So, after a few hours we were admitted to the PICU at Children's Hospital. Wen we were wheeled up to our room, there were about twelve doctors waiting for us in our room. They were all robed up, masked up and gloved up. I was overwhelmed, thinking, wow, what a great hospital. It was not until a few days into our stay in the PICU that I realized, this was, indeed not the norm. Most kids are wheeled in to meet with the nurse, if that. I am glad I did not know that at the time. It would have scared me too much.
We had an MRI scheduled for 3:00, but it kept getting bumped back. When she finally went down, it was just crazy. They decided to put a breathing tube in, just in case. My daughter was on a breathing tube. This really did scare me. To wheel her down to the MRI area, took a lot of work. They had so many meds on her bed, just in case, they had a defibrillator. They had so much stuff that this bed, which seemed so big at first, was packed with stuff. We waited outside the MRI room for an hour, then got a call from Catherine that she was there with our stuff. We walked upstairs. She came up to our room with us. That is when the doctor walked in and said she had good news. Catherine went to leave the room. I said to stay. They told us she had PRES, and it was 100% reversible. I think I breathed for the first time all day. Then I cried. Then I smiled. Then I cried again. They brought her up a while later and said they would monitor her for a while and treat her and let body recover then take the breathing tube out. PRES, is pulmonary reversible endoslophy syndrome. Usually caused by high blood pressure. Often seen in chemo patients. No one could figure out why Maggie had it, but went about treating it. They were more concerned with treating it at the moment then determining how it got there. That was hard for Sean and I to accept, but we understood it was more important to treat.
They decided to put in two IV lines directly to her veins (a central line directly to the heart). One through her neck, one in her ankle. This was a sterile procedure that went on right in the room, but sent Sean and I across the hall to the family room. We just plopped down on the couch and stared forward. A nurse came in and recognized me from teaching at HHS. I knew I had been crying all day, and I looked a mess. When I told her what room our daughter was in, she kind of gasped and said "oh, that room has been very busy tonight." It had been. Crazy stuff was going on in there.
The night doctor decided to take her off her breathing tube around 3:00am. That was good news but I was afraid. I was afraid that she would not be better. The doctor assured me that when we took Maggie off the tube we would have our old Mags back. She was wrong. It took days for Maggie to move (other then swinging at the doctors every time they tried to touch her), longer for her to speak, sit up, eat, or do anything which I would consider normal. Even in her coma-like state, she had spunk. She pulled out her breathing tube twice. Even under our careful watch. She punched a nurse in the arm. She kicked at, swung at, or glared at any medical professional that was near her. She would nod her head at a doctor if they asked her is she wanted them to leave. When she was finally allowed to try eating, she refused to eat anything they offered her.. she wanted a cookie or dumplings! I kept trying to explain that she was normally such a fun, happy girl.
The nights were rough. She would desat almost every night. Her lungs became blocked. We had to have respiratory therapist in around the clock. She coughed constantly but was too weak to cough hard or sit up in order to get all the gunk out. It was scary, and tiring, and hard. It seemed the nights were the hardest. She would basically sleep all day, but at night, she would struggle so hard with breathing that we would be up all night watching the monitors or performing chest therapy. One night her lungs were so blocked the doctor wanted to put the breathing tube back in. I really did not want this. at. all. I was determined to do anything we could to avoid this. The doctor was skeptical. We called in the attending who said she would give us the night to try to clear up her lungs. Sean and I banged on her back and her chest every ten minutes for hours. We would count backwards from ten like a rocket blast off and try to get Maggie to cough. I remember making the biggest deal out of a good cough... kind of like what you would do the first time a toddler walks! It really meant that much to us. They had to suction down her nose into her lungs a few times. I had to leave the room for this. Sean was amazing and helped the nurses hold her down while they did this yucky thing to her. Just hearing it from the hallway upset me. It took a few days to figure out what caused Mag's breathing to go so bad so quick. We began to wait out the rough times and let Maggie come through it again. It was hard, but the nurse was right, she could do it herself, after about a half hour. A half hour of alarms going off and her breathing rates slowing so much. A long half hour. A scary half hour. Once her breathing was a little better, we could move on to other things.
