Update on Susan (And How She's Already Making a Difference)

Recognize the lovely young lady in braids, at left? It's my stepdaughter Susan, hanging out with a friend in Beckley, West Virginia.

Susan is nearing completion of a physician's assistant program at Beckley's Mountain State University. She'll be done with the classwork part of her program this May, and will then begin about a year's worth of "rotations" as an intern.

During the rotations she'll see real patients in hospitals and make diagnoses. She'll spend about four weeks at each hospital. Some of the hospitals will be local (Beckley and Charleston), while others will be farther away in states like Ohio, Tennesee, and Virginia. While working out of state she'll live in the group housing provided for interns.

Once her rotations are done, she'll graduate from the P.A. program (with a graduation date set for May 2010). At that time she will have earned a Bachelor's and Master's degree and can "open the door" for patients!

Her coursework has been rigorous. She said the sheer volume of information she has had to process has probably been the biggest challenge. Some semesters she has taken over 20 credits (that's a lot-- 12 is "full time"). One semester, about a year and a half ago, she took 21 credits... while also completing a mandatory 300 hours of volunteer work and 20 hours of on-the-job shadowing. Not to mention working two days a week at a pet store!

Here's her little brother Logan, at left. Logan is Kenny's age, and gets on very well with Michael and Emma.

Last night I had a phone call from Susan. She'd been reading up on a bladder condition she had as a child-- VUR (Vesicoureteral reflux). This condition had led to a series of bladder infections she experienced as a child, and was serious enough to warrant surgery at age four (just before I got to know her). I knew she'd had a surgery for recurrent bladder problems, but wasn't familiar with the details or even the name of her condition at all.

Anyway, the adult Susan decided to read up on VUR. She learned that about 34% of patients with VUR have siblings who are also affected. Siblings of patients with VUR are routinely tested for the condition, even when symptoms are not present.

Susan expressed concern for Emma, who she knew has had an ongoing problem "holding it" at night. She suggested I mention the family history of VUR to a doctor, and have a urinalysis done.

I took Emma in to the doctor today, and sure enough... she has a bladder infection, even though none of the usual symptoms of bladder infection are present (painful urination, fever, etc). After the rest of the test results come in they should be able to prescribe the specific antibiotic she needs.

We won't know, without further testing, whether Emma has VUR. If she does have it, it's likely not the severe form that Susan had. Grandparents, don't be too alarmed: we don't expect that surgery will be required.

But we are profoundly grateful that Susan pointed us in the right direction, and that Emma's (longterm?) "hidden" bladder infection will finally be addressed.

Sometimes these conditions go away on their own, with age. But in some cases they lead to serious problems, and should not just be ignored. Emma is very lucky to have a big sister who is not only loving and concerned, but also smart and educated enough to see the connections that so many others had overlooked.

Susan, I hope I don't embarrass you too much by blogging this... but your dad and I are just so PROUD of you. And not just because of your academic accomplishments. Thank you so much for helping your sister.

Coco Hurlburt, Mouse Slayer

Coco's finally getting some respect around here! AND dog treats!

Yesterday morning, after a weekend away in Rhinelander, I realized that Coco had a little critter cornered in our home office. She was crouched down low, growling and staring intently at something behind Jon's file cabinet.

She stayed like that for at least an hour, tenaciously waiting. She was "in it" for the long haul. Sometimes she'd dash to one side of the file cabinet, then jump back over to the other side. All she needed was one mistake.

I didn't stay to watch the "action"; I figured whatever was hiding back there would probably stay hidden until Coco went outside, then make its escape to parts of the house where we don't allow Coco. I was 99% sure it was a mouse, but there was no way I was going to move the heavy file cabinet to find out.

But after awhile, I observed a calm, disinterested Coco saunter to the door, waiting to be let out. I let her out and walked (with trepidation) back to the office. What would I find there? Would it be dead, mangled, or twitching?

Happily, it was just a little mouse, dead. Not mangled or twitching-- Coco had been merciful on both me and the mouse and made a clean, quick job of it. I worked up my courage and used a broom and dustpan to remove the little body.

To be honest, evidence of (another) mouse in our house does not come as much of a surprise. We were aware we had a mouse situation brewing in Colfax.

As a matter of fact, last weekend, while Jon was here for four days, we'd set out traps. It didn't take long for us to start catching mice. What surprised me was when the trap set up in our kitchen cupboard started snapping during the day, while we were in the very next room. Apparently they were pretty comfortable around us.

Of course, as their death toll mounted, I became excited about the sheer blog-ability of our great mice adventure.

I wouldn't normally describe Jon as the more "tactful" of the two of us-- but this time he was. I think anyone who has spent any amount of time with him knows how blunt and plain-spoken Jon usually is, and how quiet and diplomatic I usually am.

This time he was of the opinion that I should... consider other story lines. He pointed out that a big mouse extermination headline on the blog might give our future house guests pause.

