Update on Tori's Surgery

We arrived at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville around 11:45 on Thursday. We didn't wait too long until Tori was called back to the prep area.

She put on PJs and let the nurses do the routine pre-op tasks without any fuss. Around 2:20 p.m. the anesthetist (a term I would not have known before working at Union) came in to take her to the operating room. He asked Tori if she wanted to ride the bed or have him carry her back. Tori threw up her arms and said "You carry me." Nancy told Tori to give hugs and kisses, meaning us, but Tori threw her arms around his neck and planted a smacker on his cheek. She genuinely caught him off-guard, and later he told us Tori charmed everyone in the operating room. I have to wonder how long they listened to Tori chat before deciding they really needed to get underway.

The operation took around 3 hours and we were able to go back to the recovery room a little after 6 p.m. Tori gradually came out of the anesthesia and while groggy and hoarse her personality came shining through those big brown eyes. She took a few drinks of apple juice and drifted in and out. Sometime around 7:30 p.m. we moved out of recovery and up to her room.



Tori, Nancy and Grandma Porter settled into one of what the nurse dubbed "the princess room" for the night. The room, with its cabinetry and furniture, was designed for an extended stay. After talking briefly with one father who was a self-described veteran of the floor I had to wonder if any level of design could make being there more bearable. The next morning I brought Madison along with Grandma and Grandpa Lyerla to visit Tori. She was being stubborn, not eating or drinking enough to satisfy the doctors and send her home. Beyond stubborn, she was beginning to realize the value of her situation. For instance, she was allowed to have popsicles as a way of getting fluids. At one point, when Nancy offered Madison a popsicle Tori, thinking out loud, mumbled "I'm the one who's not feeling very well."

Later in the day Tori began eating and drinking enough to convince the doctors she was able to go home. Around 6:00 p.m. on Friday we loaded up the vehicles and said good-bye to the nurses.

I want to thank everyone for their prayers during the last few weeks leading up to the surgery and during our hospital stay. Nancy says the good sleep Tori got through the night after the surgery had to be because of the prayers. To Dr. Cofer, who did the surgery, the nurses in the recovery room and the seventh floor and everyone else we met during our stay we say thank you.

Tomorrow morning we'll be taking our 3 year-old daughter Tori to Nashville for her second cleft-lip surgery. The people at Vanderbilt have been amazing and most likely this will be the last surgery she will need. She goes into the OR at 2:00 p.m. and the procedure should last a couple of hours.
As we get ready, I'm reminded of a conversation Nancy and Madison had prior to Tori's first surgery in 2004. Nancy wanted to let Madison know what was going on and what the doctors in St. Louis would be doing to her little sister. When Nancy told her they would be fixing Tori's lip, Madison got the strangest look on her face. Over the next few minutes Nancy realized Tori's lip was fine as far as Madison knew, and she couldn't comprehend the need to fix it. It didn't matter that Tori's lip looked different, that is how Madison had always seen her.
The last few weeks I've taken several pictures of the smile I've come to know and love for the last 3 years. I know it's for the best to finish what the docs in St. Louis began, but at the same time I think I'll miss the old one.

Hunting equals dogfighting?

From the comments of Stephon Marbury and Clinton Portis concerning Mike Vick someone may need to do a little more digging into how many athletes are involved in dogfighting.

On Monday, New York Knicks guard Stephon Marbury was in Albany, N.Y., promoting his brand of affordable sneakers. He was asked about Michael Vick, and said, according to Newsday:

"We don't say anything about people shooting deers and shooting other animals, you know what I mean? From what I hear, dogfighting is a sport. It's just behind closed doors and I think it's tough that we build Michael Vick up and then we break him down ... I think he fell into a bad situation."

"Shooting deers"?


And from an interview Portis did for WAVY TV in Virginia:

"I don't know if he was fighting dogs or not, but it's his property, it's his dog," Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis told WAVY-TV in Virginia. "If that's what he wants to do, do it. I think people should mind their business."

When told that dog fighting is a felony, Portis replied, "It can't be too bad of a crime."

I think the Marbury comment comparing legal hunting to dogfighting has to be the most ludicrous comment over the entire matter. I grew up hunting; my dad taught me to be respectful and responsible in every aspect from the trail to the kill. He has owned several hounds over the course of my lifetime. NEVER once can I remember him striking one of his dogs in anger or because they failed to perform well. Let's contrast this with what Mike Vick has admitted to being involved in.

RICHMOND, Virginia (CNN) -- Two co-defendants of Michael Vick say the NFL star helped execute dogs that didn't fight well, according to federal court documents.

The court papers, filed as Quanis Phillips, 28, and Purnell Peace, 35, pleaded guilty to dogfighting charges Friday, said all three men "executed approximately eight dogs that did not perform well in testing sessions" in April of this year by methods such as hanging and drowning.

Disgusting, barbaric, cowardly. I have one more question for Marbury. Do you think Vick ate the dogs he is responsible for killing? No? Well there's another difference between responsible hunters and dogfighting thugs.

Anytime I Want to Feel Old...