We began speech, physical and occupational therapy around day 5 or 6. That was very hard to watch. She could not swallow, even water. She could not sit up or hold her head up. She was in so much pain even when she turned from side to side. She screamed in pain. She begged not to do it. I really had no idea that a body could deteriorate that quickly. I thought the therapists would come in and she would bounce right back. She did not. I realized that the first few days I was just worried if she would survive or not. I was scared all the time. all. the. time. I did not cry; I just acted. Sean and I got things done. We made decisions together. We worked very well together in the hospital. We supported each others' decisions. We compromised. We did what we felt was best for Maggie. It was not until Maggie was awake and we began therapy and we talked to the doctor about her recovery that I really felt sad.
One night Sean and I were eating dinner in the family room across the hall, while Maggie slept. It was around 11:00pm. The doctor came in and sat with us for about 45 minutes. He was great. We talked about Maggie, but also about his family, his kids, schooling, insurance. It was the first "adult" conversation we had in a while. But when he left, I called my friend Tory and cried, for really the first time since the first day. He gave us what he thought was the timeline to Maggie's recovery. Two more weeks in the hospital, then a month or so at rehab. Rehab? This was the first mention of that. Why would she need that much rehab? Why would she need any rehab? Sean was saying this is all good news, she is doing better, getter better...recovering. This I understood, but now I stopped being scared, and changed to being sad. I was sad for her. For us. For the situation.
After nine rough days in the ICU, we moved up to neurology floor. It was an adjustment. No 24 hours supervision. No one to one nursing care. No monitors, no beeping, no breathing treatments... all good things to not have, but hard to come down from all that action. After being in the room for a while, a doctor finally came in to introduce himself, so different than our introduction in the ICU. I asked where all the monitors were. He said the did not have them. I said, how will we know if Maggie is breathing. He said, "We'll say, Maggie, are you breathing?" Yes, this was going to take a while to get used to! We had watched monitors and had one on one nursing care for nine days. We survived on very little sleep; we met with doctors and therapists regularly. We literally woudl walk out our door and there would be a nurse sitting at the window looking into our room and ask if we needed anything. On this floor if you walked in the hall, there was no one there. I called a nurse on the call button once and it took over a half hour to get a reply. I wanted to go back to ICU... how crazy is that. Once, when Maggie was writhing in pain and we were waiting, for what seemed like ever, for medicine, Maggie even said, can we go back downstairs (to ICU... and trust me, she was pretty angry there!).
to be continued...
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Perspective
So summer is almost here, really, just around the corner. The littles will be done camp (school has been over for two weeks) Friday. On that same day, Maggie and I fly to Orlando for a quick weekend trip to Disney World, and next Wednesday Beaumont is out. Yes, summer is just about here. YAY!
So, I look back and see it has been a while since my last update. Nothing new there. Except, a lot has happened in these last few months. As a matter of fact, right after my last update in February, crazy things happened. I can say though, that finally, things are getting back to normal. Almost too normal if you ask me.
The last week of February Maggie got a sore throat. She stayed home a day or two one week, but went back to school the following Monday. She was fine again. Then on Wednesday she started feeling sick again. We were supposed to go away to the Smith's Pocono house with them and the Cioccas that weekend. I was debating whether she could go or not. She was pretty sick Wednesday and Thursday, but seemed to perk up Friday. We did not go. Thank goodness. I took her to the Doctor on Saturday AM, as she was so lethargic and just generally miserable. They checked her out, then sent us to the lab for some tests. I had to carry her in to the DR's and around the hospital for lab work, as she was too weak to walk. Sunday AM, she was still not moving, I mean really not moving, to the point where I put a pull up on her, because she literally could not walk to the bathroom. She had not eaten in days. She could not sit up, walk, barely even talk. We took her to the ER.
They pumped her with a bag of fluids and said she had a virus, basically dismissed her (and me) and sent us home. When we checked in they took her blood pressure. It was 139/85. I asked if it was high. The check in lady said she was moving, not to worry about it. (note: she was NOT moving. In fact she was straddling my lap with her head on my shoulder, she was so weak).
