March 1st - Challenge Day & Lucianna is a fighter-fighter brave and strong!

Please watch the below video to understand my post title! (You have to go to the blog site to view it, it does not show on email notifications.  www.lovelucianna.blogspot.com )

Why is this video significant?  Because Lucianna IS a "fighter-fighter"....and that personality trait has paid off today!  She had her eye appointment this morning and we are relieved and excited to say: 

HER EYES ARE OFFICIALLY QUIET!

NO MORE DROPS! 

We are 11 days shy of a full 6 months since learning she has Uveitis.  Today, her eyes are quiet and her ophthalmologist says she can discontinue drops. <insert angels singing from above>

She goes back in just two weeks to make sure that her eyes do well without the eye drop therapy.  So keep her in your thoughts over the coming weeks.  Her Uveitis is not cured, it's considered quiet.  We like quiet...it works for us. 



On a personal note, on Sunday, my great Aunt Jane passed away.  She was the closest thing I had to a grandparent since losing my own grandma in 1997, (which was her sister).  Jane was not in good health but I guess I was in denial that she would be here for many years to come.  She and I really bonded over the last 7 years.  I could talk to her about anything and she brought me so much positive energy despite being so ill. Why is that?  Why do the people who have the most to complain about refrain from it all together?  She was one of those people.  I would ask her how she was feeling and she would always say, "I'm alright, how are you?"  She wasn't alright.  She suffered from numerous health conditions including Cancer but somehow, she always made you feel like she was just fine.  I think she didn't want me to feel sorry for her or worry about her. That is the legacy she leaves behind to me...."stay positive, keep your mind full of inspiring thoughts and don't dwell on the things we can't change".  She was very different from her sister, (and my grandmother), Eunice.  My grandma was always complaining about something or another...and boy did she let you know about it. Even still, my grandmother managed to throw on her Reebok's and her warm-up suit and get out and do something!  Maybe that's what they had in common...nothing was going to keep them from enjoying life.  No words can express how much I will miss Aunt Jane.  I have a voicemail on my phone from back at Christmas that I saved - and I'm happy that I did; I can hear her sweet voice anytime I want. 



You know, Jane could barely see in the last few years.  She requested that phone numbers be written very large for her to see.  She often used a magnifying glass to read even the largest of print.  One day she called me to say how sorry she was that she hadn't called me in a while...then admitted that her magnifying glass had fallen behind her bed and she couldn't see my phone number without it.  Sigh.  Today, two nights after she has passed, we have the news we have been waiting for on Lucianna's eyes. Maybe this was Jane's last gift to me.

Boy am I fortunate to have known and been related to a very special women. 

 

Lucianna & Great, great Aunt Jane



Just for one day, on Friday, March 1st, the day I say goodbye to my Aunt Jane - I challenge ALL OF YOU to try not to complain that day.  Try not to complain about traffic, gum on your shoe, being tired, not feeling good...nothing.  Try it for one day as a favor to me.   It is true that I have been called "Debbie Downer" before. I am going to work on that, and starting Friday, as a tribute to my aunt, I will be more thankful....and complain less.

Love,

Lucianna's Proud Mama