Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, Nashville, TN, 3/23/2013, 3:00 a.m., D.S.T.~

Dear Journal~

I know it's been quite some time since I last put pen to paper; I have been incredibly busy .... but married life will do that to you, I suppose.  Hard to believe that Michael and I have been married for over four months now (going to be five months soon).  Between that, the demands of college life, working five days a week at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette campus bookstore, performing several gigs with my band, and so on, it's a miracle I even have time to tend to my personal affairs!  LOL

Now add being pregnant to the mix.  Yes, you read corectly.  I am nearly three months pregnant and am starting to get a baby belly (I refuse to refer it as a "baby bump"!).  the baby will be due sometime in late October/early November, according to Dr. Deraniyagala, my obstetrician (I call her "Dr. D"; it's much easier to say [let alone, spell!]!  LOL)  So far, everything is going smoothly, other than wrestling with the lingering effects of nausea (especially whenever I smell coffee; for some reason the smell of coffee sets me off and I end up getting "quissy", but thankfully, even that is starting to wane).  I'm nearly past the "danger zone"; hopefully my pregnanc will continue to proceed without incident.  I am praying with all my heart that it does.

As I write this, it is three ten A.M., D.S.T. and I sit here with members of my family in the waiting area of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital.  My six-year-old sister, Bastienne Camille (Camille as we call her) is currently hospitalized with MRSA and septicemia (blood poisoning).  She is very sick and is in very critical condition; the medical staff has put her into a medically-induced coma, so her body can fight the twin infections.  It hurts us something awful to see Camille lying there as still as can be, but she is starting to show signs of improvement, according to the medical staff.  Small miracles, I suppose, but we must remain guardedly optimistic, as anything can still happen, which it oftentimes does.

I am worried about maman: she hasn't left Camille's side all that much; she looks mentally and physically frayed.  Daddy, meanwhile, is stooped and bent; he remembles a man my grandfather's age.  My family members don't look that much better.  They're sleeping either on the couches and chairs provided or directly on the floor.  Sleeping is something I should be doing myself, but to tell you the honest truth, I'm just too keyed up.

Johnny has been here with Rebekka, but only once.  Johnny doesn't want to endanger his own health.  he has Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, and he has trouble fighting off infection, so he has opted to stay home.  Rebekka comes more often than Johnny does.

It has been nine days since Camille "took sick", and we are all stressed out to the max; but it feels good to know that we are pulling together and trying to show support for our parents (and especially for Camille).

Well, I guess I'm going to put this to bed and try to get some needed rest before visiting hours resume at 9:00 (only six more hours!!).  I will write again soon (and maybe even sooner than that if something changes; maman has been doing a great job keeping everyone informed of the latest developments on her blog page and also at her Facebook page).

Until next time, this is Ronee' Le-Anne Stinkowitz signing off; take care and may God bless you all!  Keep those prayers coming; you don't know just how much they mean to us (and especially to Camille, which is probably why she has been fighting as hard as she has!).

~Love, your friend in Louisiana (via Tennessee!), Ronee' Le-Anne.  :(