Good news in the morning

This morning, I woke up earlier than usual to the ringing of our home phone. It was one of the secretary/nurses from the doctor who will operate on mom.

Due to a cancelation from one of the patients, mom's surgery will not be on February 15, but February 3.

That's almost 2 weeks earlier! Although it would be nicer to have it this month, we are really happy. Keep up with the prayers! They're working!

Good news and bad news

The good news: mom has a date for the surgery.

Bad news: it's on February 15.

Good news: if there is a cancelled appointment between now and that date, we can reschedule for the earlier date.

Better news: mom felt hunger.

She hasn't been hungry for a couple of weeks. The tumor has been pushing up against her stomach, which probably prevented her from feeling any hunger. She would eat only because she knew she had to--and when she did eat, it was less than what she would regularly eat.

The day before yesterday, mom felt a little hunger and ate somewhat greedily: a very good sign.

Rude Awakening

It's Saturday night right now. This morning, not too long before 8, I had to drive mom to the hosptial. The pain has come back--not as bad as the first time, but still pretty bad. She couldn't sleep at all last night from the pain (not to mention she vomited twice). I woke up to her vomiting the second time (not quite rested, but awake enough to know I need to drive NOW). Mom got ready as best as she could and I got Julia and myself ready as well for the drive to the emergency room.

We were there from about 8 and left (with mom) around quarter 'til noon. They couldn't keep her there or operate on her. The doctor who can operate on her is and works in Baltimore. He does come down to this hospital, but that's about once every 4 months or so. We/mom cannot wait that long. The nurse who attended mom told me to call the doctor everyday, asking for an operation date everyday until he breaks down and gives us one (hopefully within the next 2 weeks).

They sent mom home with prescriptions for pain-killers and other side-effects. It's frustrating: we have to wait with something that should be removed immediately. Mom's feeling better now (pain-wise), but she's desperate to have the surgery and get this tumor out of her body. So am I. Please continue to pray for my mom and that an operation date can be made very soon.

Back with the family (and the flight over)

I'm gonna use my blog as the place where I'll post the updates and my mom's progress--for future reference.

I'm back in the States. Mom is ok for now. She's not in the hospital yet. We haven't been given a date for the surgery yet. Mom is impatiently waiting. We're thinking about calling them tomorrow (6. Jan.) to see what's up. Dad was sent to pick up a load yesterday and is on the road. He's planning to take time-off for the surgery. Last I understood was the surgery should take place in 2 weeks, and that it's gonna be in Baltimore.

My flight over went from "nice" to "I want to shoot someone (preferably the one responsible)." The tale follows as such:

Munich: Lovely. BMI flight through Lufthansa. Left slightly late, but nothing out of the ordinary. The only downside was that I had to be in Munich by 5:30 am.

London: Here is where my misadventure began. First off, I landed in Terminal 1. I took the bus to Terminal 3 'cause I thought my next flight was through American Airlines. Good thing I checked my itinerary again. I'm flying US Airways. It's in Terminal 1--where I just came from. No worries, I thought. I still have 3 hrs to kill; and with the new temporary regulations for all flights to the States, I'm probably gonna need most of my extra time there.

I got back on the bus to Terminal 1 (nice ride I must say), went through security, and looked for my gate. My gate info was gong to be displayed about an hour and a half later. I spent the time walking around the assorted rip-off stations, uh, I mean the "various shopping opportunities" and unsuccessfully attempted to obtain internet. At least I got to check out Heathrow's web site and my flight information: not a total loss.

10:50 was the time I needed to be at the gate (Gate 56). Completely at the end of the hall. I could see the ever-growing line the moment I turned the corner at Gate 30 or so. When my turn came, I was asked if I had connected through Heathrow. Yes I did. Go to the side. I was interrogated, then allowed to have my carry-on bag searched (which was stuffed) and to be personally patted-down as well. At least a professional lady did it and I had several layers on; so it really wasn't violating.

