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Dear Jenna: Louisiana Writes To Her Alaskan Friend, Jenna Aurora by Karen Lynn Vidra, The Texas Tornado
Friday, January 28, 2005
Rated "G" by the Author.
Louisiana finally buckles down to answer her friend's email before she heads on home from her job. She is through for the weekend; she goes back to work on Monday morning.
Friday, the 28th of January, 2005, 1:52 p.m., C.S.T. (writing from the confines of my office at work; just clocked out, thought I would email you!!)~
Dear Jenna Aurora~
Hi, my dear friend in Alaska! Thank you so much for writing; it was so nice to hear from you again! Glad that you didn't lose power in that blizzard you had last week, but hope you are trying to keep warm! BRRR! Too cold up that way for this old Cajun gal to handle! LOL I'll have the Tennessee temps, thankyewverymuch; sub-zero temps are just too much for me! YIKES! LOL Hope this finds you well and happy; you seem to be doing well, judging from your sprightly, lively letter! Thanks for brightening up my day, Jenna!
I am doing okay; but I am facing back surgery within a month or so. I have a pinched nerve and a prolapsed disk in my lower spine, and it is starting to affect my walking. I am now using Lofstrand (forearm or "Canadian" crutches, the kind my daughter, Ronee', was using when we came up for a visit back in April; can you believe it has been almost a year ago since we came to Alaska? My, how time flies!); I lost my cane when I was in Sri Lanka, and a kind doctor saw I was having a lot of trouble walking, so he got me a pair of Lofstrands, which were tricky at first, but they seem to be helping me get around easier. I just went to the doctor's on Monday, because I have been having an awful lot of pain in my legs and in my lower back; and he said that I need to have surgery within the month. He says if I don't have this done, I will become permanently paralyzed, and I would have to use a wheelchair within the year. So as you can see, this is deadly serious stuff I am facing; but I know that with the Lord's help, I shall make it! Still, please do keep me in your prayers, I really could use them! Thanks!
I AM glad to be back home. When my family saw me when I stepped off the plane a few weeks ago, they were hanging all over me (that did NOT help my nerve or my back any! OW!), and I was never so glad to see them in my life! I have enjoyed being back home, and I have since returned back to work, but because of my back and my walking, I am now only working five hours instead of my customary eight or nine; which means that I don't get to work until nine in the morning. I usually go in at six; and it is kind of nice to sleep in some days! I am on doctor's orders not to do any unnecessary walking or heavy lifting; so what I do is pretty well limited--for ME, anyway. I like it, but I don't..I am not used to having people helping me, and I would much rather do things for myself, but you know how that goes...ha, ha!! I have to use my electric scooter when I am at work because te walking about kills me, and that is a major change; my patients are surprised to see me sitting down on the job (HA) instead of walking in, but I told them I have to use my electric scooter, as I am having some spine-related health problems, and the doctor doesn't want me to do any unnecessary walking, so they understand, and they accept that. I only use my crutches for short trips, but I use my scooter the other times while I am at work. Que' sera sera...*sighhhhhhhh* I also am working my usual five days, with weekends off, but I just have fewer hours until after all this is overwith (the surgery and then the recovery period); then we will see if I can go back to my customary eight to twelve- hour long shifts. Only time will tell, but I am glad it does give me a little more time to spend with my family! That part I love! :)
I loved the picture of the red aurora you put on your letter; that was so vibrant! I haven't seen any auroras since the last geometric storm we had; they are always a treat for us in the south! You see them regularly; we are lucky if we see an aurora more than a few times a year! Last year we saw at least six or so; that is unusual for us! But boy, we have sure enjoyed Mother Nature's gift to us! Thank you for sharing a piece of Alaska with us down here in the Mainland; we really appreciated it! :)
I heard from Sari Annike Gustaffssenn in Finland; she is doing well, and so is her fiance', Nikolas Constantinos. They are getting excited; their wedding is coming up, but I don't know if I will be able to go, since I will still be recovering from my back surgery then. Still, I AM hopeful, and I am praying that I will be well enough by then to be able to go to Greece for Nikky and Sari's wedding! I also heard from my other friend in Alaska, Sikik Eegeesiak, and she said that her mother died over the holidays. That explains why I hadn't heard from her; and I was sorry to hear of the news! Sikik says it has really been brutal up there in Barrow, even worse than what you guys in Anchorage are facing; but she has been doing her best to go on in the light of her mother's death. Still, it hasn't been easy for her, and I really can't say I blame her! I still miss my mother, and I still tear up whenever I find myself thinking of her! I also miss my three children that died, and I tear up whenever I think of them! If they were still living, Pierre, L'Acadia, and Aron would all be teenagers now; two would be in high school, and the youngest (L'Cadia) would be in junior high, ready to enter high school come September. My mother died of brain cancer when she was in her mid fifties, and two of my children died before they even turned a month old (one was only six days old, the other two and a half weeks), while the third child died on what would have been his fourth birthday.
Well, Jenna, I will go now; I have to get home in time for the busses to start bringing the troops home from school. I will write more later; until later on, take care, and God bless you! Say hello to Michael from me, and give him a big (((HUG))) and XXXX from me, okay? Thanks! Love you and miss you more than you will ever know! Write soon!
(((HUGS))) and much love, your friend in Tennessee, Louisiana May. :)
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Friday, the 28th of January, 2005, 1:52 p.m., C.S.T. (writing from the confines of my office at work; just clocked out, thought I would email you!!)~
