Christmas has come, and gone...

Well, it appears that I have (yet again) been remiss in updating my blog. Not only that, but I have not even had a chance to read any of my favorite blogs in weeks. I am truly blog-deficient.

Life has been *just that much fun*.

Let's see... where did we leave off? Oh yes - I asked Santa not to bring something, but to take it away - Twinks pain, that is.

Sorry to say that the Jolly Old Elf himself was unable to comply this year.

The pediatrician finally called to say that the test results had come back negative. The Wrench and I had spent a week drenched in a terrible cold sweat, praying that it wasn't this or that, devouring huge chunks of medical websites in vain attempts to find the cause or cure for The Twinkies pain. We were relieved, but even more sad than before. We filled the prescription for the pain medication, and cajoled The Twinkie into taking it. It left her light-headed and giddy when she was awake; she moaned and cried out all through her sleep. She had a first-class hangover every morning, and as the days passed, so did the effectiveness of the drug. Before long, it was obvious that it wasn't sufficient to keep the pain at bay.

So, we called The Hospital. We are going back to Clinic on Tuesday.

But, to get back to our recap, there we were, just days away from Christmas. The Twinkie's pain was raging, and The Wrench and I were both nearly insane from the lack of sleep, and the inability to do much more than hold her, and cry with her. Merry Christmas, indeed. She missed days and days of school because of the pain; she couldn't concentrate at all, never mind getting comfortable. We were all miserable.

Then, she got sick.

Running a fever, dizzy, throat and chest ached from coughing, there was no place that was comfortable. Her fever would spike, and she would be incoherent. When she wasn't sleeping, she would lie listlessly on the couch, watching - but not really watching - television. This started on December 22. Her fever didn't break until Christmas Eve. Then, because our pediatrician said that she had to be fever-free for 24 hours before she could be considered no longer contagious, she had to miss the annual family Christmas (Eve) party at Grandma & Grandpa's house.

We dispatched Daddy with our presents, and best wishes for everyone, and waited. First he came home with heaping plates of turkey that Aunt L had roasted, and homemade mashed potatoes, and sweet potatoes and stuffing. There was even gravy, and hot rolls, and (of course!) pumpkin pie and pecan pie, and mincemeat too. Then, after La Twinks and I ate our Christmas Dinner, The Wrench went back over to the party and brought back the gifts. And, while she truly did get some wonderful and thoughtful presents, it would be days before she really felt up to *enjoying* them.

No Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Instead, we watched from home, on TV; Twinks snoozed through much of it.

She slept for a few hours, and then awoke in the wee hours of the morning. The Wrench and I had just finished helping Santa unload the sleigh, when she crept back down the hallway. We got her back to bed, and after a time she fell asleep again. Just as The Wrench and I thought that we might get an hour or two of sleep, she woke again, this time ready to dig into the pile of gifts that were waiting for her.

Christmas morning was a record-breaking early for us - 5:00 am! Luckily, I had the presence of mind to throw a roast into the CrockPot, so that we had that cooking while we slept the rest of the morning away. After we all got up again, I finished making our Christmas Day dinner, and we dined on "Roast Beast" and carrots and potatoes and green beans, and homemade cornbread, with brownies warm from the oven for dessert. And now I am hungry just remembering this...

Fast forward a week. (Yes, a week. My, how time flies regardless of the amount of fun involved...) The Twinkie is *still* sick - still coughing, although no longer running a fever. Because her immune system is still somewhat fragile, we limit our usual Holiday merriment to a brief (but delicious) foray to our favorite Tex-Mex cantina to celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary. The manager favors us with a huge chocolate fudge walnut dessert thing that includes ice cream and cheesecake. Sounds weird, tastes totally incredible. The three of us dig in; it is warm and cold and chewy and gooey all at the same time. We stagger out into the frosty Eve of the New Year, and ride home in a merry and noisy fashion - the three of us, our little family - closing out the year together. We plan and dream about 2006; wildly optimistic, and hopped up on hot fudge, we collapse on the living room furniture, and watch the rest of the world celebrate via the television. There will be no wild parties for us; no fireworks or champagne. But we welcome the New Year in our own way, and most importantly, together.

Through all of this, the pain has not stopped.

Neither has The Twinkie.

Now - we need to fast forward again... and see if we can get caught up before we leave for Hospital City again on Monday...