It’s been quite a week. It’s been a really really long week.
Last week I was in Las Vegas for Collaborate 17. 4000 plus geeks all in a conference center learning everything they can possibly learn about everything they can possibly learn in one hour sessions all crammed into a week. It was an adventure.
Add to it, I was one of the lucky ones in the herd there to present. I’ve put in topics before, technical topics, and had them not accepted often. This year I put in for a soft skills topic (Cross Cultural Communication) and had it accepted at both Collaborate 17 and GLOC 17 in Cleveland.
In talking to fellow adventurers at the conference, I found out that there is, apparently, a real need for my topic. I presented on the last day of the conference and not only did I have an astounding 28 people show up first thing in the morning after “the big party” and most of them actually stayed, stayed awake and nodded and smiled, but I also talked to people in the International Special Interest Group for Oracle and they want me to join the SIG and they want me to put on a Webinar of my speech. I’m actually kind of proud of myself.
That was the “up” part of last week.
The down part of last week was being in Las Vegas when Bear got officially put on oxygen. It was sobering. It was scary. I felt so far away and alone.
Getting the tanks delivered was hard for him. He was so depressed. Faced with mortality… faced with reality… faced with being tied to tanks and concentrators for the rest of his life really hit him hard and I wasn’t there (here) to help.
It’s been better since I’ve been home. We’ve done a 6 mile walk twice over the weekend. He carried two bottles in his spiffy new backpack and I carried a spare in mine. It was a gorgeous weekend and the walks were wonderful… and it proved to him that he doesn’t have to be tied to the house all the time and that we can still be active even with relying on oxygen.
We still have questions (like what should he use in his nose to keep the dryness down… can’t use petroleum jelly because it is so flammable and saline nose spray doesn’t really last so long) but at least the adjustment is being easier at the moment.
Today marks a week since the bottles were delivered. He’s talking about the concentrator he’s hoping to get and actually looking forward to summer more than he was last week.
And today is back to work for me. I’m still trying to recover from the week away, the time difference and living in both time zones and knowing that this week promises to be long but I’m up for this, at least today.
Love and Light
April Wells
4/10/17
A Figment Of Fitness 