Daddy and M1 just waitin' around for the surgeon

Mommy and M1 share a moment

Just lying around waiting for the surgeon to be ready! She couldn't stand just lying there and got up to walk around. Finally when it was time for surgery, she walked into to the OR. The clinic was sooo kid friendly, they let her sit up and breathe the oxygen until she was ready to lie down.

That's me with M1. She was eating a graham cracker and insisted somebody hold it so it wouldn't show in the picture. All much better now! We were in a really nice pediatrics room for recovery. The grandparents and parents were with her. She's perked up here and happy to be eating crackers and drinking Sprite.

She woke up talkative, and according to her, "Bored and hungry."
So we played "I spy" at her request.

M1, out of surgery into recovery. She so little and vulnerable, still out after surgery.

Two grandmas and a mommy with M1. She's waking, but not fully awake yet.

What's the story?? 8:30 a.m. M1 fell off the monkey bars (Jungle gym) at school. She was swinging between bars and "jumped" for the third bar. She made it the first time, but did a turn around and missed it the second time. She said, "My gymnastics teacher said not to try to catch ourselves with our arms, and I tried not to!" She really didn't reach out with her hands though. She did a good job, just got her elbow under her body as she landed. So the elbow was broken. We were hoping for a simple break, but it separated. The Dr. didn't do an incision, but inserted two wired to pin it together. She gets a full cast then on Monday. For now, she has a plastic casing holding the arm in a 90 degree angle, with bandages for the surgical insertion.

Surgery was scheduled for 2:30 at the Ambulatory Surgical Clinic. The doctor was delayed on his previous patient and Tea's surgery was about 3:00. She was out of surgery by 4:00 and with us in the recovery room.

The place was fantastic. They let all of us wait in the pediatrics recovery area (she was the only peds that day) to wait for her. They brought us pop and coffee and offered coffee cake, cookies or crackers. They had said Grandparents might have to leave when she came out of surgery, but in the end we stayed for awhile with her too.

She's home tonight. Resting. Thank God it was only an elbow and not spine or neck!! But I am really tired.

A couple of wonderful teacher friends took my 8th and 9th period classes today so I could get there in time to see her before surgery. I am also thankful for that!

Tired, but thankful.

PJ

ng

Teaching

Finally, my classes are beginning to settle down. Today felt successful again. I've had very few of those days this year. But today our core (150-ish students) had their fall reading test to check progress since last spring and give us a baseline for this year's progress. When my Challenge (advance placement) students returned later to my room, they were excited because "Mrs. Huerta, what you've been teaching us was on the test!" They went on to explain that the names of poetic devices like assonance, synecdoche, and allusion were part of the questions. Further, they were delighted that we had just read "The Highwayman" and some excerpts from that poem were on the test, too. And the clincher? "Mrs. Huerta, the test even asked us about Shakespeare and sonnets!" They had been complaining about how hard the work (leading up to reading The Merchant of Venice) has been, but at least now they see a purpose. Several of them reported great gains in reading scores. They're happy; I'm happy!

And even my regular classes (including the difficult one in which I have them right after P.E...trust me, there's nothing like trying to get a group of 30 13-year-olds to actually focus 5 minutes after they've come off a sport field, are sweating like pigs, thirsty as camels, and too tired to bother thinking.) were better today. I've had to do some creative adjusting with seating arrangements and utilizing the resources I have. (Prayer helps too!) Yesterday, I was seriously praying that I could learn to not DISlike some of them....but God always comes through. Within an hour of that prayer, I read a poem that little boy had written and realize that so many of them carry burdens beyond their years. There really is an explanation for what seems like irrational, rude and obstinate behaviors. What's the "mile in his sandals" Native American proverb?

And...writing with the student doing limericks (trying to get rhythm leading up to Iambic Pentameter and Elizabethan Sonnets), I wrote a limerick too.

There once was a teacher named Phylis,
Who taught language and English at Ellis.
She was tough and quite strict,
and sometimes would kick
Our hinds, but never would kill us!

And with that 8th grade humor, I shall close.

Have a lovely evening! Tomorrow is a new day!

