Welcome this weeks Guest Blogger

Please Welcome, my friend, coworker, travel companion, baby-sitter .... you get the picture.

It is with heartfelt gratitude and appreciation that I present to you this weeks guest blogger, she has stories to tell .... given her fear of needles, the business in which had to be dealt with, and the long travel day in both directions .... I HAD A BLAST!!! Thank you .... do it again??? :D

So please give her a warm response ... lol ... and enjoy your musings as I try and get some photos off my camera. It has been a HELLACIOUS week and now I am sick, Hillary is sick, and tomorrow is Monday .... again.

Peace and Light
et

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Without further adue .... Heeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrre's Deb-Deb !!!!
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Hello to all friends, family, and followers of Eliza’s incredible journey. My name is Deb Schultz, but a few refer to me as “Deb-Deb.” I’ve decided to accept the invitation made by Eliza to guest blog for her this week. It’s the least I could do for her following our trip and the week she’s had. My question is, “can you suffer from jet lag if your vacation didn’t even involve an airplane?”

I’ve only had the honor of knowing and working with “Lizer” (as I call her) for the past 3 ½ years. At first, I preferred to keep my distance. I just worked quietly and listened. She sounded pretty tough sometimes, maybe had a hard edge to her. That’s probably why I didn’t know until the last year or so about her digestion … shall we say issues? Let’s just say that Lizer isn’t like the gals back in MN who I chose to be friends with. One afternoon prior to heading out to the back yard at work to take a break, she turned to me and said “pull my finger” as she pointed her crooked little index finger in my direction. Well, I’ve only known of men to actually expel when fingers are pulled, so I was curious as to why Lizer would tell me to do this. So, I did ~ HELLO!!

Now, fast forward to Lizer inquiring about her potential involvement in the Islet Transplant Clinical Trial via e-mail one weekend approximately six months back. She came to work that following Monday and informed us that she had e-mailed someone about becoming involved and that potentially it could mean a road trip to San Francisco. I do believe that I immediately shot my arm up like “oooh, oooh, Mr. Kotter” fashion, and said, “count me in ~ I’ve never been to San Francisco!” You see, I’ve always been up for road trips to places I’ve haven’t seen. Most of the trips I’ve been on have been with my husband, but I just had a feeling that Lizer and I could have a good time. Well, last week it came to pass…the trip to San Francisco that is.

I packed for every possible scenario. I had my GPS bitch for assisting us in finding our way, I had snacks (in part thanks to Kate, a very thoughtful
co-worker), I had my beading supplies, and a good book, but I also had my can of spray. The one that was a powder fresh scent and within easy reach while riding shotgun.

We left Chino Valley area close to 6:00 a.m. Saturday, March 6th. Approximately 13 ½ hours later we were driving across the Bay Bridge, paying our toll to enter into San Francisco. We hadn’t even listened to the radio at all the whole day. I didn’t even nap! My husband would be the first to tell you how unusual that is. I’m usually propped up against the window with my travel pillow and snoozin’ away within 30 minutes of a long road trip. We only stopped a couple of times along the way to grab a bite and then void. The closer we got to our destination, the more pumped I could feel myself becoming. Lizer shared a story about a trip she had with her mom and Hilly where her mom kept answering Hilly’s question of “are we almost there” by saying “we’re creepin’ up on it.” Eventually it was determined that Lizer’s mom had been reading the map upside down! They had been creepin’ up on their destination for quite a while! The last two hours of our drive were definitely the longest. We were beginning to get a little tired, but Lizer believed we were oh so close. Then, all of a sudden, there was the Bay Bridge. We didn’t expect to have to pay a toll to cross, but when we voiced our surprise at that the toll, the toll booth worker exclaimed, “welcome to San Francisco!” … and so it began.

We had an agenda to some degree. Monday would be “meet the staff” at the hospital. We HAD to cross the Golden Gate Bridge at some point. I had a few addresses for bead stores if time permitted. We both wanted to eat in Chinatown. Lizer wanted to see the Pacific Ocean for the first time. We both wanted to eat seafood. Lizer wanted to walk around Haight-Ashbury area, and I had no clue what that even was. Oh yeah, we were gonna take S.F. and cram it into our agenda for the next week.

Some of the highlights as I remember them are when we arrived at the hospital to meet the staff and we’re on the floor we’re supposed to be to meet Debbie, the staff person that Lizer has been e-mailing with and talking to on the phone for the past six months. Problem is we just didn’t have the room number of where to meet her, so we’re inquiring with a passerby. Then, from some number of rooms down the hallway to our left comes this voice that says, “I think I know that voice, is that Eliza?” Sure enough, here comes Debbie around the corner of the doorway with a big grin. Just so you all know, this wasn’t the only time Eliza’s voice was recognized before meeting someone personally. I don’t even want to share the details about walking on Haight-Ashbury window shopping when Lizer announces how clean the window of this bistro shop is where they have bistro tables inside next to the window as she starts to feel the glass, to which there wasn’t any. It was wide open. When she realized this, she cocked her head back (you know that way she does) and begins to cackle. Before long everyone sitting in that window area inside the bistro enjoying their coffees, etc. were laughing right along with Lizer. She just has a way of attracting a crowd occasionally. I continued to hear them laugh as we ventured down the block.

At the risk of making this the longest blog that Lizer has posted to date, I just have to share about the day she almost killed me. Oh yeah, that was when we got lost, the GPS bitch wasn’t helpin’ us out so she got unplugged and shoved in the glove box, and Lizer made a left-hand turn (apparently illegally). Neither one of us saw the huge signs prohibiting the left-hand turn. However San Francisco’s finest informed us, after pulling us over via a bull horn, about all three of those huge signs in addition to a plethora of other S.F. tidbits in the 30 minutes he chatted with the two of us. You’ll be happy to know that Lizer batted her baby blues and no ticket was issued. FYI - it was a double fine zone as well.

There are so many more of these stories that I could share, but if I make this blog that much longer I’ll be hearing about it from Lizer (‘cuz she’s gonna have to cut and paste it in sections to her blog site). Let’s just say that the goals of the week were met. Lizer hasn’t yet received word on all of the tests performed, but she’s still in the running. As great as the trip in itself was, unfortunately Lizer’s re-entry back into life in Chino Valley this week has been tough to say the least. It is when I hear of all the struggles of her week that she’s dealt with in addition to living a life with Type I diabetes that my heart just grieves for her. How much more can one person take? If anyone deserves this opportunity to change their life for the better, it most assuredly is Lizer! I say “bring it on!”

As a side note: Lizer? Thanks for having the courage to inquire about being involved in this transplant in S.F. Thanks for not killing me last week while on our virgin journey. Thanks for the phenomenal conversations. Thanks for just being you. I am believing that you will receive this transplant, it will be timely, it will go smoothly, and you and I can build on this friendship for many more years to come!

Bring it on!
Deb-Deb