Just some bits and bobs

[MooseMom]

My son is here for a fortnight's visit from London.  As most of you know, he is on the more able end of the autistic spectrum.  About 5 months ago, he qualified for his UK driver's license; when he was very young, I wouldn't have believed you if you had told me that in the future, he would be able to drive, so I'm really happy.  Well, he really surprised me when he said that he wanted to try driving here in the US.  So, he's been driving me everywhere, and I'm thrilled to report that he actually is a very good driver.  He has no trouble driving on the "other" side of the road.  On top of that, I drive a 20 year old Toyota Camry station wagon (it was my mother's car, and she gave it to me some years ago after my father died, so I drive it for sentimental reasons), which is a much bigger car than what he drives back in the UK.  He is a very brave boy.

Now that he is 21, we took him to a local comedy club where you have to be at least 21 to get in.  On the evening we went, there were three comedians doing their act, the first one being a young lady named Emily.  She had this very dry sense of humor, and she started out by asking people in the audience if they were there celebrating any special occasion.  One woman shouted out "birthday", and there was some banter about that.  Then she asked if anyone else was celebrating anything, and in the spirit of promoting awareness, I shouted out "kidney transplant", and I was eager to see what she would have to say about THAT!  LOL!  She said, "Oh, so did you have that done today?"   Anyway, she asked everyone to "give it up for kidney transplants!", and I was pleased.  You never know who out there in the audience might be thinking about being a donor for someone.  (Oh, and there was another birthday celebration and two women who were celebrating being "baby mamas", which left everyone a bit baffled.)

[boswife]

Wonderful read mm. Smiled all the way through and *tearie* eyed as I write. Very happy tears much love, jill

[willowtreewren]

You must be having a wonderful time with your son. I'm so glad that he could make it across the pond, finally!

And cheers to his driving ability! 

I loved the bit about the kidney donation! 

Aleta

[Traveller1947]

Enjoyed this start to finish, MooseMom.  All the best to you, as always.

[MooseMom]

Thanks, everyone.

Do y'all remember the volcano in Iceland that erupted several years ago, and how air traffic to/from/in Europe was so badly disrupted?  Well, my son happened to be here and couldn't get back to the UK for a week, so I got to keep him for seven extra days. 

Now this time around, we have Hurricane Sandy and the "perfect storm" that's supposed to hit the East Coast.  My son is scheduled to depart Sunday night, and it has me wondering if his flight will be disrupted.  I am fairly confident that the pilot will take a more northerly/polar route to avoid it, but you never know.  There is always something to worry about!

[willowtreewren]

I'm supposed to be flying up to New England on Sunday (tomorrow) and back on Tuesday. I have my next appointment with my Lyme doctor on Monday in Mt. Kisco, NY on Monday. I really need to go so my meds are not interrupted.

 

I may get in and out before the super storm hits.... Here is hoping that we both have good travel experiences.

Aleta

[Rerun]

I remember the last time.  I hope you get to keep him again.

         

[MooseMom]

For me, the worst part of all of this kidney krap has been how it has kept me from going to London to visit him.  When I got remarried 8 years ago after I had returned to the US, I got a check up for insurance purposes, and that's when we discovered that my renal function had deteriorated so much.  I had known about the fsgs while I lived in the UK, but no one ever really followed up on it.

So, my US neph (the human Eeyore) believed that my kidneys were going to tank sooner rather than later.  He had me go for a pre-tx eval (my egfr wasn't quite low enough yet to qualify), and I saw him every three months for labs.  So, my fear was that I'd go to London and get sick over there and have to start dialysis in the UK, etc etc; I had no way of knowing for sure what would happen.  As a result, for all of these years, I haven't left the US, haven't gone back to London.

That made me feel so very isolated from my son, and he was continuing with his life without me.  It's been a horrible feeling, like I was trapped, and I know this contributed to the psychic agony I felt throughout all of those pre-D years.  Kidney disease adversely affected the most fundamental relationship in my life.

But if things continue to go well, I am hoping that after my one year anniversary, I will be cleared to go to London and see my son, meet his friends, see how he lives his daily life and spend some time with him "in his native habitat."     I am hoping that this will provide some much needed "closure" (a word I hate as much as "journey" and "sharing", but I'm too tired to think of an alternative.)

Tonight we're taking him on a haunted hayride.  Boo!

Aleta, I hope this storm doesn't hamper your trip to NY.  I know how important your appointment is to your continuing recovery.  Be careful out there!

[willowtreewren]

Moosey, I'm taking an extra treatment with me, just in case I get delayed on my flight home. It looks like I'll be able to get back home before the worst of it hits.

Your post really pulled on my heartstrings. 

When Carl went on dialysis we simply stopped flying. It just seemed like too much hassle to pack the machine and hope for the best with it going through baggage. That restricted our travel to going by surface. It wasn't that big of a sacrifice. Nothing like your separation from your son.

I'm sure you are looking forward to going to London to reconnect with him in HIS world. If I were you, I would be planning that trip already. 

What a wonderful thing to look forward to. 

Aleta

[boswife]

oh MM,, 
And Aleta, take care..let us know when your home 

[willowtreewren]

I'm okay. I had a VERY windy trip to my doctor appointment just north of NYC yesterday, but my flight home was cancelled. ALL the airports for 100s of miles were closed, including the Albany, NY airport, from which I was supposed to fly home this morning. I'll be leaving tomorrow afternoon instead.

I've posted this elsewhere, but I'm REALLY worried about TexasStyle. She lives along the Delaware River. She hasn't posted on FaceBook since the storm went through and her last post was that she was frightened. Now I'm frightened, too.

 

Aleta