbs, and moved. We wanted the children to have the opportunity to have livestock, and to gather skills that are most often learned in rural environments. We also wished to head off their becoming good consumers, which had already been happening.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> Our children thrived both academically and socially in an intensely rural environment, and I know we did the right thing.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> Tonight I am sad to learn that in the very same neighborhood with the beautiful colonial where we once lived, that there has been a mass shooting. According to police, there was a party where there was a fight. Police were called, but while they were en route someone was shot. Many were shot and at least one has died. At least four different weapons were fired during this altercation. Someone was killed on the very same road in which my children rode their bikes when fairly young.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> The problem is not firearms, just as collecting all the steak knives, hammers and tire irons wouldn't change it. The problem is a culture in decline. The problem is that no one is home to raise children. Mothers are working, parents are divorcing, and day care centers can't be parents to children. Children are growing up to have no acquisition of empathy, and are connected only to a violent and vicious peer group collective via phones or computers. The culture is annoyed by children, doesn't understand them, and does not defer pleasure to do what is right for them. We saw this at the end of the nineties, and the shootings are simply a symptom of it.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> Please pray for our nation and particularly for its children.<br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2543261107340081741.post-61717196218848613682022-05-06T07:25:00.001-04:002022-05-06T07:27:54.775-04:00Happy Birthday, Daniel 2022<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzzed0wZKUbCwI0MBRs9cHITH1bKQJq7k06KsVkrl0GjXNx9uj8yvTsGooWmZDUPt1lKw-YMW37vYiyaZHeEOYx7lQX1flTZMOeWNOAqGilBth-6a0sVfbR-ZG5078CXL4qTLRDTqnf10E5GiUB1_sbofZ-21cM8lo2RK4-Dfdu_dqE1afI2gEUc7l/s1920/hbd.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzzed0wZKUbCwI0MBRs9cHITH1bKQJq7k06KsVkrl0GjXNx9uj8yvTsGooWmZDUPt1lKw-YMW37vYiyaZHeEOYx7lQX1flTZMOeWNOAqGilBth-6a0sVfbR-ZG5078CXL4qTLRDTqnf10E5GiUB1_sbofZ-21cM8lo2RK4-Dfdu_dqE1afI2gEUc7l/s600/hbd.jpg" width="600" /></a></div><p>
<b>
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;">This is the posting to your twenty-sixth birthday. Somehow, we are almost fourteen years from the date of your sudden departure. We still miss you very much. Yesterday, your nephew lamented to your sister that he missed you. It seemed a ridiculous thing to say, even for a young child because he had never known you on Earth. However, you departed at the end of 2008, and he came to Earth in 2014, and so there may have been time between 2008 and 2014 for you and he to get to know one another. Perhaps he is telling the truth when he says this.
Please know that no matter how long you have been gone from here that we still think of you daily and we miss you and Papa Lawrence. Sometimes, I allow my mind to drift and wonder what you would have done here on the Earth had you remained. There are a lot of situations on the Earth that have deteriorated since your departure, in politics, in medicine, in government, and in education. Sometimes, I am pleased you were spared some of this on the particularly bad days. You are always my son, and I always love you. Sometimes, when something momentous happens, like when I met your newest nephew for the first time, I feel your spirit beside me. I love you deeper than the oceans, and wider than the seas.</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b>
</p>Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2543261107340081741.post-40844027411488036562022-01-24T20:07:00.004-05:002023-05-04T11:28:46.334-04:00 A Missing Month<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhQ1SACelb5eizoaGX2hBtlB4Ec_r8sJwTEzem3h2WT-2sNnJKBG_VBJmoGZCP4T77PCYapaTl-c1l_AjCJ_uDGOmRSkKtevaKhYxAwAqk-1WgbbxUbseBBvUPzR2Ai7d4m8-ibWhSy2wF9DdSBPM1u7tvv7UJk_y5HqLExeti3HG6ZeqLjLSIOehms=s1321" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1321" data-original-width="990" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhQ1SACelb5eizoaGX2hBtlB4Ec_r8sJwTEzem3h2WT-2sNnJKBG_VBJmoGZCP4T77PCYapaTl-c1l_AjCJ_uDGOmRSkKtevaKhYxAwAqk-1WgbbxUbseBBvUPzR2Ai7d4m8-ibWhSy2wF9DdSBPM1u7tvv7UJk_y5HqLExeti3HG6ZeqLjLSIOehms=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div> <span style="font-size: large;"> Photograph taken by the Richmond Times Dispatch on Interstate 64 which has fallen trees on both sides of the highway.