How does one person deserve so much horrible luck?

When I moved to Charleston, the first people I met were J & A.  They took me in and introduced me to more people.  They made me feel at home.

Over the years, as I'd moved around a bit and our interest diverged, we grew apart.  But J was always there if I needed her and I've always done my best to be there for J.

Last winter J called me sounding on the verge of a nervous breakdown.  She'd begun having anxiety attacks and didn't have anyone else to talk to about it.  Her closest friend told her to check herself into an institution (come on!  for anxiety attacks!  first thing is they won't take you...trust me.  second thing is, they're anxiety attacks, not hallucinations or voices).  She was scared and I was as there for her as I could be.

About a month later J went to a doctor due to a "sinus infection" she'd had for over 3 months.  It turns out that the majority of her anxiety and her sinus infection symptoms were being caused by polyps in her sinuses.  The polyps were pressing against her brain and eating away at her skull.  She was given a price tag for a necessary surgery that was way beyond anything she could come up with in a timely manner.  She has no insurance and a poor paying job.

While J was saving money for her surgery, her car broke down.  Mr. W managed to keep it running for her, but to truly get it fixed she'd have to fork out almost a grand.

Within a couple of weeks J called again.  Her father died suddenly of a massive heart attack.  J's mother did not handle it well, she has a multitude of health problems.  The night of J's father's receiving, J called again.  Her mother was in the hospital and they weren't sure if she was going to survive the night. 

J's mother missed her husband's funeral, but managed to pull through.  J had to put her mother in a nursing home (J's mother is in her early 50's).  J had/has no place to live and her boyfriend (A) was/is not supportive.

The only good news in the story:  J finally managed to scrape together the money for her surgery and it went off without a hitch!  All of the polyps were removed!  Her anxiety decreased drastically and her sinus issues cleared up almost completely!

Over the next few months J's mother went downhill.  She has no will to live and it's only a matter of time before her body gives out.  J is heartbroken, but knows that her mother wants to be with her father.

Night before last J stayed at A's house.  She awoke in the middle of the night to strange noises coming from A.  He was having a grand mal seizure.  She called 911 and rolled him onto his side.  She saved his life.  He had chewed up his tongue pretty badly and was choking on his own blood.

Yesterday A was kept in the hospital because the seizures continued and he had developed a fever.  They did a range of tests.  This morning the doctor's informed them that he has a cancerous tumor in his brain.  They're going to transfer him to MUSC (same hospital I'll deliver at) so he can receive the best treatment.  That's all the know right now.

Seriously...how does one person have so many horrible things happen in their life all within one year???

Any prayers, good vibes, good thoughts, chicken dances, anything for J & A would be greatly appreciated right now.  This poor woman needs something in her life to get better.

Voting in bullets

Yay me!  I voted!

• I arrived at the polls @ 6:45 this morning


• At 9:00 a poll worker came out and informed us that they weren't checking anyone in because they were full.  (Full???)  Their process was to check you in, give you a number, escort you to the auditorium where you would wait until your number was called.  Then you would wait in line for your turn at the polls.  The auditorium holds 400 people.  In 2 hours they hadn't been able to move even 1/2 of those people through?  I'd only moved all of 1,000 feet in two hours.  (Mr. W just informed me that 1,000 feet is 1/5 of a mile.  I'd moved a maximum of 200 feet)


• At 9:05 another poll worker was explaining the same thing but also informed us that 3 of the 9 machines had broken.  This caused a serious stirring among the crowd (read:  some people grumbled, but others started yelling about it trying to get people as riled up as they were).


• At 9:30 I had almost made it to the door of the school.  I would probably have to wait at least another 30+ minutes to even be checked in and given a number.


• At 9:30 a really nice woman (voter, not poll worker) walked up to me and told me that her husband had spoken with the curbside voting worker and he agreed to let me do curbside voting.


• At 9:35 I found my way to curbside voting and the attendant begrudgingly allowed me to vote.  (He obviously wasn't too fond of letting me vote this way since I didn't have a handicap placard.)


• At 9:45 I was the proud owner of 3 "I Voted" stickers!  The guy that checked me in was nice enough to give me a sticker for each of the babies' books.  :-)

After all of that I ran through a drive through for second-breakfast (I feel like a hobbit, but I was starving again!) then headed home.  By 10:00 I was asleep on my couch where I remained until my Mom called and woke me up at 1:30.  Now I sit and wait for the results!

ADDED:

So all the people that were in line @ 7:00 (as long as they're willing to wait) still get to vote.  Which means that SC probably won't be done reporting their votes until sometime next week!  We're such a backwards freaking state!!!!  I've noticed from other blogs that no one else seems to have had issues with lines that were many hours long.  WTF???