it was a day

Today- glad to put today bed.
Day started at 5 am with alarm clocks. I had a brief (about 5 min) and pleasant chitchat on skype with my sis and bro-in-law and their guests- one of whom is an old and good friend of mine (ok- she's younger than me but an old friend- you got that, right?) ;-) (ahem- and this is where I learn the sad news of the outcome of the Super Bowl... sniff sniff... Go ahead and enjoy that Shaun... I know you are...)

Shortly after 6, Sharon and I head out the door and down the stairs- very slowly and carefully. She's on crutches with a spike sticking out the top of one toe- she had surgery 2 weeks ago and one would not at all want to bump that toe... today was the day for removing the stitches. One of our friends, T, has been very sick- gall bladder problems- and doctors here couldn't really find anything wrong... well, clear that something's wrong but they can't fix it, can't see gall stones on ultrasound (let's talk about the quality of the machine, the resolution... or maybe not- too depressing). Since we have to go to Odessa to S' dr and since S can't go on public transportation, our friend hitched a ride- she had an appt up there with a GI doc.

The roads are terrible. Awful. Icy in spots. Drifted in spots. Drifting in spots. We have a good driver, though. He's very careful. We make it in 4 1/2 hours.

S sees her dr, has her stitches removed, foot re-dressed, re-assessed... all's good, Doctor's pleased.

T gets in to her dr. And then bloodwork, an ultrasound, an Upper GI scope (with Narcoz, thanks- that would be anesthesia- this is a wonderful thing, believe me), more tests. She comes back to the waiting room from time to time to let us know what's going on. Eventually, here she is- flushed, looking somewhat shocked- I have to have surgery right now. Dr comes and says the trip back could be enough to make the thing burst- it's in very bad shape. They're prepping her for surgery. Everyone jolts into a higher gear- phone calls and arrangements to be made, arranging to be off work... in she goes. We're all relieved... but in shock, none-the-less.

Head south. Roads are worse. Heavy snow part of the way. Lots of blowing and drifting all of the way. Some ice. (Not to mention that that road is in terrible condition pothole-wise to start with.) Glad for a cautious and experienced driver. Lots of phone calls and sms'es along the way. Everyone wants to know How's T? Trip takes a lot longer than going up. I get many small naps. :)

Home. Finally.
Supper. T's hubby comes over to collect some things of hers.

Call from K- M&Y just wrote- Y's sis died, fun'l on Wed. (I'll go, that's understood.) M&Y are both deaf (they're the parents, in fact, of that darling baby a few posts back). Get in touch with them via a local webcam program- to have a real 'face-to-face'. The sis- sad story. Found on the street, 3 am- likely was drunk; likely fell/passed out; likely froze to death. 34 years old.

Another call- someone else and hubby have to go Odessa soon. Can't take 2 youngest kids. Had a baby-sitter plan. It fell through. Could Anita do that? Spend the night? (Answer- Probably... maybe... who knows? She'd like to but there are a lot of if's here yet.)

lots of phone calls, sms'es, web cam chats, arrangements. News that T's surgery was difficult but all's well now. More phone calls and etc...
I'm going to bed...

And no one's set an alarm for tomorrow... we may have one somewhat quiet morning...