<br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> I hadn't meant the entire month of January to fly by without any postings anywhere, and yet this is exactly what has happened. The entire family caught a non-COVID influenza like illness which felled everyone like trees just after Christmas. Just after, an unexpected storm with very wet snow and ice occurred overnight causing actually trees of all kinds to break wiping out everything from power lines to telephonic pedestal boxes and rupturing the actual roofing of many. The result was a bit more than a week without electricity, and a bit more than two additional weeks without landline phone, cellular phone and internet. A couple of additional storms made both restoration and getting out again less likely.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> We pumped water for ourselves and the farm animals using the generator, and we ran the generator for a few hours each day, but shortages of diesel and propane meant that we could not run anything for very long. In addition, shortages of hay for horses, dog and cat food make life difficult for us when we did get out again.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> Please check on your family and friends in the American Southeast. This has been an uncommonly cold and difficult early Winter, even without the complications of supply line disruptions and fears for COVID.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> Frankly, I'm glad Daniel missed this month here on Earth !</span><br /></p>Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2543261107340081741.post-72347100089893351552021-12-25T05:59:00.001-05:002021-12-25T05:59:08.054-05:00Fourteen Christmases<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiX-N5rfyDuD4T7WPTWZ8xVAEkfHFtn4GCQhwdq5qwyfdvrfa9jvNA1Dv-KOp6LhONR6MR9PDNeG0c9LhjsgX6qJQBjIPitb_21aEGpLf4hNFTNBaXH2C1ovM9FVhDV2tayAtyhu3SPVCVY2vclRTgGcRhxPa28KnpT2OGUuckrtpLrG8NTqGQwOPk7=s1168" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1168" data-original-width="1168" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiX-N5rfyDuD4T7WPTWZ8xVAEkfHFtn4GCQhwdq5qwyfdvrfa9jvNA1Dv-KOp6LhONR6MR9PDNeG0c9LhjsgX6qJQBjIPitb_21aEGpLf4hNFTNBaXH2C1ovM9FVhDV2tayAtyhu3SPVCVY2vclRTgGcRhxPa28KnpT2OGUuckrtpLrG8NTqGQwOPk7=w640-h640" width="640" /></a></div> Rendering by Miles Kimball<br /><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> Today is the fourteen Christmas that Daniel has missed, since his sudden departure, the day after Thanksgiving in 2008. Sometimes, it seems a very long time ago, because so much has happened within the family since, and then sometimes, it seems just a short time ago because nothing has ever been quite right in the world since.</p><p> Daniel, this might be the first year that I actually have some relief that you were called Home ahead. In the US, we have had what looks to be a fraudulent presidential election, leaving an incompetent, if not demented leader. The vice president also has exceptionally poor judgment. Third in line is Speaker Pelosi, who is bitter, alcoholic and at the very least, self centered. On at least some levels I am relieved that you have not known working or getting an advanced degree during an exaggerated pandemic. I am glad you are spared having to get a rushed-to-market vaccination which has caused thrombocytopenia, deep vein thrombosis, myocarditis and deaths, and immune system dysfunctions. Four people we know died from the injections and only one person we know died from the COVID-19 pneumonia, or so we have been told.</p><p> Camellia the alpaca is still here on the farm. Your siblings and still doing the best they can. We are dealing with our challenges here at home with various levels of success. Please know we think of you and my Dad daily, and that you remain a part of our lives. You are still a part of our Christmases.</p><p> With best Christmas wishes and love,</p><p><br /></p><p> Mom</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2543261107340081741.post-19708701903305694972021-11-28T10:16:00.006-05:002021-11-28T10:16:55.162-05:00Thirteen Years<p> </p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO_-ZhOfV4XJjW1HvpWTgyrQ_OeXg7mkxO7lItSqvbXPqWf0DePbHhYhaTlLu-nAzJ7omxm9RM9ZrOergSVrrtn8ksXwSRQVqNNSBABbnZdyRjl5wX35ySgWicW8N5YJcpD-OFaEA6gHI/s600/NCfall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="337" data-original-width="600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO_-ZhOfV4XJjW1HvpWTgyrQ_OeXg7mkxO7lItSqvbXPqWf0DePbHhYhaTlLu-nAzJ7omxm9RM9ZrOergSVrrtn8ksXwSRQVqNNSBABbnZdyRjl5wX35ySgWicW8N5YJcpD-OFaEA6gHI/w640-h360/NCfall.