We are walking around in a convention center. Several vendors are handing out free helium balloons and the little kid we have in tow has his fair share. To ensure the safety of his prized balloons, we start tying them to our cart. Suddenly a finger slips and the precious balloons float 30 feet to the ceiling.
This has happened many times over the years. Usually the kid panics and has an emotional meltdown on the spot. The sense of loss affects even the adults. The kid is inconsolable.
This time was different. Ethan (the kid) watched it go up, then he grinned and said; "we can get them."
Why the change?
Where did this new sense of empowerment come from?
He wasn't just given these balloons. He earned them by spending the previous few hours plucking strays off the ceiling. He acquired a balloon with 30 feet of string, then attached some duct tape sticky side out. He learned patience and motor skills as he fished for the balloons 30 feet above him. The whole operation also taught problem solving and people interface skills.
Now he knows he can act to make a situation better.
That brings a sense of confidence and calmness.
That is personal power.
It is also great entrepreneur training.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
Catch-up
I'm not waiting any longer for the perfect inspiration to write a blog. Between medical dramas on all sides, excess meetings and an enhanced role as grampa, time has been slipping right past the log-in screen. So, I'm sitting here with a stuffy nose, a minor fever and a minor tooth ache, ready to write with or without inspiration.
It is fun watching Rochester learning to write blogs and handle money.
You have to marvel at today's temperature. If I read the history right, it didn't just set a record; it blew past the old record by 20 degrees F. I have seen entire junes that never got this warm. This comes on top of the warmest winter in the whole world by a huge margin. (note: further research tells me that wunderground is not the best place to do weather research. the real margin is more like 3 degrees)
Maybe by the time Al Gore gets drafted as president, we will see that global warming is moving faster than we thought.
It is fun watching Rochester learning to write blogs and handle money.
You have to marvel at today's temperature. If I read the history right, it didn't just set a record; it blew past the old record by 20 degrees F. I have seen entire junes that never got this warm. This comes on top of the warmest winter in the whole world by a huge margin. (note: further research tells me that wunderground is not the best place to do weather research. the real margin is more like 3 degrees)
Maybe by the time Al Gore gets drafted as president, we will see that global warming is moving faster than we thought.
Friday, March 16, 2007
DreamSpeak
Early morning; I start becoming lucid enough to realize that the series of challenges and frustrations that have been dogging me are actually dreams. I can relax a bit and not take them as seriously.
Then I notice a pattern...
Each of the dreams was about a building. Each building had maintenance problems. Each was a hassle and potentially dangerous. Then I realized that when you dream about a building, it usually represents your body. It makes sense because I have been surrounded by medical issues lately.
The first dream, the problem was some food we had left lying around in a remote part of the house for untold years. Now it is a mess. It is a potential health hazard and is real difficult to clean up.
It represents Me (and Lynn). We spent much of last week getting in depth physical exams. Both of us need to eat better food and exercise more.
The buildings in successive dreams had successively more severe problems. The last one had severe, actively worsening cracks in the foundation. Pipes and wires were breaking and oozing all over the place.
I think they represent Ian, who needs surgery on his spine before things get worse; and they represent Eric, Amy's friend who has a football size cancer tumor eating up his colon. I had been doing research all evening to find options for both of them.
Then I notice a pattern...
Each of the dreams was about a building. Each building had maintenance problems. Each was a hassle and potentially dangerous. Then I realized that when you dream about a building, it usually represents your body. It makes sense because I have been surrounded by medical issues lately.
The first dream, the problem was some food we had left lying around in a remote part of the house for untold years. Now it is a mess. It is a potential health hazard and is real difficult to clean up.
It represents Me (and Lynn). We spent much of last week getting in depth physical exams. Both of us need to eat better food and exercise more.
The buildings in successive dreams had successively more severe problems. The last one had severe, actively worsening cracks in the foundation. Pipes and wires were breaking and oozing all over the place.
I think they represent Ian, who needs surgery on his spine before things get worse; and they represent Eric, Amy's friend who has a football size cancer tumor eating up his colon. I had been doing research all evening to find options for both of them.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Ian update
Raya got more news from the doctor today about Ian's MRI. Stay tuned to her blog for the latest.
Background research...
FAQs about tethered spinal cords
Background research...
