I think many of you know by now, but just in case you don't....we recently moved. We still are in the same city, same zip code even. Actually had hoped to let people know afterward, but that was just not happening. So...why did we move? Remember a few posts ago when I was writing about me taking on La Vida Recessionista? Well, this is one of those steps. It really wasn't one of those guess-what-we-are-moving-you-squeal-with-excitement-and-I-tell-you-the-where-and-the-why kind of situations. It was more a result of the current economic situation, the real estate/loan disaster in our state, the fact that my husband is employed in that industry and finally, our big ideas. Big ideas that were heavy on the belief that we could sustain a certain level of lifestyle.
Keep in mind we are not a family that goes to Disneyland each year. We have never been to Lake Powell, we don't own a boat or any sort of recreational vehicles. Our family vacations consist of driving 12 hours to CA to visit Mike's ailing father for 3 or 4 days and then driving 12 hours back home. It's the high-life, no?
To put it simply, when we moved in to that neat-o, cabin of a house two years ago, we were doing pretty well financially. We knew we had at least a years' worth of deals in the pipeline. Even with the real estate market tanking, we had made some adjustments and figured we were going to be fine. But the loan market was what really kicked our trash. We did not expect that, and it pretty much wiped out many of the deals. And so, two years down the road, we find ourselves hunkering down and making even more major changes, the changes we had hoped to never have to make. I'm actually glad that we were able to make our reserves last for two whole years.
We left that cabin house and have stuffed ourselves into a home with exactly half the square footage. It's a rental that we share with Jerry. My-oh-my did it need some work. But after countless hours of replacing flooring, busting out a bit of wall here and there, painting, replacing the kitchen and two of the three bathrooms.....we are kinda sorta moved in. And everyone who has seen it says they do not believe me that it was a hell-hole (trust me, that's putting nicely). And I just tell them to ask my nieces Natalie and Kylie who toured it with me pre-remodel.
Our kids have been outright wacky with their great outlook on our situation. Of course there is much they are not aware of. But what they do know, they have a good attitude about. All of the kids have their own room. They're small rooms, more like prison cells, but they could care less. Nina and Gwen are the only ones that had to change to a new school. And so far, so good.
I'm glad I got that out of the way. There's a ton of blog fodder to be had with this whole move, but I first had to tell you what was up so it would all make sense. Please, please, please know that we don't blame anyone but ourselves for our current situation.
And now....another bit of news that has had a huge impact on our lives. Right now, it is pretty darn emotional to write the ins and outs about this summer. So a brief description and a link for you to follow is what you will see here.
I have a cousin James, who is close to me in age. Each summer I would look forward to spending a few weeks in Utah, hanging out with James. Because of my mother's decision to cut my hair like a boy's, James and I looked a lot alike. We would ride 3 wheelers and horses, and I would often accompany James when he went to work. I remember being SO MAD one summer when I came to town, excited for some non-California adventure with James....and he wasn't there. He had gone to scout camp! The nerve.
Anyhow, fast forward many many years...James marries a wonderful girl from Italy and starts a family. His daughter is born several months before Gwen and her name is Vittoria. Vittoria has a connective tissue disorder called Marfan Syndrome. Her heart and spine are not as strong as they should be. We knew that Vittoria would have many surgeries to help with keeping her spine straight (rods) and also operations to assist her heart.
When it was time for Vittoria to begin school, James and Val asked around to various people about schools. Vittoria needed a setting that was conducive to her physical needs. She was perfectly normal, but it was vital that she stay low impact with her physical activity. Plus, a private school would be better able to handle her studies, what with all the school missed due to her surgeries. I recommended the Montessori that we had enrolled Nina and Gwen in. They checked it out and liked it. Soon, Vittoria and Gwen were classmates. Having grown up in California, far away from my cousins, I cannot tell you how thrilled I would be as I sat in the car waiting to pick up Gwen and seeing our very own cousin amongst the kids. I just thought it was so cool.
This summer Vittoria was scheduled to have a surgery on her heart. It was supposed to have happened in June, but Vittoria contracted the flu, and they had to postpone it. Not only that, but because of the threat to her immune system, Vittoria, her parents and brother as well as her grandparents...all had to be quarantined until they could reschedule. Four weeks later! And so it was at the end of July, Vittoria went into surgery. She had been thru 15 various surgeries mostly involving her spine. And she had done well with all of them. This surgery was for her heart, and though it was somewhat new territory, there was no reason to believe that she would have any problems.
Towards the end of the surgery, Vittoria's system crashed. She fought and pulled thru, but sustained heavy damage to her heart. The weeks that followed were intense. Numerous emergency phone calls, speedy drives to the hospital, family prayers and even some miracles right when we thought we were saying goodbye to this sweet child. After still more surgeries, her heart couldn't work on its own, Vittoria was put on a heart transplant list. They installed pumps to do the hearts job until a heart could be found for her. The pumps were very temporary, and with 3+ weeks of use, they could no longer help. One week before Vittoria's 8th birthday, she left her tiny body and passed on.
I'd like to think that I knew what to expect to feel during the time we spent visiting Vittoria and James and Val in the hospital. Or what it would be like when she passed away. But the truth is, the sorrow and sadness and guilt I feel is a good 10 times worse than I thought it would be. And I think my sisters and family would agree with me.
Vittoria's parents began a blog during her stay at Primary's, to help with keeping people informed. There you can read the blow by blow account of her month in the PICU. http://vittoriascorner.blogspot.com
And so now you have a glimpse of what we have been doing this summer. Two things I needed to write about, but for one reason or another, couldn't quite put into words.
And now you know.
