Dear all,

            I hope you have had a good week! It is about noon on Saturday and it has been very busy this week in the Virag household.  Jani has been a bit sore from his rigorous physical training but is enjoying that they take them to different places around town to see how things work in case of a Fire.  The kids are both fluctuating with being sick and so we are trying to help them get better by eating, drinking, and sleeping. Hopefully the summer weather and being outside to get fresh air will help!

As for me, I have been at work a bit each day this week and so I am very glad about that. The lab is busy now – Jess has her comprehensive exam coming up at the end of the month, Sailly is working to get a handle on how we do things, Jon came back to spend some of the summer with us, and Jennifer will likely come to help us out part-time too. Therapy is Monday and Friday each week and so I only get one chance to be in the pool on Fridays but I will do my best to try to get there more. Monday was tough in terms of being emotionally taxing but I could not ask for kinder people to help me adjust to the reality of this situation.  

So many other things to share I don’t know where to start!

I got a phone call from Cindy Bollinger (now Munschy) and heard from Cathleen O’Malley (now Chojnacki) – two women I was good friends with in Ionia since St. Peter and Paul middle school. Cindy and her family only live 2.5 hours away in SC and so I am looking forward to having them visit this summer and meeting their families!

Wishes for wellness and contributions to the Recovery Fund just keep coming. I can’t begin to express my gratitude. Thank you so very much for keeping us in your thoughts.

I was recalling visits from friends the other day. When I was at Shepherd, my friend Dr. Frothy (other know him as Jude) from DC came and spent the weekend with me.  He has a fabulous sense to humor and he set me straight on some thoughts I was having. He did’t bring his blender then but hopefully the next time I see him he will make some magic! I thank Todd and Megan McDevitt for hosting him.

When I got home, Eric and Andrea Soule and their 2 kids Carly and Fletcher came by for a few hours on their way from Kingston to Florida. I have always adored the entire Soule family. They have been a source of love, laughter, and strength for me for many years.

Healthwise, my fluid issues are getting much better. I just had a blood draw yesterday to check things and so we’ll see how well my system is adjusting when those results come back.  Otherwise, there are not really many changes. I still need the medication and, as time goes on, the likelihood that my body will resolve it on its own becomes slimmer. This is troublesome because of other symptoms as well but mostly because I don’t like to put medications in my system and In the beginning, the doctors told me this would likely resolve in about 6 months.  My sense of smell is not back either but that could still take some time.  

Well, I am going to make this one short today because there are lots of things to do while the children nap! I just want you all to know that if I haven’t called or responded to messages, please re-send them. The blog is connected to Jani’s e-mail and so he forward things when he gets a chance but you might have better luck if you try my e-mail directly:

jaivirag@gmail.com

Big love to all!

Oh, and if you have any suggestions on what to spoil my hubbie with for his birthday which is coming up on May 25th (#39) let me know!