I can look at the Beloit College Mindset List. The report, compiled annually by the college's office of public affairs gives a glance into the political and cultural mind of the latest round of college freshmen. A few highlights from the class of 2011:

Humvees, minus the artillery, have always been available to the public.

They never “rolled down” a car window.

Stadiums, rock tours and sporting events have always had corporate names.

American rock groups have always appeared in Moscow.

Tiananmen Square is a 2008 Olympics venue, not the scene of a massacre.

The space program has never really caught their attention except in disasters.

They get much more information from Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert than from the newspaper.

I guess I am now officially a part of another generation...

A Short Quiz

My sister sent this to me via e-mail. Normally I'm not the type to pass these things along, but this was clever. See how you do, I caught on and got the final question right.

The following short quiz consists of 4 questions and will tell you whether you are qualified to be a professional.

Scroll down for each answer. The questions are NOT that difficult.



But don't scroll down UNTIL you have answered the question!

1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?



















The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door. This question tests whether
you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.




2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?


















Did you say, open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and close the
refrigerator?

Wrong Answer.

Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions.








3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend.... except one.
Which animal does not attend?



















Correct Answer: The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. You just put him in there. This tests your memory.

Okay, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your true abilities.


4. There is a river you must cross but it is used by crocodiles, and you do not have a boat. How do you manage it?


























Correct Answer: You jump into the river and swim across. Have you not been listening? All the crocodiles are attending the animal conference. This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.











According to Anderson Consulting Worldwide, around 90% of the professionals they tested got all questions wrong, but many preschoolers got several correct answers.

Whatever your score, hope you enjoyed a little creative thinking today!

Reading Ray Van Neste's most recent post on his blog led me to look up "It is Well with My Soul", one of my favorite hymns on Cyberhymnal. I discovered verses I'd not known of prior to reading them this morning. I've italicized the verses outside what I'd always thought to be the complete hymn, and reading the complete version only strengthens it's standing as my favorite.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Refrain

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Refrain

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

Refrain

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

Refrain

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Refrain

Do you think if this were sung in congregations as a hymn of invitation we'd get to all the verses?

On a personal note if you haven't heard Chad and Rachel Ozee's rendition of this hymn you are truly missing something wonderful.

I'm not picking on him, just something I noticed...Gosh!

Has anyone else noticed how much...

ATLANTA FALCONS' QB JOEY HARRINGTON


RESEMBLES


"NAPOLEON DYNAMITE" STAR JON HEDER?


Same initials, same smile, similar hair...let the speculation commence!!!

The Joey Jinx?

A trend seems to be in the making. Following a less-than-stellar stint in Detroit (not entirely his fault), quarterback Joey Harrington is sent to the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins, still searching for their next Marino, had just completed a deal to bring Daunte Culpepper to Miami as the next candidate and Harrington seemed content to hold the clipboard. A few weeks into the season Harrington is the starter and Daunte is riding the bench on his way to Oakland. That was last season...

Harrington signs with Atlanta following the departure of reliable backup Matt Shaub to Houston. Again, Joey seems content to be in the second chair behind the face of the franchise Mike Vick. A short time later Vick is indicted on Federal charges involving his alleged operation of a dog-fighting ring. Now it seems that Vick will be suspended for a portion if not all of this season. For now Harrington is stepping into the lead role and taking "his team" into competition.

So if you are a starting QB in the NFL and Joey Harrington is signed as your backup should you start looking at your options? Forget the Madden Curse and bring on the Harrington Hex!

Okay Barry, now leave us alone...

It ends. Now I become a big fan of A-Rod. C'mon man, only 257 to go...

Is this where we lost our conscience?

I tend to chuckle when I hear James Dobson at Focus on the Family or Don Wildmon of the American Family Association preach the removal of the Ten Commandments from public places and prayer from schools as the harbinger of doom for our society. This call to return to the "good old days" i.e. prior to 1962 makes me think of segregation. Is such an atrocity the norm in a "Godly nation"?
Now, it seems there is another dirty secret from that era of family values.

SEASIDE, Oregon (CNN) -- One day in 1957, when Jeff Daly was 6 years old, his little sister, Molly, disappeared. Every night at dinner, he would ask his parents the same question, "Where's Molly?"

Every night, he says, he received the same answer: "Stop asking about Molly."

Decades later, Daly learned that his parents had sent Molly to a state institution nine days before her third birthday. Nearly 50 years later, Daly found his sister and made a documentary about his search.

I read this story with amazement. How parents could make the decision, arbitrarily or under the advice of a doctor, to abandon their child as a ward of the state is beyond me. Children with autism, Down Syndrome and other physical or mental abnormalities were seen as problems, inconveniences or embarrassments and shipped away and erased from existence.

Thankfully we've learned much concerning mental and physical impairments over the last 50 years to allow people to live as normal of a life as possible and to see the blessing in each individual. Yes, abortion is still an abomination (because I know someone will bring it up) and there are other moral issues in our society, but it is not because of prayer in schools or the Ten Commandments. The problem is sin and it is not tied to an era of history, a ruling by a court or a bill passed by Congress.

I feel a ramble coming on, so I'm going to let this go for now.