wonderland
05-31-2008, 10:48 AM
Memorial Day, 2006 is when my basliar tip aneurysm decided to rupture. I didn’t feel a thing. Course, I don’t remember anything at all until around July 2nd - so what do I know??? But my husband who witnessed the whole thing said I made an odd sound and then my eyes rolled to the back of my head and I was gone.
I have loved reading other people’s posts on their annie-versarys. I have enjoyed the humor and wisdom they have obtained as a result of this adventure. But as Memorial Day grew near I found myself becoming pensive and sad. I was also a little nervous because some of what I did last year on Memorial Day weekend was happening again this weekend.
Last year, on the Saturday and Sunday of Memorial weekend we watched 2 of our grandchildren overnight. We did that again this year. It was actually the first time they had spent the night since last year and I tried very hard for it to be any other weekend but Memorial Day - but it only could work out on Memorial Day weekend.
Last year my granddaughter and I baked cookies. No big deal except I always make several batches and I did that last year - so the cookies fed my family and friends as they sat at the hospital and I got a lot of ribbing about how I even baked cookies for my own near death experience! And here we were again and my now 7 year old granddaughter wants to bake cooking again! So I did...but we only made one single batch! Maybe that way nothing else would repeat itself this weekend!!
I live very rurally and I was really lucky when my aneurysm burst because my community has an Art and Wine Festival on Memorial Day weekend and an ambulance is assigned to our small town during the festival. So I decided to write “thank you letters” to the ambulance and the festival, along with “thank you cards”.
My birthday was a few weeks before and my office staff had all contributed money in a birthday card for me - kind of a “glad you are still alive...go buy something nice” thing, since we don’t give money at the office usually. So my husband, grandkids and I went to the Festival. I spent my money there, as a way of saying thank you. We found the ambulance and gave them the card and letter. We also found the festival manager and gave her a card and letter too.
On Memorial Day proper, grand kids having gone home, my husband and I went to the local fruit stand and bought to large flats of strawberries. We also got 2 things of gourmet chocolate sauce. I had written 2 more letters of thanks, with card and we had some deliveries to make.
First we went to my local hospital emergency room. We stood in there, with the strawberry flat, and the nurse came up to us asking “Can I help you?”. We told her our story and she became very animated. She said “I remember you” to me and took us back to the nurse’s station in the emergency room - strawberries and all. She told all of the nurses in the area and they gathered round to tell me what they remembered. I now know what area of the emergency room I was in and who held my head while they drilled my burr hole! Yippee!
We then went to Stanford Hospital’s ICU department where I spent almost a month. There are signs everywhere that you can’t even go in there but my neuro doc had said for us to just go right in...so we and our strawberries did just that. We walked up to the nurse’s station and again got the “can I help you?” routine.
We then repeated our story and again the eyes of the nurses lit up! They also remembered both of us and more gathered around as we talked. They seemed so happy to see me and seemed genuinely pleased to be brought up to date on my progress. They said it was really rare that people come back and say thanks. It was really great to see them and to thank them.
After all that goodness, we drove to the coast. We had booked a room on the ocean for one night. We walked, we talked, we ate and we slept. We listened to the ocean waves all night. It was very quiet and serene. I could not have asked for a better day.
So the sadness as vanished, replaced by gratitude. I am one of the lucky ones and I appreciate it. I don't think I have gotten much wisdom yet, but at least I know how to send the sadness away, if I want to, next time.
Pamela
I have loved reading other people’s posts on their annie-versarys. I have enjoyed the humor and wisdom they have obtained as a result of this adventure. But as Memorial Day grew near I found myself becoming pensive and sad. I was also a little nervous because some of what I did last year on Memorial Day weekend was happening again this weekend.
Last year, on the Saturday and Sunday of Memorial weekend we watched 2 of our grandchildren overnight. We did that again this year. It was actually the first time they had spent the night since last year and I tried very hard for it to be any other weekend but Memorial Day - but it only could work out on Memorial Day weekend.
Last year my granddaughter and I baked cookies. No big deal except I always make several batches and I did that last year - so the cookies fed my family and friends as they sat at the hospital and I got a lot of ribbing about how I even baked cookies for my own near death experience! And here we were again and my now 7 year old granddaughter wants to bake cooking again! So I did...but we only made one single batch! Maybe that way nothing else would repeat itself this weekend!!
I live very rurally and I was really lucky when my aneurysm burst because my community has an Art and Wine Festival on Memorial Day weekend and an ambulance is assigned to our small town during the festival. So I decided to write “thank you letters” to the ambulance and the festival, along with “thank you cards”.
My birthday was a few weeks before and my office staff had all contributed money in a birthday card for me - kind of a “glad you are still alive...go buy something nice” thing, since we don’t give money at the office usually. So my husband, grandkids and I went to the Festival. I spent my money there, as a way of saying thank you. We found the ambulance and gave them the card and letter. We also found the festival manager and gave her a card and letter too.
On Memorial Day proper, grand kids having gone home, my husband and I went to the local fruit stand and bought to large flats of strawberries. We also got 2 things of gourmet chocolate sauce. I had written 2 more letters of thanks, with card and we had some deliveries to make.
First we went to my local hospital emergency room. We stood in there, with the strawberry flat, and the nurse came up to us asking “Can I help you?”. We told her our story and she became very animated. She said “I remember you” to me and took us back to the nurse’s station in the emergency room - strawberries and all. She told all of the nurses in the area and they gathered round to tell me what they remembered. I now know what area of the emergency room I was in and who held my head while they drilled my burr hole! Yippee!
We then went to Stanford Hospital’s ICU department where I spent almost a month. There are signs everywhere that you can’t even go in there but my neuro doc had said for us to just go right in...so we and our strawberries did just that. We walked up to the nurse’s station and again got the “can I help you?” routine.
We then repeated our story and again the eyes of the nurses lit up! They also remembered both of us and more gathered around as we talked. They seemed so happy to see me and seemed genuinely pleased to be brought up to date on my progress. They said it was really rare that people come back and say thanks. It was really great to see them and to thank them.
After all that goodness, we drove to the coast. We had booked a room on the ocean for one night. We walked, we talked, we ate and we slept. We listened to the ocean waves all night. It was very quiet and serene. I could not have asked for a better day.
So the sadness as vanished, replaced by gratitude. I am one of the lucky ones and I appreciate it. I don't think I have gotten much wisdom yet, but at least I know how to send the sadness away, if I want to, next time.
Pamela