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NORMA’S UPDATE

Sunday, February 8, 2009

 

Dear Family & Friends,

 

It is Saturday, February 7th and I’m writing Norma’s update.  It seems appropriate that February 8th would fall on a Sunday this year.  We have so much to be thankful for…and Sunday is a day that we give thanks to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for all of His blessings – large and small.

 

It was one year ago today that Norma experienced her life-threatening brain aneurysm.  So I simply thought it would be appropriate to say thank you to all of you, whether you are still checking in or not.  Thank you for your thoughts, prayers and support this past year.  You have made a huge difference in our lives.  May God bless you too!

 

365 days…where does the time really “go”...and where do “we” ultimately “go”?  Norma decided to “go” out with her sister Nancy today to look for area rugs for Pa Green.  His basement flooded a few weeks ago and he lost his carpeting and much more.  This is actually only her second trip out by herself that she has taken since passing her driving test last November 5th! 

 

So I’m home alone as my Mom is out and about today as well.  (My Mom has stayed with us this past year to help out and she too is an inspiration and a blessing at age 85!)  I’m taking this quiet time to reflect back through my blog and I’m overwhelmed…and Ohhh so thankful!

 

A year ago, two weeks prior to February 8th, Norma and I were attending Northwestern Mutual’s Central Annual Meeting in Chicago.  We were both feeling fine and all was well with the world.  Our friend and company photographer, Mike Miller, took our picture with some of our fellow financial representatives and their spouses.  Our photo ended up in our Northwestern Mutual Columns publication, which is circulated every two weeks.  My assistant, Marti Drase, would later use this picture for our updates on Day 10 dated Sunday, February 17, 2008 and again on Day 13 Wednesday, February 20, 2008.  Marti had taken the time to call Northwestern Mutual’s home office located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and spoke with Mike and others in our photography department.  She wanted to know if they could e-mail this photo to our webmaster, Dan Pearson, to use in our update…and they did.

 

Well, one year later, Norma and I again attended our Northwestern Mutual Central Meeting in Chicago…together!  “Oh, how sweet it is!”  We arrived on Thursday, January 22.  Since I hadn’t had my company photograph updated for over ten years, I thought it might be a good opportunity to do so…even though I prefer the much younger photograph!  Reality is a _ _ _ _ _!  So I put on a suit and tie and asked Norma if she would like to accompany me.  She said “yes” so we went down to have my picture taken.  Once we arrived at the photo room, a young lady by the name of Amy, from the Northwestern Mutual photo department, greeted us and asked our names.  I told Amy “My name is Ken Ireland and this is…”  Amy interrupted, smiled and softly said, “I know…this is Norma.  We’ve been reading your blog.  You know Ken, you really need to give us an update.  We haven’t seen anything for quite awhile!” and she smiled again.

 

I was blown away!  So Amy and Mike, thanks for caring…and here is Norma’s update – one year later, in celebration of Norma and God’s grace.

 

Norma is doing well.  She has learned how to relax and to slow down when she feels overwhelmed.  She had another EEG in January and we were informed that she is still experiencing some abnormal brain wave activity in her left temporal lobe.  However, her neurologist, Dr. Bajwa, has suggested that this may be the “norm” from here on out.  The great news is that Norma has not suffered any seizures from the very beginning, so Dr. Bajwa is not very concerned about the EEG results.  Norma has been on anti-seizure medication since the end of February 2008 and she has just been weaned off of this medication as of February.  One less pill to take two times a day!

 

Inability to perform multi-tasking is still Norma’s obstacle that is preventing her from returning to work…plus she is still quickly and easily fatigued.  Socially she is doing extremely well and she is a joy to be with.

 

As I write this in our basement today, with the lights turned low, I’m listening to Jim Brickman play piano with grace and style.  I’m amazed at the diversity and talent that he displays as he plays…now the CD disk changes – it is Yanni…different, but just as diverse and gifted.  It reminds me that we are all diverse and gifted in our own ways.  We bring our “own” music forth each day and hopefully be the best we can be?

 

The 365 days in all of our calendar years are truly very special days.  It’s a magical calendar…filled with the twists and turns in life that we cannot control nor predict.  The only thing we can control is how we react to the events that occur each day…on our magical calendars.  I know I am constantly struggling with the way I react!

 

I suspect most of us are guilty of taking life for granted … I know I am!  I also know, as you do, that there will be great days, good days, ok days and some bad and sad days for all of us on each one of our “magical calendars.”  My assistant, Marti Drase’s husband, Ken, suffered a heart attack in October of 2008, and thank God, survived.  He too is at home recovering in hopes to return to work.  My other assistant, Debbie Dewane and her family lost their beloved mother, Sharon Wilkie, suddenly on January 15th of this year.  Life comes at all of us so quickly that it becomes difficult to navigate through all our “storms.”  So for us, it is our faith that guides our ships … and our faith is in Jesus…no matter where we “go” and where our ships are tossed and turned…just go with the flow…it will be all right!

 

So, for now, Norma is using her special days to grow stronger…to attempt to fully recover from the events of only one year ago.  We were told from the beginning by Norma’s neurosurgeon, Dr. Sepideh Amin-Hanjani, that this type of injury can easily take up to two years to recover from.  So we are thrilled to be celebrating this one year anniversary.  Only time will tell where we go from here.  We are just happy to be spending our time…together.  We also look forward to spending time with many of you we haven’t touched base with over the last year as we prepare to attend the NSSEA conference in Dallas in March.

 

It’s 7:30 p.m. Saturday night, February 7, and I realize that Norma is not home yet from her adventure out with Nancy.  I call her cell to find her on her way home out on Route 126.  She sounds great and asks me if I have dinner ready for her yet.  I answer “No, but what would you like?”  She says, “I don’t care…it’s your night!”   I said “No, Hon…Friday is my night.  It’s Saturday.”  She responds, “Saturday is now your night too!” and she laughs.  I said “Okay…how about pizza?”  Norma responds, “Yech…don’t you ever get tired of pizza?”  I respond, “I never get tired of you.”  She melts…”Awww…you can have pizza.”  Silly…but it is true.  The simple things in life are grand. 

 

Here’s to making each day count…even the silly simple ones!

 

Take care and God Bless ‘til next time.  Thank you for your continued prayers for Norma’s healing!

 

 

Love Norma & Ken

 

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