After the security gate, my name (along with a few others) was called over the intercom: we had to go to the customer service desk. Lufthansa didn't enter my passport info. Anywho, I finally got to my seat. Everyone was seated and ready to go. Don't remember exactly why, but we sat there and waited for about an hour before we were allowed to take-off. Then, if we wanted sound from the monitors (movies, TV, music, etc.) we had to buy a headset! What the (insert swear word here)?! Normally they are complimentary! We were not impressed. I guess we should thank God they didn't charge extra for the meals . . .

Oh, and once we reached Philly, we had to circle around for about 10-20 minutes (I think 'cause there wasn't an empty runway). In total, we were about 1.5 hr behind schedule.

Philly: I was fortunate to have a 3+ hr layover (again). This gave me plenty of time to get my luggage (which was late and coming from another "merry-go-round") and drag them to baggage drop-off. After a bus ride from Terminal A to F, and seeing my gate was different from what was on my boarding pass (not unusual), I arrived to my gate within an hour early. I saw my flight was 1/2 hr delayed. No big deal. I'm going home. The Salisbury airport is about a 15-minute drive from home. That'll just mean I'll get home a little after 20:30 (8:30 pm). No big deal.

The desk clerk announced we were delayed even further (20:00). Hmmm, ok . . . I guess. As long as we're going, I'm ok. Short before 20:00, the desk clerk announced we were waiting for a crew. What? Why are we waiting for "a" crew? The crew scheduled to take us to Salisbury was scheduled to fly in from Salisbury. Thier flight was cancelled due to heavy fog (up to .5 mile visibility). There were 2 later flights to Salisbury: both were cancelled. It was this flight, or none at all until tomorrow.

Happy day, a crew arrived! Some of us even applauded. We boarded around 20:45 or so. Yeah, we're on our way home!

Nope, not really.

I was asleep (haven't really slept for over 24 hours) but when I woke up, I realized we were landing . . . in Philly. WHAT?! Didn't we just leave Philly? Why are we back? I heard from 1 of the other passengers that we had clearance to fly from Philly, but not to land in Salisbury. We left, in hopes that when we arrived, all would be well and we could land. I understand we circled a few times, and then returned to Philly. We were not happy.

So, when is the next flight to Salisbury? 19:15 tomorrow. WHAT?! Tomorrow night?! If we want to stay in a hotel, neither the airport nor the airline was gonna reimburse us. If we want a refund, we're gonna have to make a fuss to Reservations (in process). We were NOT impressed. Some rented cars, others flew back to where they came from. My family picked me up. By the time they came by, it was about 0:30. We got home sometime after 2 in the morning. Praise God dad was home: mom would've never made it on her own--much less at night.

I guess I did set myself up for that: I didn't have a direct flight (as far as flights to Salisbury, MD are concerned, direct flights from any city outside the Mid-Atlantic is impossible--not to mention flights from Europe). Another fact, the 2 bad flights were through US Airways. Maybe the next time I fly home, I should just fly to Philly or BWI and skip the hassels that come with a small regional airport that only uses US Airways . . .

This is by far my worst New Years. At least my worst Christmas (just the week before) wasn't this bad. What a heck of way to start the new year . . .

Interuption

Guys, I have something I need to say and it's not easy.

I just found out this morning that my mom has cancer and it's pretty advanced. The not so bad side is that it's ovarian cancer, so the surgeons will take her ovaries out and then she'll be fine; I just hope it hasn't spread to any other organs.

I got a plane ticket home for as soon as I could (and which didn't break the bank [too] much).

I'll be flying home on 31. Dez. around 7:25 in the morning from Munich, and I should touch-down in Salisbury around 20:03 the same day (long day ahead). I am needed home 'cause mom needs someone to look over Julia, my sister.

Even though Julia is 2 years older, she's autistic and is totally dependent on mom. Mom bathes her and wipes her when she goes to the toilet. Mom still has to dress her, although Julia can do some of it herself. . . yeah, it's not easy; but someone needs to be there for Julia while mom is in the hospital.

I have no idea when I'll be back in Bogi. I spent a good portion of today packing and such, but I won't be taking absolutely everything with me back home. If I do, I'll be way over the weight-limit and will need to check in at least 1 extra bag. If anything, I'll have an excuse to come back. ;-)

I cannot tell you how much of a shock this is for me. Mom is the strongest person I know, besides my dad. I am not kidding: if someone were to tell me she was made of iron, I'd believe it. . . but even iron rusts. Just this weekend, she ran about 6 miles (>10 km). She had no idea she had cancer to begin with until Sunday or yesterday, much less that is was so advanced.

