Update on Stephen

He is pretty much the same as yesterday although he had a fairly major heart attack last night. Despite this he has responded a few times to physio today- squeezing his hand and putting up some resistance. My uncle tried to get a reaction out of him by mentioning the football game (Liverpool v Chelsea) as he is football mad and he squeezed his hand. They urgently need to stabilise the swelling in his brain but can't do that with heparin as it may affect his heart. There's an expert team from Beaumont examining his case tomorrow so please GOD there will be some hope. Poor lad - what an awful thing to happen to someone so young. Please keep him in your prayers and thoughts.

XX

Hospital mayhem...

Yesterday when I picked up her ladyship from school the teacher called me over and said that she had had an incident...a tearshaped gemstone (with a pointy edge) which had been attached to her t-shirt, had somehow ended up in her mouth (she's 7 -not 2 btw!) and then somebody made her laugh so she swallowed it. Although she had been traumatised at the time, she seemed over it so I let the matter go. Then last night at 9pm she came to me complaining that she could still feel it in her throat. So you know what happens next...VHI nurseline call...advice about perforated bowels and asphyxia etc etc and 20 minutes later we were in Temple St. Ihave been here a few times in the past but this time it was like a warzone - not so lucky. We were warned of at least a 4-5 hour que. People were spilling out onto the corridors (literally - puke buckets everywhere and nowhere to sit).

I counted around 50 cases ahead of me. We saw the triage nurse fairly promptly, who quickly assessed and told us to wait our turn. I asked could I come back tomorrow or see my GP and she laid on the quilt about not recommending leaving the hospital. So we settled in for a long wait. The only seat I could get was in reception where you register - in fairness it was the safest place to be as there loads of people vomiting and looking seriously viral not to mention quite a few intoxicated with their kids with bits hanging off. I saw one 10 year old who came off a motorbike at 10pm (WTF???) and while in reception there was a young girl who came in with a messed up hand. Her drunken mother was shouting that it was domestic abuse while she kept trying to hush her up. Then there were a couple of junkies with a small sick baby out in the cold air barely wrapped up while the mother was having her cigarette. God it would just break your heart to watch. The Gardai were called at one stage as there was some sort of trouble. In the end we had to wait 4 hours and the consultation took all of 5 minutes which as expected was to go home and keep and eye on her. I knew this would be the outcome but you can't self diagnose in these situations. I despair at the state of our health system. There is something wrong with this country that the sick have to endure these situations when they are so vulnerable.

Then today I got some terrible news that my 30 year old cousin Stephen is fighting for his life in a Drogheda hospital. He had a stroke yesterday morning and has been lying on a trolley since lunchtime yesterday. The outlook is not good for him as they have confirmed the left side of his brain is already dead. If he pulls through he will have no power on his remaining side including speech. The tragic thing is that this guy intervened in a row between a guy and his girlfriend when he was just 16 and in his act of heroism, he was stabbed and lost the power of his arm and shoulder. It just doesn't seem fair at all. A young father of 30...in this situation. Please say a prayer for him and his family.

XX

Mad night at the hundred acre wood!

Just home from a crazy night in Cork for Tigger's 40th. In case you haven't heard of this woman - few haven't really!-she's the zaniest person I know in the nicest possible way and she has a bit of a penchant for all things Tigger. So it was no surprise to find that there was a lot of orange and black featured in the theme of the party!

Annamarie and I flew down to Cork yesterday - surviving a hairy flight in fog with Ryanair. We stayed in the Youghal Quality Inn apartments which were lovely - great spot! There were a lot of crafty women in youghal last night and as you can see we were all instructed/encouraged to wear orange and black ;-) A few of us put together an album for Tigger's birthday and she was so delighted with it. We had a great night - lots of party games and dressing up in costumes (ahem - yes that's me as Eyeore!) and finishing up in the early hours!!! So happy birthday Tiggs - hope you had a ball last night! Please don't ever grow up!










Annamarie kindly provided an album for everyone to fill with Tigger greetings and this is mine - orange and to the point!

I made this little orange and black necklace for Tigger and it was priceless to see her face when I handed it to her. I know there was a reason I bought those orange beads!

Meet Baby James...

He is my newest nephew born a few weeks ago. He is a hungry little fella but there's no surprises there as he is his father's son and my brother's eternal saying when we were growing up was 'I'm starving mam' so this little guy is going to be just like his dad I guess. He's filling the moses basket and bursting through the end of his jammy's so there's no weight gaining worries there! Cute isn't he?




We went to Adam's 40th birthday on Friday and I made this little album for him and his wife Debs. They told me it was nicer than their official wedding album so I was v pleased ;-)

Proud Mammy Moments...

Last night my kids had their annual Girls Brigade Display (parents night). I was proud as punch as both of them won trophies for best girls in their age categories. They were like two 'aul wans' nattering away in the car on the way home last night about how proud they were of each other. They even brought their trophies to bed last night! You cant pay for that kind of memory...

Last days of the Celtic Tiger...

I laughed my socks off last night at Ross O'Carroll-Kelly's play in the Olympia. So so funny-mostly because we have all met those characters in real life (Roysh!). Well I have ;-) I'm still giggling today at some of the one liners. I loved his son Ronan aged 9 who was played by a guy in his 20's. If you get a chance to catch it this time around - don't miss it! Best night out in ages.

Yesterday we had our April class and crop in Donnycarney and we made this one...


Thanks to everyone who came along and especially to Auds who organised a birthday cake for me (scarlet!). I got some gorgeous lush pressies too including the new Laura Ashley collection pack and Theresa Collins latest collection - all to die for. So thanks girlies - I'm totally spoilt!

Irish Book Awards

Remember my pal Niamh Greene who wrote a book called 'Secret Diary of a Demented Housewife'...well she's had a huge success with this book in Ireland and the UK, so much so that she's been nominated for a literary award - yay Niamh! If you read the book and enjoyed it (and I'm sure you did as it was hilarious!) pop in here for just a second and vote for her as she is up against some well established writers and every vote counts! We can look forward to a sequel in the forthcoming months. Voting ends April 22nd so do it now! ;-)

Another year older and wiser...



I celebrated my birthday this weekend with a trip to IKEA in Belfast followed by an overnight stay in the luxurious Culloden Hotel which was just lovely - really olde worlde and lots of squishy couches and open fires.




IKEA was amazing - such a clever concept and enjoyable shopping experience. We went primarily to kit out our office and attic and managed to do just that with some odds and ends thrown in for good measure. My husband who is probably the world's most reluctant and intolerant shopper was under orders not to complain as it was my birthday and he was remarkably compliant I have to say ;-) After we packed our car (without the kids who were deposited in my lovely mother's care en route)we headed down the road to the hotel. By coincidence we met up with my old buddy Muriul and her friend Val so we had a laugh that night rehashing the old college stories. Definitely a place to go back to...