It has been a rough week around here...last Saturday, the High Park Fire, only about 20 miles from my house started after a storm with thunder and lightning sparked the blaze sometime Friday evening. It has, to date, incinerated 53,000 acres of forested mountainside, much of which was dead fall and dried trees from the pine beetle infestation over the last few summers. There are over 150 structures, of which 48 are verified as residences that have been destroyed. Over 1400 families have been evacuated and are living in hotels, at shelters, in their RVs at campgrounds or with friends and family in areas not affected by the fire. One civilian casualty was reported - a 60-something grandmother who didn't evacuate in time. There are currently close to 1500 firefighters risking their health and safety, away from their spouses and children, living in a tent city, digging trenches and lighting back-fires round the clock to save as many homes as possible. There are dozens of fixed-wing planes, and helicopters dropping water and fire retardant around homes, at the perimeter of the blaze in hopes of stopping the fire from doing more structural damage. Last night, we had a pretty awful storm that was gusty (up to 70 miles per hour), with thunder and lightning. At present no new blazes are attributed to the lightning, but the fire did jump the canyon and is now burning in a new area. Needless to say - be praying - for the fire to be stopped, for the families to remember that they have their lives and that things like houses and cars can be purchased and replaced. For the men and women fighting the fire to be safe, for the men and women organizing relief, shifts of firefighters and insurance adjustors, and vvolunteers, and supplies and the like to have wisdom and knowledge. For the weather to CHANGE and be cooler and humid - and some steady rain with no lightning would be nice...
Next, my nephew, Missionary Man's 5 year old son has contracted Typhoid. They were living in a remote village in the Ethiopian countryside and had never had anything more than "normal" illnesses like flu and colds. This term, they are living in the University town of Nekempt, and for whatever odd reason, the comvination of more people and less than stellar infrastructure, the water supply is apparently not as clean as it cuold be. As a result, my brother and SIL are now back to boiling water, using tablets, and praying that it will be enough to kill any harmful bacteria. This extra step means, of course, a lot of forethought and planning - at this point, they are even boiling water for bathing purposes too! My nephew is on medication, and was repsonding quite well, and then last night their time, had a rising fever and bad headache. Please pray that he will respond to the medication, that there isn't something else going on in his little body, and that he will make a full and swift recovery. Pray for my SIL - she's not been feeling well herself, and, as the wife and mom has duties that she needs to attend to that my brother simply doesn't have time to be doing as he's working with the students and residents.
Finally - a High School classmate just delivered (quite early) a baby girl who has experienced some sort of trauma prior to her birth. According to doctors, her being alive is a miracle...she is undergoing a 72-hour "chilling" treatment (much like those used for spinal injuries) to help keep the "bad blood" from circulating to her brain and organs while they attempt to get all the systems in her frail body back to normal. She has been in an anti-incubator type bed in the NICU in the hospital near L.A. and they haven't even held her yet, because their body temperature will make hers rise, negating the therapy. She appears to be eating well (she's only 4lbs 14oz) and took milk off a cotton swab. As you may imagine, it is hard enough to know your pregnancy was risky (Mama was on complete bed rest for the last 14 weeks - since about 13 weeks term), and then to have your child need intensive care, but to have a 4 day old infant that you aren't allowed to hold, that may not survive the therapy, and if she does, she may have serious physical and mental handicaps - it is a LOT to handle...and that's a giant understatement. They have family in from all over the country, and she, her husband, and their 2 boys (about 5 and 2) are supposed to be able to live in the nearby Ronald McDonald house while baby Kyla is in NICU. Please be praying for this family and the medical personnel that will be caring for her...
BB has been out of town this week, and while I did accomplish much I wanted to, there have been some serious behavioral issues - most of which are due to a combination of missing their daddy and being overtired.
Because of the fire, there is smoke and ash and with Captain's bout with Kawasaki, he has some respiratory sensitivity - he seems to always end up with a cough when he gets sick. We, therefore, haven't been outside to play AT ALL this week - no park, no sprinklers or wading pool in the backyard, no ball, no bike rides. They don't understand why, because the smoke isn't thick enough to cause visible issues, but we can sure tell...
I am, tired, frustrated, feeling overwhelmed and in need of some serious "Me Time", which I know isn't forthcoming for awhile loner, as BB will be at work long hours next week, getting back on track from this week-long conference.
Our basement project has been stalled due to his sprained foot, which means I have 1/3 of the basement under construction, 1/6 of the basement housing the remaining materials for the construction, 1/3 of the basement jam-packed with toys that need sorted and organized and purged, and another 1/6 of the basement housing my Mary Kay items. It is unruly, totally out of control, and incredibly hard for me to deal with. Add to that the fact that we stripped the wallpaper from our powder room, but because BB sprained his foot, he was unable to scrape the walls the rest of the way and patch holes allowing me to put a coat of primer on the walls. Our texture guy is on a fishing trip to Canada until the end of the month, so we can't move forward with that room or the utility room until July. We need the interior of our house painted, but because we have an open-concept floor plan and vaulted and 2-story ceilings, we are hiring someone. However, we have to wait until we've selected a paint color, and he can work us in to get that done. BB wants to do some exterior projects as well, and most of the yard work has fallen on my shoulders this summer.
I usually don't mind, but this summer has been a bit crazy with broken sprinkler systems, unseasonably hot and dry weather and now the fallout from the fire...
What I really need is a trip somewhere all-inclusive where I can just go lay by a pool, and on the beach, order something cold and wet to drink that I don't have to pour or carry myself, meals that I just get to show up for...
If you know anyone who's willing to come and kick my rear into gear and help me stop feeling sorry for myself...send them over!
1 comment:
You mean the pine beetle is in your area too? Oh man, I had no idea. Have they been at least harvesting some of the lumber before it got too bad? We still wish we could buy land in one area of BC, but the one hang-up aside from no nearby medical care is the fact that for miles around, all you see is pine beetle eaten forests. One lightning strike or one cigarette ash and we'd be hooped. They are hurriedly trying to harvest as much wood as possible before it becomes too bad to use, but it breaks my heart to see miles of orange trees where there once was green everywhere.
I hope your situation improves rapidly, from the renos to the air quality.
I'm praying for your brother's family too. He's come a long way from his yuppy days. ;) Seriously though, his little guy is in my prayers.
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