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: large;"> Last night I made your favorite dessert. You know, it's the one I only make on Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's the one with the layer of melted neufchatel cheese (low fat cream cheese) mixed with cool whip, then topped with chocolate pudding, and then with a layer of chocolate pudding mixed with cool whip also, and then chilled and served in squares, a bit like cheesecake blocks. This year, I grated dark chocolate on top. This year, I remembered to add a tablespoon of lemon juice to the neufchatel cheese. It makes a nice difference. I think it's become a remembrance dessert of the times we spent together, while you were still here. It's a good thing I don't make this often, because since you are in Heaven, I ate your portion. Forgive me.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> I know you are safe in Heaven. I know that you are learning things I could not have hoped to teach you while we were here together. This year, I will even admit to being a little relieved that you aren't on Earth to do battle with COVID-19 and some of the ridiculous requirements universities, governments and some employers have placed on people. You probably know this, but the "for emergency use only" injections for it, killed some of the people we knew. Some of your friends have also had to get it in order to continue studying for their advanced degrees.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> Camellia, the alpaca, is now the only animal on the farm who knew you personally. All the other animals who knew you have died, in the thirteen years since your rushed departure from here. She is well, but she too is nearing life expectancy. I imagine you will be there for her when she makes her way to her permanent heavenly home with the others. Thank you for that. I hope the other animals are with you and my Dad.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> I love you so. You are still one of the greatest joys of my life. We still laugh about things you said, and I still relate your wisdoms and words to people online, or to people who knew you. I still clearly remember all our little moments together. I still remember when we went to the political fundraiser and had to go on a hayride to do it. I had heels on and I nearly fell while getting off. You were watching and you steadied me. I think your steadying me is probably a metaphor for our lives together here on Earth.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> I know you are with my Dad and I know you have access to the ancestors, and that there are some remarkable people there with you. I know that your faith has always been strong. I will always love you, wider than the oceans, and deeper than the seas, even though for these years, we remain physically parted.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /></p>Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2543261107340081741.post-51146782674586965502021-11-25T22:23:00.002-05:002021-11-25T22:23:46.380-05:00There is Still Magic Remaining in This Time of Year<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr7rR55T1ywQDrHwl0IhyphenhyphenQIc1zIKsSp6lZr9SJO0mlyzCKgB9IJQxATnzeouexZpUStyluLndoAHfsD0y_Afq6MAH_E0wFhQtTmdy1S3CKGDDFiqApOl13UIEIO4RmT-4YKZzO4WjFFEw/s526/Merritt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="526" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr7rR55T1ywQDrHwl0IhyphenhyphenQIc1zIKsSp6lZr9SJO0mlyzCKgB9IJQxATnzeouexZpUStyluLndoAHfsD0y_Afq6MAH_E0wFhQtTmdy1S3CKGDDFiqApOl13UIEIO4RmT-4YKZzO4WjFFEw/w400-h400/Merritt.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> Daniel's newest nephew<br /><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Daniel, </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> I know that you know that this week, it will have been thirteen years since you so quickly departed, the morning of the day after Thanksgiving. I still think of you every day, and wonder what your soul is doing, what you are thinking, and how free you are of concerns for yourself, those with you, and for those of us who are left on what is quite often, the cruel Earth.
I do want to share some happy news with you though. Your eldest brother, who was the only one of us not to be at the house, when you passed, who came back so quickly that day, realizes how hard life without you has been, most especially for me. When he married, he and his wife did so, this very week, to help give another meaning to the week that will live in infamy for the rest of our lives.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> This week, their second child was born, a little boy. Now, it will be the week of Thanksgiving, the week you were called to Heaven, the week your brother and his wife were married, and the week your second nephew was born. I am told he is muscular and active, just as you were.
I wish that you and my Dad were still on Earth, and I do miss you both, and I suspect I always will, but in cosmic terms, I am just an infant. I don't know why God called my Dad, and then in thirty Earth days called you home also. I know that everything that happens has purpose and reason, but I don't always have to like it.
