Life in the City

We live in the capital of Baja California.
There is wealth right smack dab against poverty here.
This morning, wouldn't you know, I heard a sound that is not all that uncommon. Plus, I happen to really love this sound.
The sound of a rooster crowing.
Right between the rumble of the semi's going down the road, there's the cock-a doodle do.

Or as the roosters sing in Spanish "Ki ki ri ki!"




I think even the rich houses might have some chickens roaming around back too, come to think of it . . .

5 months old

Germs are good for you.

I'm a non-stresser, pretty much non-green and purveyor of all things artificial.


I know *gasp gasps*


I've been told "Do you know what is IN those hot dogs?!?!?"


Who knew they could taste so good?


By the way, AMC movie theaters have my FAVORIT hot dogs - really they do. AMC is my Starbucks of hot dogs. Worth the $4.

I regress . . . Mom-101 wrote about germs and parents - got me thinking about my own parenting style . . . very non-la-mode. Reflected so perfectly in the book:

Confessions of a Slacker Mom by Muffy Mead-Ferro

A laugh out loud look at parenting. Check it out! I am so not getting paid to say this, it's just that good of a book.

Pictures from Virginia's funeral

Carlos and his family: Gaby his sister (hearing), Javier his brother behind her (deaf) their mother (hearing) and Carlos is holding his son 3 year old Jerimias and in front is his daugher, 6 year old Leilani with her friend, my daughter.

It was an amazing turn out of mostly deaf people . . . My uncle Marcos (missionary pastor) spoke at the gravesite and you can just see the interpreter to the far right.


At the memorial service Luke Everett signed in ASL while speaking in Spanish, my uncle interpreted to English while I interpreted to Mexican Sign Language. You can Just see me on the far left side here signing a song that was Virginia's favorit with all the former Rancho Sordo Mudo students that attended that day.

Virginia's favorit song was "Quiero Cantar": let me translate it for you

I want to sing a pretty song

of Him who changed my life,

I want to sing a lovely song

of Him who transformed me

it is my friend Jesus

he is my most faithful friend

He is God

He is King

He is Love

and the Truth

only in Him have I found

that peace that I was looking for

only in Him have I found

happyness

Virginia passed away.

I was preparing dinner for my family, a guest and the two children of Carlos and Virgina who were all over at the time when I got the call from Virginia's mother.

Get Carlos and come to the hospital now, the situation is serious!

I had visited just the previous day and where she had regressed, and was unable to sign to me or keep her eyes focused on me for very long, she did respond to my visit.

Now I find her struggling for breath, completely unresponsive but to pain. Her mothers eyes are red and tear streaked and she tells me that the doctor has told her there is no hope.

I sign the information to Carlos . . . it takes a bit to sink in, then he excuses himself from the room and shuts himself in the bathroom.

"How long?" I ask, "What happened?"

She doesn't know, the doctor is not there and only said that Virginia was dieing and there was no hope.

are we talking days? Weeks? Hours?

She doesn't know and the doctor is in surgery but said once he comes out he will come over and talk to us . . .

So by the request of Carlos and Virginia's mom we start calling people . . . family and pastors first.

Carlos specifically asks me to call my uncle Marcos , a missionary pastor, to come . . . and I can barely get the request out . . .

Can you come right now, the doctor is not giving Virginia much hope, Carlos asked for you . . .

He comes, and the wife of the pastor of the hearing church that the deaf congregation belongs to comes, that small room is crowded with people who love Virginia, and crowded with questions. . .
what happened? we don't know
how long? we don't know

we're all praying for Virginia

Then the doctor calls - the nurse informs us, and I take the call so that I can then interpret to Carlos what is going on.

The doctor tells me it is multiple organ failure, she had a third stroke and the brain damage is severe, they've done all they could . . . but she's not going to recover.

HOW LONG?

He can't say for sure . . .

Are we talking weeks? are we talking days? are we talking hours?

Hours, but he can't say how many . . . maybe tonight, maybe in the morning . . . .

OK, I explained to the people in the waiting room what I was just told and then turn to climb the stairs to Virginia's room to tell Carlos . . .

