Monday, June 10, 2019

Monday, Monday!

 Temecula Quilt Company is having a 1/2 square triangle quilt along!!  Well...I was just thinking about that, LOL!  Please see a couple of posts back...1/2 square triangles are on my brain.

I love them...so scrappy and reminiscent of the quilts these little pieces were made from.  On we go!!
I am hand quilting the last border.  It is a bit sweet, and thrilling that this project is wrapping up!!!







***************************Nurse's Notes*************************



Please do not read if you are not into gritty truth...this is sad, sad, sad.





My friend Pam, of almost thirty years, died on the 7th, of sepsis.  I was the one who took her to the hospital on the fifth...and stayed with her part of the time up there...she had breast cancer, and suddenly developed sepsis of an unknown source.  We still don't know exactly why she got so, so sick, so quickly.  What was the source of the sepsis?  Not one doctor could pinpoint it.  In desperation, after she coded and we got her back, our surgeon friend took her to high risk, last ditch effort surgery.  He slashed open her abdomen and explored, thinking maybe necrotic bowel?  Maybe gangrenous gallbladder?  Maybe cancer everywhere?   What, what, what was it?  He found nothing.  NOTHING to account for her horrendous white count, her obvious sepsis.


I am so sad I cannot stand it.  She was a constant in my life...the first nurse who greeted this little nurse, timid and tiny back then 30 years ago...she made me feel welcome in  this scary, big hospital.  We had many unspoken and unfinished things among us.  There is a feeling of unrest and great misery among all who knew her.  Just too soon, taken too young, too fast and way too unexpected.

She could not communicate well what was going on with her...that would have helped things, I think.  Just so, so sad here.

Thank you for listening.



**********************************************



And now back to the fun quilting things.  I won't mention Pam again...but she was a great lady, and quilter, and is so missed.




Julie




35 comments:

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

so sorry you lost your friend - I too have lost friends over the years and know the hurt you feel.
Your quilting looks great

Barb said...

Love the border you are hand quilting...looks fantastic

Quilting Babcia said...

So sorry you lost a good friend in this sad way. I do love the hand quilted border, waiting for the final reveal.

Katie said...

I'm so sorry to hear Pam is no longer with you. Please share about her all you like. This is your blog, after all! The quilts are looking great, but I had to giggle about the half square triangle quilt-along, since I have an abundance of the "bonus" variety all over the sewing room...I surely will not be making any more on purpose just yet!

Joyce Carter said...

So sorry for your loss Julie. I can really relate. I lost a friend to cancer a while back and I still think about her and miss her very much. If you feel the need to talk about her, then you should do it. You will feel so much better.
I love the quilting you are doing on the border.

Nancy said...

Oh, Julie, I'm so sorry to hear of Pam's sudden passing and especially that doctors couldn't figure out the source of the problem so they could help her live longer. Blessings to you.

---"Love" said...

So sorry you lost your dear friend. Seems like sepsis is showing up more and more everywhere, and no treatment, or time for it, can be found fast enough. Try to remember your good times together, and put the sad times behind. Your blocks are really pretty, and those half squares are going to be fantastic! Will they be use in a border? ---"Love"

Janet O. said...

Julie, dear Julie--I ache for your loss. So hard to have loved ones taken when there aren't answers and when you don't get the closure you need to be at peace. Please feel free to share the good memories you have of your friend. We will rejoice with you in the happiness you found in her friendship, and we will understand the need to have an outlet for your sorrow.
Now you are that caring nurse helping the hesitant and unsure who are embarking on their nursing careers. Pam obviously taught you very well from her example.
I hope your quilting is a therapeutic outlet for you. You always have such happy, scrappy projects going on.
I will be praying for you to find solace from the giver of true peace.
Hugs to you!

nic_003_5 said...

Really sorry to hear about your loss. Sending virtual hugs from the UK

Me and My Stitches said...

I am so, so sorry for the loss of such a great friend. Sending you hugs and prayers.

Karen said...

I am so sorry you lost your friend of many years. She helped you in your beginnings as a nurse and I am sure you learned to do the same.

Missy’s Miracle Stitches said...

I’m so terribly sorry for your loss. I, too, lost my dearest nurse friend in January from sepsis and adenovirus pneumonia. My head is still reeling trying to understand how a healthy woman could become sick so quickly and then just be gone. I pray for peace and comfort for you in those moments when the loss and ache of missing her overtakes you.

Kyle said...

Oh, Julie. I'm so sorry to hear about your dear friend. I can feel your saddness in your words this morning. Rely on your sweet memories to move forward.

Randy D. said...

So very sad about your friend Pam's death. It's worse, I'm sure, not knowing what actually caused the dramatic decline.
Sepsis is nasty, as you know.