Well, I deferred to his discretion last week, but this week the sheer blog-ability of "Coco Hurlburt, Mouse Slayer" wins out. Coco, I will not deprive you of your moment in the sun.

In other news, Leila Hurlburt likes sitting on her own better than sitting in her baby seat. She still needs ample pillows around her, to catch her falls, but she's working those back muscles more than ever.

Today her and I went to the kids' Veteran's Day program at school. I don't have any good photos from that; they were too far away, and I didn't even see Emma. The youngest kids singing were the 4th graders, and then the spotlight was given to the older middle school and high school kids.

From what I can gather, Colfax has a strong music program. I'm impressed with how theatrical and expressive the performances are, and the number of kids willing to do solos (and most sing well!). I think this will be something Emma will get into, as she gets older. Our car rides are always filled with her earnest renditions of "You Are My Sunshine"-- and she's already performed solo in karaoke (you may recall Brittany's graduation party).

As I mentioned earlier, the kids and I went to Rhinelander this past weekend. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos from that. Jon worked through the weekend, as he is in Fargo, North Dakota now, and they missed some work last week due to rain.

Well, this blog is going to be a short one, due to lack of photos. Hope everyone is well! See (some of you!) at Thanksgiving!!

Emma Turns 8

Happy 8th Birthday, Emma!

Here's Emma leaving the house this morning, for school. She's still a-glow from a weekend's worth of trick or treatin' and birthday parties. Now she gets to bring cupcakes to school!

Our weekend "began" Friday afternoon, when Jon came home from his work-week in northern Minnesota. The next time he makes it home may well be Thanksgiving, so he took today and tomorrow off for an extra long weekend. He has projects he wants to complete here before winter sets in (though today is so warm and beautiful it's hard to imagine that snow and cold may be lurking around the corner).

Right now he's at the Eau Claire house, installing a new back door for our tenants. Here's a picture of him Friday afternoon, introducing Leila to the crunchy fun of fallen leaves.

The kids stayed afterschool on Friday so that they could trick or treat with a larger group of kids from their school. Highschool-age volunteers from one of the school's youth groups led the younger kids around neighborhoods by the school.

After an hour or so, Jon, Leila and I picked the kids up and took them trick or treating ourselves, for a bit longer. It was a nice evening out, so the walk with them was enjoyable. We were surprised to see so many people out and about during Halloween; the nice weather encouraged people to sit outside their homes on lawn chairs to hand out treats.

When you're the parent of young kids, you appreciate the effort that some people make to get into the spirit of the season, whatever that may be. One friendly lady had wind chimes made of "bones" that rattled in her yard, as well as a collection of other interesting and unusual Halloween decorations.

Another house was high-tech: motion-activated fog and hooting owl sounds were set off as soon as kids neared the door. The guy answering the door wore a mask and didn't say much. My kids decided this was the "scariest" place.

Of course, some people go a little too far and get obnoxiously graphic in their Halloween displays. I'm not sure what goes on in these people's heads when they set up scenes of dismembered bodies and implied torture for the little kids walking by, but we just try to hurry on past those.

Still, most of our trick or treating experiences have been positive. For us, it's a community event. It's neat to see people come out of their houses for a while and meet their neighbors. Older community members extend goodwill to younger ones. Different generations meet and interact. Most children we saw trick or treating were accompanied by their parents; it was like that in Eau Claire, too.

Emma pointed out to us the kindergartner who was hit by a car while crossing for the school bus (I mentioned his injury in my last blog). He has a broken leg and is in a wheelchair right now, but his parents had outfitted the wheelchair to look like Thomas the Train, so he didn't have to miss out on trick or treating.

After all that Halloween walking, the kids were exhausted. The next day we had a leisurely morning, to rest and recuperate, before it was on to the next thing... Michael's afternoon basketball tournament.

This was Michael's first tournament with Colfax. His team played three different games, including games against Stanley and Chippewa Falls. We thought Michael did very well (considering he's had only one practice this year).

I must admit we'd had our doubts... while trick or treating the night before, Michael seemed to be dragging his feet and not nearly as enthusiastic in his candy-gathering efforts as Emma was. But during the games, when his team needed him, he did a much better job of keeping his energy up. He showed some hustle and worked hard. We were proud of his effort.

After the games we went to Cornell, for a birthday supper in Emma's honor. You can see the kids dressed in (some of) the presents they received from Grandma Jane, in the photos above. Michael and Emma both received new winter coats and hand-knitted hats. Emma got mittens and a scarf, as well. And Leila was plucky in the new plum-colored ensemble Grandma made her. Lucky kids!

We were glad to see Pat, Ann, and Allison stop by while we were at Bud and Jane's. Our brother-in-law, Pat, has had more than his share of health challenges, lately, but looked well when we saw him. He's been learning to take it easy, take better care of himself, and spend more time at home enjoying his family. We're glad to see him on the mend.