PJ

A few of the kids after class was over and I finally remembered to take pics.

A New Season

Last night our fall mid-week sessions began. There's a BIble study at the church for adults, and I agreed to co-teach the children's sessions. It was a lot of work, but fun. Going home from six and a half hours teaching thirteen year olds, to an hour and a half of a mixed elementary group was enjoyable work.
Jenny made the airplane backdrop and the penguins. I totally forgot to take pictures. Dr. Quirky (the mad scientist) was there and I didn't even get his photo. After we were cleaning up, I remembered the camera! Duh! A few of the kids were left to pose for me....That's me in the Captain's hat.

We took an airline tour of Antarctica, complete with passports, boarding passes and video take-off and landing scenes. Such fun!

Where has the week gone?

It will be Saturday and the girls' soccer again tomorrow...and I have hardly blogged at all!!! With this job, I hardly have a life...but I'm grateful for the Job...and the strength to work again. More later when I'm less exhausted. I stayed until 8:30 p.m. again last night to try to get caught up!! Some day!!

PJ

SOCCER SEASON BEGINS

Both girls are playing soccer again this fall. I spent Saturday morning at the soccer field. That will be my Saturday morning for the next couple of months. The weather was perfect, warm but not terribly hot. I actually got a bit of sun again. I was getting quite pale!






M1 is rarin' to go.
May I play now, please?

Getting in place to receive the throw in.
(M1 has the red shirt with pink shorts and pink socks)

Here she comes ready to challenge and win back that ball.

Getting good use out of those long legs -- headin' out for the offensive.

Look out Blue team, here comes our girl. She wins the challenge for the ball!

M1 follows up the kick. Oops, the goalie has it!











(Switch games here -- M2 in Blue shirt with black shorts)


Here I come for that goal!

Almost. Good catch, goalie!

"Ready?"

"Take it away, !Little M"

"Fire!"
Nice Kick, baby girl.
(you can bare see the ponytails in front of the boy with the red shirt!)

M2 connects for the goal "Goooooooool!"
(Duh!!! Where'd this picture go???)

That's M2 in the blue shirt: "Chariots of Fire" meets "Victory"

(After all that work most of M2's pics just disappeared! I'll try again tomorrow!!)

CLASSROOM GLIMPSES

Room 308

Mid-August, this was my classroom with the boxes everywhere.

















And tonight, that same scene










BEFORE















AFTER

















BEFORE
















AFTER












BEFORE
















AFTER!












The Open House presentation went well, I thought. We were a tad pressed for time, more so since I had to translate everything in Spanish for those non-English-speaking parents. But all-in-all, it went well. I added up the years of experience of the teachers on our team. It's plain scary. Among the 5 of us, we have 93 years of experience, add the special education teacher's 12 years and that puts us at 105 years of experience on the team, ranging from the math teacher's 35 years to the reading teacher's 4 years teaching experience. Hmmmm.

Praying for a good year!!

PJ

How do you spell exhaustion?

I left the house at 7:30 this morning and just walked in the door at 8:30 tonight! I think that's a long day. I did have 40 minutes off for lunch . . . I took every minute . . . and an hour for dinner. I met Bob and Bismarck at Puesta Del Sol for chile rellenos. Yum! The high point of my day.

My room is looking up!!! I'll put in pics tomorrow. I didn't take any today, but I will tomorrow. Parents come for the Open House tomorrow night -- our core meets in my room. So all those 38 boxes of books must not only be on the shelves, but also looking decently organized. Not to mention the mounds of papers I have collected from my little darlings that must be marked and filed. I'm well on my way.

It'll be another 12 hour day tomorrow though. Open House starts at 6:30...school lets out at 3:30. I'll stay until 5. Go meet Bob somewhere for dinner again, then back to school for the presentation. We won't get out until after 8 PM.

Speaking of presentations, the PowerPoint for tomorrow night isn't finished . . . It's on my computer here -- so my work day isn't over yet. I'm tired, but it's an honest tired, not a sick one. I'm not faint, or nauseous, or any of those other nasty things that would have happened just a few short weeks ago. I'm getting close to normal!! (Isn't that terrible?? Normal means working 12 hour days??!!)