FAQs about tethered spinal cords
Friday, March 09, 2007
Going slow
As of this morning's x-ray, Ian still has most of the metal inside him. He is still being flushed out. They are about 1/2 way through the second gallon container of fluid that is being pumped into his stomach. His tummy is mostly distended, but the fluid is trickling through and flushing him out.
The poor nurses are cleaning up lots of messes. They are really nice about it.
As we slip into the weekend, you can bet there won't be a lot of professionals hanging around for high level testing and diagnosis. The doctors are talking about an MRI next week. It sounds like this may take a while.
Right now Ian is playing happily with a cool toy they gave him as a reward for being good (to distract him) while they stuffed another tube down his nose. He coughed up the last one after his nap.
The poor nurses are cleaning up lots of messes. They are really nice about it.
As we slip into the weekend, you can bet there won't be a lot of professionals hanging around for high level testing and diagnosis. The doctors are talking about an MRI next week. It sounds like this may take a while.
Right now Ian is playing happily with a cool toy they gave him as a reward for being good (to distract him) while they stuffed another tube down his nose. He coughed up the last one after his nap.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Ian update
Nothing went exactly as planned.
We arrived at St Mary's hospital at 8:30 for Ian's 9:00 procedure. At 11:32 the procedure finally started. They put some tools up his butt to reach the coins in his intestine. While they had him under, a neurologist tested the nerves that control his bowels. There is function there, but it is weak. We don't know exactly what that implies yet.
They managed to retrieve one badly stained nickel. They weren't able to reach the rest of the metal due to a "shelf" of skin that made it hard to navigate to them. So they stuffed a tube down his nose and plan to flush out the intestines from the stomach side.
When Ian woke up with a tube in his nose and an IV in his hand, he was not a happy camper. He had restraints on his arms to prevent him from pulling out tubes, but being resourceful, he pulled the one out of his nose anyway. After that he stopped fussing and slept for a few hours.
Later a new tube went down with no problem. Now he is happily eating jello and playing with a cool little toy while gallons of fluid are being pumped into his tummy.
I hope this flush works.
We arrived at St Mary's hospital at 8:30 for Ian's 9:00 procedure. At 11:32 the procedure finally started. They put some tools up his butt to reach the coins in his intestine. While they had him under, a neurologist tested the nerves that control his bowels. There is function there, but it is weak. We don't know exactly what that implies yet.
They managed to retrieve one badly stained nickel. They weren't able to reach the rest of the metal due to a "shelf" of skin that made it hard to navigate to them. So they stuffed a tube down his nose and plan to flush out the intestines from the stomach side.
When Ian woke up with a tube in his nose and an IV in his hand, he was not a happy camper. He had restraints on his arms to prevent him from pulling out tubes, but being resourceful, he pulled the one out of his nose anyway. After that he stopped fussing and slept for a few hours.
Later a new tube went down with no problem. Now he is happily eating jello and playing with a cool little toy while gallons of fluid are being pumped into his tummy.
I hope this flush works.
Update from Mayo
This has been a medical week.
Lynn and I signed up for thorough physical exams at one of the best clinics in the world. (As long as it is in our state, we might as well take advantage of it.) Raya had appointments to find out what is happening with Ian's bowels, so we managed to get all our appointments in the same week.
So here we are... Lynn and I know more about our bodies than we used to. We are both basically healthy but need to exercise more and eat less meat.
We expected to hear that Ian's bowel problem was caused by a wheat allergy. Instead we found out that he has 4 or 5 pieces of metal stuck in his gut and masses of fecal matter dammed up behind it. Then the doctor was surprised that no one has told Raya before that Ian is missing the bottom two vertebrae. That might indicate that nerves don't function properly in his bowels.
Lynn and I signed up for thorough physical exams at one of the best clinics in the world. (As long as it is in our state, we might as well take advantage of it.) Raya had appointments to find out what is happening with Ian's bowels, so we managed to get all our appointments in the same week.
So here we are... Lynn and I know more about our bodies than we used to. We are both basically healthy but need to exercise more and eat less meat.
We expected to hear that Ian's bowel problem was caused by a wheat allergy. Instead we found out that he has 4 or 5 pieces of metal stuck in his gut and masses of fecal matter dammed up behind it. Then the doctor was surprised that no one has told Raya before that Ian is missing the bottom two vertebrae. That might indicate that nerves don't function properly in his bowels.
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