Sean or I had been sleeping with her for days. On Sunday night I slept on the couch with her. She groaned and gritted her teeth all night. She complained of a belly ache. I rubbed her belly all night, but did not know what else to do. On Monday morning I sent the other girls off to school. Sean took them. Kerri was home with me. Maggie was saying her bum hurt. I assumed she was constipated (she had not been to the bathroom in days). She swore she did not have to go to the bathroom, but I insisted. I put her in the tub upstairs. I came down and got miralax. When I came up, she was crying in pain. I got her out and laid her on the floor. I was giving her the miralax, and she started throwing up. I quickly picked her up and put her in front of the toilet to throw up. Her whole body was tensed up to the left side. Her eyes were stuck looking up to the left side. I was yelling at her to throw up in the toilet. Not because I cared about the throw up, but because I wanted her to turn her head, just turn her head and show she could. She could not. She could also not stand up. Her legs were in an awkward position and had absolutely no strength in them. I carried her downstairs and called Sean, he had just left minutes ago to drop off girls at school. I told him I think I needed to call ambulance, as he had just seen her, he said, I'll turn around, I'll be there in ten minutes. But at the same time I was yelling at Maggie to say something, anything. She could not. I asked her if she heard me. With her body in a crazy awkward position, with me holding her up, and her eyes stuck in her head looking up to the left, she just barely nodded her head yes. I asked if she was in pain. She nodded no. I asked if she was scared, she nodded no. Well, I sure was. I hung up with Sean and dialed 911.
The police arrived first. As Maggie was naked from the bath, I asked Kerri to get me clothes and underwear for her. Kerri did. I laid Maggie on the couch and was putting my finger in the air trying to get her to follow my fingers. She could not. She was still stuck in that position. The police man was asking questions. The ambulance arrived. Sean followed them in. They asked lots of questions. I answered. I called many numbers. Jenn Smith answered and came and got Kerri. It was truly amazing, she just took her out of Sean's hands and took her, no questions asked, just helping us out. When we got in the ambulance, the EMT asked me if we were at Bryn Mawr the day before. I said yes. He asked, did I want to go there again. I said, should I? he just looked at me. I said, should I go to CHOP. He said, I think that is a great idea. Let's go to CHOP. I knew that if he thought we should go to CHOP, it was bad, real bad.
On the way there, I called friends, to get coverage for my other daughters. Sue called, and asked how Mags was (she had been concerned all week). Apparently ( I don't remember) I said, we are in the ambulance. She said what's wrong, and all I said was, she is not responding. Call Sean. and I hung up. Sean did not really know what was going on, as he came in on the tail end of things. Sue sent out an email to her friends for prayers.
The ambulance ride was hard. I felt so helpless. I wanted so badly to be doing something, but there was nothing I could do. The EMT was great. He kept saying it was probably some crazy virus and she just needed some fluids. She had another seizure on the way to the hospital. It was horrible to watch. When we arrived, the staff quickly went into action. They treated her for spinal meningitis. The gave her high doses of antibiotics for various infections. Which she then had a reaction to. We now know she has Redman's syndrome. Which is a reaction to a large dose of vancomicin. We were then shuffled into a room for a CAT scan. I just remember holding Sean's hand and saying over and over again, please God, don't let it be a brain tumor, please, don't let her die. It was honestly the scariest 2 minutes of my life. When the initial results were read, they said it looked okay. They were now focusing on a virus or meningitis. But then the radiologist read the report. He thought it looked like she had suffered a stroke. At that moment stroke protocol went into practice. For some reason, this scared me to death.
I remember calling Catherine. Asking for names of neurologists. I remember calling my dad. Asking if he was busy this afternoon. If not, would he mind coming over to watch the girls. He said sure, why? I said we were in the ER with Maggie. He asked what they were saying. When I tried to tell him about the stroke, I lost it. I could not speak. I quickly pulled myself together and told him. I just could not believe my little girl was going through all this.
to be continued...
So, I look back and see it has been a while since my last update. Nothing new there. Except, a lot has happened in these last few months. As a matter of fact, right after my last update in February, crazy things happened. I can say though, that finally, things are getting back to normal. Almost too normal if you ask me.
The last week of February Maggie got a sore throat. She stayed home a day or two one week, but went back to school the following Monday. She was fine again. Then on Wednesday she started feeling sick again. We were supposed to go away to the Smith's Pocono house with them and the Cioccas that weekend. I was debating whether she could go or not. She was pretty sick Wednesday and Thursday, but seemed to perk up Friday. We did not go. Thank goodness. I took her to the Doctor on Saturday AM, as she was so lethargic and just generally miserable. They checked her out, then sent us to the lab for some tests. I had to carry her in to the DR's and around the hospital for lab work, as she was too weak to walk. Sunday AM, she was still not moving, I mean really not moving, to the point where I put a pull up on her, because she literally could not walk to the bathroom. She had not eaten in days. She could not sit up, walk, barely even talk. We took her to the ER.
