We have all had those days. They start out great, amazing in fact. And then somewhere in the middle, a crisis rears its ugly head. Sometimes we are caught completely unawares and other times we know “the particular event” is coming. Well that happened to Nick on Sunday afternoon. To remind you of the timeline,
Yesterday Arden and I witnessed another Nick miracle. I took a picture. Over the weekend I had been playing Bananagrams with friends. It is a game where lettered tiles are used to spell words. Nick was struggling to pick up the tiles. We searched the internet and discovered that there is a similar game with
In the early 1980’s there was a dessert place in Seattle, that had the marketing slogan, “Eat Dessert First, Life Is Uncertain!” Arden and I adopted this as a family motto. Circumstances always remind us that life is uncertain. It is important to find enjoyment in life and don’t put off things that you want
Nick has been having a wonderful time in Ireland, until just after 10:00 pm Sunday night. Without warning, he had about 30 minutes of pretty intense seizures. It was particularly terrifying. Once the seizures had stopped, it took a little while for him to fully recover and now he is sleeping. Arden and I are
NORD, or the National Organization for Rare Disorders truly is a life-saving organization. NORD, along with its more than 230 patient organization members, is committed to the identification, treatment, and cure of rare disorders through programs of education, advocacy, research, and patient services. Donations to NORD directly benefit families like ours. One of the programs
In Enniscrone, Co. Sligo, Ireland, there is a large 767 airplane in a field. It is part of the Quirky Glamping Village. As you know, Nick loves planes and we were told we had to see it. He thought it was very funny. Over the weekend, we heard many stories about the man who envisioned
Nick woke up Monday morning quite excited. He didn’t even say good morning in response to me entering his bedroom. He started singing, “On the road again!” I cracked up. He knew that we were traveling to Ireland and understood the sentiment in the song. He couldn’t articulate his excitement but he could communicate it
In the fall of 2010, Nick’s seizures were out of control. Our epileptologist (a neurologist who specializes in epilepsy) was looking for all sorts of solutions including the usual medicine changes. Some of the factors used to manage epilepsy can include controlling his environment, eating or restricting certain foods, following a strict medicine schedule and
Ancient Greek philosophers taught us “The only thing that is constant is change.” It seems that just as soon as I get used to the current changes in our lives, we are facing a new normal. Nick has fallen a couple of times this past spring, one caused a broken ankle, the other caused a
Nick loves music and he loves to dance. On Friday we were at a surprise ceili celebrating my 60th birthday. My 87 year old relation, Moira “Saddler” Doherty played the piano while we all sang and danced. Just watching Nick brought joy to the rest of us. His feet and hands keeping time. The smile
Announcing that I have finished a book with the working title of “The Fairy Fort.” I am currently pitching it to publishers. Keep checking back to watch the progress of my newest novel.
Here is a quick glimpse of the story.
Sarah Doherty is an 18-year-old living in rural Ireland at the tail end of the Great War. Plagued by severe epilepsy, she is protected by her parents and lives a sheltered, secluded, lonely life. The Fae, local Irish fairies, interfere with her life. She falls forward a century in time through the local fairy fort of standing stones. She had a seizure in 1918 and woke up in 2020. The 21st century world includes life-saving prescriptions, physical comforts and the independence and freedom she seeks. The locals are welcoming and Andy Mclaughlin, a handsome young historian, is intriguing. She doesn’t want to return home.
Then a letter arrives from Boston divulging the story of Sarah and Andy’s lives that are deeply entwined in the previous century. They are not yet in love but as they seek to verify the letter through online resources, they feel a growing obligation to their unborn family and to each other. What would happen to their posterity living in Boston if they don’t return to 1918? Even if they do make it back, her parents can never know what happened to her or that would change everything.
This Young Adult time-travel romance explores the question: Do we have the freedom to make choices or is free will an elaborate illusion?
This is my third book. I love reading time travel romances. I am an advocate for epilepsy awareness because my 43-year-old son has intractable epilepsy. As a genealogist specializing in Irish research, I live part of the year in the village where the story is based. I wrote the book to help young adults understand that difficult situations can change your life. Sometimes miraculously.
