USA, Running, Birth and lots more

Potsdam, Germany
09:45 pm
Cool, sunset

It’s been a while.

I know that I haven’t blogged for a while. Life’s been busy as usual.

Lots of things have been going on since the last time. First of all, I’ve bought my ticket to the US!! Yes, I’ll be back, lol. The trip starts on the 28th of December, when I’ll be flying to NYC, where I’ll spend New Years Eve and some additional days - sightseeing being on top of my list. Patty will join me and we’ll proceed to Indianapolis on the 3rd of January 2008. Rent a car, go stay with Tabers, visit friends, show Patty around. Oh, I would love to go right now!!! I was floating out of the travel agency with ticket in hand!

After my night shift 2 weeks ago, I finally had a few days off and managed to see Yannick. The boy grows so fast and is turning out to be a real charmer. We went on a walk along the Havel (a river through Potsdam) and he’d go “oh, oh, oh” while watching ducks and ships go by. He rode on my shoulder, chewing on my hair and bouncing up and down.

Jana (his mom) is doing well now that Yannick is enlisted for kindergarten from the 1st of September on and Jana will be going back to her education on September 24th.

My friend Denise gave birth to her baby girl Vivian on the 13th. She’s a petite little thing, having the eyes of her dad and the lips of her mom.

Denise and Olaf are going to be great
parents with lots of love for little Vivian.

Last weekend, my sister and me (as well as some colleagues and students) helped at the “friendship run for mucoviscidosis”. Mucoviscidosis (also called cystic fibrosis) is a hereditary disease that affects the entire body, causing progressive disability and early death. Thick mucous production as well as a low immune system results in frequent lung infections, which are treated, though not always cured, by oral and intravenous antibiotics and other medications. A multitude of other symptoms, including sinus infections, poor growth, diarrhea, and potential infertility result from the effects of CF on other parts of the body. We treat a lot of patients in our hospital from the day on they are diagnosed. Sometimes we can’t treat them anymore, only ease their pain and be there until the end. As to this day there is no cure, just treatment for the symptoms.

Every year about the same time, people from all over Brandenburg come to Potsdam to run laps for CF-patients. Every runner has a sponsor that pays a certain amount of money for a lap (the runner can have more than one sponsor) and the end sum will be used to help patients. For example my sister was able to talk my Dad’s boss into sponsoring her with 5 € per lap. Marina ran 23 laps (without any practise). I helped by baking cookies that were sold for 50 cents and count the laps. It was 32 °C (~ 90 °F) and there was no trees. Everyone was baking in the heat, but the runners were unstoppable.

There were adults, teens, kids, patients, babies in strollers and even a dog running. At the end about 32.000 € were collected. Awesome, isn’t it ?!

The summer hole seems to have reached us at work. Which is not all that bad in my opinion, because I have been able to finally breathe again and take my time for our little patients. Like for this boy.

His name is Jeremy and his about 1 ½ years old with a sad background. Let’s just say that after taking care of him for a couple of hours, he was clinging to me and calling me mama. Sad, isn’t it. He’s a very cute little guy and already very smart.

But this is my work. Take care of children, nurse them back to health and say good bye, when I have to. He will be back, of that I am sure. Sometimes it is very hard not to be able to do something to help.

During the last year I have been undergoing psychological therapy for my anxiety disorder. As some of you know I had been afraid of sleeping in my own apartment (more so at friends places), heights, walking in the woods (even in broad daylight). The therapy was a behaviour therapy, meaning that I made a fear pyramid (worst fear on the top, lowest on the bottom) and worked my way up by confrontation. For example my fear of the woods: walks in the woods starting with company (my therapist) in daylight for 20 min. and talking about what I fear most, doing a reality check on my fear, develop a natural interest about sounds of the wood, observing mother nature more closely and after some time going alone, up to walking alone during the sunset and in the dark. It feels awesome to be able to enjoy walking through the woods without being scared to death about what could happen.

Through the therapy I have been able to get to know Potsdam better. My height training took my all over the towers of Potsdam. Here some examples of the beauty of this city. I never noticed before how *green* it is. Parks all around, woods surrounding the city and lots of lakes and rivers. I won’t even start about the sights.

My therapy is coming to an end and I am more than glad about having decided to make one. Even as I started it, my fears lessened, as if the sheer process of finally doing something helped. Do not think that they will be gone completely, but when they reappear, I will know how to handle them.

Potsdam has been quite hot the last few weeks, so I welcomed the heavy rain last night. When the air is as thick with heat, I am hardly able to find rest, so I slept like a baby last night. But I enjoy the sun and love to jump into the nearby lake from time to time.

Have a lovely weekend,

Andrea