I didn't drop off the face of the earth...

It may seem as I have dropped off the face of the earth, but I assure you I am still alive and kicking butt in Salt Lake City! Life here at the Wheeler house has been super crazy the last several weeks.

Let's see....

The first part of August I went to Oregon to visit my Portland area family. Had a wonderful visit and it was great to see everyone. Even my hill billy uncle Mikey came out of the woods to see me. Growing up he was the fun uncle that would play horsey or play dough with me. Sadly my family experienced three deaths in the week I was there. My loved ones will be missed, but they are in a much better place. On the way home I got pulled over by the Utah Highway Patrol just 30 miles from home. Yes, I was speeding, yes I deserved it...but it was justifiable. At least in my mind it was justifiable. Meghan puked in Jerome, Idaho and had been complaining of an, "owie belly" all evening. I was just trying to get to the next rest stop before she puked. Honestly. I think the stench of puke, a screaming two year old, and a haggard looking mom convinced the officer to show me a tad bit of mercy. Not as good as my mother and her best friend's story. They had two screaming babies with stinky bottoms, and two whining kids complaining about being hungry.....

We arrived home on a Wednesday, left on Thursday for the cabin. Had a nice relaxing weekend in the mountains. I am going to miss being able to go there when the Air Force moves us again.

The following Monday I started school. I am taking English 105 and Sociology 141, they are kicking my booty! When I have a few moments I will share some of the essays I have written for English.

Wednesday of that week my dear friend Marsha from Alaska arrived. She arrived here to speak with a specialist about a medical issue she has been having for over a year. The following Tuesday one of the specialists she was seeing had her do a camera endoscopy. This resulted in her being doubled over in pain that evening and me rushing her to Salt Lake Regional's ER. I stayed with her until they admitted her at 3 a.m. on Wednesday morning. She has been there ever since. Wednesday they performed an emergency surgery. Her husband arrived from Alaska on Thursday. The following Tuesday the doctor performed another surgery to alleviate one of her issues she has been enduring for a year. That night they had to do another emergency surgery because she was bleeding out. She almost died. After a few days in the ICU they transferred her back up to the surgical floor. I believe they did that this last Thursday, or maybe it was Friday. Her sister flew in Saturday. Then tonight they rushed her back into emergency surgery to clean up a bunch of blood that was pooling in her abdomen. The doctor took a good look at everything and she is no longer actively bleeding. She has now been in the hospital for almost two weeks. I pray that tonight was the last surgery for her. I have tried to be of as much help as I can be to her and her husband. I can see the weariness on her dear husband. She is weary. I am weary.

So as you can see, I am still here...just busy with school and a friend who is gravely ill.