I am determined to post every day.  I may not follow the daily prompts from HAWMC but I am picking from the Early Bird Bonus prompts.  Today's prompt is MADLIB.  Apparently I am to go to http://www.languageisavirus.com/cgi-bin/madlibs.pl and enter nouns, verbs, adjectives etc and generate a random poem.  I tried.  It was ridiculous.  I must be doing something wrong 'cause it just made NO SENSE.  So instead I have decided to write about my Daily Schedule.  Not exciting, but at least it'll make sense!!

6:20am      alarm clock goes off - hit snooze button
6:25am      alarm clock goes off again  -  hit snooze button
6:30am      alarm clock goes off once more  -  hit off button and get up to check BG, bolus if      
                  necessary,  hit the shower
7:00am      enter kitchen, and make coffee   I LOVE MY TASSIMO COFFEE MAKER SOO MUCH
7:02am      turn on laptop,  start reading blogs,  decide on the days topic,  check bank balance, pay
                  bills,  you get the idea
7:40am      kidlets arrive!!  work begins (i call it work but seriously some days its just plain fun!)
8:00am      turn on TV and watch Caillou (one of my granddaughters favourite shows) 
8:30am      make breakfast for everyone.  one thing, and one thing only - not different things for
                  different people.  everyone has pancakes, or scrambled eggs, or toast or cereal.  none
                  of this i want toast, no i want cereal - we all eat the same thing.
9:00am      walk Cam to school (tues and thurs) OR let kids watch tv or play on computer while i
                  clean up breakfast mess.


okay so this is getting really tedious!!!  and i'm only at 9am!  i fogot to mention the time brushing teeth and washing faces and hands after eating, or the getting on of coats and shoes!  maybe i should re-visit the poem idea.  hang on, i'll be back in a minute

okay i'm back!   so i went searching for a poem generator that made sense.  i found this site, and i came up with this...

DIABETES ~ an acrostic poem
      by Kim

DOESN'T EVER LET UP

IS NOT INVITED

ABSOLUTELY SUCKS!

BUT IT WON'T WIN

EVER

THERE WILL BE A CURE

EVENTUALLY

SOMEDAY 

In a Perfect World.......

Once again, i have decided to change things up a wee bit.  i am not following the HAWMC's day 20 prompt.  i have chosen another Early Bird Bonus Prompt. 

"In a perfect world.... write about one thing you wish you could change.  it can be your own life or the world at large."

WARNING....MAY CONTAIN PICTURES THAT WILL HURT YOUR HEART!

On April 1, 2006,  at 6:32pm, my grandson was born.  His birth was extra special for me because my daughter had invited me to be present at his birth.  If you knew her husband, you would understand why.  He cannot stand the sight of blood.  In fact, he has been know to pass out when he sees it. 

We were very happy that after a very long labour, this wonderful little boy had finally arrived!  Both sets of Grandparents were allowed into the room to meet the little man.  He was being welcomed into the world while the nurses fussed about.  Nobody seemed to notice that the baby wasn't really crying or that he was a little blue.  We were just happy that he was here. 

Suddenly a very large, brusque man entered the room.  He abruptly took the baby from his other  Grandmothers arms and laid him on the warming bed.  He examined him from head to toe, listened to his chest, and then quickly brought him over to my daughter and her husband and said "You better kiss him, he has a long road ahead".  He handed the baby over to her, and left with one of the nurses.  The other nurse quickly asked us all to leave the room.  My daughter asked if I could stay with her and the nurse said yes.  At this point we didn't have a clue what was going on. 

Then all hell broke loose.  The nurses were rushing in, the Doctor right behind them.  They took the baby away and started hooking him up to all sorts of equipment.  He was put in an incubator, and the Doctor explained that he was born with a congenital heart defect. It was called Tetrology of Fallot with Missing Pulmonary Valve. He would be on a helicopter within the hour and flown to Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto. 

at birth

Well the panic sets in.  The shock.  We have never heard of this condition. What  can be done?  Will he be okay?  OMG!!  My poor daughter was just a basket case.  Her and her husband were clinging to each other.  What to do? 

It was decided that my husband, and my son-in-law would drive to Toronto, and meet the helicopter there.  My daughter was being moved to a room, and would have to wait to be discharged later that day. 

And so it began. 