They pumped her with a bag of fluids and said she had a virus, basically dismissed her (and me) and sent us home. When we checked in they took her blood pressure. It was 139/85. I asked if it was high. The check in lady said she was moving, not to worry about it. (note: she was NOT moving. In fact she was straddling my lap with her head on my shoulder, she was so weak).
Sean or I had been sleeping with her for days. On Sunday night I slept on the couch with her. She groaned and gritted her teeth all night. She complained of a belly ache. I rubbed her belly all night, but did not know what else to do. On Monday morning I sent the other girls off to school. Sean took them. Kerri was home with me. Maggie was saying her bum hurt. I assumed she was constipated (she had not been to the bathroom in days). She swore she did not have to go to the bathroom, but I insisted. I put her in the tub upstairs. I came down and got miralax. When I came up, she was crying in pain. I got her out and laid her on the floor. I was giving her the miralax, and she started throwing up. I quickly picked her up and put her in front of the toilet to throw up. Her whole body was tensed up to the left side. Her eyes were stuck looking up to the left side. I was yelling at her to throw up in the toilet. Not because I cared about the throw up, but because I wanted her to turn her head, just turn her head and show she could. She could not. She could also not stand up. Her legs were in an awkward position and had absolutely no strength in them. I carried her downstairs and called Sean, he had just left minutes ago to drop off girls at school. I told him I think I needed to call ambulance, as he had just seen her, he said, I'll turn around, I'll be there in ten minutes. But at the same time I was yelling at Maggie to say something, anything. She could not. I asked her if she heard me. With her body in a crazy awkward position, with me holding her up, and her eyes stuck in her head looking up to the left, she just barely nodded her head yes. I asked if she was in pain. She nodded no. I asked if she was scared, she nodded no. Well, I sure was. I hung up with Sean and dialed 911.
The police arrived first. As Maggie was naked from the bath, I asked Kerri to get me clothes and underwear for her. Kerri did. I laid Maggie on the couch and was putting my finger in the air trying to get her to follow my fingers. She could not. She was still stuck in that position. The police man was asking questions. The ambulance arrived. Sean followed them in. They asked lots of questions. I answered. I called many numbers. Jenn Smith answered and came and got Kerri. It was truly amazing, she just took her out of Sean's hands and took her, no questions asked, just helping us out. When we got in the ambulance, the EMT asked me if we were at Bryn Mawr the day before. I said yes. He asked, did I want to go there again. I said, should I? he just looked at me. I said, should I go to CHOP. He said, I think that is a great idea. Let's go to CHOP. I knew that if he thought we should go to CHOP, it was bad, real bad.
On the way there, I called friends, to get coverage for my other daughters. Sue called, and asked how Mags was (she had been concerned all week). Apparently ( I don't remember) I said, we are in the ambulance. She said what's wrong, and all I said was, she is not responding. Call Sean. and I hung up. Sean did not really know what was going on, as he came in on the tail end of things. Sue sent out an email to her friends for prayers.
The ambulance ride was hard. I felt so helpless. I wanted so badly to be doing something, but there was nothing I could do. The EMT was great. He kept saying it was probably some crazy virus and she just needed some fluids. She had another seizure on the way to the hospital. It was horrible to watch. When we arrived, the staff quickly went into action. They treated her for spinal meningitis. The gave her high doses of antibiotics for various infections. Which she then had a reaction to. We now know she has Redman's syndrome. Which is a reaction to a large dose of vancomicin. We were then shuffled into a room for a CAT scan. I just remember holding Sean's hand and saying over and over again, please God, don't let it be a brain tumor, please, don't let her die. It was honestly the scariest 2 minutes of my life. When the initial results were read, they said it looked okay. They were now focusing on a virus or meningitis. But then the radiologist read the report. He thought it looked like she had suffered a stroke. At that moment stroke protocol went into practice. For some reason, this scared me to death.
I remember calling Catherine. Asking for names of neurologists. I remember calling my dad. Asking if he was busy this afternoon. If not, would he mind coming over to watch the girls. He said sure, why? I said we were in the ER with Maggie. He asked what they were saying. When I tried to tell him about the stroke, I lost it. I could not speak. I quickly pulled myself together and told him. I just could not believe my little girl was going through all this.
to be continued...