At the door I see the pastor's wife, she doesn't speak to me but it's clear from her red, tear streaked face . . . Virginia had died!

It just happened! They were praying for her, and she passed away . . .

People were still arriving, Carlos' sister, Luke Everett . . . many deaf and we meet them at the door with the same news . . .

Virginia has passed away . . .

Shock
Tears
Shock
Tears
Questions
Questions
Questions

I remained with Carlos until he left to go home. Remember their children where at our house. Carlos plans to tell them, and then take them home . . . but it's 10:30pm and both kids are fast asleep, so we just help load the sleeping angles into their car and I bid them goodnight . . .

We know Virginia is celebrating with her Savior. She is hearing the voice of the one who created her . . . and Virginia who always loved the worship in sign is now SINGING with the angels!!!

Our tears are not for her.

They for us
for her husband
for her daughter
her son
and family

We needed her, we miss her

I miss her

The Gratitude Dance

Virginia Update II

This is a partial e-mail sent by Virginia's sister-in-law, Gaby, who also works at Rancho Sordo Mudo

". . . Doctor Gutierrez, who is in charge of her case tolds us this afternoon that it was not a problem of the kidneys, nor pneumonia like they had told us but that the feeding tube that she had inside her stomache had a leak, a break, that left the food inside her navel cavety and causing causing her pain and later fever and vomiting.

He also said after reading the results and according to the exams that were doing to her, it was not the meningitis that left her like that, that in fact was a sevire stroke that that she had sufered and the problem with the feeding tube had complicated matters and caused her to regress, and cause another stroke. And nothing in her torax. So they will probably open her up tonight to see how everything is. . . . .

FW: Virginia's update 2/8

E-mail from Luke Everett, Director of Rancho Sordo Mudo

Friends,

Last night I found out that Virginia had been sent back to the Gov. Hospital a couple days ago with a high fever and throwing up, and her bed sore was worse. They had not done much at all at the hospital and she was getting worse, so I called a doctor friend and had Virginia transferred to a private hospital this morning.

After many more test this is what he told me; In his opinion and others Virginia never had Meningitis, the test done way back then were never conclusive. From the beginning he thinks it was a stroke and that Virginia just happened to have a fever when she had the stroke. On top of that he thinks she might have had another stroke in these last few days which accounts for her present deteriorating condition. Also the feeding tube into her stomach might have been leaking into her body cavity causing two things to happen, lack of food getting into her system and the infection which caused the high fever.

When I left the hospital they were prepping her for another test to determine if indeed the food tube was leaking and if so she would need surgery to clean her insides up before it went septic and put in a new feeding tube. He is confident they will be able to get her infection, clean her up, start antibiotics, scrub and clean the terrible bed sore, get food into her and get her strong again. He however was not too optimistic about her chances of a full recovery walking and movement wise due to her second stroke. But he also reminded me that he thought the same of Josefina when she had her brain aneurysm and etc, and said, "I know God hears your prayers".

Both Carlos and Virginia's mother (along with the rest of us) immediately felt better having Virginia in a hospital where they are actually doing something instead of guessing and doing nothing. As soon as the ambulance drop Virginia off, the nurses were cleaning her up and prepping her for test and etc. The doctor will call me tonight to give me an update on her condition and if they had to do surgery or not. Please keep praying.

Pray for guidance for the doctors

pray for Virginia's recovery from both the infection and be able to move, walk and etc.( we had to suspend physical therapy till she is strong again)

Pray for Carlos and the children and Virginia's mother.

Pray for funds, a private hospital means private money. The doctor assured me they would charge the minimum and some doctors would take a pay cut, but it still will cost. I am confident God will provide.

Pray for the long road ahead of Carlos and his family.

I went to visit Virginia and talk with Carlos this afternoon, and the doctor used the term "brain embolism" when describing what had happened - I don't know how that differs from a stroke - but I have Carlos and Virginia's kids with me now in my house since we are only blocks away from said hospital.

I agree with Luke - pray, pray, pray!

