Bittersweet Memory of Karen after surgery

About 12 years ago, Karen was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She was only 12. We think that she had the tumor for a couple years prior to actually being diagnosed, as she had problems with always being incredibly thirsty. The doctors had tested her for diabetes, but it was actually the tumor on her pituitary gland that was causing the thirst issues.

As a result of the tumor, Karen had to undergo a surgery to try to remove the tumor and later, chemotherapy.

The surgery was especially frightening for our family. Of course the doctors have to warn you about all the potential things that could go wrong, such as loss of memory, change of personality, becoming mentally handicapped, and worse. We were so scared. If she did come out of the surgery okay, what if she wasn’t the same sweet girl that she was before? My mom couldn’t sign the consent forms; it was so overwhelming. My dad had to do it.

Seeing her in the ICU after she woke up from her surgery was hard. Her head was swollen to at least double its normal size. I remember trying so hard to fight back the tears, trying not to let Karen see me cry. Trying to be brave for Karen, who was so brave herself. And of course worried that she might not be the same.

After sitting with Karen for awhile, still wondering if everything was okay, Karen said the sweetest words. Words that I will always remember. “Take care of the puppies.” She was referring to our three dachshunds. It was at this point that I think our entire family breathed a huge sigh of relief. Our sweet Karen was still the Karen we knew before the surgery.

The tumor did go away after chemo, but another tumor returned a couple of years later. After a bout of radiation, it too left and now Karen has been in remission for over 5 years, which is a wonderful thing. Outside of some after-affects from the tumors that can be controlled with medication, Karen is perfectly healthy today.

I hope I didn’t embarass her too much with this post.

Mommy Monster

I remember that we used to enjoy playing “Mommy Monster.” Us kids would try to work up the nerve to slowly and quietly creep down the stairs and through the darkened basement. Then, the “Mommy Monster” would jump out from wherever she was hiding and make a scary noise, which would send all four of us kids clambering for the stairs which we would run up as fast as our little legs could carry us, hearts pounding. I remember being so scared and nervous that I had to try really hard not to pee my pants as I slowly crept down the stairs, not knowing where or when the Mommy Monster was going to leap out at us. As scared as we were though, we absolutely loved this game and always begged mom to play.

Old Toys

While garage sale shopping, there is just so many different old toys I came across and many of those toys the same as when i had when i was a little kid. It just would bring back memories that i was like OH REMEMBER THOSE! One of the most memorable ones was a toy of karens that she would never let me play with. It was HERS. This was her Fivel doll. I saw one exacily like it except it still had its hat attatched. I remember karen begging to get his hat cut off so she could wear it, i think that is the reason anyway. Whatever it was, i wasn't aloud to play with Fivel or even wear his hat.

He-Man and Teela

Brian and I used to like pretending we were He-Man and his girl sidekick Teela all the time - I have many fond memories of acting out these roles in our basement. We had the lifesize (or childsize really) cool plastic swords and shields and everything (as well as some of the action figures such as one who I think was named Stinkor, and who really did stink).

I also remember that in the cartoons that He-man would often raise his sword and say “I have the power” and then there was a certain transition to the next scene that would play that would basically be this guy in a powerful sounding voice saying “He-Man” and then there would be the sound of loud thunder. I still remember that Brian, when playing, would quote this and say “I have the power - He-Man” and then try to imitate the sound of thunder as if this all was a necessary part of the play-acting and as if he couldn’t say “I have the power” without the transition noise that the cartoon then employed. I wish I could accurately describe this, as it probably doesn’t make sense if you weren’t there, but it makes me smile every time I think about it.

Drinking Out of the Kitty Bowl

When I was young, we had two cats - Sinky and Ashley. Sinky’s real name was Snowball, but Dad started calling him “Stinky” at some point and I must not have been able to say stinky so he became known as “Sinky” for as long as I can remember. I really loved that cat. (Ashley was scared of us kids - probably because we used to chase him around the house, exploiting that fear.) Anyways, I used to enjoy crawling around on the floor pretending I was a cat as well. Also on the floor was their bowl of drinking water. To get the full cat experience, I felt it necessary to lap the water out of their bowl in the same way they did. Ick.