Ta-ta. Off to do the PowerPoint!

PJDH

An afternoon at the park















































































What a lovely way to end a three-day weekend. The girls were able to spend the afternoon with me. We ate a late lunch, played Webkinz (for the uninitiated, that's the internet craze for the primary school child!), did some marker painting, climbed about in the park for as long as the mosquitoes would allow, spent some time on homework, had an ice cream and then called it a day.

Saturday was a bust for me. The anesthesia wore off my stitches and I was in a great deal of pain. I made the Saturday night Hispanic service, but did no pastoral duties. I was just there! Sunday was better. I woke up feeling refreshed and not much pain. I actually hurt more today than yesterday, but then I was more active with the girls too. It wasn't intolerable, just a nuisance. But the good thing is -- it's over. I keep wanting to sing a song with that title!! Mattea did make up a song today for her memorization. It worked well. She was happy practicing!

So ta-ta for now. It's back to the weekly grind tomorrow. NO! I mustn't approach a new week with that attitude. I shall be back to inspiring youngsters to greater heights tomorrow! How's that for a positive attitude??

:)

PJDH

Family Secrets

Several situations lately have started me thinking in the direction of family secrets again. I had studied the topic several years ago, taught some lessons, and acquired a level of healing. Recent events have pointed me in that direction again.


I re-read parts of John Bradshaw's Family Secrets: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You. He expounds on the three laws of a disfunctional family (with secrets): Don't Talk; Don't Trust; Don't Feel.

Children raised in abusive or alcoholic families, families with hidden crimes or addictions, just to name a few of the potential "secrets," grow up believing there is something wrong with themselves. They have feelings that are allowed no expression, or outlet. Adults in the family are unreliable, not trustworthy, yet nothing is ever said or done about it. The situation is not even discussed. This kind of secrecy is toxic. (There are healthy secrets as well: children should not be pulled into marriage discord or adult sexual issues.)

One particular case study involved the young father of a family who had lost his job but didn't want to let his wife or children know. He kept his regular routine and left for work every morning, but his family began to fall apart. Even though his wife and children were unaware of the specific problem, they were reacting to their sense that something was very wrong.


Recently at a family reunion, some younger members of the family had the courage to speak about a family secret, in this case alcoholism, and the generational reaction and subsequent isolation. As a result of breaking the silence, new connections with family and a support system is evolving. But the story is far from over. Alcoholism doesn't evolve in a vacuum, and deeper secrets may need to be revealed. It's much like the peeling of an onion. But understanding and empathy are gained by following the trail and discovering generations of hurting humans who reacted in the only way they could tolerate.

Around me, some family systems are deteriorating in inexplicable ways. Could it be that a family secret is at the center of the crumbling foundation of human relationships? Family secrets leave wounded souls, broken hearts, may lead to a skewed power base, disrupted relationships, and unhealthy decision-making.

Yet, the answer is not the ever-popular reveal-all talk shows in which participants drop these bombs like B-52's coming in for the kill. There is a time, a place and a manner in which to address such issues.

In an interview with Randy Peyser, John Bradshaw, who is one of the foremost authors and recognized experts particularly in the fields of family systems, co-dependency, and addictions and recovery, talks about the process of discovering the roots of family disfunctions. "Suddenly, all these problems that you think are your own are seen in this larger light. It's hard to blame anybody for it. You see that your mother had it and your grandmother had it and then, god knows, how many generations before that had it. It makes us realize that we're up against something very profound."

If you want to read more, try these resources:

http://www.openexchange.org/archives/Classics/bradshaw.html

http://www.randypeyser.com/bradshaw.htm

http://www.fourgates.com/bradshaw.asp

Thoughtfully,

PJD

All Much Better Now!

My 7 year old granddaughter used to say this when she was 4 or so after I'd kiss her "Owie": "All much better now!"

And that's me today. Surgery was at 10:30 this am. I was done by 11:15. He didn't have to use general anesthesia, just a local and a bit of a relaxer. Although at one point when that wand was hitting my rib, I was wishing for a general. I came home and slept from noon until about 4 or so. I'm a tad sore now, but doing well. I don't do well with strong pain pills, so I just have Keterol, but it's enough to relieve most of the pain.

