BIRTHDAY GAL UPDATE

This is going to be a short post. (Okay, I heard that sigh of relief…and your name is on the list!)

I have a bit of news to report on the birthday gal, AKA my blue-eyed progeny, Lacy B. (See previous post.) Jain at Bankside had asked if Lacy cried when she read the piece. The short answer is no, but the slightly longer answer is she might have done so if she'd been capable. Here's the story—although to spare my offspring a certain amount of embarrassment and myself a possible whipping, you'll have to fill in some of the specific details yourself.

Soon after I posted the piece, I sent Lacy a text message to check the blog. Lacy is a psychologist who works with children. Because her appointments are often stacked, she sometimes can't call back for several hours. So I wasn't worried when I didn't hear from her right away. I was sort of wondering, however, when I hadn't heard from her by dark—though I just figured she and Dave were probably having dinner out, to celebrate her birthday and his first day at the new job.

About 8:00 Dave called to say Lacy was desperately ill with some sort of stomach/intestinal virus and had been being sick for several hours, starting right after work and on the way home in the car. She was now to the point of being continuously sick. They both wanted to know what I thought about her going to the hospital's emergency care unit. I said that was exactly the right thing to do, given the loss of fluids. Plus I wanted them to be sure they weren't dealing with the H1Ni virus.

The upshot is that Lacy spent the remainder of her birthday in the hospital. By the time she got there, her veins were starting to collapse. She ended up receiving two units of fluids plus medication for the nausea. They discharged her a bit after 1:00 a.m. Some birthday.

Dave, of course, had to report to work for day two of his new job training. I know he couldn't possibly have felt up to par, considering his ordeal between the ER and the pre and post care at home. So I spent most of yesterday keeping Lacy company at her condo, and seeing she got more fluids in her. She was feeling some better this morning when she called before heading to work—though still not eating. According to the ER docs, this particular virulent virus is currently making the rounds locally. She and her neighbor/friend, plus two other women, all of whom had attended the same wedding shower Sunday afternoon, all came down with this same bug.

So…the truth is, I don't know if Lacy has yet to actually read the post I did for her birthday. Dave read it to her in the ER while the IVs were dripping. She might have cried…but probably not because of my words or literary talents; any shed tears were likely over how miserable she felt and the thoughts of the oncoming hospital.

I can't say I blame her. Aging can be hard on daughters and fathers.

P.S. Hope you're feeling much better this evening, Lacy. Now…GET WELL!

Love, Dad.