I am impressed that you're are going to do the Temecula sew-along. I think there are about 900 small half square triangles...
I can't tell if we can mix colors. What are you going to do? That's a LOT of parts.

Love your applique. Colors are so bright!

Take care, my friend. Big hugs...

Carolyn said...

Julie, I am so sorry for your loss. I almost died from sepsis a few years ago, and bladder infection went to my kidneys and went septic so quickly...on the day my daughter was graduating college. Fortunately I survived. My heart goes out to you, I can't imagine what you are going through.

Shepherdess55 said...

Julie, My sympathy for the death of your dear friend. I can imagine how frustrating and disappointing it must be to not know the cause of her sepsis. Prayers said that in time you'll be able to remember the good times you had together.

QUILTING IS BLISSFUL, DI said...

Oh Julie--I am so sorry--and yes very sad--it was good that you shared this with us though!!
and once again reminded us--to always tell those around us that we love and appreciate them--even just a friend--needs to know we love them--
with that said--
luv, to you--di

Quilter Kathy said...

That is so sad Julie. And so mysterious how it all happened.
Sending you big hugs as you try to patch up this hole in your life.

Lizzy D said...

Dear Julie, I am so sorry for your loss. It's good to know you were by her side thru it all, til the end.

I just knew the TQC triangles were perfect for you. I couldn't make that many in a million years. Perhaps as you sew them you will remember your friend and find peace.

lizzy

Sue SA said...

Sorry for your loss in such a frustrating way when its 2019 and we know so much more in the medical world, then when you and Pam started your careers. I hope that those happy memories of this wonderful lady and the friendship you shared will help you in your time of grief. Allow yourself to grieve and be kind to yourself, sometimes sadly everything we do is still not enough.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear of your loss. I agree with Kathie, that this is your blog. If you want/need to talk about Pam, that is your choice. Most of us have loss someone special and sometimes we want to talk about them, we understand. Thanks for sharing.

Binsa said...

Dear Sweet Julie from my heart my deepest sympathy for the loss of your precious friend.Grief is a hard emotion love lyn

Unknown said...

Julie, I am an RN too and identify with having dear friends who are more family than my actual family. Please take solace from knowing Pam was undoubtedly comforted to have you there with her. It is such a loss and please don't hesitate to share your grief and real life as that is as much the purpose of this blog as admiring your pretty quilts. My condolences....
Barb

Donna Keating said...

Julie, my sympathy for your loss. I know you are suffering and feeling from the whole situation. God bless you.

Jan said...

So sorry for the loss of your friend, Pam. I have lost friends to cancer over the years and each one is so sad. Praying for you, my friend.

Karrin Hurd said...

So sorry for the loss of your friend, love the quilt you are hand quilting!

Lynn Dykstra said...

I am so very sorry.
I was talking with a friend in her 70s after two of my friends died this spring. She said, "Lynn, this is what your 60s will be full of, death after death. And you need to somehow be ok with that." She wasn't being crass, rather telling me we need to steel ourselves.
As nurses we have special knowledge that can be comforting but also can be too much.
My condolences.

KaHolly said...

Julie, honey, this is truly a sad event. Just a few weeks ago, I unexpectedly lost my dear cousin....68 yrs. old. And two weeks before that, a 65 year old (nurse) friend. It just tears me to pieces, even when someone else is experiencing it. Bless you for loving her so much. You made a big difference in her life, as she did in yours.

Lee Prairie Designs said...

Julie,

So sorry to read about your friend very sad. Your friendship was special♥️♥️.

Carolyn

Lori said...

So heartbreaking about your friend's death. So unexpected and so fast makes it harder for us to process. I'm so so sorry.

Yay on your almost complete hand quilting!!

Anonymous said...

I just came across your blog today. My heart is sad for the deep loss of your dear friend.
May you find comfort in the warm and Loving memories shared with your friend.

Christine Mc

Nines said...

I've been watching your posts on Facebook. I am so sorry for your loss- all of our loss as one more angel among us has moved on.

Ruth said...

As Lynn Dykstra said above, I too have a friend in her late 70s and we occasionally talk about the dead and dying we have known. She said to me one day, "I tell my granddaughter that dying is ok, because I have people over there. There will be people to meet me, I won't be alone, I will see my loved ones again." This is so True.
Frequently I tell myself that "God knows what he is doing in this world." I don't have to know everything. The world is not my responsibility, just this little part right around me.
I appreciate reading about your "other lives" beyond quilting. That is why I read blogs!!

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

I'm sorry about Pam. Sometimes we never know why. Love the border on that quilt.

Anonymous said...

May God bless. You are so fortunate to have had her in your life.
Truly regret your loss.

Puffins and purples!!

I was tempted by Puffins...a squirrelly breed!!  LOL!  This fabric was shared with me, and I have been loved these bright, candy corn colors...