Wildflower Writes

I finally did it.  It took two mornings before work, but I finally organized my bathroom. That may seem a little OCD, but not for our house.  I took the bath toy out from behind the bath salts (my kids shower now), and put the tylenol and antacids in the medicine cabinet with the dozen stray band-aids I located.  I separated my makeup items from my daughter's lip gloss and hair bands.  I put the crazy number of hotel shampoos, conditioners, and lotions into one container for future road trips.  And I finally found my favorite pair of tweezers and my eye pencil sharpener!  My daughter will be glad that I don't borrow her pencil sharpener any more. I can't believe it took me just a few hours to accomplish this task.  When I think of all the times I've gone crazy searching for a hairband or deodorant, or a band-aid... It is so nice to go in the bathroom and know where to find what I need! As I grow up, I'm starting to rebel less against all that is n...

If you’ve never seen Rene Hicks on Comedy Central, you have missed out on one special, hilarious young lady. Born to a Pentecostal preacher father and equally devout mother, Rene ran cross country in college, earned a business degree, and became an accountant in a large firm. On a dare she improvised a routine on amateur night at a comedy club, and the rest is history. As an otherwise healthy woman, her diagnosis of lung cancer baffled her. She had never smoked, but had been exposed to second-hand smoke in the hundreds of clubs and venues she performed at. She made an appearance at the Women’s Council luncheon here in Elkhart today, to talk about the dangers of smoking, and I laughed so hard… well, you can guess the rest. A self-described cultural sherpa, history lover, and cancer survivor, Rene has a lot to talk about. Her unique perspective allows her to see little incongruities in what people say and do, and the results are a riot. Most people wouldn’t think that cancer could b...

My eight-year-old performed surgery today. She started with knee surgery on a man in his seventies, and then moved on to a hip replacement. She let me watch the hip replacement. I was fascinated, since I work in a field that sees people recovering from joint surgeries all the time. She viewed the X-ray and made sure she had the right size parts for the job. Then she drew on the hip to mark the point of incision. The next part is a little graphic, so the faint of heart should beware. She used a scalpel to make the incision, and used a zapper (clinical term) to cauterize the bleeding. She separated the fat layer with spreaders, then cut back the muscle tissue, being careful to avoid the sciatic nerve. I could go on, but it gets complicated. I actually learned how they do hip replacements through an internet video game. The site is called EdHeads ( http://www.edheads.org/ ) and is sponsored by Ohio State University Medical Center. Edheads is a non-profit organization, which creates unique...