20 December 2007

Good news!


[CLEVELAND - Relieved & grateful.]


Ray is on the mend!

He was extubated today and relatively normal by the time I saw him.

Boo Bean!

It was a joy to see him sitting up and talking (a lot!) ... unable to stop watching the telly ... eating ice & drinking non-stop ... laughing & being naughty with the staff.

Ray is a quality bean and has suddenly bounced back!

He is not 'well' yet and won't be released for several days but it is possible he'll be home for Xmas.

Hurrah!

x/RICHARD

PS - One assumes that after some time at home and an 'all clear' on the pneumonia front, Ray will return to the top of the Liver List. (-:

19 December 2007

Blue Xmas


[Akron - It's like Canada ... only without the excitement.]


All is not well in Ohio.

Ray, my friend here who is awaiting a liver transplant, has been unconscious in the ICU for 12 days now due to pneumonia and ammonia (hepatic encephalopathy) . I have been back & forth constantly to the hospital when allowed/possible and in tears at random times throughout the day every day.

On the same weekend that he was rushed to the hospital, I was made redundant. The Radisson Akron City Center (The Radish & Acorn Shitty Centre) thought now, with Ray in critical condition and Xmas upon us, would be a great time to fire me! It was an awful job and they expected a lot for $8 (£4) an hour. I suffer no embarrassment or regret over it. Sod it! Good luck to them on finding dependable, intelligent staff who will tolerate the madness & abuse for an unliveable wage.

So here's Big Bunny's Xmas summary:

(A) Ray is *still* in critical condition.

(B) I have no job now and it is difficult to focus on job hunting while my only friend in an 800-mile radius is so very ill.

(C) My quality of life has sunk to a new low. All is very dull and I spend most of my time sat alone in my room. <--(video link!)

Okay. Pity party over!

In an attempt to end this post on a positive note, I shall tell you about the two fabulous Xmas gifts I have received unexpectedly:

(1) My friend Laura, who I worked with at The Fox Theatre in Atlanta, sent me the funniest book. It's called Disapproving Rabbits and it is an absolute delight! I can look at it for hours. It's almost 200 pages of wonderful photos of expressive bunnies with funny captions. Twisted & bizarre. She knows me so well!

(2) After hearing about my hard times and broken camera, my friend Stephen (who is English but working in Switzerland) clearly lost his mind and bought me a stunning digital camera! It is a Canon PowerShot SD1000 (watch the video on that link). It features, among other bells & whistles, a multi-shot self-timer, a large viewing screen and 7.1 megapixels! In short, this camera is a *major* upgrade. Stephen even bought me a larger, 2 GB memory card for it. Words fail me!

So after the next snowfall, expect some lovely photos of my quaint not-quite-Canada neighbourhood.

By the way, I've not seen a bunny round here in months! Where did they all go?

I need a friend! Or at least a bunny to frolic with in the snow ...

No time or energy for mailing out Xmas cards this year. Click here to see the digital Xmas card I designed for everyone.

Happy holidays!

x/RICHARD

PS - Another Xmas in London will go on without me. It's been over a year since I have seen my friends back in England. You have no idea just how much I miss my life there.