Month: September 2017

Considerations – All Sorts

Isn’t it fun to see where your mind goes when you get lost in thoughts and considerations? This was stuck in my head for some reason the other night, so I did some research for the heck of it. No rants, life lessons, or takeaways today. Instead, here are some fun facts about owls taken directly from the bird preservation site audubon.org:

  • Many owl species have asymmetrical ears. When located at different heights on the owl’s head, their ears are able to pinpoint the location of sounds in multiple dimensions.
  • The eyes of an owl are not true “eyeballs.” Their tube-shaped eyes are completely immobile, providing binocular vision which fully focuses on their prey and boosts depth perception.
  • Owls can rotate their necks 270 degrees. A blood-pooling system collects blood to power their brains and eyes when neck movement cuts off circulation.
  • A group of owls is called a parliament. This originates from the C.S. Lewis description of a meeting of owls in The Chronicles of Narnia.
  • Owls hunt other owls. Great Horned Owls are the top predator of the smaller Barred Owl.
  • The tiniest owl in the world is the Elf Owl, which is 5 – 6 inches tall and weighs about 1 ½ ounces. The largest North American owl, in appearance, is the Great Gray Owl, which is up to 32 inches tall.
  • The Northern Hawk Owl can detect—primarily by sight—a vole to eat up to a half a mile away.
  • In fat years when mice are plentiful, usually monogamous Boreal Owls are apt to be promiscuous. Because easy prey means less work for parents feeding their young, males have been caught mating with up to three females, while females have been seen with at least one beau on the side.
  • Barn Owls swallow their prey whole—skin, bones, and all—and they eat up to 1,000 mice each year.
  • Northern Saw-whet Owls can travel long distances over large bodies of water. One showed up 70 miles from shore near Montauk, New York.

Cool, right? Still stinks that they have to vomit pellets though…

Goodbyes – The Crohn’s Saga Part 75

Goodbyes are tough, emotional things. I wasn’t prepared for this one. I don’t think anyone could be. Think about it. It’s a bodily function that you’ve just always done. The pain from Crohn’s Disease had already taught me never to take a satisfying, healthy poop for granted, but I don’t think there is a way to mentally and emotionally wrap one’s head around the thought of never doing it again.

If you’ve been reading along, you know that at this point I was so sick I could barely eat. My colon was riddled with sores, so passing anything was extremely painful. I was upset walking into that bathroom. It was a bitter and emotional time. And then, true to Crohn’s, it hurt like a bitch. I was sad to end things on a painful note like that. I was angry that it hurt. I was angry at how unfair all of it was. A part of me was hurting me and there was nothing I could do to change it or save myself. I just had to let go. I had to say goodbye.

So next time you go to the bathroom, enjoy it for those of us that can’t.

Consumption Kid – All Sorts

I may catch flak for this, but in my experience, every group of little kids has a consumption kid. No, I’m not anti-kid and no, I’m not trying to start an online fight about whether or not parents should bring their kids to restaurants or bars. Also, I certainly don’t think consumption is funny. But, I’ve noticed this enough that it’s become something I expect when I see a group of little kids. There’s always one with a nasty, wet cough.

Poor little consumption kid.

Ostomy Nurse – The Crohn’s Saga Part 76

I want to discuss two topics in this post – the ostomy nurse and bravery.

I met the ostomy nurse the morning of my surgery. You know how sometimes people you barely interact with can have a huge impact on your life? This was one of those cases. This meeting was about 20 minutes long, but it would change my life forever. She went over the surgery, marked where the stoma would be, and showed me the bag I’d be waking up with. It took her 2 minutes to measure something I’d dreaded for 25 years and that I’ll have for the rest of my life. I can barely wrap my mind around that. What a difficult job. I’m grateful that my hospital had an ostomy specialist and I’m grateful to have met her. She made things real, but she made them ok. If you ever read this, thank you!

And now on to bravery. This is one of those cases where people tell me I was brave. I didn’t feel it. I felt scared and angry and indignant. I mean really, can you call it bravery when you don’t really have a choice? Looking back, I can say it took some toughness for sure. It took nerve. Maybe bravery is just something that exists externally, but you never really feel it yourself. Either way, for anyone reading this who may end up in this situation, it’s ok to be scared. That’s a normal, healthy response. Just remember that there is a life worth living on the other side of this surgery.