Some good news for a change! I have been hired by my university as supplemental instructor for Chem 101: Chemistry for Elementary Teachers.

I also got my student teaching assignment yesterday in the district I really wanted. It's been a great couple of days.

Can I get some cat-ma? When I picked Charlie up from spending the weekend at the vet for kidney stuff, they told me to bring him back in if he didn't eat for 24 hours. He didn't eat last night or this morning, so we're going over there shortly.

Job~ma at 12:30 pst, if you would. Interviewing for a job I really want.

My Jack Russell, Betsy, had some kind of attack last night...this morning the vet said it was renal failure. It's already way too quiet in here. She was fourteen, so she wasn't deprived, but...

My father and his wife came out for a visit and to meet the new grandson and she collapsed when they landed at the airport.

I'm heading over to the hospital. She is coming out of heavy sedation and we'll be getting a series of test results this evening. They told my father to start thinking about a DNR.

She could come through over several weeks or she could die at any time. Throw in a certain amount of estrangement between my father and the rest of us because this isn't daunting enough.

Wish us luck.

She is coming out of heavy sedation and we'll be getting a series of test results this evening.

Just spoke with Trudy and the medical team decided to keep her father's wife heavily sedated today and they are hoping to be able to run the tests and get results tomorrow.

Ford L-M was born today at 8:06AM. 9lbs, 21.5". He is in good health, but has fluid in his lungs, so is in the NICU overnight, possibly a bit longer. Argh!

It's one step up, two steps back with my father's wife. Looks like we're in it for the long haul. Nobody has said she CAN'T recover... but nobody is saying that she will either.

Nilly's father passed away tonight (it's almost 1:00pm now in Israel). The funeral will take place later today.

They FINALLY extubated my father's wife on Wednesday and completely un-sedated her. This has been scheduled, half-done, and cancelled several times. I called her phone yesterday (since my dad has been using it) and she picked it up herself. You could have knocked me over with a feather. Saturday dad and I were pretty sure she was on the verge of death and now she's chattering away like nothing happened.

To her, nothing did. She has no memory since leaving San Francisco over a week ago. I saw her last night and the whole thing is a little surreal. I promised her the new grandson she was coming to meet didn't lose any cuteness in the 10 days she was out of comission.

She's not out of the woods by any means. It feels like she's all better, but she's still in the CICU. The heart rhythm fluctuations that (probably) caused this are still not understood or controlled. It could all start all over again. We can be grateful that she's alive and there is no brain damage, but she's got a long way to go.

Thank you for all your kind thoughts and messages. It's been hard but it has not been lonely.