Shhhh, act like you're asleep...

I remember when I would sleep in Amber's room, she and I would play double solitaire, or even yahtzee, way after momma said bedtime. We would have a game of cards going on the floor, or yahtzee on the bed, and when we heard mom coming down the stairs, we would hurriedly shut off the light and hop into bed, or pull up the blanket and hide our dice and score cards, and "act like we're asleep." I don't think mom ever caught us. It was easy to tell when mom was coming, as Buddy, our first dachsie, would follow her EVERYWHERE...and it just so happened that he had a little bell on his collar. His Jingling would give mom away every time.

I don't think that the "quick, mom's coming, act like you're asleep" game originated here, in fact, I'm not sure when that started at all...maybe when Amber and I would stay up playing glow bugs or hand snakes, or Cindy and I would stay up playing with the many stuffed animals or littlest pet shops that we had...or Brian and I would stay up making farty noises on our arms...or maybe I wasn't involved at all, all I know is that it started, and we still tend to play this "game" even today!

No wonder we had mice

I remember that when Amber, Brian and me (cindy was just a baby) would act up at the dinner table, momma would send us, plates and all, to our bedrooms to until we were done. I used to stick the unwanted portion of my food down the heat duct so that I could be "done" sooner, plus it saved me from having to eat certain unpleasantries. I, like Amber, kept this dirty little secret until only a few years ago when I finally fessed up. It worked though! I never did get caught, especially since it seemed someone must've carried the food away...probably the mice that would sometimes appear...Buddy took care of them later.

"I'm just little..."

I remember when we did something wrong and Amber and Brian got punished, they asked mom why I was getting away scott free...mom said "cuz she's just little." A logical enough reason I think, until I picked it up. I remember saying a few times to Amber and Brian to justify my "getting away" with things. I do remember something else though...they would do something mean and upset me, and when they saw me start to cry, they would tell me not to "tell on them," and that if I didn't tattle, they would let me "hit them as hard as I could." They were no fools, they knew that a slap from a 5-year-old couldn't really hurt that bad, and I would fall for it! I would hit them, they would "cry" and say ouch! Then I would walk away feeling redeemed and they would take their turn at getting away scott free.

I WANNA GET OOOUUUTTT!

Another bath tub story. I dont know if Amber or Brian did this, but I remember that when cindy and I were done with our bath, we would chant at the top of our lungs "I(WE) WANNA GET OUUUUUT...DOOODY DOOODY DOOOOO!" Then when mom would dry our hair, she would rub it with a towel and rub while singing and moving our heads to the beat, " We are boosters, bible time boosters, everywhere we go-o people wanna kno-ow, ( and then a slower marchtime sort of towel rubbing) who--we--a-re--so--we--tell--them who are, who are, who are WE? Bible time boosters YESIREE-EEEE!"

Rub-a-dub-dub

I remember sometimes when we were taking baths, we would get out and run around the house singing, chanting really, "RUB-A-DUB-DUUUUUB, RUB-A-DUB-DUUUUUUUB" I think Amber originally started it, but I only remember Cindy and I doing it a couple times. It was fun running into the living room where the rest of the family was probably watching a movie or tv or something. Amber or mom, you will have to elaborate on how this "tradition" was started!

Smokey and Snoopy

Cindy, here is the story about Smokey and Snoopy in the rabbit cage as I remember it. The rabbit cage had a door that swung in and up and latched at the top of the cage. What happened is one of the dogs, smelling rabbit (Bun Bun was not in the cage at this time!) figured out the door pushed in easily, and so climbed in the cage to explore. Then, it seems, the other dog, probably Snoopy as he seemed the follower type, followed her into the already crowded cage. It was then that the two probably realized that as the door swung in, they couldn't push it open again from thier current positions, and so were stuck. And that's how we found them.

