Ambassador...I love it.

My friend Camille told me yesterday I was a good Ambassador for Lap Band. I take that as a total complement!

I tell anyone who will listen about the positive benefits of being banded and encourage them to look into it. She is actually in the insurance phase, but will be banded in March. I am soo super excited for her!

I have lots of books on Lap Band and have loaned them to several people. I try to post regularly on my blog. I am even printing up some information that is applicable to my local co-workers about our insurance and local providers!

I love my band. I wouldn't give her up without a court order and a pretty significant struggle.

Peace,
T

A Beautiful Thing.

On Christmas Eve I drove to Portland to apply for P's passport. We are going on a cruise in February and I had dragged my feet applying for his passport.

I knew I would have to relinquish his Original Birth Certificate and his Original Certificate of Citizenship. I had mentally prepared myself to part with those documents even though the birth certificate was irreplacable.

The gal at the post office assured me that the Certificate of Citizenship was not necessary but the Original Adoption order would have to go. Wow...those are the two documents that I was not prepared to send off to the US Postal Service. If they were lost I would NEVER be able to replace them.

Reluctantly, I laid them on the counter. Philip and I prayed over them and we gave them over.

Last week I received a letter from the USCIS stating that they needed more documentation in order to process P's passport! Uggh. I overnighted his Original Certificate of Citizenship and his original Ghanaian passport showing the US entry visa.

Talk about a nervous wreck. Every piece of paper that proves this child is mine is now in the hands of the USCIS.

I'm happy to report that we received Philip's US passport in the mail today! The best part? All 4 priceless documents were in the envelope as well. Yay!

Happy Mom.

A look back.

Last week I had to renew my Health Care Provider CPR. It's not a big deal, i do it every 2 years without any problems.

This time it was a tiny class. Only 6 of us so we all had our own mannequins. During the infant CPR part of the class I had such a sad recollection of one night in Ghana.

I had to fight to keep paying attention to the instructor cause I really wanted to step out of the classroom and spend a few minutes in silent prayer.

I already wrote about it, but I'd like to re-post it here.

Korlebu Teaching Hospital

While in Ghana this time around I was able to visit several hospitals and clinics. I got such a feel for the medical services, how people are treated for various illnesses and how much they can do with so little. They actually do treat, serve and care for the community of ill and needy people in Accra. It may be to different standards than we are used to, but it is kind and humane treatment of the sick. People die. In fact, nearly every time I visited a hospital I witnessed a person die while awaiting treatment.

On one particular night, we were in the pediatric ward. One of the kiddos in my care had been feeling bad through out the day and eventually required a trip to the hospital. We arrived at the hospital around 10pm. We were the only people checking in at that time. Once they got my kiddo weighed and triaged, a man came in carrying a bundle. The nurse instructed him to unwrap the baby so it could be weighed and seen. As the dad unwrapped her, the nurse that was with me (K) tapped me on the shoulder and said "look at that baby, she doesn't look well."

The rest is in slow motion in my brain, but burned there all the same. I remember grabbing the tiny baby and putting her on the baby scale. She was naked except for the red string of beads around her waist and wrist. I pinched her and thumped her feet as I was leaning over her listening for breathing. This baby was not breathing and not responding to any of my stimulation. Without even thinking I tilted her head back and began to give her mouth to mouth. I began chest compressions and kept it going for what seemed like 10 minutes. The Ghanaian nurse stood and watched. I'm sure she knows the outcome all too well. I had the nurse that was with me (K) feel for pulses while I continued CPR. I remember her telling me to stop, it was no use. My brain kept telling me that the baby was warm, keep going. The dad was standing immediately to my right. I could see him, staring, in a trance as this horrible scene unfolded.

When I finally stopped, I looked at him. He said to me "It is no?" "I'm sorry" was all I could come up with. He walked away, his face expressionless. No sign of sadness, anger or confusion. He was blank. I picked up the tiny baby girl and wrapped her back in the blanked she had come in. The nurse instructed me to "put it down over there" and pointed to a stretcher behind a folding screen. In retrospect, I wonder if that was the sole purpose of that particular stretcher. I laid her down on that stretcher and prayed over her lifeless body. I still see her little body and her little face.

I ducked behind another screen and had a little crying spell. I don't know who I was crying for. It just seemed so sad and unnecessary for that 5 day old infant to die. A man saw me and explained to me that I shouldn't cry. This is natures way. I suppose it's the coping mechanism of choice to keep you from going insane in a country where lots of people die. I can't blame him for that. I felt guilty about my sadness. It made me feel pompous. Like where I come from babies don't die, and that we are able to save everyone. I don't know...it is still very surreal and my feelings about it are still fresh.

