Moving forward....
The first of many school breaks ended, and the kiddos are back in the groove in Bermuda again. After we left Grandma's house in PA, we spent a few days in NJ. Although our primary purpose was for Jordan to have his heart biopsy, we did get a little bit of time to hang out, eat, shop and see good friends.
First stop - lunch. Part of me is hanging my head in shame, but the truth is, I secretly love the Cheesecake Factory. I know, from an epicurean point of view, the entire thing is awful. Too much, too big, too loud, too everything bad... but Lord above - look at the size of those bowls of pasta!! And Jordan ate the ENTIRE thing!! And the price? Well, let's just say that Jeff and I were cheering.
Later that evening, we had a playdate with our friends David and Julia. Much pizza (yay, real pizza!!!) was consumed. The kids burned it off with freeze dance and trampolines. I just kept eating till I went into a food coma. It was all part of my grand plan, obviously. You know that plan? The "stuff-your-face-because-I-am-on-vacation-plan?" Yeah, it's a good one. I had fun with that. Although, I was really feeling it this week in running class.
Unfortunately, we did have serious business to attend to the next day. Jordan was scheduled for a full heart biopsy at 7:00 a.m. A full one just means they biopsy both the left and right ventricles of the heart. It also means the procedure takes longer, and the recovery time in bed is five hours. Thanks to our friends, Miss Mina was able to spend the day playing in the comfort of their home, rather than the hospital. Big relief.
I'm so happy to report that Jordan's final results came in, and he is doing very well. No signs of rejection present. Hurray!
Jordan leaving the hospital. He's so amazing after the biopsy. His groin is fully bandaged with huge pressure bandages that constrict the skin. But he slowly walked along, and made the best of it.
After almost 18 hours of no food, Jordan celebrated with neon green ice cream. Yum.
Later that evening, I got a chance to hang out with my favorite crew. It was beyond awesome seeing them and catching up. Of course, it's bittersweet too, as I recalled the many times we would meet for our infamous "wine nights." But being with them that evening felt like no time had passed. That's the best.
The next morning, we packed our suitcases. Packed, of course, is a relative term. This was our last chance to take advantage of the individual person duty exemption at Bermuda customs. At the end of the month, the exemption will change from $100 per person, to $100 per FAMILY!!! I actually did try to restrain myself though (Jeff), believe it or not.
As we sat in the airport at Newark, the sky became darker. Raindrops splashed on the terminal windows, which gave way to wet snow. Other ex-pats we knew made their way into the chairs and we compared our mid-term break stories. (I love that about travelling back and forth to BDA. You always run into people you know at the airport. It is SUCH a small island!!)
Unfortunately, the snow began to actually pile up to the degree that the plane wings had to be de-iced. While we dealt with our airport delays and scary, turbulent flight, I learned that back in NJ, much of the town lost power. Electrical lines were down everywhere, and tree limbs were scattered all over the roads.
You might say, we escaped just in time.
Sorry girls!!!!
First stop - lunch. Part of me is hanging my head in shame, but the truth is, I secretly love the Cheesecake Factory. I know, from an epicurean point of view, the entire thing is awful. Too much, too big, too loud, too everything bad... but Lord above - look at the size of those bowls of pasta!! And Jordan ate the ENTIRE thing!! And the price? Well, let's just say that Jeff and I were cheering.
Later that evening, we had a playdate with our friends David and Julia. Much pizza (yay, real pizza!!!) was consumed. The kids burned it off with freeze dance and trampolines. I just kept eating till I went into a food coma. It was all part of my grand plan, obviously. You know that plan? The "stuff-your-face-because-I-am-on-vacation-plan?" Yeah, it's a good one. I had fun with that. Although, I was really feeling it this week in running class.
Unfortunately, we did have serious business to attend to the next day. Jordan was scheduled for a full heart biopsy at 7:00 a.m. A full one just means they biopsy both the left and right ventricles of the heart. It also means the procedure takes longer, and the recovery time in bed is five hours. Thanks to our friends, Miss Mina was able to spend the day playing in the comfort of their home, rather than the hospital. Big relief.
I'm so happy to report that Jordan's final results came in, and he is doing very well. No signs of rejection present. Hurray!
Jordan leaving the hospital. He's so amazing after the biopsy. His groin is fully bandaged with huge pressure bandages that constrict the skin. But he slowly walked along, and made the best of it.
After almost 18 hours of no food, Jordan celebrated with neon green ice cream. Yum.
Later that evening, I got a chance to hang out with my favorite crew. It was beyond awesome seeing them and catching up. Of course, it's bittersweet too, as I recalled the many times we would meet for our infamous "wine nights." But being with them that evening felt like no time had passed. That's the best.
