Blog

RIP Cooper (July 14, 2014)

Note: Today is July 15, 2014… deleted the original post scheduled for today (the one written 100 days ago) and wrote this one yesterday, July 14.

 

Emergency Vet consent form

 

(photo: 7am Sunday, July 13, 2014, Estero, Florida)

Forty-eight hours ago we arrived at the Sanibel Island beachfront cottage. Annual Summer tradition officially begun. A 25-year old tradition.

Forty hours ago, felt two peach sized lumps – one on each side of Cooper’s throat.

Googled Sanibel emergency Vets.

It was 10pm Saturday night. We are four hours from Orlando.

Found and called the closest option.

Other than some drooling during the day we arrived Cooper had not demonstrating anything unusual.

Thirty-two hours ago Cooper and I drove an hour to arrive Sunday morning at 7am.

His blood work showed virtually all his white blood cells were gone.

The next 26 hours were focused on three things. Breaking his 105.5 fever. Antibiotics. IV fluids.

His fever never broke.

Six hours ago, Cooper stopped breathing and was immediately intubated.

Moments later his heart stopped.

Next Blog

Make sense now?

Editor’s note: Today’s five posts will benefit from increased context.

First, we agree that social media is diverse and a universally accepted form of expression.

Second, the rules for personal and professional social media participation are both clear and cloudy.

Basically interpreted as, “Do not embarrass yourself or your company. Use good judgement.”

The only one at risk of being embarrassed today is me, even though extraordinarily good judgement is being used:

Think of good judgement this way: If your Grandmother and your Pastor were having dinner in your home and you asked them to read some of your posts before dinner, would they be offended?

So yeah, good judgement, this one’s for you.

 

Pink and white beach chairs

 

Have decided to continue writing five daily, differently-themed blogs about life’s big choices.

(reached the five year anniversary a few days ago – would have been ridiculously easy to stop)

And never once have regurgitated previous content.

Not once.

(this is a big deal btw)

How?

Why?

Because:

Different is art. Having guts is art. Doing what we say we’re gonna do is art.

Make sense now?

Next Blog

Note: There is some content that is key, repeatable, and simple – and it is not regurgitation, but imprinting. Big dif.

Live like you mean it!

The challenge with balance

Small Florida bug black with red markings
Busy sure, yet capable of noticing the smallest of details in the grass

 

A recent Seth Godin post revealed he writes three or more posts to get one for publishing. He discards the others.

If you follow Seth (and he comes with the highest recommendation, because he’s brilliant) you know how extraordinarily different he thinks (and writes, and speaks).

And yet in his message – usually uniquely positioned in a way we’ve never thought of – we find ourselves going, “That makes sense”.

The challenge with balance, is that we do not have the luxury of spending three or more days to get one day of great balance.

This, too, makes sense.

Next Blog

Guest blogger Lorie Sheffer: Our parents

Nature path in Summer

 

As teenagers we did everything we could to break free of our parents. Now we do what we can to hang on for as long as we can.

Most of us who still have our parents are dealing with the emotions of seeing declining health and the frailties that come with old age.

Just this week, I came home from visiting with a friend whose father is now a dialysis patient, while her mother is battling Parkinson’s. When I sat down to catch up on some social media, I discovered an old friend’s father had passed. Yesterday, I spent the day transporting my parents to a medical facility. In middle age, hospitals, nursing homes and funerals become all too familiar to us.

Somewhere in our crammed schedules and busy lives, we need to find the time. Some things really can’t wait until another day.

Next Blog