Winter Quilt Camp 2009

The annual Quilt Camp Retreat with my Mom and Aunt Rosita means more this year than in years past. It's always fun and productive, and a great chance to spend the whole weekend with these two influential ladies in my life. They are the ones who got me quilting.

My Mom was in the Hospital for a week in January. We thought she was having mini-strokes, but they were not quite typical. Turns out it was a case of Shingles gone to her brain (very rare). That was scary, too. I called her one morning before I left for work. She said 2 sentences, and then, "I have to go--I'm having another one ..." I thought with terror, this could be the last time I talk with her--ever, the last time she recognizes me ... I called back to make sure a nurse was with her for the episode. And she was (thankfully). That nurse was as calm as a spring rain, knew just what to do and say to calm down the daughter who was 2 hours away and the patient beside her ... My mom is doing much better now. She's going to have to slow down and not do so much. The only one of her doctors who'd ever seen this before was her Ophthalmologist, who had seen a few cases like this in the early 1980s. He told her (when she seemed to be out of the woods) that people used to die of this (Sheesh!) ... Now they can use Acyclovir, a powerful antiviral drug which she was on via IV for 2 weeks. My dad got really good at administering it for her at home ... Now she's back on the oral version to keep symptoms at bay.

My Mom wouldn't mind sharing this. She's a public health nurse, so she has already used this experience to educate her public on why it's important to get children vaccinated against chicken pox, and older adults vaccinated against shingles. Shingles is really not something anyone would want to endure if there were a way to avoid it--and there is : Get vaccinated!

So this year, Quilt Camp does mean more ... because we didn't now if my Mom would be able to make it. She missed the Fall Retreat due to her first episode with Shingles.

Treasure your time with loved ones.

Anything can happen, and you never know when it will be your last chance to enjoy each other's company together.