Hollyberry Noel

My beloved dog, Hollyberry Noel, passed away on August 13, 2010. I got her on December 20, 1996 when she was 16 weeks old in Pierre, SD. A friend of mine and I were in the Pierre mall. A friend of hers came into the mall and asked her if she wanted a puppy. She told him no, pointed to me and said, "But she does." He took us to his van in the parking lot and handed her to me. She has been through a lot with me and was a loving, loyal companion. She loved popcorn, pancakes, waffles and doughnuts.

October

I went to Kansa City, Kansas during the first part of October for a NEA Minority Affairs Leadership training. Gramma Marian watched Gabriel and Jacob stayed with Gramma Estelle. I met a lot of people and learned something new every day that I was there. October 20-22, I went to Bismarck for NDEA's Teachers' Convention and an Ethnic Minority Affairs Commission meeting.
On Saturday, October 23, we were invited to attend the pumpkin carving party at Howard and Jean (Gramma Arlene's niece) Trueblood's new house. They are serious pumpkin carvers. I made spaghetti and eyeballs for the potluck dinner. The instructions for the potluck were to bring something that you had not made before.
Gabriel spent most of the day sleeping and was not well when he woke up from his marathon nap. One of the elder ladies, who was sitting at the opposite end of the table, said, "That baby is not breathing right." So, you guessed it, we were off to the ER in Garrison again. He was transported via ambulance and admitted to the hospital for round two of bronchiolitis. He even had the same room as the second hospital stay. I arrived at the hospital after he was admitted and the nurse said, "It's Gabriel's Mom." when I pushed the buzzer to be let into the childrens' ward. He was there from Saturday afternoon until Monday afternoon.

September

On September 9, 10, 11 and 12, we went to Bismarck for the United Tribes Technical College International Pow Wow. Gabriel made his dancing debut. Jacob was asked by Valerie Parker to dance with the Haudenosauee Native Smoke Dancers. It was cute. She came up to him and asked, "Would you dance with me?" His eyes got as big as saucers and he nodded his head yes.
Jacob turned 9 on September 20th. We went to Minot. He and Benito enjoyed time at Planet Pizza and a movie.
Gabriel went by ambulance to Bismarck on September 29th. He could not breathe well. His ribs would show when he inhaled and exhaled. He was admitted to the hospital with bronchiolitis. He was discharged on Saturday AM.

August

In August, I started work, Jacob started 3rd Grade and Baby G spent six days in the hospital. I went back to work on 8/16 and Jacob started third grade on 8/24. August 24 was also the day that Gabriel went to the hospital in Bismarck.
On August 23, I picked him up from the sitter and his left pant leg was soaked from hip to knee, he had spots on his face and was running a 103 degree temperature. I dropped Mom and Jacob off at home and took him straight to the ER. They consulted with a pediatrician in Bismarck. They had the blood ready to send with us to Bismarck and the pediatrician suggested that we wait until Tuesday morning, but if things got worse to go down that night. His thigh and left elbow looked like someone packed raw hamburger on him and his left foot was swollen. His fever went down as soon as he was given Tylenol. I drove home wondering what was worse. I pretty much stayed up all night watching him. Hindsight is always 20/20 and I decided that when the ER is ready to send me to Bismarck that I will go right then. No waiting until the next day. There wasn't enough coffee in the world to keep me awake as I drove to Bismarck the next day, right after I sent Jacob to school.
He had a 10:00 appointment. By the time we got there, his left leg and foot were so swollen that he could not straighten his leg or flatten his foot. He walked on his toes with his leg bent. As soon as the pediatrician looked at him, she said, "He needs to see a dermatoligist right now." She then went to the nurses' station and called Dr. Luger's office and demanded to know who was on call. I could hear her in the exam room (three doors down). She came back and told me that Dr. Luger would see him as soon as I could get him to his office. Dr. Luger is a very calm and quiet Native guy from Standing Rock. He is the best dermatologist around and it is very difficult to get an appointment with him. Lucky us. He came into see Baby, shone a flashlight on his leg and very calmly said, "It's a herpetic virus. I can show you how to treat it at home, but I believe Dr. Obregon wants him hospitalized. It's up to you." We went directly to the St. Alexius Medical Center's ER. That evening he was sedated so they could insert a PIC line. Three different people came into his room to tell me dangers of sedation and PIC lines. As soon as the third person, I believe he was the anesthesiologist, started his speech, I just looked at him and said, "I'm trusting you with the health and life of my baby." He said, "Okay. Everything will be fine." Then he left the room.
I leave the room when my children get shots. Holding him while they sedated him was not in my plans, but it was in theirs. He was there until Sunday. He also had secondary staph and strep infections. I was put on the same antibiotic as him for spots on my fingers. Monday morning I went to the clinic in Garrison because I also got the staph and strep infections on my left ring finger.


Jacob on the first day of third grade.
Getting on the bus.
Gabriel in his hospital crib
Gabriel's favorite nurse, Cathy.
Leaving the hospital.