My brother had a stroke.
Tuesday,
January 8th, started like any other day for me. I was speaking at a women
in business luncheon I attend regularly. It was my turn to share my passion for
what I do. I went, I spoke and had a great time. However, I came home and
received terrible news. My brother had a stroke.
My big brother, my protector and giver of honest advice whether wanted or not. He is the fixer of all things and yet he had a Stroke… that is not a word that should be associated with a 44 year old man. Regardless – it happened. Forgive me for repeating the word - even still I can't believe he had one.
We grew up as any other siblings but as we went away all summer, every summer (not to mention almost every winter weekend too) – we were stuck with each other whether we wanted to be or not and more often than not he had to tolerate a much younger pest, ME (insert big grin on my part).
His name is James, goes by Jim to everyone except me (and our mom). He’s Buck. Buck is the shortened version of my nickname for him. I don’t know how or even when that got started but I have always called him Buck. (Sidenote – I actually remember calling him Jim one day and he thought I was mad at him so it’s always been Buck.)
My big brother, my protector and giver of honest advice whether wanted or not. He is the fixer of all things and yet he had a Stroke… that is not a word that should be associated with a 44 year old man. Regardless – it happened. Forgive me for repeating the word - even still I can't believe he had one.
We grew up as any other siblings but as we went away all summer, every summer (not to mention almost every winter weekend too) – we were stuck with each other whether we wanted to be or not and more often than not he had to tolerate a much younger pest, ME (insert big grin on my part).
His name is James, goes by Jim to everyone except me (and our mom). He’s Buck. Buck is the shortened version of my nickname for him. I don’t know how or even when that got started but I have always called him Buck. (Sidenote – I actually remember calling him Jim one day and he thought I was mad at him so it’s always been Buck.)
He has been
working in Newfoundland -that has been a hard adjustment for all of us
including our parents. We actually just had the first Christmas ever without
seeing them. Skype is great and all but it’s not the same for the on-going
slapstick humour our family creates when we are all together. Not seeing my brother,
sister (in-law) and my nieces has been brutally hard but for Buck to now be ill
and that far away was not acceptable.
As I am inching up on the big 40, I am not bothered by my own age, however for some reason when my brother turned 40 I was in denial. That one snuck up on me. Now at 44,a stroke. I was terrified. Terrified for my brother, for his wife and for my nieces. Here they were facing something so scary and they were more than 1300 km away ALONE. I wanted to be on that plane the second I heard.
As I am inching up on the big 40, I am not bothered by my own age, however for some reason when my brother turned 40 I was in denial. That one snuck up on me. Now at 44,a stroke. I was terrified. Terrified for my brother, for his wife and for my nieces. Here they were facing something so scary and they were more than 1300 km away ALONE. I wanted to be on that plane the second I heard.
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| Even in the midst of snow flurries - it is beautiful! |
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| How could one not love scenery like this every day... |
In good
Webster fashion I rallied my own home troops and prepared them for my being
away for two weeks the best I could, got on a plane and went to see
them.
Normally the journey wouldn’t have been too bad, however, St. John’s airport had been closed for 2 days prior due to a snowstorm so my trip was 24 hours from door to door. My flight was the first to land in St Johns according to our pilot at 2 am. (Really Mr West Jet Pilot telling us as we descend that we are the guinea pig flight landing doesn’t make one feel safe).
Normally the journey wouldn’t have been too bad, however, St. John’s airport had been closed for 2 days prior due to a snowstorm so my trip was 24 hours from door to door. My flight was the first to land in St Johns according to our pilot at 2 am. (Really Mr West Jet Pilot telling us as we descend that we are the guinea pig flight landing doesn’t make one feel safe).
Although a
lovely airport to visit, I do not recommend sleeping in St John’s Airport. I
think my backside is permanently imprinted in one of the chairs. I sat
conjuring up ways to turn my luggage into a bed-like structure but as I was
travelling alone I could not sleep, so it was moot. I had to wait more than 10
hours for my shuttle bus to arrive. To combat the ever present butt-numbness
that kept creeping up I did laps in the terminal with my luggage cart and
nodded to 2 different shifts of security and cleaning staff as I continued to
pass them with each lap.
The waiting did make for some interesting thoughts, memories flashing back and a whole lot of reflection. I also learnt that I just can’t pull an all-nighter with no sleep like I could 20 years ago. Seriously… what happened there?!
When the shuttle arrived it was a beautiful 3+ hour drive to the hospital. The scenery is beyond stunning, even in January – beautifully stunning but remote and very isolated to say the least. Finally I arrived at the hospital where I couldn’t run inside fast enough once I saw everyone in the lobby waiting for me, even my big brother.
The waiting did make for some interesting thoughts, memories flashing back and a whole lot of reflection. I also learnt that I just can’t pull an all-nighter with no sleep like I could 20 years ago. Seriously… what happened there?!
When the shuttle arrived it was a beautiful 3+ hour drive to the hospital. The scenery is beyond stunning, even in January – beautifully stunning but remote and very isolated to say the least. Finally I arrived at the hospital where I couldn’t run inside fast enough once I saw everyone in the lobby waiting for me, even my big brother.
The medical details are not my story to share but I will say we certainly had to show more than our fair share of Webster “Chutzpah” to get the care he needed and in the end I came back to Ontario with him so he could see our family doctor and get further care. My nieces happened to have more snow days than school days and I personally loved every minute of that. I don’t think there has ever been a time where I have spent a concentrated two weeks living with all 4 of them and I have gained some very cherished memories! My family is crazy and fun but at the core we are about the strength our family has. We treasure that.
I re-bonded with my brother. I knew that link would never be broken but now I am more certain than I ever was. I share more genetic material with him than anyone else on this planet, more than we share with our parents and more than our children. He’s one of the strongest people I know and I know his gentle nature and positive attitude will help him as he heals. I see the relationships that some of my friends have with their siblings and it makes me more grateful all the time that I have what I have with my brother. We’ve never been much into score-keeping, we just do what needs to be done when it needs to be.
This trip would have never happened without the love and support of my man Don, our girls and the love and support from my parents. I also have wonderful friends here who were more than willing to be emergency contacts if our girls needed someone while Don was at work! (I am so fortunate!) It was a completely group effort in giving me the time and freedom to go do what I needed to do in Newfoundland.
My customers – you too need to be commended as you were patient as Don and the girls put the orders together and shipped them. I am getting back to our regularly scheduled “programming” but it may be a little slower as I catch up with product launches and production. Shipping is not delayed at all.
I have had a lot of time inside my own head over the last few weeks. What have I learned from this crazy month of January? Lots. I need to re-adjust my own health with more drive than before. No magic fix, just more determination to make the necessary changes by eating healthier and exercising more. I need to be healthy for everyone in my life. It’s time for me to be proactive. For so long I have been creating healthier options for what we put ON our body and what we use in our homes, that I need to be more vigilant with what we put INTO our bodies.
~Jeannine
PS
Be warned – I had a lot of free time on my hands at the airport so a lot of blog posts have been written… they just need polishing and posting. Happy reading! Next up: Fly By Night Soap Makers – What to Watch For
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