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Curious Questions
As B and I were lying in bed the other day, she asked me if I was going to break up with daddy. (I think it is too much teeny bopper tv... not Sean and My behavior.. I hope). I said I was not planning to. She then asked if Daddy was going to break up with me. I said not that I know of. If you do break up, B asks, who will I live with? I told her I guess she would decide. She thought for a minute and said "Gee, that would be hard, because sometimes, like now, you are being really nice to me, and other times, Daddy is nicer to me. Can we just not break up and live all together?" That's the plan B.
I realize in retrospect I probably should have said something wise and reassuring to her, like, Daddy and I love each other very much and would never break up. But I didn't.
I realize in retrospect I probably should have said something wise and reassuring to her, like, Daddy and I love each other very much and would never break up. But I didn't.
My Time
Maura and I recently went to the funeral mass of her friend Sophia's grandfather. On the way home Maura says, "You know mom, going to that mass today made me think about what is going to happen when my time comes." It did the same for me. Who knew I was on the same wave length of an 8 year old.
Yes, we are still here.
When I take so long in between posts, it sometimes seems overwhelming to try to catch up with all that I missed, so I just need to jump right back in...
Here it goes.
Christmas shows went great. Kerri was a master of all her motions and had no problem being up in front of the class. B actually sang her songs... not loud, but I did manage to hear a word or two.
Kerri just loves going to school every day. She loves her friends and can tell me what each child in her class did that day, probably what they wore too. Right now Kerri wears a tutu pretty much every day. Various outfits, tights, pants, leggings, jeans, go under it, but a tutu is still on top.
B is still weary of school. Most days she goes reluctantly, some days willingly and somedays, only with a bribe. It is getting a little old for this mama, but this too shall pass.
Our Christmas may have been the best one yet (will I say that every year from now on?). The girls were fully excited. Everyone believes. And we can still hold the "I will tell Santa..." threat over them. Sometimes it even works.
We had a special treat this year. Sean's parents rented a 15 passenger van and took the whole family to NYC to see the Rockettes on the 26th. Every seat was full, and it was great. We had fun at FAO Schwartz. Surprisingly no one aksed for anything at FAO. I was prepared for some tears, but we were spared. We went to Rockefeller Center, lunch, walked around a bit, saw the show (perfect for all ages in our group) then headed to the Starlite Diner for an early dinner. Girls were fascinated by the singers. We had great seats and were able to unwind before our long drive home.
We did lots of hosting over the break. In fact I think we had people for dinner 6 out of 8 nights. Very fun though, and very relaxed. Dave and Colleen (and the twins in utero) were here for a while. It was nice to see them and the girls loved it. We saw our cousins. New Years was spent at the LeComte's House, an impromptu party because the Stagnaros got sick last minute. Loads of fun. All the girls, except B, stayed up past midnight! B came up to me at 11:30 and said she just could not stay awake another minute. She then quickly fell asleep on my lap. We had planned to leave around 9:00, but I should have known better. We always have fun with this group of friends, and this night was no different.
Back to school was welcomed, but I will be honest, I enjoyed the sleeping in and, not so lazy, but less scheduled days.
We had a shotgun babyshower for Colleen. It was a great time. So nice to see all her friends and celebrate a very special person. I am so excited to see Colleen and Dave be parents. I still look at Colleen as the little sister I never had (but always wanted). Can't wait to see her in this new role.
2013 has been great so far. Sean and I took a little weekend trip... to Pittsburgh. I tagged along on a business trip. Maura made her first penance. B registered for kindergarten... again. I got a job (at Trinity, teaching a nature explorers class). All is good and getting better by the minute (to loosely quote my father in law). Looking forward to the Trinity Auction coming up and a trip to Disney and Naples! Very fun.
So there it is. My first attempt to catch up.
Here it goes.
Christmas shows went great. Kerri was a master of all her motions and had no problem being up in front of the class. B actually sang her songs... not loud, but I did manage to hear a word or two.
Kerri just loves going to school every day. She loves her friends and can tell me what each child in her class did that day, probably what they wore too. Right now Kerri wears a tutu pretty much every day. Various outfits, tights, pants, leggings, jeans, go under it, but a tutu is still on top.
B is still weary of school. Most days she goes reluctantly, some days willingly and somedays, only with a bribe. It is getting a little old for this mama, but this too shall pass.