Then I had a moment of clarity about the very real possibility of contracting some disease thanks to my CPR. I cleaned out my mouth with my antibacterial wipes. I wiped my teeth, lips and gums. I cleaned my hands, face, neck and arms. Finally a doctor came and I explained to him what had happened with the baby. He checked her pupils, removed his gloves, washed his hands and went on with his evening seeing the child I had brought.

30 minutes in time that will stay with me forever.
Posted by Tanya at 6/26/2008 09:57:00 PM

As the disaster in Haiti goes on, take some time to include the less fortunate in your thoughts and prayers. If you are moved to help, text haiti to 90999. Ten bucks will go to support relief efforts and will just show up on your cellphone bill. Try it, you'll love the way it feels to help.

Please and Thank You....Peace and Grace!
Tanya

Catching Up...

Last week was a total blur. It was Livestock Show week. Move In, Weigh, Sift, Groom, Drench, Bathe, Show....all the fun goat stuff.

I was watching TV on Tuesday before we took the goats to the showbarn. I caught an episode of a show called "Little Miss Perfect". Now if you're not up on reality TV, this show is the real version of the movie "Little Miss Sunshine". It's a real look at this Florida pageant.



I was so entertained by this madness. These moms border on "straight-up" CRAZY! They have fake teeth for their daughters who may have loose or missing teeth. They spray tan their 6 year olds. They have wigs and hair pieces and enough make-up to touch up the Sistine Chapel ceiling. They drive their girls from dance class to modeling agencies to photography studios.

These poor girls have crazy moms. No other way to describe it. But it's entertaining. So I set my DVR to record a few more episodes cause it's so stinkin funny to watch how crazy these moms are......

and
then
I

started yelling at my boys to hurry up and get dressed cause we had to get the goats checked in by 5. Then we had to go pick up some Ensure and Pedialyte to drench the goats with before the judging. Then we had to get to Cavenders to exchange the belt we bought for Philip cause it was too small and I had to get their show clothes to the dry cleaners so they would be crisp and starched.

Then we had to get a haircut for Creyton and get Philip's New Dred packed so he could twist his hair just before show time. And "do you both have white undershirts?" I hate a man in a dress shirt with no undershirt.

The goats will need their hooves polished and Creyton "has that little spot on your goats head healed?" "Should we take a brown sharpie and color it in?" "Ya'll don't forget to look at the judge and keep your goat in your right hand." "Philip are you listening?"

Yes, my 3 readers, I caught the irony in this. My psychoses did not go un-noticed by me. I still won't admit to being a Psycho Goat Show Mom. Psycho Sports Mom, maybe. I think they look awesome, don't you?

40!

Today I hit 40 pounds lost. A pretty big milestone considering I have been on a month long plateau. I guess a plateau during the holidays beats weight gain.

I HAVE to interrupt this post to tell you about the commercial I just saw.

Taco Bell Drive Thru Diet. Are you serious? That is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. 7 menu items under 9 grams of fat.



This is a picture from the ad that is running on TV.
She lost 54 pounds! She replaced her "regular fast food" with these "taco bell diet" items. Wow. Taco Bell should stick to beans and tortillas and leave weight loss to real experts.

Back to my personal celebration...

40 Pounds! I can't believe it. The best part of this whole thing is being able to laugh at those ridiculous taco bell diet commercials! Pre Band I might have seriously considered eating only al fresco taco bell items.

The First of 2010!

Wow! Hi Ya'll! It's been a long time.

Sorry so long since a post. The holidays had me super busy, work had me super stressed and family and friends had me super happy to be alive.

2010. The holidays are past. Work is well...work.

I didn't make any official resolutions this year. I did, however, have a pretty big epiphany about things and the perspective you allow. Work is just work. Food is just food. Things are just things. All that really matters at the end of it all is relationships.

That being said, I am going to enjoy people more and get mad less. ;)

So many times in the past few weeks I have thought "I need to blog about that". Sorry, those thoughts are long gone and they may never return. I will try not to ignore this blog anymore. I do have lots of good stories and I LOVE to write, so you would think it would be a no brainer. I'm just lazy...Ugh.

So there you go. A past, a prediction and a promise.

Peace Out!
~T