Saturday, December 13, 2008
Vover
After Vaiva's cancer recurred, she decided to get another puppy. She chose a labradoodle, a breed that theoretically has the personality and temperament of a Lab with the non-shedding characteristics of a poodle. Vaiva found a breeder in Maryland, so we were able to acquire the puppy last summer. Vaiva flew to the Baltimore airport, I drove down, picked her up, and we went to the breeder.
Vaiva named the puppy Vover. He might be described as a bit goofy, and generally sweet. He got along well with our Labs, and soon became a comfort dog for her.
What is this?
I'm sitting with Vaiva in her hospital room, playing her iPod loud enough that she can hear it, not so loud to disturb anyone else (I hope). I've loaded it up with some music that she liked, but also with what I like that she didn't object to (a dozen versions of Barber's Adagio, for example, or movie theme music).
The WiFi is working in the hospital room again, so I did a couple of posts for my business blog. Then I had the thought that perhaps I should try a blog dedicated to Vaiva, it might be a quicker way to share news with her many friends.
So here it is, leave a comment if you find it useful.
Vaiva is resting comfortably, breathing deeply, with occasional moments of apnea. She roused a little when I arrived, but did not open her eyes.
The WiFi is working in the hospital room again, so I did a couple of posts for my business blog. Then I had the thought that perhaps I should try a blog dedicated to Vaiva, it might be a quicker way to share news with her many friends.
So here it is, leave a comment if you find it useful.
Vaiva is resting comfortably, breathing deeply, with occasional moments of apnea. She roused a little when I arrived, but did not open her eyes.
Terminal event
No, it's not something that happens in an airport, it's the phrase that the Surgical PA (which I presume means "surgical physician's assistant") uses to lay the psychological foundation before telling you that you must decide if your beloved wife is going to die.
The management of breaking the bad news would be interesting to study and reflect upon if it wasn't happening to me. They used a committee approach, consisting of the surgeon, his PA, the oncologist, and a social worker. The latter was a woman, to add a dash of estrogen to deliberation. They were pretty efficient and practiced without being too cold or detached. They needed to put rational and emotional into synch, while not appropriating decisional authority to themselves. Not a trivial achievement, especially on regular basis.
The management of breaking the bad news would be interesting to study and reflect upon if it wasn't happening to me. They used a committee approach, consisting of the surgeon, his PA, the oncologist, and a social worker. The latter was a woman, to add a dash of estrogen to deliberation. They were pretty efficient and practiced without being too cold or detached. They needed to put rational and emotional into synch, while not appropriating decisional authority to themselves. Not a trivial achievement, especially on regular basis.
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