What a Week !!

Plans were for the Rinkenberg family to stagger our arrival in PA over a two day period.  Nana and Pap-pap are Jack's parents and that's where we spend Thanksgiving every year.  Our son, Evan and his family (wife Kristen and baby Ryan Savannah) were arriving on Tuesday.  Evan had taken 10 days leave so he could hunt while in PA.  Our home-from-college daughter, Caitlyn, was going to head up on Wednesday am.  I was leaving work Wednesday and heading up around 2pm and Jack was working the noon - 8pm shift and heading up after.  Jack's sister and her husband and 2 of their three daughters were heading down from NY on Wednesday evening. Their third daughter lives in North Carolina (not far from Evan!) and had to work.  (Hi Kiersten!!)

I'm working away at my desk on Monday when I get a phone call from Evan.  "We're at the hospital with the baby - she rolled off the couch and she won't move her arm" he stated tearfully.  "I'm sure she'll be fine honey" I said. "Babies are like rubber - she probably just pulled something - keep me posted".  10 minutes later the phone rings and it's our family physician.  Caitlyn had had a sonogram on her Thyroid the Friday before and he was calling to tell me that she has "a mass on her Thyroid that MUST be biopsied RIGHT AWAY".  Scared the bejeezus out of me!!  I called Jack and tearfully recounted both stories to him.  I scared the bejeezus out of him!! 

Jack called his parents to tell them that our plans are up in the air and what's going on with the kids and grandbaby.  He told them we'd keep them posted and that Thanksgiving in PA with Nana and Pap was looking a bit dismal.

Two hours later Evan calls to tell us that the baby's are is BROKEN!!  The bone between the elbow and the shoulder - she hit the carpeted floor just right when she rolled off the couch - a one in a million! Why can't we be so lucky with the lottery tickets we buy every week? 

Meanwhile the family physician is busy trying to scheduled Caitlyn with a surgeon for Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday.  The calls continue back and forth - Evan and I and the Doctor and I.  Upon arriving home at 7:30pm I get a hysterical call from Evan that the baby has have surgery so that they can set the bone and cast the arm....this will happen Wednesday at 2:30pm two hours away from where they live. They were going to have to leave Tuesday afternoon.  I offered to head their way (a 6 hour drive frrom our home in VA).  Evan said to wait until they talked with the surgeon the next morning and he'd let me know what was going on for sure.

I don't think any of us slept well on Monday night!  Evan and Kristen were supposed to be at Evan's Marine Corps Ball.  Kristen was packing the baby up and packing their things as they were dropping the baby at Cousin Phil and Alyssa's house for the night and staying at the hotel where their ball was to be held as it was an hour away.  Evan was on baby watch when he set Ryan down on the couch and turned to do something and off she rolled!  Bye-Bye Marine Corps Ball and hello Emergency Room.

All I could think about Tuesday morning was how am I going to be in North Carolina with Evan and family and in VA with Caity getting a biopsy at the same time.  Well, Jack would have to take Caity.  She wouldn't be happy but that's the way it was going to have to be.   So Evan calls mid morning to say he'd chatted with the surgeon and it didn't look like they'd have to actually do surgery - but just put the baby to sleep to set the arm and cast it.  Great news.  Our family physician called to say he couldn't get Caity in this week for a biopsy. I explained to him that she has an endocronoligist in South Carolina where she goes to college and thought she'd probably be able to get Caity in for a biopsy down there on Monday or Tuesday.  So we called Dr. Dale and sure enough....biopsy scheduled for Tuesday 11/30/10.  Caitlyn informed me that she will take a friend and does not need for me to drive 6 hours to be with her.  She will get the results on 12/6 and we'll see what next steps are.

I called Evan again on Tuesday afternoon to make sure he didn't need me. Kristens mom was headed down he said. Their house isn't big enough for all of us but ofcourse he told me to come if I wanted to. I told him that they didn't need both of us under foot and to thank Kristen's mom for coming!  The best news was the doctor telling them that they could travel with the baby 24 hours after she was casted!  So Evan informed me that they'd head to Philadelphia to Kristens family on Thursday night (arriving early on Friday morning) and then they'd head to PA to Nana and Pap-Pap's on Sunday mid-day.  Hooray!!  Plans might just work out after all.

I hung up the phone and Caity says to me "since I'm not going to the Dr. this week and you are not going south, want to go to Nana and Pap-Pap's now?".  Hmmmmm-I don't see why not.  We packed and were on the road within the hour.  I called to let them know we were on the way and would arrive around 11pm.  We brought the dog so Jack could just leave from work when he got off at 8pm the next night. 

We had a lovely Thanksgiving day, minus Evan and family.  Jack's sister and her family headed home to NY on Thanksgiving eve.  Caitlyn headed back to VA Friday morning.  Jack will head back on Monday afternoon as he isn't due back at work until 3pm on Tuesday.  Me?  I'm staying here all week. I cannot wait for Evan, Kristen and Ryan to arrive tomorrow.  I'm going to pick that baby up and not put her down for 6 glorious days!!  Evan will be hunting with his Pap-Pap, his uncle and his cousins (as previously planned) while we girls (Kristen, Ryan, Nana and I) shop and relax for the week.  Things couldn't have turned out better.

Not sure when I'll get that Christmas decorating done now - but that's the least of my worries this week!

Happy Thanksgiving friends!  Thanks for checking in.