Getting Her Nose Pushed In

In 1990 when I was 12 or 13, mom, dad, and I went to the animal shelter in Cheyenne and ended up adopting a sweet little red dachshund, Buddy. Buddy was the first dachshund we ever owned and thus began our love for the breed.

Anyways, we had just adopted Buddy at the shelter and were eating lunch in Cheyenne before heading home. We were talking about how our existing pets, namely our tabby cat Sandy, would take the new addition to our family. I told mom and dad that Sandy was bound to “get her nose pushed in.” What I meant was that she was going to “get her nose bent out of shape.”

He Didn't Make the Grade

When I was 14, my first “boyfriend,” Will Smith, and I broke up. When Cindy, who was 7 years old at the time, found out about it she exclaimed, “Amber, did you flunk Will?”

Bun Bun Easter

Since easter was just last month, i remember talking to mom and karen about one of my favorite childhood memories. This was on Easter Morning after all the eggs inside the house were discovered, opened, and the candy inside eaten. Mom or Dad would point outside and be like, "whats that? what does Bun Bun have?" The same excitement would rise up in me, i would run to the window and there, laying inside Bun Bun's cage were 4 hardboiled eggs! (someyears the eggs were painted the exact same as the eggs we had painted the night before even!) I have always smiled on this memory.

Smokey And Snoopy

Well, i was remembering these 2 pups and a lot of different things came up. I first remember crawling into their dog house one time and when i went to turn around they both came in with their tongues out, blocking me in and giving me a slobbery bath! Does anybody remember the full story how they got into the rabbit cage?

The Fort

One of the things that has a lot of memories for me was the fort! It lasted years for us kids to climb on, play in, and even for smokey and snoopy to jump in with us. Yes, dad built us the coolest thing in the neighborhood, and we loved it! When we all live in the same neighborhood like mom has planned, dad will have to build another one for all the grandkids running around...

Sitting on the Job

When Karen was two, she was sitting on our yellow armchair and someone jokingly told her to “Quit sitting on the job.” She raised up her bottom and looked down to see what she was supposedly sitting on.

Girl Cheese and Boy Cheese

Mom used to make us grilled cheese sandwiches when we were growing up. Brian thought she was calling them “girl” cheese sandwiches, so he said he wanted a “boy” cheese sandwich instead. Over time, “boy cheese” somehow got applied to a cheese sandwich that wasn’t grilled and so it was then forever known as a “boy cheese sandwich” in our family.

Egged On

Brian and I occasionally liked to pick on Karen. For the record, sometimes she didn’t deserve it. Other times, she did bring it on to herself. Cindy pretty much was left out of it because she was too young at the time.

One day, Brian and I decided to play a trick on Karen. She was probably 3-5 years of age at the time. Which mean that Brian was between 5 & 7 and I would have been between 8 & 10 and we should have known better.

We had a kitchen play set, complete with fake food. Including eggs. Brian and I took two of the fake eggs and put them into the egg container with the real eggs in the real refrigerator. So the stage was set.

We called Karen into the kitchen. Brian and I each grabbed one of the fake eggs and threw them onto the floor. They were plastic, which was unbeknownst to Karen, so they didn’t break. We then “egged” Karen on (pun intended) to throw an egg onto the floor. So she grabbed a real egg and threw it down. And of course it broke. Egg all over the kitchen floor.

I am sure Mom punished Brian and I for this trick, but I cannot remember the punishment. I just remember how clever we felt and still get a smile on my face to this day when I think about it.

fun at subways

hey girls, when we were at subways, we mentioned several things we remembered when you were little, laughed and said, we need to blog this in the memory blog. only problem, I can't remember what they were! I was hoping one of you girls would remember them and blog about it! I had alot of fun over the weekend :) in fact we are making alot of cool memories right now :)