Happy Thanksgiving. I love you and Dad more than you will ever know.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2543261107340081741.post-55936868381234509062021-06-29T16:39:00.005-04:002021-06-29T17:31:09.847-04:00Yul Moldauer Will Represent the US in the Olympics !<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH08NDtksMP_AD08mRfGvv1YkJJcl-khU1nEp7JFQdmrRgK3IPVBCnawjc5sRVrgHnTnPUD7mQPN41I2gc4YQkgh8U0goR_hnborPLZv9kiTzoTxeHDpctVxr0Ui64Q-rFryG2jnTxu5A/s474/Yul.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="474" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH08NDtksMP_AD08mRfGvv1YkJJcl-khU1nEp7JFQdmrRgK3IPVBCnawjc5sRVrgHnTnPUD7mQPN41I2gc4YQkgh8U0goR_hnborPLZv9kiTzoTxeHDpctVxr0Ui64Q-rFryG2jnTxu5A/w640-h300/Yul.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> Yul Moldauer<br /><p></p><p> <br /></p><p> <span style="font-size: large;"> Some years ago, Daniel and our family were acquainted with Yul Moldauer and his family. In fact, when Daniel died, Yul's mom Orsa flew out here to help. Yul and Daniel were born in the same year. It is for this reason that we are very, very pleased to see that Yul will be representing the United States in men's gymnastics at the Olympics. A great deal of Yul's life has been spent perfecting these very important gymnastic skills, and the entire family, Mom, Dad, both sisters and brother made sacrifices so that this journey for the family could continue. This is a wonderful achievement for their entire family! For this reason, Yul and his entire family remain in our prayers at this time. I'm sure Daniel himself will be watching. Good luck, Yul !</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /></p>Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2543261107340081741.post-53397942020002230852021-06-15T14:55:00.006-04:002021-06-15T14:59:10.676-04:00Days of Daylillies<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOhFT7WquEgW9vjyQfUTCJLIIdmkMXAqz4ygOwfd9pbzIjlb7ATc8HCAzi1enAtz3Gw4LCqRrvZE6ycqyakhPKwSefraYLhDnkfO9EzwvixrdZzUpKQXxMs6tEduSA54bpuSuJ0OEexRA/s1368/dayl.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="964" data-original-width="1368" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOhFT7WquEgW9vjyQfUTCJLIIdmkMXAqz4ygOwfd9pbzIjlb7ATc8HCAzi1enAtz3Gw4LCqRrvZE6ycqyakhPKwSefraYLhDnkfO9EzwvixrdZzUpKQXxMs6tEduSA54bpuSuJ0OEexRA/w640-h450/dayl.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> <br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> Dearest Daniel,</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> This past week I was at the medical center with your nephew for some doctor's appointments, and we were early and so we waited some time. We were positioned near the area where patients and their families were to check in and give the staff their insurance cards and dates of birth. I was in awe of the fact that so many of the really tall young men had birthdates very very near the date of your own departure from Earth. To me, your departure and the departure of my dad are momentous life redefining events, which actually seem recent to me. It's almost as if it were about three years ago. The fact that it is the thirteenth year since your departure, and that some teens at thirteen are six feet tall is momentarily confusing to me. I know you would be twenty-five now, but my heart, not having seen you in the flesh since 2008, tends to think of the intelligent and funny soul you were then, and not the adult you would now be. You would think my heart would take the hint now that your best friend is married. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> Other than that, the farm remains here, and we remain on it. The animals remain here. We still have lots of dogs, sheep, the horses,chickens, and Cammie the alpaca who knew you is still here. It is one of those summers where the daylillies are so numerous that you can't possibly rescue all the flowers that grow beside the trail, in advance of the road department's mowers. I am transferring them to flower beds as quickly as I can, even in the extreme heat. It is the kind of year where the sumacs and mimosas grow faster than is healthy for them. The forest is conspiring to take over the parts of the farm we have worked so hard to keep in lawn or pasture. The road that goes back to the barns has a canopy over it, as trees from both sides lead to each other. The vegetables we planted though are drying out. They have had plenty of water but somehow too much sun.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> The Earth remains a crazy place, and not as golden or as interesting a place since your own departure. You are loved, and your memory and my Dad's remain alive and kicking. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /></p>Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2543261107340081741.post-12022017403728515042021-05-09T11:50:00.002-04:002021-05-09T11:51:10.858-04:00Happy Mother's Day 2021<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqA19OBV2NROwRHy-gxl1iKk6WmTXO-tG10Ay0V4CiPSKwJwcHr0SHdtJkWnsrMqF3jGPVlU8E9uZnrdX9kjy5GTN2iqKunWwggJkhFW4YsijXX63tnEcy-ykpZqfOgHTxAiKAKYtNaFQ/s720/flowers.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqA19OBV2NROwRHy-gxl1iKk6WmTXO-tG10Ay0V4CiPSKwJwcHr0SHdtJkWnsrMqF3jGPVlU8E9uZnrdX9kjy5GTN2iqKunWwggJkhFW4YsijXX63tnEcy-ykpZqfOgHTxAiKAKYtNaFQ/w426-h640/flowers.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: large;"> I would like to take this moment to wish all mothers a Happy Mother's Day. I send special wishes for those mothers for whom this is not an entirely happy day. Even those of us who have other children who remain on Earth still find Mother's Day a bit hard to take when one of those beloved children are in Heaven. Please wish not only the mothers for whom this is a happy day, a good day. Please also wish the sad mothers a happy day on this bittersweet day. Please be prepared to hear how they may feel today. I will also say a prayer for those of you who have a mother who celebrates this day from Heaven.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> Happy Mother's Day </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm_4-xVtLtcpI71eeNrXK1i_CYDQ_MuR4dFoZMtB496rQbbnwPBBcRVlBxoBciFn8Uzrj3sdcWvVcPrrsGZ2rU_TsL6YFYuzpXEAxGb0e8YH82xYSjknojcgFRV3Ioz10CYXEQLUXzR2E/s500/field.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm_4-xVtLtcpI71eeNrXK1i_CYDQ_MuR4dFoZMtB496rQbbnwPBBcRVlBxoBciFn8Uzrj3sdcWvVcPrrsGZ2rU_TsL6YFYuzpXEAxGb0e8YH82xYSjknojcgFRV3Ioz10CYXEQLUXzR2E/w640-h480/field.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> </span><br /></p>Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2543261107340081741.post-3392722124149492692021-05-04T22:34:00.002-04:002021-05-06T11:30:28.387-04:00 This Week We Celebrate Daniel's Twenty-Fifth Birthday<p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1OCPEzcl62b2VjW0sp3w5Kn0Z0QNIoYcj8xMgo0HRBXOGKhNWThqOvCS2m1eGCSPJJ6yr0nn2IJOq_FpD12l8C0AcI69GQFmmY9fEN6voY5FhpRFh3xSx193ORYc_y3nUrvfloljms5M/s500/dancake.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1OCPEzcl62b2VjW0sp3w5Kn0Z0QNIoYcj8xMgo0HRBXOGKhNWThqOvCS2m1eGCSPJJ6yr0nn2IJOq_FpD12l8C0AcI69GQFmmY9fEN6voY5FhpRFh3xSx193ORYc_y3nUrvfloljms5M/w400-h400/dancake.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></b></div><p></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> In some respects, it seems as if you left Earth a long time ago, and then other times, the wound can be made fresh, and something catches me off guard, and I am left with the same longing and loss as I was in the beginning.</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> Daniel, as you probably already know, last week your sister had an eye procedure, and had some complications, and so the past weekend I quickly ran her to the hospital where the on-call ophthalmologist had agreed to meet us. Since we live some distance away, and he was nearby, we proceeded to the hospital in a mad dash. When we arrived, the hospital was empty. There was no one to direct us, and I had not been in that part of the hospital in almost fifteen years. Your sister had both eyes closed, and so we couldn't move very quickly. Eventually, I borrowed a wheelchair, like a large adult stroller, which allowed us to move through this section of the old hospital with the ramps, and long corridors, a bit more easily. We had walked a long way when I passed the morgue, and then the Department of Pathology where I instantly recalled that your heart, brain and tissue samples had been kept there, in part because you became a teaching case, and in part so that someday when they can identify the calcium channelopathy they believe took your life so suddenly, they can identify exactly which sudden arrhythmic death syndrome variety you had, so that they may monitor your siblings, your nieces, your nephews, and cousins more correctly than is done now. Being in that part of the hospital with your sister in distress was upsetting. It is hard for me sometimes to have confidence that everything will be alright, because thirteen years ago, one morning, it wasn't, and things will never really be alright again. I stayed calm, backtracked, and finally found that we were exactly where we needed to be, only on the wrong floor. It didn't take long to get your sister to the ophthalmologist who was waiting, and we did so, only five minutes late. I will probably always associate that hospital with you, which I know is unfair. They have done so many wonderful things. They did a wonderful job when Christopher Reeve had his initial serious accident that caused his paralysis. They identified helicobacter pylori, and revolutionized the treatment of peptic ulcer disease, and some gastric cancers, worldwide. Your nephew was born here, and yet, my heart is stuck on their having done your autopsy, and for the school of nursing to having had a funeral for you and other children who died under the care of the hospital or in the area. They even gave you a funeral two years in a row !