Saturday, September 25, 2010

Life Song; My Nephew, the Bonecarver.

My nephew is a professional artist. He slices and carves deer antlers, the 'new ivory,' sometimes so miniscule that he carves under a microscope.
His work has been published in art books and is periodically displayed in New York museums. We are so proud of him.
Enjoy.



About the last half of this video; that is my family's property in beautiful upstate NY, about 250 acres of totally undeveloped land. Okay, this is the thing..as you watch this I would like you to think about what I am about to tell you and realize the significance of the song and the second half of the video. Here goes:

Monday morning at about 5:30am, I received a phone call from my nearly incoherent brother in law. I have two sisters. Our parents are gone. And we three are incredibly close, because for a while, we were all we had. My brother-in-law called to tell me that my sister Jeanne, mom of this talented artist, was rushed to the hospital a few hours before, with a 108 degree temp. She was in a coma, the doctors recommended last rites and told us her chances for survival were negligible.

Tuesday, we were told we had a choice to turn off all machines and let her go peacefully. Her brain was inflamed and infected and they didn't know why. Or we could transfer her to a top notch hospital as a 'last ditch' effort to save her life. Her husband and children opted for the latter choice.

Wednesday evening, her fever broke. Thursday, she opened her eyes. Yesterday, Friday, my phone rang. It was Jeanne calling from icu on her cell phone, which my bro in law had dialed for her. If there was brain damage, it seemed to have effected only her speech. In a weak, shaky, tearful voice, she slowly told me she almost died. I told her how much I love her. This has been a week of true hell and true heaven.

She is not out of the woods, but it appears she will make it. She will remain in icu for at least another week, and then go to rehab.

Life Song. Indeed. I am singing it well.

11 comments:

  1. This was cool.. I watched about half of it. because i have a hungry brood here.. need to go make some breakfast.. hope you mishap gets better.. let us know when its ok to talk about it.. or you are welcome to e-mail me. N..

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  2. Tweetey, I added more to the post. And thank you for your concern.

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  3. Oh my goodness Beej.I hope its not real bad damage that she has to deal with.. I have tears in my eyes reading this..Your nephew is a great handy man with his hands.. Beautiful work he does. I am impressed with anyone that can do that stuff. i cant draw a stig figure but I can make an afghan!! Go figure.. lol.. Ok Ok again hope your sis feels better soon and heals ok..

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  4. Thanks Tweetey. We are waiting for test results because we will be nervous until we know what caused this. It could take months (the nurse told me) before we have all the results back.
    What absolute hell this has been. My sisters and I have such a close bond.

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  5. What a nightmare. I'm going to phone my sister ina few minutes. I would be a total wreack. What a wonderful outcome and I am so relieved for you!!!!


    xxxoooo

    Love the video of your nephews art you should be proud. Good stuff!

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  6. Candy I will feel 1000% better when they know what caused it. It seemed to have come out of nowhere! She told me Saturday that she was a little confused but that she had taken a nap and had just awakened so I thought it was simply that she wasn't fully awake. By Sunday night, she had a 108 temp and lost consciousness.

    A wreck for sure, a doubled over, can't breathe wreck. Yup.

    Yes, call your sister. I can't phone mine because icu doesnt have phones (my bro in law sneaked her call to me from his cell.) but when I'm able, i'm going to call her as often as I can.

    xoxo

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  7. Beej, Hugs and all from far away. That must have been a traumatic time for everyone. Now begins the recovery road. Good wishes to your sister and family. Lets hope they can identify the cause and ensure it is addressed. X

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  8. Thanks, Sheila. Right now, the big thing in my mind is that they find for sure what the cause was. They have an idea, and they are 80% sure, but that 20% uncertainty is what bothers me.

    You all do not know how much your caring means to me.

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  9. Hi Beej, just checking in on you...I'm worried about you as it's been quiet around here for a while and no sign of you. Sending more positive thoughts your way....

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  10. Aww Candy thanks. No need to worry, hon. I'm just regrouping. This threw me for a loop.

    Jeanne is doing really well! She's in rehab now and I phone her every night. She sounds great.

    Man, this really did traumatize me. But we will all be fine.

    I really have such loving online friends. You huys are the best and I love you all.

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  11. I was just going to ask how she was doing but someone beat me to it. I am glad to hear she is in rehab and no one has given up on her and I hope they find out what caused this.. We got a late night phone call last night to say hubby's mother was in the hospital. she has low blood pressure and something else.. kidney problems. they are goign to keep her for a few days. Its sad. I dont want to lose her yet. I have come to be best friends with her..

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Go ahead, you can do it! Just whistle if you want me. You know how to whistle, don't you? You just put your lips together and BLOW....

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