After visiting Bud and Jane's, we stopped by Kristen and Brent's new house in Holcombe. We hadn't been over to see it yet, and were impressed with how spacious and comfortable it was despite its relatively modest size. It has vaulted ceilings and an open floor plan, and Kristen has decorated it very nicely.

At left, Brent contemplates taking the "big plunge", a second time. Go for it, Brent!

The visit provided Michael and Emma with their first chance to try out a Wii (one of those interactive game systems where you move your body to animate the figure on the TV screen). Wii bowling was a big hit with both kids.

So was Kristen's tiny fireball dog, Chloe. Here's Chloe hot doggin' it, for Halloween.

For some reason, Leila decided that this tiny 8-pound dog was a menace... I guess she hadn't seen anything like her before, and maybe didn't know what to make of the ketchup on her back.

Brent and Kristen are a fun, active couple. One of Kristen's sons is still in highschool, but for the most part their kids are grown and on their own, and Brent and Kristen keep busy with lots of physical activity and athletic challenges.

For example, here's Brent white water rafting in Peshtigo this April (think how cold the water must be that time of year! Looks like a Mountain Dew commercial, to me!).

Brent gave me a CD with pictures from different family events this past year. I'll share more of his photos in later postings.

Sunday afternoon we had a birthday party (this time with Emma's friends) at our house. We spent the morning cleaning the house and yard and getting ready for the party. We set up (home-made) carnival games and a treasure hunt in our backyard and woods, and outfitted the little clubhouse Jon made the kids last year with a colorful sign and toys for playing house.

Emma helped in all these preparations, but Jon "borrowed her" for a few minutes to take her over to our neighbor Johnny's, for a "surprise".

Johnny (her name is probably spelled "Jonet"-- she's French Canadian-- but folks around here call her "Johnny") has the farm on top the hill we live on. Saturday morning she gave Emma two small chickens, which Emma named "Pumpkin" and (I forgot the name of the other one). She'll keep the chickens at her farm, alongside her other chickens, until such time as we're able to have them over at our place (no rush and no date set for that!). Meanwhile, Emma can come over and visit the chickens and bring them vegetable scraps.

That's Johnny in the background of the photo at left.

Right now the chickens live in one section of a big 3-story, solar heated greenhouse that Johnny's been constructing. Our whole family, including neighbor girls Makayla and Janetta, walked over there afterschool today to visit the chickens and enjoy the farm. It's beautiful back there! Because of the rolling hills, you can't see the entire property from any one angle... so each hill you go up and each corner you come around leads to more surprises.

Her farm is about 80 acres, with a small simple house that is more impressive when you learn that she built it herself with her own hands, mostly from reading books about house construction, after being unable to find a bank to lend her the money to build (years ago-- when lending practices were different!).

Anyhow, Emma was beside herself with joy and loves those chickens.

Kids started arriving for our party about an hour early (I guess because most of our guests were from Eau Claire, and over-estimated how long it would take to get here). Here's Emma with two of the girls we invited.

Here's the whole group of party guests, seated at our big "new" table. They were a lively crew, but it was controlled chaos. Several of the parents (and Jon) stayed to help serve cake and pour drinks, etc.

I was kind of proud of the 4-layer birthday cake I made Emma. It sliced nicely and didn't fall apart.

One of our guests was former neighbor girl Brittany, who used to come over quite a bit when we lived in Eau Claire. She's a few years older than Emma, but befriended Emma when her and I would walk a kindergarten-age Michael over to Longfellow.

Here's Brittany, at left.

Brittany's grandparents lived just one house away from us. I talked to both of them in passing during the ten plus years we lived there, but didn't really get to know them in any detail.

But it's a small, small world!

After the party, Brittany's father and grandparents stopped to pick her up. We invited them to stay awhile and had a bonfire in the backyard, while the girls continued talking and roasted marshmallows together. In Jon's conversation with Brittany's grandpa, it came out that his family was originally from Ladysmith, and that he was somewhat acquainted with the Braggs of Ladysmith... his 4th grade teacher was none other than MY Grandma Bragg (Dad's mother)!

We confirmed this with the photo at right, borrowed from one of my scrapbooks. That's the Mrs. Bragg he remembers.

In fact, he remembers her very well. A much younger David Berger had come up with a ruse, which she did not appreciate. Without going into unnecessary specifics, it involved dropping a pencil and lying on the floor while looking up (as his female classmates sat at their desks or walked about). A shrewd Mrs. Bragg caught him in the act and knew exactly what he was up to. She was not pleased.

So she got out the... dictionary. And had him start copying, "word for word, pictures and all-!" (you can still hear the dismay in his voice) a page of the dictionary. When she was satisfied that he'd found enough (more suitable) information to occupy his mind at school, she let him stop. David Berger learned a lesson, and (50 years?) later his granddaughter and her great granddaughter became friends.

Isn't it funny, the ways our lives intersect with other people's?