I worked hard for this in 2019, and now I know my capabilities. Thank you to BlueSeventy for sponsoring this series of open water competitions. You made me work for it!
We have a family curse not unfamiliar to millions of Americans: alcoholism. Especially for the males on both sides of my family, the drink has really challenged the men. My maternal uncles came through it using the 12-step program. My father quit at age 76, cold turkey, after a cascade of serious health problems delivered the final ultimatum: quit or die soon. One aunt by marriage somewhat recently had and survived a liver transplant—which is fantastic. But my brother, Brion, is on a different and heartbreaking journey. As I write this, I’m at home in the PNW while my mom is at Brion’s bedside in a San Diego hospital based (inpatient) hospice. Things are so fragile. Time is short. I’m still processing what I’ve witnessed in the last few months and the progression to this present-day byproduct of alcoholism: hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) at end-stage liver disease from alcohol-related cirrhosis. Our family members got a crash course in all the processes, medications, terminology, trea...
I hope Gracie-cat forgives me. I hope that I forgive me! Last week our kitty cozied up a little too close to the wood pile for too long (next to our warm woodstove), and ended up with an impossible amount of tree sap stuck in unfortunate areas: the base of her tail near her poop zone and up top, caked into the paw pad and up her back right leg, and her belly fur. When we saw her in the mornng she was hopping about like a peg leg pirate, and trying to shake it off her back leg. I looked up how to clean this off and found many ideas suggested, from peanut butter, to Dawn, to coconut oil, olive oil and so on. Opting for olive oil, I locked her in the bathroom with me, all tools in hand, and prepared to clean her up. Pitch gone, but...new problem: the oil was still on. Oily cat. It looked and felt much worse IRL. She behaved so well, and of course hated every second of it. After towel drying her the best I could, she spent hours cleaning herself nonstop. As she dried, sh...
Brion Evan Fowler 5/7/70-10/11/24 Brion passed away on Oct. 11. We will never be the same, but will hold him closely in our memories. Our family is managing and honoring the grief that floods over us in waves. I want to thank everyone who expressed their condolences and brought us comfort through each contact. We felt constantly surrounded in love, just as we surrounded Brion in love in his final weeks. Kristofer, our baby brother, had asked Brion about his favorite songs and music during B's hospital stay. Brion replied the Smiths, adding "What difference does it make?" Kris had a total "Who's on first" moment and started explaining that it's because he wanted to pull up playlists for ambience. Brion said, "No--that is a SONG by The Smiths!" They had a good laugh. I'll always remember that even while hospitalized Brion still had his sense of humor. Like when he gently peeled back the covers over his chest to reveal his bony fingers and ...
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