Ups and downs, downs and ups

Bad -- Going to see Grandma in the hospital AGAIN (third time in a month) because her kidneys were shutting down. Hypotheses of cause: dye from the catheterization, post-bypass antibiotics, and/or not drinking much.

Good the First -- Her kidney function is getting better with IV fluids and whatever else the docs are doing. Her creatinine is four points too high, but apparently that's better than yesterday when she was admitted.

Good the Second -- While visiting Grandma, I learned my favorite "Mom's side" cousin and I were in the same county at the same time for the first time in three and a half years. A couple of phone calls between us, and we met up at his mom and dad's place. Nice visit while having the neighbor's dog, one of my cousin's dogs, and my uncle's dog all (at separate times) try to go home with me by jumping in my van. Annie (my uncle's) was so persistent that when thwarted from jumping up on the lift with me went around and jumped into the driver's seat when Mom opened her door. After being pulled out, she went back around to try to jump on the lift again. And I had to throw my lap blanket in the laundry when we got home because Brutus (my cousin's English mastiff) drooled all over me. I was feelin' the doggie love!

. . . she was cheated of the only thing she really wanted: the chance to complete her work

5. Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA by Brenda Maddox

This was an engrossing (for me, anyway) biography of a brilliant scientist whose real worth is recognized only by a select few. Many know Franklin as the difficult "Rosy", a demeaning caricature drawn by James Watson in The Double Helix, but few know of the world-renowned and respected author of approximately 37 papers (many in the coveted journal Nature) that furthered the knowledge of coal (her early career) and of virus structure (her later career). Maddox's biography seems well researched, drawing information from Franklin's close associates as well as Franklin's own letters to family and friends. While to many this book could be read as an attempt to tell the "other side" of the DNA story, for me it was also the story of a woman scientist struggling to be recognized as equal to her male counterparts and rewarded as such in terms of title and wage. By learning so much about her passions, I was saddened even more by Franklin's too-early death at 37 of ovarian cancer.

Stream of consciousness digression: 37 papers, 37 years of life. Hmmmm.

If you have any interest in science or women's struggles therein (or women's work struggles period), you should read this book.

Doing well

Grandma had her surgery on Friday, 25 March. They wound up doing three bypasses instead of two because they found a third blockage once they were doing the procedure -- a blockage that was so bad that the dye couldn't even get into the vessel during the catheterization. The surgery lasted about four hours.

Surprisingly, Grandma only spent two days in ICU, and she was released this last Monday (4 April). Her doctor would've released her two or three days earlier, but her gout flared so badly that she couldn't walk -- and naturally she couldn't go home if she couldn't walk. So her doc shot her toe full of prednisone and gave it a couple of days to take effect before springing her. Mom and I saw her on Tuesday. She's covered in bruises from all the IVs, and of course she tires easily, but she looks great and she's in good spirits.

Thank you, Higher.

Money money money

Got a deposit receipt in the mail today confirming the first installment of my proofreading fee/reward made it into my savings account.

*happy gimp dance*