Monday, August 10, 2009

FA can top a bloody nose

Earlier this year, my oldest nephew was smooching (chastely, no doubt) a girl when he got a nose bleed. The blood got on both of them obviously, and while she was a good sport about it and even called him later, my nephew told my little sister that it was like his body said: What's the most embarrassing thing we can do to him?

I, of course, can think of some worse things. For instance, you could be taking off your shirt but when you get it over your face you lose your balance and flip over the arm of your chair and wind up squished between your bed and your chair with a shirt over your eyes. Hopefully, if this happens, you will have a strong nephew handy to help you back up.

I did. My oldest sister and some of her family visited last week, so he was able to help me and he finally told me the bloody nose story. My little sister had told me when it happened and I wanted to write this then but she was like, No, that makes me a bad aunt for telling you. Whatever but I didn't write it then, but better late than never.

To my nephew's credit, he has used his embarrassment to remain friends with the gal. He said he texted her recently "Got a bloody nose, thinking of you." He is so much cooler than I, and I am so glad he can't think of a more embarrassing bodily mishap. I hope he never can.

His mom once wrote a piece for the newspaper she was working for about having two brothers with Friedreich's ataxia. She had something in there about watching her kids for ant possible signs that might indicate FA. Her kids and all but two of my nieces and nephews were born before there was a blood test for FA.

She watches her kids. I watch everyone from that generation in my family for a trip or some loss of balance.

I would feel so guilty if someone else in my family got FA, not that I have anything to do with it.

One of my nephews told me on vacation one year that he would probably have FA, or at least end up in a chair like me. This was cool with him because we would live together and wheel around egging people and fleeing in our chairs. He was pretty young at the time, but this nephew is still kind of odd. He'd probably enjoy the egging.

Mom loved hearing this. She said I had done such a great thing by removing any fear of wheelchairs from my nephew. I was chilled, and not because I was egged as a little kid and it was so awful.

I don't want my little people (and even though they are taller than me they are still my little people) to even contemplate living with FA. I live with it. I know I can. I don't think I am particularly strong or special, but it is so hard. Every day is a struggle. Every damn day.

I don't want that for them. Plus, it doesn't look like I'll have kids so I'll need someone to take care of me when I am older.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

i'll leave the deeper thoughts for later but for the moment, please confirm i am the mother of the odd nephew!
love you
mtc

Anonymous said...

myself, I couldn't decide which of us was the mother.
JTG

Anonymous said...

you nerds...it was totally mtc's youngest.

xo
ejd

Anonymous said...

I don't mean to be a SAP, and I know that having a disability is a significant challenge (believe me!), but feel blessed to have such a wonderful family surrounding you that brings joy and laughter and support. Life would be endlessly worse without them.
sdt

Anonymous said...

Oh, Sheri! You're the best!
JTG

Matt said...

Would it be more obvious if I said he wanted to egg zombies?

And SDT is good, but I am the best!

Anonymous said...

Did i mention that part of the trip conversation last week was whether fast or slow zombies were better, that is to say more realistic? and that S was realting how he and his working buddy were using chain saws the previous week and decided between them that it would have been a good tome for the zombie apocalypse cuz they could just stand back to back and take on the undead?
mtc

Matt said...

I liked the realistic discussion.

Anonymous said...

SPG is still working on his plan for the Zombie Apocalypse. I maintain that the Uhaul storage place near us is the place to hole up, but he thinks aisles are a bad idea. The cathedral is not too far away and would make a great setting for a zombie take-down.
JTG


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