This was the last of the surgeries...I go back in 10 days and have the stitches out. That's the end of re-construction. I will have a matching pair!! (I know...too much information!)

I was counting surgeries in the last 20 months. There have been more than I realized. First the liver biopsy, then the liver donation. Then the breast biopsy (a lumpectomy) followed by a left radical mastectomy ten days later. The mastectomy wasn't as long as the liver re-section, but they also did the basic reconstruction at that point, so it took a few hours. Then the port was inserted. (That's five, but who's counting?) Then came 6 months of chemotherapy. When my blood count was so low, the doctor ordered a colonoscopy because he was concerned that I also had colon cancer. I didn't, but the colonoscopy requires anesthesia and is technically a surgical procedure, not to mention that he removed some polyps. The next surgery was to take out the port. Then one to change the saline implant for a silicone one. Oh, wait! Those were done at the same time. So that makes seven. Then today makes eight (8), five (5) with general anesthesia, three with just locals and a relaxant. (And I'm wondering why my memory has some gaps??? I must have lost a few million brain cells just from the anesthesia!) I'm hoping for no more surgeries for a LOOOOOOOOONG time!!

But God is good. I have a wonderful support system. My husband could not possibly have been more helpful. From taking over household duties (the ones he didn't already do), to preparing me fresh squeezed orange slushes at 2 a.m. when I was so nauseous, to being sure I had someone to care for me whenever I needed help, he has been a trouper. My children, too, were available whenever I needed anything. Even my little granddaughters understood that I wasn't very energetic and were content to snuggle and watch movies with me when their natural inclination would have been for more activity. Then there was the church who provided food, sometimes personal care and lots of prayer. People at work pitched in too with food, flowers, cards, phone calls and prayer. It really is amazing the way people pulled together. God has been very good to me!!

Zoe, I'm really feeling very well tonight. Thanks for your prayers and your concern. I've been praying regularly for you, too! I'm headed over to music practice at the church in just a few minutes. (I'm tired, but I can handle an hour and a half of music practice.) I"ll take my camera and take some shots of us -- all in casual clothes -- practicing! (That's me with my head right under the exit sign!)

God bless!

PJDH

Finally final

My last surgical procedure is tomorrow morning -- will be finished by noon. I'm already officially in remission. After this surgery, I will be complete -- remade! I didn't think I was terribly anxious about it. But....

Today I really over-reacted with a situation at work. I calmed down fairly quickly, but I was absolutely furious over some information that I hadn't bother to check out yet! Duh! I know better than to take a 13-year old's word for something. He wasn't even deliberately deceitful; he just gave me the final piece and I was missing the middle transaction. I only vented to a few friends via email and quickly sent a correction -- is there a correction to a vent??? Hmmmmm.

Anyway, anxiety. I let my students know that I was having a surgical procedure, that it was minor, that I was still in remission from cancer, etc. I reassured them I'd be back on Tuesday (Thank God! Monday is a holiday)

But one precocious young man says, "But Mrs. Huerta, can't things go wrong, even with a minor procedure?"

"Yes, it could" I responded. "But it won't".

And it won't. I know that. Still, the anxiety lingers. One more anesthesia, one more....

I really freaked when I went for the mammogram this year -- I think it was Saturday, the 18th. I know I waited until the last possible moment...and didn't even put it on my calendar on the computer!! I was so tense that when it was obvious by the technicians manner that everything was fine, I nearly burst into tears. (Last year, I knew just by her manner -- and the three thousand views of x-rays and the ultra-sounds that the radiologist kept sending her back for, that it was very bad news. Her manner was artificially bright, happy. "Well, we'll just take about 100 more routine views. The radiologist couldn't see the last 600 views very well." Right! She probably needs glasses.) I was so braced for the bad news that I nearly fell apart when it was good this year. I suppose mammograms will be tense for me from here until eternity. After all, that is how my cancer was discovered. I was clueless until then.

