My mother-in-law passed away this morning, in the arms of her son. So very sad and so very tragic.

This really isn't beep worthy, but I feel like it anyway. I am in my new apartment. My internet is hooked up. I am down a couch. And everything is wonderful. More stories later.

An odd request for vibeage.

Anytime after about one in the afternoon on Friday, any spare "make it happen" vibeage aimed in the general direction of Marin County, California would be deeply appreciated. Basically, I need to see a man about a piano and then I need to see about stepping out of thirty years of shadow and going to Cleveland with said piano.

Sorry to be so cryptic. But for anyone who's sent me "get through one more 6 September" good wishes in the past, if I can pull this thing off, it may make future 6 Septembers a lot easier to deal with.

Thanks.

I just got the call. The medical folk are expecting my mom to die with the next day or so. I expect I'll be dark for a while. Any vibes or ~ma that you could aim toward my family would be appreciated, thanks.

I'm going to be dark for the next few days as G and I head for Portland, where I'll have no computer access to speak of.

JZ and the Halloweenie Update

I'm back at home for a minute to get her toothbrush and sundries and a book and her phone charger. (We only live two blocks from the hospital.)

She's stopped bleeding, and the baby is fine.

It was a placental abruption - meaning the placenta pulled slightly away from the uterus. But it was only in one small corner and it seems to be "resolving" (as they say).

Around 11:30 this morning she'd gone for a coffee break, getting her decaf, a muffin and a very tasty looking falafel sandwich (with lettuce and tomato). She noticed some discharge and went to the bathroom to check and saw she was bleeding. She hurried back to her desk, put her doctor's phones on the answering service, grabbed her cell and went to the ER. She called me on the way, and by the time I got there about 10 minutes later she had been moved to a triage unit in Labor and Delivery.

She's at 28 weeks so the baby is viable now and they would do a C-section if the abruption was catastrophic. They kept a close eye on her, put in two IVs (the second one took four tries, which was quite the endurance test for the needle-phobic JZ). Did an extensive sonogram, blood draws and a less than pleasant speculum inspection.

Everything looks okay now. No contractions. Baby's heart rate is healthy and vigorous. She had spotting for a couple hours after the initial gushes but now it seems to have stopped.

She's exhausted from all the stress (the nurses learned exciting new profane phrasings today after the failed IV attempts. They found "Fucking McFuckypants!" to be an entertaining addition to the lexicon.)

They gave her the steroid shot to boost the baby's lung development if she came early. Which she is not, because the Empress said Stay Put.

She's also sad about missing her falafel sandwich, since she hasn't eaten since breakfast and they won't let her eat until they're absolutely completely sure that she won't need a C-section.

Which looks like we're almost clear on - we just want to wait for the second blood work and then I can go get her dinner. (She's opting for Saag Paneer for dinner.)

Thanks for all your kind thoughts. She might be out by tomorrow night, or possibly on Sunday. If she's very stable when she leaves, she might not need bed-rest, but would have to be taking it very, very easy.

Meaning, of course, that the Northern California Pogo Stick Sectionals she'd been training for are right out.

It's 2:50am, and I'm taking myself to the ER. I have sharp pains in the area of my left kidney.

Now that we have had my birthday party and made our announcement, at last I can divulge--we eloped! The WBB and I got married on Wednesday. Just us and a notary marrying dude who was a failed actor and was hilariously hammy. The BF had been planning this for a while and sprang it on me last Saturday. It almost KILLED me not telling anyone, but it was such fun to spring it on everyone who was here for my little birthday shindig. The BF's mom and sisters were here, so there was a lot oif crying and hugging. After 13 years, it doesn't feel any different, but it's still lovely to be married.