</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> I do know that you reside in Heaven, and that my Dad, your Papa Lawrence, is with you. I know that you befriend many children and young people who come to Heaven, perhaps without knowing anyone else who has died. I know that you happily work for God and find chances to enjoy the many wonders of where you are. I know that you take good care of the animals from this farm who completed their lives here, and then go on to find you. I also know that when days are dark, that you and my Dad find ways to pass encouragements to me, and I appreciate this.</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> This week, had you remained on Earth, you would be celebrating your 25th birthday. I can imagine you at 25 quite well. You would be about six foot three now, a little shorter than my father, but taller than your Dad and about the same height as your brother Matt. You would have broad shoulders and muscular arms. You would still have a broad smile, great insights, and an appreciation for great movies and books. You would still have your wonderful kind and creative spirit. I was always so proud of you, and I don't think you have forgotten.</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> Please know that despite the fact that I miss you very much, that I trust in our Lord God to have called you from Earth. Most of the time I do this with a fair measure of grace God has sent to me. (Cause I certainly can't manufacture it myself.) A number of bizarre things have happened here on Earth in the past couple of years, and at least in some ways, I have now a modicum of relief that you have escaped from some of Earth's strife. I love you and my Dad more than you know. Thank you for taking care of those precious animals for me until I get there. I hope you find a wonderful way to spend your birthday. I think I will spend it this year taking care of Cammie the alpaca, the last animal who remains here on Earth who knew you, and who also grieved your passing. I love you deeper than the oceans and wider than all the seas.</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">(I have enlarged the font for your friends who read this blog via Smartphone)</span></b><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2543261107340081741.post-26890992553444243012020-12-24T22:12:00.001-05:002020-12-24T22:12:25.036-05:00The Twelfth Christmas Without You<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ORbPYxnnt9ZXROKHfvtN70P_L0ggKy0ZV1s9I0TITSSRamzi6FPqltEH_R6nyfSZUGbLVeKEdLXTVVFdtv5vpEargunAutRs253nARXnquoipOU8ctk4Dw5OCfdVLUn4LIC4aH0t7ws/s1440/stefscrk5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ORbPYxnnt9ZXROKHfvtN70P_L0ggKy0ZV1s9I0TITSSRamzi6FPqltEH_R6nyfSZUGbLVeKEdLXTVVFdtv5vpEargunAutRs253nARXnquoipOU8ctk4Dw5OCfdVLUn4LIC4aH0t7ws/w640-h480/stefscrk5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> It rained all day. Your sister explored this area of her property.<br /></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> Tonight is Christmas Eve, and it has been twelve years since your sudden passing. I don't think it ever gets any easier not to have you on Earth. I think I just become more resigned to it. I am also mindful of the terrible challenges your brothers and sister have had this year, and it's more constructive if I am positive and move forward with them, rather than pining for you at this time of year.</p><p> As I mentioned to you Daniel, in an earlier posting, this has been one unusual year. Much of the world is locked down due to a viral infection which has caused the deaths of those who have certain additional medical disorders and those who are elderly. This lockdown which has been cyclic since about March has separated families, ended jobs, closed restaurants, many permanently, and caused a financial collapse in a good deal of the world. People aren't allowed to go out without masks on their faces. Yes, we have to wear masks on our faces to bank too, although we usually just go through the drive through. Please know that we are doing all that is reasonable, and that all of us are well.</p><p> I am writing this note in lieu of the one in your Christmas stocking, although there is a little remembrance in the stocking for you. Please know that I miss you and Papa Lawrence very much. Thank you for watching us whenever you can, which I know you do, in tandem with God. Please know I remember my conversations with both of you as if they were yesterday. Sending love this Christmas which is wider than the oceans and deeper than Earth's seas, yes even the Mariana trench.