One funny gal

I get such a kick from my cousin . . . I was spending a mommy break perusing facebook when I read her "interests" . . .

"reading, knitting, cooking, eating, reading while cooking, reading while eating, eating while knitting, reading while knitting, reading while cooking, knitting and eating."

Update on Virginia

For those of you who are praying:

Virginia is not doing well.

I don't know the details, but when I talked to her husband Carlos early this morning he said that he was off to the hospital since she was being moved. And the situation is "poco grave" - a bit serious.

She was placed in the general hospital a couple of days ago with vomiting and a fever.

As I learn details I will let you know.

Goodmorning all!

And thank you all who have said such encouraging things last post and have kept us in your prayers . .

Well, things did fall into place and today the whole family is going back "home" to Mexico. My hubby's surgery went without a hitch and my brother John was able to step in and help out with driving hubby back and forth.

Any time with the brothers is always a treasured time too.

Lets see if this works: click here to hear John speak. I may be a bit biased, but to hear him speak about his ministry with the small children of Mexico is so interesting, and this story will rend your heart . . turn it up, and enjoy!

How the day's fly.

I'm busy trying to get ready to go state side, so I'll be headlining what's been going on.

• My husband's peritoneal tube sprung a leak about two weeks ago, and he needs surgery to change it. Surgery is finally scheduled for Monday.
• Meanwhile he has been on hemodialysis three times a week, so he has been driving up to the states and back . . three times a week so that he could continue to work on the projects he's got going here.
• At the same time his hips started to really really hurt him and after an X-ray and visit with the orthopedic doctor we find that he has an old fracture on the left side but what what hurting him is actually tendinitis of the hips.

OK, all this has been complicated by our vehicles which are reduced by one since our 4-runner (the work car) clutch isn't working. This has forced me at times to climb half way up the mountain of which we are at the foot of, with my three kids in tow, to take my daughter to school and back. I still am hurting.

So today we go state side, baby has a doctor's appointment on Saturday, and a missions meeting. We'll drive back Saturday evening and I interpret worship on Sunday in Ensenada, then Sunday night we are back up state side to prep my hubby for surgery.

His surgery is in the pre-sun morning hours. I'll drive him to and back from the hospital, then Tuesday morning I will drive him to his pre-sun hemodialisis session and back again from the clinic and then I come home to Ensenada with the kids, while hubby stays state side to recover. At some point we will be going back up to get him, but that is not worked out yet.

Are you dizzy yet?

So now my challenge is, before I pack for everyone, I need to see if I can farm my kids out to their uncles or somehow arrange for them to be with someone while I am driving my hubby to and fro from the different hospitals and clinics.

It is times like that I am so grateful for the people that open their homes to us in San Diego where we can make a second home state side. What a blessing!

Virginia update

An e-mail received from Luke Everett 1/31/08

Dear friends,

Yesterday we took Virginia to a neurologist and had a two brain scans done. He discovered that during Virginia's meningitis episode she had a stroke. Which count for the paralysis of her left side and some of her other symptoms. He was positive that through much therapy she should be
able to recover, but to be patient, it could be a year or so.

At this point she needs to start eating food through her mouth (She still has a feeding tube going into her stomach), he said to get her eating and eating right. He was able to answer any other questions for us, finally he said, "just ask Luke anything, because he went through the same thing with his wife Josefina".

So in a sense it was a good consult, we found out a lot and came away better informed how to help her. He prescribe some pain medicine she can take before they start therapy so it won't hurt so much.

So prayer needs now are:

• Her bed sore will heal. It cause her much pain.
  
• Someone that could come and help them for a while as a home nurse. Three
  of my staff go in once a week on different days to help for a few hours.
  But it would be nice if they had someone full time for any amount of time
  would help.
  
• That the physical therapy will continue to help and not hurt so much.
  I am sure finances are always a need.
  
• Pray for Carlos as he adapts to a whole new way of life for a while, as
  he juggles the children, his preaching duties and his wife.
  

Thank you for your prayers.

Love because of Jesus,
Luke Everett
Director
Rancho Sordo Mudo
http://www.ranchosordomudo.org/