Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Writing Wednesday - Flash Fiction

Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, typically only a few hundred words or fewer
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: I was sad to see that he still existed.

He sat in the clearing - old, wizened, decrepit even. His once majestic aura merely a ghost of what had been. Thinking of the past filled me with longing, yearning for what would never be again. His now frail body sickened by the darkness that spread across the land, killing us all slowly. I was sad to see that he still existed. Taking a deep breath, I nodded to the men. “Do it.”

“Lass?”

I closed my eyes and swallowed the lump in my throat. “Take him out of his misery.” I turned away, unable to watch anymore. “Cut the tree down.”

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Writing Wednesday - Flash Fiction

Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, typically only a few hundred words or fewer
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: They've done frightful things.

“They’ve done frightful things, them that came before.”
The rattly cadence kept time with the wheezy music. Fire crackled in the background.
“Frightful things. Unspeakable things. Things better left in the darkness.”
Chills crept down my spine as the music hit a dissonant chord.
“Darkness like what be settlin’ over the land. ‘twill happen again, it will.”
A gnarled finger swept across the crowd before stopping, pointing directly at me. My breath caught in my throat, an unfathomable boulder, choking off the life giving air in exchange for a shiver of fear.
“Ye be the one that can stop it.”

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Medical Moments

Once again, we went to the doctor’s office. This appointment was originally scheduled in June, but with Scout Camp, I decided to reschedule.

We arrived several hours early because our previous engagement at the DMV went extraordinarily well and someone left with a newly minted driver’s permit.

At the lab, the tech asked if the labs were for the upcoming surgery.
“What surgery?”
“The one on Monday…”
I must have shot daggers from my eyes and had venom dripping from my teeth because he backed up several inches and tapped wildly on his keyboard.
“I’m sorry, I have the wrong chart pulled up.”

Ya think? And then, when he was called back for the blood draw, the phlebotomist had me come back too. I haven’t gone back with him for several years because he does so much better without me there.
“I need you to verify the labels.” I may or may not have rolled my eyes at this point.

And finally, the appointment, after a 2 1/2 hour layover.
Height and weight are continually gaining. He cheered when they took his blood pressure. “YES! I got a big cuff! He finally outgrew the child’s cuff. He’s in the 3rd percentile for height. We’re really excited about the continued growth. We’re very hopeful that the Nutropin will continue to do it’s job.

Now for the not so good news… He’s a little dehydrated. His glucose level is a little elevated. His kidney function has dropped to 18-19%. It’s still okay, but we’d like it to be better.

We’re going to be hydrating a lot, trying to flush the kidney out. The growth hormone dose was raised because of the weight gain. And, we’ll be doing labs again in about 2 weeks. We’re continuing to hope and pray that things work out while continuing to do what is recommended.

We’re hopeful that things will continue to get better, but we know everything is in God’s hands. Huge thanks to all our Prayer Warriors! You are a brilliant support group! I love and appreciate each one of you.