Last weekend I attended a workshop for "Ministers of Care" (people who take communion to nursing homes, hospitals & the homebound) for the parishes in my area. My church occupied two tables. I was, of course, the youngest person in the entire room by a good twenty years. But I do enjoy the company of Seniors so I was not bothered by that, nor did I feel unwelcome.

The workshop consisted of a talk by a Franciscan Brother and then a sheet listing hypothetical situations that we, as Ministers, could experience while making our rounds. The idea was to read the situation and then discuss our solutions as a table and present to the entire group.

One situation was described as: "You are making rounds in the hospital and run into a neighbor; you learn that their mother is there for a face lift and tummy tuck. You offer to visit her and put her on the prayer list. The family is adamant that you do not do this."

So, our table began to discuss this, and most agreed, "Well if they don't want the prayers then no big whoop!" One woman stated, "You know you can just say a prayer privately becuase even though it is elective, it is still very serious and painful surgery."

I chimed in with my own example, "Yes, just look at what happened to Kanye West's mother."

Blank stares.

I continued, "She went in for a tummy tuck and died on the operating table."

Finally one lady asked, "Kanye who?"

"Who is she talking about," was the growing din around the table.

"He's a rapper from Chicago," I offered. More blank stares.

Finally I noted, "His mother has been on Oprah."

"Ohhhhhh. Ok!" rang the sudden recognition amongst the ladies at the table.

As Greg brady would have stated, "I think we have a generation gap going here."

This morning, I am beginning a yoga class at a center near my home; I have never attended class there before.

I do know they chant at the end (not my favorite, but...) but other than that I'm looking forward to see how the class will be.

follow-up: it was a great but CHALLENGING class. We ended with pranayama exercises, which I actually do like, although I got a bit dizzy after puffing heartily out of my nostrils for 35 counts!

The endocrinologist visit seems to have been a waste of $35 (my copay.)

He suggested that I try to find a clinical study at a local hospital/university on colon pareisis. He denied any chance that its a throid issue.

I have to make some phone calls to fugure out if anyone else (doctor-wise) can help me.

I had nearly finished writing a heartfelt entry about my trip today with my daughter to find a dress and ensemble for her upcoming First Holy Communion. It was wonderful, frustrating, and ultimately rewarding (if not quite expensive.) The punch line: after many try-ons, we found (and bought) a dress, veil and shoes.

But somehow, in my brain fog, I closed the window and lost the entry. It discussed the importance of this day to me and the rest of my Polish-Catholic family. I talked about ancestors, traditions, and lifetime milestones.

But instead of trying to recreate all that good stuff, my colon is barking at me to give an update on its current status.

Apparently, ladies and gentlemen, The Fudge Factory is closed. Or at least it feels that way! I had not mentioned it publicly, but since November I had been having bouts of excrucitating upper-gastric (ie - in my stomach) pain. These "episodes" would last a few hours, and no medicine seemed to help. I would just try to relax and put a heating pad over the painful area. Of course I went to see the doctor right away, but was not offered any solution.

Since they have a glut of patients, my Gastroenterology group made me wait 6 weeks to get an endoscopy to find the source of the problem. I finally got my test results: liver & pancreatic functions are normal (phew!), the H.Pylori biopsy (the bacteria that causes many ulcers) was negative, but the doctor noted, "stomach shows signs of chronic inflammation. Bile was seen in the stomach."

What all this yukky info means is that apparently the lessening activity of my lower gut has now caused such a traffic jam, that bile from my small intestines is surging back up into my stomach. Bile doesn't belong there, causes massive irritation, and can eventually cause stomach tissue malignancies.

Tomorrow I see an endocrinologist to see if in fact a thyroid(or similar)  issue could be holding up the production line. If not, I have no idea what to do next. "Not eating" doesn't seem to work, and a pure clear liquid diet is pretty tough, too. I'm hoping for some good news after tomorrow's visit. Fingers crossed...

So the other day, I walked into our local "ethnic" market to do some shopping. Upon entering the store, I saw a rack of "today's special" on display.

Mmmm, nothing like some juicy, delicious Cok to start the day!


(Thank you to whomever invented the cameraphone; I stealthily snapped this pic because I knew I just had to share it!)

Considering he had my parish, various friends, plus most of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia praying for him,I wasn't completely surprised when I got a phone call today indicating that baby Mark was discharged from the hospital after the EEG and MRI's indicated NO UNUSUAL events/issues with his brain. He is fine!

The two "events" that were witnessed are now being attributed to "acid reflux" (!)

I am 1.) thankful to everyone for their prayers and well-wishing 2.) so glad everything is ok 3.) exhaling now.

:)

I receieved some bad news today:

My newborn baby nephew, Mark, had a series of strokes last night. Initial radiology reports show some issues with his temporal lobes. He is being transferred to CHOP for further evaluation.

Some good news: he is stable, eating, good vital signs, etc.

Prayers are much appreciated at this time.

I receieved a notice in the mail today that I am GUARANTEED TO RECEIVE A WINNING ENTRY TO THE PCH SWEEPSTAKES WITHIN THE NEXT WEEK!

I, for one, am pumped.

Now, where is that d*mn mailman?

My baby sister had her second son today.

His name is Mark Mitchell (Mitchell was my grandfather's name) and weighed in at 8 lbs even.

Apparently mom and baby are doing fine.

I have gotten into online gaming lately. What with my bouts of stomach pain and all, I've found myself clambering into bed, laptop in tow, and engaging in online versions of...

No, not The Sims, Halo, Resident Evil, or anything remotely related to fantasy/violent/sexy gaming.

My games of choice are Scrabble and Boggle.

(you can stop laughing...NOW.)

I'm not all that good at either but I'm working on sharpening my skillz (which is not a legal word in either game, btw.)

Did you know that "Doh" (minus exclamation point) is a legal word in the version of Boggle I play? Well, now you do...

You can thank me later for imparting that shred of strategerie.