What a sad day

Anthony passed away today this is also the day my Dad died 5 years ago.  My Dads long time friend, John, died 2 years ago today.  This seems so odd to me but like Kris my sister in law said this almost is comforting to have them pass away on the same day to know that Dad is there guiding Anthony thru his next journey.  I had to work today because Shari, my boss, is in Russia adopting a little girl and what else is really weird 5 years ago today Shari was in the Ukraine adopting her son, Tom.  I think April 27th from now on should be skipped in the future.  I have decided that my niece, Abby, who is 14 is probably the most heart felt little girl I have ever known.  When my Dad died Abby crawled up into Grandpa's bed laid her head on his chest and said good bye and told him that she loved him.  This morning Abby laid her head on Anthony's shoulder and said goodbye to him and said the time he died.  If she is this way as a child I can't imagine what a wonderful adult she will be.

My sister in law, Pat, is coming  for the weekend.  There is a horse show at the fair grounds that she goes to every year and to quilt some quilt tops.  She wants to buy a Quilters Cruise Control for my machine.  I really would feel horrible having her make that kind of a purchase, she says she owes me for letting her come here and use my machine.  I don't know about anyone else but I love having company come over and sew with me.  I love sewing alone but I laugh a lot more when Pat is here sewing.  I understand the whole quilting retreats but I would not be comfortable going to something by myself so I have my own quilt retreats here at my house and only 1 comes. 

Anthony's parents are still battling about what to do, his EEG and MRI came back the same as last week.  The only part of the brain that is functioning is the part that makes his heart beat, his lungs to breath and his other organs working.  There is no other brain function there that would by a slight chance be what makes Anthony - Anthony.  I had a friend that her daughter was in a horrible car accident and she like Anthony had so much brain damage that her body was just there.  It took that family 11 months to finally make a decision to let their daughter go and that 11 months was hell for them.  I can't imagine and am so thankful for never having to be in that position to make such a decision. 

I don't know if I have every expressed her how much I love Fridays but I really love Friday.  It means that I have 2 full days off work.  My job or should I say the work environment is very stressful and by the time Friday comes I need to get away from there.  

The other day as I was reading through blogs and I came across this picture of this quilt on Rosebud's Cottage blog. 

 

I fill in love with this quilt and the colors.  She was talking about visiting the Moda warehouse and how they come up with ideas for quilts that the shop owners can display.  I looked around for a pattern and really could not find anything.  I REALLY want to make this quilt so I am going to try and figure it out.  I really reminds me of Autumn and as much as that is my favorite season I really am enjoying our unusual Spring in Minnesota.  We don't normally have mid 70's in April but who is complaining.  Back to the quilt I am going to figure out what fabrics I have and what I might have to purchase and get this quilt made.

Raychel is going to come over so she can do the 10 loads of laundry I guess she has and teach her how to use her sewing machine.  She is very interested in making purses, not bags but purses.  She has drawn out a lot of designs and hopefully I can help her put them into reality.  Her short term memory has been damaged so much from the seizures so this might be a real challenge for her.

My brother and his family have decided to give Anthony a few more days to see if there are any signs of improvement.  There is so much brain damage and I guess the only part of the brain that is working is the part that controls his heart beating, his breathing, major organs and his body temperature.  They are going to do another EEG and MRI on Tuesday and then meet again on Wednesday morning and if still no change they will move him into hospice.  I love my kids, husband, family and friends and not sure if I say that enough but I really do and will start telling them more.

My brother, Mike, his ex-wife, Sue, their son Mike and daughter Andrea are meeting tomorrow.  They have decided that they are going to let Anthony go, he is already gone it is just his body laying there.  I still am in shock, I can't understand this is happening.  

My brother, Mike, just sent me a text told me that they had done the EEG and that it showed severe brain damage.  This is so horrible.  I can't imagine why he was drinking.  I guess everyone does things because they don't believe that anything will happen to them, this is what they call human nature.  So sad.  My heart bleeds for Mike, Sue and their oldest son Michael, why a parent has to suffer like this is beyond my comprehension.  I know their pain more than I want to remember.

Addiction

So how many of you really think you have a quilting addiction?  I wake up sometimes and start thinking about the quilt I am working on or the next one I want to make.  I have never thought of this as an addiction (and what a great thing to be addicted to) until this past weekend.

On Saturday morning my Mom called me to tell me that my nephew had gone into the hospital on Thursday night for the stomach flu.  They were going to send him home on Saturday morning but around midnight Friday night they went in his room because his I.V. was dinging and found him dead.  They were able to revive him after 10 minutes but could not breath on his own.  He is life support right and will not know how severe the brain damage will be from lack of oxygen until sometime tomorrow.  They are not sure how long he had been gone for but his entire body was blue when they found him.  On Saturday when my Mom and I were there the Dr came to get the my brother and his ex-wife to talk to them and we were there to listen.  She started off by talking about Friday morning when she saw him in the hall walking and his I.V. pole was shaking so bad because of going through alcohol withdrawals.  I was shocked.  I knew he had gone through treatment 2 times over that last 4 years and had been sober for almost 1 year.  His Mom knew he had been drinking but he had ran out of money and started withdrawing.  She is trying to blame everyone else right now for what has happened but that could be a very long blog about guilt.  The Dr's are saying on Tuesday they are going to have a better idea of how much brain damage there is going to be.  They know there is going to be some just have know idea how much until he is taken off sedation and they can arouse him and see what he is capable of.

Back to my question.  I know I come from a family of brothers that have gone through alcohol treatment and have all been sober for many many years but don't understand a addiction that is so life devastating.  I never realized that my sewing addiction is a addiction until this past weekend.  I am so thankful that my addiction is not life threatening and it is something that I make and pass on to others I love.  This is not a judgement of others that are battling addictions of alcohol, drugs or gambling that can destroy ones life, just a statement how thankful I am for the addiction I do have.