This entry will have nothing to do with radio, but hopefully will be an explanation for my long absence of writing on this blog. In essence, I've been forced to make many adjustments with my free time.
Approximately 15 years ago my father had his right hip replaced. It worked flawlessly until two years ago. In March of last year my father who is 97 years old and was still living independently suffered a series (4) of painful hip dislocations. He also suffered a stroke which has destroyed his reasoning abilities. He has been diagnosed with dementia. He is now in a skilled nursing home and continues to slowly deteriorate. He is legally blind and deaf.
More adjustments have been necessary with the birth of my three grand kids (triplets). At birth, all three babies were rushed into the neonatal ward and the mother was rushed to the intensive care unit of a different hospital. Jacob (the largest of the three at 3 pounds and 1 oz) had a brain bleed which needed immediate attention. Jaylee (at 2 lbs and 5 oz) and John (at 2 lbs and 3 oz) both struggled to breathe. It was miracle that the mother, and any of the children survived. The early birth (at 22 weeks) was due to the tremendous stress on the mother. She had developed a very bad case of the Flu, in all probability, caught from a patient at the doctors office where she was employed.
That was the beginning of a two month stay in the neonatal unit of the hospital. Jacob (the boy with the brain bleed) had a device implanted in the top of his skull to relieve the pain caused by the bleeding. He seemed to stabilize but will need further surgery as he grows. He has been diagnosed now with Cerebral Palsy. John, the second child had two months of breathing issues, and after transferring to a different children's hospital, has stabilized.
At five months of age, Jaylee simply stopped breathing and died in the middle of the night. Crib death (SIDS) is an unexplained phenomenon. Needless to say, these last two years have been more than stressful. I've been simply overwhelmed with sadness.
I hope to get back on the air in the future but for now, I simply don't have the free time to enjoy radio.