So...after tomorrow, I have only one more visit to the oncologist -- the hormone treatment may have to be adjusted --then checkups should be??? quarterly?? semi-annually? something like that, for awhile. Whew.

Dodged the bullet this time!

PJDH

Ellis Middle School
Elgin, IL

Here's where I'm spending all my days. Since school started the 20th of August (for teachers), I've spend nearly every waking moment concentrating on preparing for the year, for meeting students' needs and maximizing classroom time. I've been at school by 7:30 or 8:00 every morning and have left sometime after 4 p.m. But the story doesn't end there. Each day I cart home with me: papers to grade, files to sort, lessons to plan, PowerPoints to prepare, etc. I've put in somewhere between 12 and 14 hours each day. But today was different.

At 4:45 p.m. today, I said, "Enough is enough." I need at least one evening to do something besides kids papers, lesson plans and files. So...today I left school with only my purse on my arm. Whew! I do feel relieved. One whole evening to read and answer e-mail (which I have woefully neglected!), blog and maybe even update the JCC website. (Does that qualify as work??? I said I wasn't doing any work tonight!) Ah yes. And I have clothes from the laundry who have been living in neat stacks. Tonight they will make it home to my closet!!

Don't worry. I'll make up for it tomorrow night. I will have to stay until everything is ready for Friday. I take the day off Friday for my final surgery. It will be fine with me if this is the last time in my life I see a surgeon's knife or don that mask thing for oxygen and whatever else they run through through mysterious tubes! As far as my bout with cancer, this should be the last little skirmish. (not even a real battle) The finishing touches will be in place and I'll be almost as good as new. In remission, rebuilt and ready to go on!

Blessings!

PJDH

WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?

From time to time a good topic for my blog occurs to me, but I'm always in the middle of something else -- like setting up a classroom, creating lesson plans, filling out classroom records or grading papers. My desk at school still looks like a black hole -- if I put anything else there it will probably vanish in the implosion!


I have, however, taught four (4) days of classes, or five if you count that first day when I taught a twenty-minute "procedure" class about 15 times to varying groups of middle school students.


My feet hurt, my head feels muddled, my fingers are still numb, but there's also a distinct elation because I really can do this again. I can tell that I will have to keep it simple and direct, the less fuss the better, but I can do it.


I guess that's progress, in spite of my aching feet!!


PJDH

You Might Be In New York...

If you find the Statue of Liberty on every corner,

Double-decker buses offer all-day rides starting at $40








Folkloric bands from the Andes Mountains in far away Ecuador play "al aire libre"
















If you
see both broad boulevards and busy Times Square only minutes from one another,























If a bicycle driven taxi ride is available,

















And street vendors sell their wares in tidy displays












If you find tiles hanging on a fence to commemorate those lost in 9-11's disaster, you must be in New York
















If you find street vendors who look more like garbage collectors, it's probably New York.

Buying water, New York style

We didn't have time to get off the bus...so we threw dollar bills down to the street and the water vendor tossed up water bottles. Ahhhh! It was a hot, humid day. That water was good!

The Big Apple.

I'm so far behind, I'm beginning to think I'm ahead.

These pictures are from my trip to New York a couple of weeks ago. I went for a class -- I'm still working on the homework!

One evening, (I can't remember which now) several of us went into the Big Apple to look around. Here we are on one of the Double-decker tour buses. We did have fun!

This is from New York. At the end of the four days of classes, Regina and I had dinner with Rod, who was just arriving for his four-day stint. At the airport I did a self-portrait. The noticeable thing about these is the tired look in my eye. I was truly exhausted. I still am actually. In another week or so, I'll get up the pictures from the visit with my sister this past week. Another day.

Good Night!!

NEW YORK

I made it through the 4-day course in New York...but it was a struggle. I had chemo-eyes by the time it was over. (chemo-eyes = red, swollen, kind of sunken like when I was on chemotherapy). I even made it into New York City one evening...didn't do much but ride a double-decker tour bus -- but I saw New York!!

I'll post more later ... right now I have waay too many hours of homework (from the course) to take the time to download pics. But I do have some pictures of us in New York.

PJDH