She just went to the doctor 'cause she felt a little pain. When they did the tests, they wanted to send her to the hospital by ambulance immediately (she was at a small clinic). They told mom she had cancer. She drove to the hospital (about 1.5 hour away), was checked, and confirmed. She should have stayed in the hospital, but then who was going to watch over Julia? Julia is strong too and difficult to control (in order to give her a shot, 3-4 nurses are needed to hold her down). I'm in Europe and Dad is most likely in another state (dad's a truck-driver who drives all-over the North American continent--including Canada). So, she was given a few pills and a prescription and allowed to go home.

Now she's waiting for me.

God willing, I'll be home Thursday night. Dad will be home sometime tomorrow as well. God willing, all will work out fine. He knows what He is doing. No matter what happens, I know His way is best.

God, I ask You to take my hand and lead me through this dark valley. Lead me with Your light. . . oh wait, nevermind: You already are. Thank You.

My Christmas break, so far

Well, I hope all of you are enjoying your Christmas break/holiday wherever you are! I just happen to be haunting Bogi campus with 2 other fellow students. Yip, we spent Christmas in an empty campus. At least the library was open (connections are a beautiful thing)! Just thought I'd show you all a bit of what I/we have been up to since the 22nd, when break was officially announced:

1st thing I needed to do: Laundry! Normally, I need only 1 of these. . . I really needed to do laundry! Oh, and this is my roommate's side of the room. It's ok, she was already gone by then.

2 very thoughtful guys left gifts (even more interesting, they share the same name!). The square is a DVD of the Christmas concert (Shokran!--was that spelled correctly?). The rectangle is Ben Carson's bio "Gifted Hands". . . in German! Vielen Dank!

One of my friends had too much stuff to take home, so she left some of it with me to enjoy; including this bottle of non-alcoholic wine. It's the typical thing to drink on Christmas Eve. So, we did. Not bad.


The Kitchen (or the Cafe staff) was so kind, they let us have the leftovers from the Christmas party. Check out the fridge in the girls' dorm! Of course, not everything in the fridge came from the cafe--there were a few items already there to start with, but still! And this is about 1/4 of what they left us!

Roberto cooking rice and red beans. This Theo student can cook!

Seo-Yeon serving herself to the rice. This is basically how we've been eating every lunch and supper.

Oh, the food was great! This was Christmas Eve (about 22:40+), by the way. Hence the lack of good lighting.

So yeah, now you can see what we've been up to, when not in the library online or reading or what have you.

Hagenau and Bogi in Snow

I've posted pictures of Bogi and Hagenau during the Autumn, and I know I posted some during the winter of my 1st year here, but I wanna show you the "latest" in this region's winter. They are all landscapes and little "experiments" I've conducted with training my artistic eye. I will be the 1st to say, "I am an ameteur." So don't judge me. :-P

I took these pictures on the 19th and the day of Weihnachtsfest (21st).

The Inn River by Hagenau . . . and a few of its inhabitants.

Roberto and the swans.

The sundial in front of the Schloss in Bogi. Can you see the wheel?

The bench around the tree in front of the Bogi-Shop.



Where do you want to go?

Welcome to Bogi... in winter.

The bridge between the girls' and guys' dorm.

The dock by the pond.

Seriously, when I saw this tree, I saw this picture.

Clouds over Hagenau

Schloss Hagenau

wintery shore

The boats and dock in a blanket of snow.

Docked by the castle's reflection

Sunny, wintery shore

Ladder/dock to the boats/canoes.

Hybernating boats.

Cold light.

Lonely

I absolutely love how this tree looks, with the snow on top.

Ok . . . well, I was busy today. Setting up 3 different posts in 1 day, and I'm still not done. I need to post pictures from the Skiwoche (ski week) in Switzerland with the academy students. Oh, I'm gonna see if I can finish it for tomorrow. Don't know how much longer the Bibo (library) is gonna stay open tonight, but I'm sure it'll be open tomorrow. 'Til then!