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2543261107340081741.post-13450649614001871842020-11-27T17:50:00.002-05:002020-11-27T17:50:14.994-05:00Twelve Years Gone<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZE_50QG1RGkGxD_WZ4BADK-gKkPXnNIiGD4n0_lqEo1BfKXQCVDggoZImUjnzu5zfgZPDtS0-LJ4k1XbawEOFl675y6okrDjx0jI8UaPgEoX8608nrMn46g8TSKXqujWXpML3b7Tng8U/s800/fallfield.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="407" data-original-width="800" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZE_50QG1RGkGxD_WZ4BADK-gKkPXnNIiGD4n0_lqEo1BfKXQCVDggoZImUjnzu5zfgZPDtS0-LJ4k1XbawEOFl675y6okrDjx0jI8UaPgEoX8608nrMn46g8TSKXqujWXpML3b7Tng8U/w640-h326/fallfield.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> This year at this time, the Autumn has advanced farther than it had when you departed.<br /><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> Somehow Daniel, I always feel closer to you each year on the day you suddenly departed for Heaven. It's as if time is a rotating circle and that each time the circle completes an annual turn that somehow, I might see you again, if I could just jump from one square to another on the constantly rotating circle. It's silly, but when you lose a child, you think of many things, some of which are nonsensical, and you are aware they are. This year, my young son who departed for Heaven at age twelve and a half had been gone for twelve years. Somehow, I thought that the twelve year gone mark would bring some magical insight that it really hasn't.</p><p> Please know that being gone from Earth for twelve years has not erased or even blurred the years that you were here. I still remember the day you were born and the days that followed, with uncanny technicolor precision. I remember things you made and did all through your life and a very young child and as the quasi-adult you became before your departure. As you know, we had a pleasant Thanksgiving yesterday and your sister was laughing about something you had said. I am lucky that as many remembrances as I have of you, that we have an entire family with their own remembrances of you, and I love hearing them.</p><p> As I mentioned this year on your birthday, you would now be twenty-four years old. Your bedroom still has many of the items you held dear. This year though, I have begun to give some of those outgrown toys and collections you had to your nephew. He knows all about you, and sometimes borrows DVDs from your vast collection of films and television series. I will still keep and maintain things that were important to you, like your drawings, your computer programs, and other things you did while you were here.</p><p><span> </span> This year has been a difficult one for many people. As you likely know, a fair number of people worldwide died as a result of a hybrid virus which emerged from China. It killed many people there before spreading across the world and causing unprecedented closings of schools, colleges, businesses, restaurants, government buildings and disrupting the hours of many stores. Almost any gathering has been cancelled this year, including the Celtic Festival we used to enjoy together. I am relieved that you did not have the endure the challenges of this particular year, here on Earth, though I miss you more than you can know.</p><p> In addition, this year will be remembered as the year in which an organized effort for launched to subvert the presidential election. In some cities, they counted more mailed in ballots than there were total voters registered. Despite the fact that there are many lawsuits pending with regard to many different aspects of voter fraud, most of the media, both domestic and foreign, have been saying that there is "no evidence of fraud", which is absurd. They are no longer reporting, but are advancing an activist agenda which could destroy our republic. If we have reached a time in American history where our votes are meaningless, then I am fearful for our family and for your siblings. Other nations also have their own problems and so departing for them does not solve our problems, but simply creates new ones.</p><p> Other than my dad, your Papa Lawrence, I know that there are lots of people you know who now occupy some branch of the Kingdom of Heaven. Please take good care of the animals that one by one come to you there. I miss them, and you very much. Please send best wishes to my Dad. I am still not pleased that you had to depart from Earth but I am on at least some level, relieved that one of my children will escape some of the obvious and not so obvious trials to come within our country.</p><p> I will always love you, wider than the oceans, and deeper than the seas.<br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2543261107340081741.post-7022735069860641102020-09-26T23:17:00.003-04:002020-09-26T23:20:03.674-04:00Sometimes, a New Song Helps<p> Twenty-three years ago, singer songwriter Carolyn Arends wrote this song over the loss of her friend, Rich Mullins. Although she recorded it as a demo, she didn't do anything else with it during the intervening years.