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Dear Erin: A Letter From Your Friend in Nashville, Tn., Louisiana Mayrah Sandusky by Karen Lynn Vidra, The Texas Tornado
Wednesday, February 9, 2005
Rated "G" by the Author.
Louisiana continues to try to answer unanswered emails before she has to go into the hospital for surgery in a few weeks. She writes this letter on her laptop computer during her lunchbreak at work.
Wednesday, February 9, 2005, 12:36 p.m., C.S.T.~
Dear Erin and Paddy~
Hi! I am so sorry for not writing sooner, but I have been incredibly busy, between working, getting ready to go into the hospital myself (details in a few), traveling to and from Sri Lanka on a rescue mission (details forthcoming), and taking care of my village and my hubby, I just don't have much free time any more. I also have been having back problems, and in a few weeks, I am going to have back surgery which will hopefully put an end to all this pain and misery I have had to endure for so long. I am now walking on crutches, and the pain in my back has only gotten worse; and if I don't have something done, I could very well end up in a wheelchair--permanently--within the year. So this is why I am having surgery on the 25th of this month. I will be in the hospital for at least a week (barring complications), and then I face a very long recovery period upon my return home.
I was in Sri Lanka a few weeks ago for a week; I was helping out the tsunami victims out there, and it was while I was there when I first started having problems with my back, worse than usual; and I am now walking with the help of Lofstrand (forearm) crutches. I lost my cane while in Sri Lanka, so a kind doctor gave me crutches; and I have been using the crutches since.
I hope this finds you, Paddy, and your kids (Gabrielo, Theresita, Raquela, Ramiro, Elena, and Joaquin) all well. We are all well (well, I am not, but that is beside the point! LOL), and we are getting ready to add to the family relatively soon. No, I am NOT pregnant in any way, but Bill and I are in the process of adopting two little children from Sri Lanka, small survivors of the tsunami disaster, a little baby boy of a year (his name is Arjun Ravi), and a little girl of five (her name is Rani). The little boy was somehow unscathed during the tragedy, but the little girl suffered a severe head injury and she was in a coma for a while; she is now awake, but she is now receiving physical and occupational therapies; there may be the possibility of disability in her future. We have been working with our adoption lawyers in getting both Arjun and Rani into our family, and they should be here by the summer, if things go well. So be praying for us! I took care of both Rani and Arjun while in Sri Lanka, and I just fell in love with them! They are both extremely adorable, beautiful children!
My kids are all getting so big: it seems like only yesterday when we only had Johnny and Ronee'; now we have Gemini, Barbara, Gisele, Rhiannon, Chrissie, Sun-Hee, Mario, Andre', Sunshine Lee, Danita, Louise, Elise, Melizza, Todd, Jodie, Dwerlina, Camey, Tammi, Gloria, Kecia, Deborah, Michael, Richard, Benjamin, Kwame', Sergei, Roberto, and all the others, and they are all growing like weeds. The youngest child is now five, five-and-a-half, and he is now in kindergarten, and the oldest child--Lightning--has made me a grandma five times over; just this past summer, on July 4, 2004, she gave me twin grandsons! I now have four grandsons and one granddaughter! Johnny and Ronee', whom we both adopted as little babies, are now twelve years old, and they are quickly turning into beautiful young adolescents! My, where does all the time go?? Bill and I will be celebrating our fourteenth wedding anniversary come June 26, 2005, and my daddy is quickly approaching his 80th birthday. So our family is quickly growing and changing, right before my very eyes, and it just boggles the imagination!
Have you or Paddy gotten any skiing in? I would try it myself, but I am afraid my ole nasty back won't allow it. Besides, I am a Cajun, and I am sorry, but we Cajuns were just not made for skiing! But some of my kids do ski, and they really enjoy it! I enjoy watching them whenever we can get on over to Gatlinburg! My brother-in-law, Erick Montgomery, still skies like a champ, and he still does his ski patrol thing in the ski season. His wife, Crystal, used to ski herself, but she now has transverse myelitis, and she now uses a wheelchair; but she still has a very happy, rewarding life, where she is busy being a mama to her own brood. She has two little boys and an older daughter. I still loved that picture of you on your butt in the snow; that looks like me whenever I was on skis! LOL
Because of my back troubles and my impending back surgery, my hours have been cut; but I will still get the same amount of pay, thank goodness. I am now off weekends (I LOVE that!!), and I am now able to spend more time with my family and being able to answer unanswered mail. I have already made some headway in getting this accomplished; but I still have a while to go: after I write to you guys, I still have to write to Anna in Alaska, Louisa and Kendra in California, Rosie in Louisiana, and Greta in Arizona. I just wrote to Sikik and Jenna in Alaska, and Diana in Texas. I also just wrote to my friend in Finland, Sari Gustaffssenn. I wrote to her before I wrote this letter to you guys in Idaho. Seems my letter writing is never done! *Sigggggggggggggggghhh....*
How is the weather over there in Pocatello? Here it is sunny, and it is rather cool (but probably not nowhere near as cold as y'all up there, I bet!). We had rain for part of the day yesterday before it cleared out, and it's been lovely since. We also had rain on Saturday and Sunday, and part of yesterday. We may get some snow or colder weather sometime next week, but we really don't know what the weather will do; the weather here is oftentimes fickle at best.
Well, Erin, I know this isn't much, but I just got to try to get more of these letters answered! Please give your family all the best from us, and do write soon; I would love to hear from you again! I just hope you don't think I am mad at you because I am here to tell you that I am NOT! I just have been extREMELY busy is all! I hope you understand why I haven't written!
God bless you all, and take care! Hope to hear from you soon! Sorry for the long delay in answering your letter!
(((HUGS))) and love, your Nashville, Tennessee, friend, Louisiana Mayrah. :)
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Wednesday, February 9, 2005, 12:36 p.m., C.S.T.~
