Well...Look What The Cat Dragged In

Yes, that's me giving blood.

No, it didn't take three months despite my lack of blogging or emailing a single word in that time.

I'm not a fan of excuses, but I owe some folks an explanation all the same.

First, I apologize to those of you, my friends who deserve better, who started calling and worrying...especially "Cisco," who somehow arranged a welfare check by the fire dept. all the way from South America which resulted in nothing more than a terse, "she's fine" for his trouble. (No way he could have known it, but my own department took the call and out of loyalty to me, they weren't giving out much information.)

So, where the hell have I been?

Where the hell do I start?

Ever heard that wives tale about bad things coming in threes? Well, consider me a believer. I had two neck surgeries and an abdominal surgery between March and May. The laminectomies (cervical disk removals) started out fine, but in between the first and the second, my Dad began to have some serious health problems. To put it bluntly, in the space of a week, he had no idea who I was and was rather violent about this strange female trying to convince him that he had a daughter for the past 36 (OK...almost 37) years. During one of those encounters, a second disk ruptured in my neck and I woke up in the neurosurgical ICU hours later. As time passed, Dad had some lucid moments, but no recollection of his memory loss at all. Because of this, getting him medical care became a battle of wills. His own physician dropped the ball and without any Neuro evaluations, physical or mental, declared it "expected" after a certain age. Eventually I was able to change his doctors and while all physiological causes have been ruled out, he has been diagnosed with acute, non-specific dementia. This is not the same as Alzheimer's, although the treatments are identical and though he is improving, we still have a ways to go before he has all the correct medications and therapies to ensure that he's as alert and aware as possible. While still on bed rest from the second surgery, I became aware of an abdominal mass and an exploratory laparoscpy revealed that it was pre-cancerous and any of you gals reading this know how they like to deal with that. (Guys...ask a girl, I'm not up to naming all the parts I'm missing at the moment.)

For the record, I've already had my pity party, shameful as that is to admit, and now I have every intention of returning to my life, taking care of my Father and eventually, hopefully, I might even get to fight a fire again someday.

I can't tell you how much I have missed reading so many of the blogs that were daily staples in my life for so long. I'm still catching up and I see a LOT has changed in the military world while I was away from my computer. But one thing that hasn't is my deep appreciation for our service members and those who support them.

They can't cut that out of me in any surgery.

So, for what it's worth...

I'm back.