</p><p> This year, this song was finally released as a streaming single.</p><p><br /></p><p> Losing Daniel, twelve years ago, at age twelve and a half has made me an unwitting collector of songs that inspire as a result of grief. I think this one stands up well against the others.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> <br /></p><br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NHtSj8s95wg" width="560"></iframe>Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2543261107340081741.post-40984304795152273642020-09-09T12:18:00.002-04:002020-09-09T12:18:39.557-04:00 Meeting the Nemesis for the First Time<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKMmC53RPdeHYJF4zz1QDBX7mBs6RZYikxlDiFE4p6mRaizRsjub2I2Vj11yz04dSwJSIYLDupkjfgCbqtEUqucrULt0e5HC05kBj_Hit2-t6Rhcyu1J24teKmUNzDpidLEpjY7aQ0tyk/s306/CF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="306" data-original-width="236" height="479" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKMmC53RPdeHYJF4zz1QDBX7mBs6RZYikxlDiFE4p6mRaizRsjub2I2Vj11yz04dSwJSIYLDupkjfgCbqtEUqucrULt0e5HC05kBj_Hit2-t6Rhcyu1J24teKmUNzDpidLEpjY7aQ0tyk/w369-h479/CF.jpg" width="369" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> <br /></p><p> </p><p> Many of you know that the passing of Daniel, now twelve years ago, was not the end to the trials of our family. Some of you know that my grandson, who is now five, has cystic fibrosis.
He has never been sick, but was diagnosed near birth when our state did
that myriad of tests that many of us think might be unnecessary. As a
result of his early diagnosis, he has been treated at a state of the art
center with an eye to preventing the nutritional, gastrointestinal and
ultimately the respiratory complications which keep cystic fibrosis
classed as a terminal illness for most people afflicted. </p><p> Although our family takes very seriously this diagnosis, and does the breathing treatments, medications and everything his specialists tell us to do, our grandson lives as close to a normal life as is possible. Because he is well, I don't think he really accepts that he has any type of an illness. He is also blessed with lots of energy and enjoys outdoor play. Because physicians and specialists don't want children who may share similar problems and to share organisms that one cystic fibrosis sufferer may have and another one might not, they are discouraged from visiting or playing with one another. Most physicians say they should not be closer than six feet. We have been amused at times by people's reactions to COVID-19 restrictions because our grandson lives with such restrictions, all the time, and therefore so do we.</p><p> </p><p> This week was the first time that our grandson accidentally met another child, of about the same age, also with cystic fibrosis. Unlike our grandson, this child was already limited by the disease, short of breath and on oxygen. It was the first time our grandson saw what this disease could become, what it might look like, and what the future could potentially hold. I wanted to cry as I witnessed the compassion our grandson had for the other little boy. He genuinely had empathy as he conveyed to the boy that he too had this illness.</p><p><br /></p><p> To this point our grandson had known cystic fibrosis as an annoyance, an expense, and a worry for his cystic fibrosis specialist physician and for his parents. He knew it as an abstract, and perhaps he thought of it as a fantasy his doctor had. It broke my heart for him to see it for the very first time as a reality, as an issue that could alter the course of his life, or even end it. It hurt to see him processing later that day, what this disease could mean. "Nana, will I have to go on oxygen ?" he asked me later. I took a deep breath. " We are lucky that your cystic fibrosis was diagnosed when you were a baby, and this gave the doctors the chance to start many medications and to see you every three months. It is their plan to try to stop the disease from activating in your lungs. So far, you have only had symptoms and signs of the disease in your gastrointestinal or tummy region". I told him. He asked a few other questions and eventually I had to tell him the truth, which is that whether the disease will activate in his lungs is in the hands of God, and that we will do everything possible to try to prevent this." When we finished our discussion he understood and seemed to accept that the matter, and all matters, sit in the hands of God. This of course is true for all of us, and was also true for Daniel. Prayers for our grandson's continued relative health are appreciated.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Alexandra of Virginiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17383184282535835905noreply@blogger.com0