Later that day, after my daughter was discharged, we drove to Toronto.  It was a hellish drive. 
When we arrived we were taken upstairs, where that little boy was hooked up to everything imaginable!  He looked to fragile under the bright lights in the NICU.  No one was allowed in to see him without first gowning up and masks.  He was very agitated, so touching was to a minimum.  Oh what a sight.  Arrangements were made for them to stay in Toronto, as long as was needed. 

at Sick Kids (they rock there!)

After 2 weeks, it was decided that he could come home.  He would have to have surgery to correct the numerous defects in his tiny heart, but that would happen down the road.  Probably when he was about 9 months to a year.   He would be slow to do some things. If he had any episodes of turning blue they would have to rush him to Emergency right away.  He would be followed closely by the Pediatrician that saw him the night he was born. He would need medications for his heart and liver, but he was coming home!   We were ecstatic!!!

his 1st day home!

When he was 11 months old, my grandson underwent open heart surgery to correct the defects in his heart.   It was scary, and none of us knew what to expect.  The hours dragged.  Finally the Surgeon came to tell us it was over.  He was going to be fine.  He was a little trooper!!

poor little guy =(

He will have to have more surgery as he grows, because the valve they created from another part of his heart, does not grow.  Right now they are looking at about age 9.  He does everything every other kid does.  He runs,  he plays lacrosse, and baseball.  He skates and swims.  He is my little hero!!

skating in the backyard this winter

In a perfect world, no one would have to go through this.  No child would be born with problems of any kind.  Parents would never have to see their child suffer.  Cameron is lucky.  His problems can be fixed.  There are many children out there in the world who will never know that. 

We count our blessings every day.  And we pray. 

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (and it's not Sidney Portier or Katherine Hepburn!)

Today's HAWMC Day #19: 5 Dinner Guests. Who are 5 people you’d love to have dinner with (living or deceased) and why?

Oh boy.  When I read today's prompt, i immediately started thinking Dinner Party!!!  I LOVE DINNER PARTIES!

Once a month, for the last 5 years or so, a group of friends have gotten together at each other's homes for a dinner party.  The theme for the evening was based on a different culture.  The hostess supplies the main course, and the guests bring the h'ordeuvres, side dishes, dessert, and wine.  All dishes were homemade (nothing frozen or boxed with the exception of the wine perhaps!).  We have had meals from many different cultures.  Indian, Greek, Italian, Chinese, Moroccan, Lebanese, Portuguese, and Thai to name a few. 

The guests remained the same, with few exceptions. 

This dinner party would have to be different.  The food would not be the highlight, so much as the guests.  Who to invite??  5 people.  Either living or dead.  Living and dead.  Hmmmm,  this is harder than I thought. 

First on the list would be my Gramma.  She passed away in 1986.  I miss her alot.  She was a big part of my life.  I think it would be awesome to sit with her and just catch up.  She worried about my Diabetes and I would like to show her how far I've come!

Second would be my father.  He passed away when I was 2.  I don't remember him really.   I hear stories sometimes from my mom, but I would like to meet him.  To see what it was that attracted her to him.  To find out what we share in common besides brown eyes and brown hair.

Third person would be Dr. Frederick Banting.  I would love to meet the man that invented the elixir that saves so many lives every day!  To be able to show him how far things have come since that first young boy,  Leonard Thompson, was given insulin that saved his life! It would an honour to meet such an incredibly gifted and generous man. (oh and there would be cupcakes for dessert for sure!)

The fourth person would be Dr. Rene Favaloro. Dr. Favaloro, the son of a carpenter and a seamstress in a working-class town, had gone to the United States from Argentina in 1960 to undertake postgraduate work in thoracic surgery at the Cleveland Clinic. There, in 1967, he performed the first heart bypass operation, on a 51-year-old woman. It is said that he gave up a $2million salary at the Cleveland Clinic, to return to Argentina, where he worked to improve the training of heart specialists. He opened his own clinic where he treated the poor for free.

Last but not least,   I would invite Sir Paul McCartney.  My husband is a huge fan, and I think it would be awesome to see these two interact.  I'm sure hubby would just about die if I told him his music hero was coming to our house for dinner!! 

Well there it is, my list of dinner guests.  Now if you'll excuse me,  I have a menu to prepare!!!