The next morning, we packed our suitcases. Packed, of course, is a relative term. This was our last chance to take advantage of the individual person duty exemption at Bermuda customs. At the end of the month, the exemption will change from $100 per person, to $100 per FAMILY!!! I actually did try to restrain myself though (Jeff), believe it or not.
As we sat in the airport at Newark, the sky became darker. Raindrops splashed on the terminal windows, which gave way to wet snow. Other ex-pats we knew made their way into the chairs and we compared our mid-term break stories. (I love that about travelling back and forth to BDA. You always run into people you know at the airport. It is SUCH a small island!!)
Unfortunately, the snow began to actually pile up to the degree that the plane wings had to be de-iced. While we dealt with our airport delays and scary, turbulent flight, I learned that back in NJ, much of the town lost power. Electrical lines were down everywhere, and tree limbs were scattered all over the roads.
You might say, we escaped just in time.
Sorry girls!!!!
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, November 02, 2011 at Wednesday, November 02, 2011.
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Oh honey you were saved! That nasty storm hit us in New England but hard! 6 days, no power, small generator. Power returned today at 2:30pm. One of the first things I did was boot up the laptop and secure that internet connection; then I went into organization mode. After much cleanup and laundry, I am sitting here eating a sloppy pizza and catching up on my favorite blogging peeps. I'm no saint but I know the difference between a life issue and a life's issue. There was a moment when I thought of your Jordan this week and a friend whose mom who just had a major (5) bypass surgery last week before and thanked The Almighty for all that I did have. I am happy to hear that Jordan is doing very well but....what is this about Kim Kardashian's divorce? Of all the times for a power outage!!! ;-)
Rani
R - that sucks!!! Speaking of KK, you should have heard me ranting to Jeff last night about this farce. It seriously sickens me to think how they exploited this situation, also known a marraige, to make millions of dollars. The more I think about it, the angrier I get. This is the sanctity of marriage everyone is trying to protect by denying the right to some groups of people? Really!?!?
I totally agree with you regarding KK's wedding. Just to think of all that money spent on that sham wedding,(plus the cost of that outrageous ring!) that could have gone to fund cancer research or to the Make A Wish Foundation to help others. She disgusts me.
Glad to see you made it out of NJ in the nick of time! Do you keep your house and car in NJ to use for your visits or do you just get a hotel/rental? Wasn't sure if you had sold your home yet, or keep it for your visits.
Nice that you were able to spend time with old friends and catch up.
Kendra - we stayed in a hotel/rented a car. We are renting out our NJ house for now. We drove by it while we were in town, and it was such a strange feeling seeing it. So many memories.
That's so awesome you were able to rent the house out in this economy. What wonderful news to receive about your son's biopsy ! Is there a good childrens hospital in Bermuda of will you just continue to fly back to the States for his medical care? Also does your son have to take a ton of pills everyday to ward off rejection and if so, how does he handle that? Just curious, Does he know/understand at his age about the transplant and donor?
What sort of things do you buy in NJ to bring back to Bermuda? ( I'm assuming there are some things you can't get there?)
Rj - nothing very exciting - books (duty free, so I like to get some for the kids), uniform appropriate shoes for the kids, sale stuff from the outlets for the next season, sometimes some toys for birthdays coming up or holidays. We have to factor in duties and space. But even with the duties, it's inevitably cheaper. We got pulled aside at customs this time, but what they were most interested in was electronics. But all we had was the stuff we had purchased before and already inventoried with customs ahead of time -i.e registered. Like laptops, which we both travel with, and my camera. You have to register those things ahead of time if you plan on travelling back and forth with. Otherwise, they can be confiscated and you have to pay a fine. It's strict here as customs fees generate income for the govt..
Kendra - although Jordan does have to take medication daily, it's not that bad. When he first started out, he took nine different things that I used to pace out over the whole day/night. Now he takes two. Morning and evening. Once in awhile, he adds something else depending on certain things. But, from a transplant point of view - we are very lucky to have so few meds to deal with.
It's interesting you mention the issue of transplantation. As Jordan has gotten older, he's begun asking more questions about his heart. He's never known anything but this life, so for a long time, doctor visits and hospitals were his status quo. it's only been in the last year or so that he's started to ask aloud - "How come Mina doesn't have to do a biopsy? How come Mina doesn't have to see Dr. A? Why does Mina get to hang out at Julia's while I;m in the hospital!" etc.
And very gently, I've been trying to explain to him what happened when he was a baby, and how another very special baby was there to help him. It's still a lesson we're sorting through. I try to keep what I say age appropriate, and understandable.
S
I am so glad things are positive for Jordan, and it looks like you were able to enjoy the time stateside too!
Thanks Annie - I had such a great time in PA and NJ. It was just about perfect. Biopsy day was hard, but honestly, it went about as smoothly as it could go. I was so relieved.
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