I know several people who are currently dealing with medical issues. Some fairly minor, some less so. Some dangerous.

This woman above has been through the ringer lately. On July 2, enjoying a nice trip on her boat with her hubby, they hit an uncharted rock. The boat was eventually totaled. Her husband, Dan, was secure at the bow, and her granddaughter was also hanging on and emerged unscathed.

Laura was in the galley, and her body (she’s small) did a little pinball action around the room. She ended up with multiple injuries, requiring a hospital stay that I think was around three weeks, possibly less. We saw her in the hospital once (they were in the San Juans, so she ended up in Bellingham, about 90 minutes north), and it looked like a manageable but difficult road ahead. Pain was an issue (unfortunately, she seems to have a bad reaction to narcotic pain medication with lots of nausea, so control was a hassle).

During all this workup, they discovered a faulty heart valve that turned out to be really faulty, and it became a priority. So, a few months after making it home, slowly working back to normal, lots of physical therapy and support from family, she headed back to the hospital for valve replacement, which we’re all hoping will make her happier and healthier and breathing easier.

And she comes home today, just in time for Thanksgiving. Thanks will surely be given.

I was just surprised to see a Facebook comment from her today on one of my posts, as apparently she’s well and clear-headed enough to play with the iPad a bit. And the above quote was her comment, and I think that sums up everything pretty well. Let’s deal with the blips, because they’ll always show up and never give us a break. And welcome home to his lovely woman, my dear friend, whom I hope to see again very soon.