We interrupt this blog to bring you this announcement.

Bear (aka husband) has written his last final.  He is now a double major graduate in Biology and Fisheries/Wildlife at Oregon State University.

Congratulations Bear.  We are so incredibly proud of you.  You managed to graduate with two majors and hold down a full time job AND take care of your family.  You are truly an inspiration and our hero.  As you venture on to graduate school know that we, your support team, are behind you all the way.

You're living your dream.

Verklempt.

My Husband is 1 in 9 Million

Double perfect rainbow on the way to Portland on Monday.

Monday afternoon we left for Portland.  How perfect that as we were driving we saw a double perfect rainbow.  What a great way to start of this amazing journey.  Monday evening we had a wonderful dinner with our new friends L & D.  It really did help relax Bear, it was great to just kibitz with everyone.

Tuesday morning we were up early and checked into the hospital by 6:30am.  I had a cup of lousy hotel room tea and I was cranky.  Bear of course was upbeat, smiling and not complaining at all.  I think I do enough bitching for the both of us.  Our wonderful nurse, Karen, from the American Red Cross arrived and explained the entire procedure.  She would stay with us throughout the day.  Bear had his carbo load breakfast and things began to get moving.  Machines were then wheeled in and Bear was prepped and ready.  I had to leave the room.  I don't do well with needles.

View from our hospital window

We had a gorgeous room and the view was great.  A perfect fall day.  The nurses of the oncology unit each stopped by to introduce themselves and to thank Bear for his incredible gift.  It was very touching and some had me a little choked up.  I guess with what they deal with everyday, to see someone give of their time to save a life, gives them something to grab onto in those dark times. 

Our incredible nurse Karen with Bear.

Once the needles were inserted Bear was unable to move his arms so I had to feed him.  It was rather cute.  At lunch time he didn't want his tomato and he said he was full, but I made the tjoo-tjoo noises and told him to open the tunnel for the train.  Yes, I was bored and had to entertain myself.  Bear had no option, but to lay there and appease the Princess.

In the above picture you can see the bag hanging above the machine.  The stem cells (orange) were starting to collect and it went great.  Bear lay there for 6 hours.  Karen was amazing.  We kept each other entertained while Bear tried to take a nap. We watched Planet Earth as there was a DVD player in the room.  As the stem cell collection was almost complete I decided to liven things up a little.  I was sitting on the Lazy Boy and removed my wedding band which promptly rolled into the crease of the chair and underneath.  There was no way for me to get my ring other then trying to push my hand down the side.  I did and pricked my finger on something sharp.  This then sent the nurses into a little panic.  Next thing four nurses are in the room, lazy boy recliner is upside down and they are shaking, kicking, bouncing on the chair to find my ring and the object that pricked me.  It really was comical and am so sorry I didn't get a picture.  Karen looked at Bear and said "I guess your wife was tired of you getting the attention."  Spent 7 hours with that lady and she already figured me out.  Ring fell out, and the object that pricked me was a staple.  So calm once again reigned over the room.  Until I got the DVD stuck in the player. Yes, I am a winner.

Relief

After being on the machine for six hours Bear was finally done. The courier arrived to take the stem cells to their destination and Bear was finally able to sit up.  The smile on his face just shows his relief at being able to move his arms.  We are home now and Bear is currently fast asleep.  He has a headache, but that was to be expected.  What an incredible day this has been.  Have you signed up yet?  Click on Be The Match and this will take you directly to the sign up page. 

One other thing.  There are 9 million on the registry.  We had a double rainbow on the way to Portland.  I am taking Bear to the store tomorrow to purchase a Lottery ticket. 

Update to Be The Match

For those of you that have been following my blog and this story I wanted to give you an update.  On Thursday Bear received the call that he is definitely the match for a 23 year old woman with leukemia.  This has all come about because my friend T posted on her Facebook page many months ago that she signed up for Be The Match.  T, because of you, this woman is getting another chance at life. 

On Monday Bear goes to have blood work done and see a Doctor and have more tests done.  Then on the 28th October he will start a series of injections, Filgrastim,  to increase his stem cells.  On 1 November they will remove the stem cell via taking blood, removing stem cells then putting the blood back into his body.  It is called peripheral blood stem cell donation and if I had any medical know how, I would probably put it in better terms.

Bear will be losing two days of school and the side effects are muscle aches and headaches, but as he said, probably nothing compared to what this woman is going through.

And this is why my husband is one of the best decisions I made in my adult life. 

5 Best decisions of my adult life.

Today I was reading Free Anissa's blog.  She posted what the 5 best decisions of her adult life were.  I don't have any good student stories, I think they are all hiding from me, so I decided to post my 5.

Bear with elephant slobber. Botlierskop Private Game Reserve, South Africa

1.  Marrying Bear
I met Bear in 1999 while organizing a military conference.  I was married at the time, but always admired him and his gentle spirit.  In 2004 after my divorce I was on the Air Force base and who should walk into the office, Bear.  We have been together ever since.  He is my rock, my stability, my calm, my partner, my best friend and my everything.

Benny Beaver and Me.  I had to knock a few 5 year old kids out the way for this picture.

2.  Moving to Oregon
Having lived in Utah for a very long time, we made the decision to move to Oregon.  Bear is a resident of Oregon and we didn't want him to lose residency, plus he needed to complete his degree at OSU.  It was tough to leave my friends who were my adoptive family, but leaving Zion was very easy.  My mantra is... I know I am going straight to heaven as I served my time in hell.

T volunteered for 3 months at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, Brisbane, Australia

3.  Cutting the umbilical cord and allowing T to take his gap year in Australia, South Africa and England.
For some parents they cut the cord a long time ago.  For me, it took a while.  When I was married to the ex for many years, it was T and I against the world.  As a graduation gift from my mother, T was given the opportunity to take his gap year traveling.  During the time he was gone I got to know me again and T got to grow up.  We are both better for it.

They always look so serious.

4.  Cleaning homes and taking care of 7 boys from Saudi Arabia.
After struggling to find a job in my profession I decided to clean homes.  One thing my parents taught us growing up was that there is no job that is beneath you.  Everything fell into place when I started cleaning for a few students from Saudi Arabia.  I currently have seven that I not only clean for, but take care of.  I am their American Mom and I love what I do.

Harris Bridge, Corvallis, Oregon

5.  Divorcing negative friends and tightening my circle of positive ones.
After the death of a dear friend this year I learned the hard lesson of differentiating between a true friend and a fair weather friend.  My heart still aches sometimes over the loss of these friendships, but also rejoices at having found the true ones.

Purchase Justified.

When my husband and I started dating I gave him the nickname Bear.  Today I was at the store and saw this bottle of wine. 

Bear on the left is saying "How come I always have to do the rowing?"
Bear on the right responds "Because I always have to do the relaxing."

Story of our marriage.

Totally justified in buying this wine. 

Yes it was yummy and I am happy and that is all that matters.

Now if I can just find a justifiable purchase at Tiffany's I will be one happy Nubian.