Our Christmas may have been the best one yet (will I say that every year from now on?). The girls were fully excited. Everyone believes. And we can still hold the "I will tell Santa..." threat over them. Sometimes it even works.
We had a special treat this year. Sean's parents rented a 15 passenger van and took the whole family to NYC to see the Rockettes on the 26th. Every seat was full, and it was great. We had fun at FAO Schwartz. Surprisingly no one aksed for anything at FAO. I was prepared for some tears, but we were spared. We went to Rockefeller Center, lunch, walked around a bit, saw the show (perfect for all ages in our group) then headed to the Starlite Diner for an early dinner. Girls were fascinated by the singers. We had great seats and were able to unwind before our long drive home.
We did lots of hosting over the break. In fact I think we had people for dinner 6 out of 8 nights. Very fun though, and very relaxed. Dave and Colleen (and the twins in utero) were here for a while. It was nice to see them and the girls loved it. We saw our cousins. New Years was spent at the LeComte's House, an impromptu party because the Stagnaros got sick last minute. Loads of fun. All the girls, except B, stayed up past midnight! B came up to me at 11:30 and said she just could not stay awake another minute. She then quickly fell asleep on my lap. We had planned to leave around 9:00, but I should have known better. We always have fun with this group of friends, and this night was no different.
Back to school was welcomed, but I will be honest, I enjoyed the sleeping in and, not so lazy, but less scheduled days.
We had a shotgun babyshower for Colleen. It was a great time. So nice to see all her friends and celebrate a very special person. I am so excited to see Colleen and Dave be parents. I still look at Colleen as the little sister I never had (but always wanted). Can't wait to see her in this new role.
2013 has been great so far. Sean and I took a little weekend trip... to Pittsburgh. I tagged along on a business trip. Maura made her first penance. B registered for kindergarten... again. I got a job (at Trinity, teaching a nature explorers class). All is good and getting better by the minute (to loosely quote my father in law). Looking forward to the Trinity Auction coming up and a trip to Disney and Naples! Very fun.
So there it is. My first attempt to catch up.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Trying
Today I am trying. Trying to appreciate my 8,7, 5 and 4 year olds. Trying to remember how precious they are (even when they are not acting so precious). Trying to deal with the fact that any minute truly could be our last minute. I am trying not to cry as I pull into the parking lot at school and see a police car parked there. I am trying to smile as I let me girls run off to school, happy as can be to spend time with their friends and their teachers. I am trying to take every moment in and cherish it all. I am trying to do all that, and still go about business as normal. Christmas is in a few days, family is arriving, parties are being hosted. These are all important things. Things still need to get done. And yet, the most important thing are those girls. I need to keep reminding myself that. Stop. Enjoy. Cherish. I am never sure why it is so hard. But I am sure that I need to try.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Hanukah vs. Christmas
Maura has always been intrigued by Hanukah. When she was little she used to asked people if they celebrated Hanukah or Christmas. If they said Christmas, she would shake her head and say, "I celebrate Hanukah."
Well, she has learned more about it as the years have gone on. This year she was blown away (and confused) that Jesus was indeed jewish. But as she was weighing the positives of both Hanukah and Christmas, she was playing the "would you rather" game she loves to play. She came to a realization. I am paraphrasing but this is basically what she said:
So mom, you mean to tell me the Jewish miracle is that there was a lantern that stayed lit longer than they thought it would. Our miracle is that Jesus died and ROSE FROM THE DEAD? Hmm, let me think about that one. I'm thinking our miracle wins.
She then continued to reason about how there was probably some oil in the corner of the lantern or something. I did try to explain the there is more to the Jewish culture than just Hanukah. But this was a typical Maura thought process I wanted to remember.
Well, she has learned more about it as the years have gone on. This year she was blown away (and confused) that Jesus was indeed jewish. But as she was weighing the positives of both Hanukah and Christmas, she was playing the "would you rather" game she loves to play. She came to a realization. I am paraphrasing but this is basically what she said:
So mom, you mean to tell me the Jewish miracle is that there was a lantern that stayed lit longer than they thought it would. Our miracle is that Jesus died and ROSE FROM THE DEAD? Hmm, let me think about that one. I'm thinking our miracle wins.
She then continued to reason about how there was probably some oil in the corner of the lantern or something. I did try to explain the there is more to the Jewish culture than just Hanukah. But this was a typical Maura thought process I wanted to remember.
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