Reunited!

Early in August I got an email from my Aunt Laurie that an impromptu family reunion would be happening in  a few days up in Tacoma. I'd already been thinking of heading up there, to divide up a bunch of my mom's amazing perennials for my in-progress little back yard, but decided not to make the drive up there because I only had a two-day window.

The pull to see family I hadn't seen in years was strong though. I did some soul-searching and some creative thinking, and canceled a Thursday night obligation so I could leave Thursday morning and stay through Sunday.

I'm so glad I did! Mick had to stay and work on such short notice, but the kids and I headed up there excited as could be.

We stopped at the Roseburg Museum of History and Natural History, a museum Aubrey and I had stopped at in May on another trip north. Aubrey said we had to go back with Dane because of its cool pioneer history, as well as its wildlife displays.

Here we are at the museum, a couple hours into our 8-hour drive.

Aubs finds a special book with a goodie inside -- which happens to be bear scat!

She's not touching it, but I swear she gets that inclination to push the envelope from her Dad.

Mr. Sincere.

Archaeologists headed out to dig through layers to reveal Oregon history.

At Spooners Market in Puyallup. He, um, asked me to take this picture...

And again.

And again.

Aubs in Mema's back yard with the Shasta daisies.

Practicing golf with Poppa's club.

Some of the perennials Mom and I spent 5 hours digging up.

More perennials.

Another view of it.

And the mini-reunion: the reason we came! Our Texas cousins had to stay in Texas, but their parents, my Aunt Debbie and Uncle Lorren were in town in their motor home, post-retirement. It was so exciting for all of the PNW Coopers to meet up with them.

Patrick and Peggy's son Zac shows some catwalk moves he learned at modeling school.

My cousin Deric chats with my mom, his sweet Aunt Sharen.

Deric's wife April, whom I finally met!, points somewhere while Dani and her birth-daughter Rachel look on and Patrick gropes Peggy.

Me with my sweet Peggy.

My cousin Patrick with our adorable Aunt Debbie.

Peg joins the kids with a kartwheel.

Then she tries a bridge.

I surprise myself, able to do it!

Aubsie does a back walkover easily.

My Peggy and my Dani.

I love my cousins!

Dani and her daughter Rachel. It was amazing to meet Rachel.

Hard to keep a dry eye seeing Patrick bring Gram in from recovery. She's been in assisted living for a year, but had a heart attack earlier in the week and was still in recovery. She got to come to the BBQ though.

Nic hugs G.G.

Gram with Uncle Lorren, her only son.

Dane can't stop giggling.

Aubs played a smart game of hide-n-seek that day: she sat under me at the grownups table while the seekers looked in vegetation, nooks, crannies, and pretty much everywhere but with the adults.

Everybody's chuckling about pictures of Aunt Sharen. Her cousin once referred to her as a Mack truck. Poor Big Share! She's come a long way!

Our beloved Coopers.

BIG SHARE
AND THE
AMAZING
BIONIC EYEBALLS




If I were doing a report for my first grade class, I would start it out like this:

"My mom has the most amazing eyeballs!"

(That's an homage to Aubrey's presentation in case you missed it.)

Alright, I wasn't in first grade when my mom had her first cornea transplants -- I think I was in 6th grade or something -- but that's right, folks, my mom has someone else's corneas in her eyeballs.

That's the creepy part. But it's also amazing.

Growing up, I remember looking into my mom's eyes and being able to see the little ring of stitches -- and, later, scars -- around the edges of her eyes. I always thought of the rings as misplaced halos. I never told her that, but look at what I saw (her eyes are also brown, so this photo accurately re-creates my experience):


Isn't it ethereal?

She -- and her sister, Laurie -- had their corneas transplanted about 25 years ago when the technology was fairly new. But evidently that's about how long the transplants last.

So, here's what the doctors did again to one of Mom's eyes yesterday:


They implanted a lens and transplanted a cornea. They also did cataract removal. Isn't that absolutely amazing?

Why is the cornea so important?
I'm no expert, so I'll pass on what our friends at the National Eye Institute have to say:

Although the cornea is clear and seems to lack substance, it is actually a highly organized group of cells and proteins. Unlike most tissues in the body, the cornea contains no blood vessels to nourish or protect it against infection. Instead, the cornea receives its nourishment from the tears and aqueous humor that fills the chamber behind it. The cornea must remain transparent to refract light properly, and the presence of even the tiniest blood vessels can interfere with this process. To see well, all layers of the cornea must be free of any cloudy or opaque areas.

Its two main functions?

1 - It helps to shield the rest of the eye from germs, dust, and other harmful matter. The cornea shares this protective task with the eyelids, the eye socket, tears, and the sclera, or white part of the eye.

2 - The cornea acts as the eye's outermost lens. It functions like a window that controls and focuses the entry of light into the eye. The cornea contributes between 65-75 percent of the eye's total focusing power.

Considering all that, how's Mom doing?
I spoke with her on the phone last night and she said she had a headache (which she's had all week) and some pain. It didn't help that the light hurt her eyes when she tried to look at the flowers we sent her. (Uh, sorry, Mom.)

Other than that, she's hoping for full recovery. Soon. Which, if you know her, is SO my mom -- she's planning on working from home today, since the doctor says she can't drive for 24 hours. Doesn't that seem too short a time? Again, amazing.

She's doing great so far, and it sounds like there aren't many risks involved. Let's hope that's the case. I need her to keep reading my blog.