Christmas Anyway
We’ve had a year.
If you haven’t kept up, Cliff had successful quadruple bypass surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in January. The surgeon said his heart was good to go for another 10-20 years. No longer tottering on the abyss, we all felt positive after constant cardiac events.
But not for long.
In March, Cliff suffered a stroke. The hospital ER put me on the phone with a Promedica Toledo surgeon who explained what needed to happen with my permission. And away Cliff went by ambulance, racing down the turnpike. Our kind neighbor Rob insisted on driving me there. Maggie arrived from Detroit. For 3 days, Cliff could move nothing on his left side. Then he slowly lifted a finger when prompted by the surgeon, who smiled and said, “That’s the beginning,” and patted Cliff’s shoulder.
Overall, Cliff lived for 9 weeks in rehab centers. It took 4 staff members to help him walk for his first attempt. He came home with a walker and in-home therapy until outpatient physical therapy was possible. He made it to a quad cane and was about to receive a regular cane when his heart went berserk during a routine echocardiogram. Sent to University Hospital under the care of an electrophysiologist, he eventually came home in a Life Vest, an external defibrillator, and in-home health care yet again.
Exhausted by the whiplash of Cliff’s health? So are we.
But he’s back at outpatient physical therapy and succeeding. They think he’ll walk on his own in time. In February, he returns to the Cleveland Clinic for a defibrillator to be implanted.
Maggie, who steadies us, found a great place of her own. Friends from college and Minnesota have visited her. Unfortunately, she’s discovered the burnout rate is high in nonprofits and now has 2 new supervisors who depend on her knowledge and efficiency. She’s still taking pottery classes, which is no surprise to us because she loved Play-Doh as a child.
I’ve managed 7 events for my picture book Library Girl: How Nancy Pearl Became America’s Most Celebrated Librarian. If you’d like a bookplate for your copy, contact me. Nancy, illustrator Sheryl Murray, and I signed a stack when we were celebrated at Seattle’s Literary Lions gala. I hadn’t worn velvet and pearls in decades.
Yes, it’s been a lot, but we’ve prevailed.
Cookies are baked. Presents wrapped. Cards mailed. Christmas Eve dinner cooked, thanks to Maggie magic.
The Christmas tree was perfect. Then a light string failed yesterday. Another flickered out this morning. Honestly, we’ve flickered ourselves this year, playing some kind of hospital bingo with Cliff across NE Ohio.
But it’s Christmas anyway.
And then some.
