My friend told me "You only post on your blog when you are happy." That is pretty true and not that I haven't been happy since January but it has been a long wait with really no news to be shared so I didn't forget about any of you I just really have had nothing to share. . . until yesterday. . .

Definitely one of the best moments in my life so far.  So let me tell you the story. I am at work like any normal Monday. The previous week, I had been in touch with our coordinator, Aneata, and she said we should get a court date any day because we had been waiting longer than ANYONE else that she can remember. So I am in the middle of a case and Bill Cleary (he is pivotal in this story) ends up taking over my room for another anesthesiologist. For those of you who don't know Bill, he is one of my best buddies so this was ideal.  So I was finishing up a case and I get paged to the front desk. Our patient was extubated (the breathing tube was removed) and looking really good, plus Bill was there so I answered the page. Debbie tells me, "Lura, sorry I know you are waking up a patient but an Aneata is on the phone for you." My mouth dropped open because I don't ever get calls at work and I looked at Bill like a deer in the headlights I'm sure and said, "Bill, it's Aneata." He pushes me away from the patient and tells me to take the call. So while Bill is closely monitoring our patient Debbie transfers Aneata to me. She tells me, "Well Lura, it's raining here in Denver (which is our inside joke) and. . . you have a court date!" I threw my head up in the air and BURST into tears. In the middle of the OR. With a patient still in the room. The RN in the room and scrub techs were looking around and Bill was like "I think it is good news, and good tears." I was so excited, but also mortified to be crying in the OR that I told Aneata thank you but I need to call her back when I don't have a patient still in the room. You got it, I didn't even have the brains in that moment to ask her what the court date was.  So I hung up the phone and continue to cry and poor Bill is trying to give me hugs and take care of our patient. He reminded me to call Aneata back immediately to get an exact date so I could tell Karl while he brought our patient to the ICU. For the record, I don't make it a habit of emotionally abandoning my patients like that and wouldn't have even taken the call if Bill hadn't been there. Anyway so I call Aneata back and she tells me our court date is May 29th! So as of Friday we have two more weeks until we leave!!! INSANE.  So I call Karl and ask him if we have any plans on May 29th. His response is, "Ummm, I don't think so.  Isn't that a Tuesday." Then we both celebrated the good news. It feels like it has been such a long wait for us but I can't even imagine how the boys feel seeing families and children come and go and nobody has come for them. Well kiddos, we are COMING!!!!

Thank you for all the love and support you have all shown Karl and myself through this process. We couldn't do this sanely without you!!!
Lura