Brave Little Beastie

So can't wait for this! :D

For those of you who may be new to my blog, "Beastie 2" is what I affectionately call my daughter, my younger child, in public forums. And last year, my little Beastie was diagnosed with scoliosis. Fortunately for her, Mommy (that's me, of course) went through the same thing. The big difference: I was twelve when I was diagnosed, not a mere 8 years old. Beastie is now 9 1/2, and the curve has progressed to the point where she has been put in a back brace--just like I was put in one when I was 13.

We picked up her brace yesterday. Unlike the monstrosity I was forced to endure, hers is lightweight foam reinforced with a layer of plastic (mine was heavy plastic with metal bars), has pretty little butterflies all over it (mine was orthopedic white), and she only has to wear hers when she's sleeping (I had to wear mine all. day. long.).

Even with all the improvements, it's still a scary and uncomfortable thing at first.


But my Beastie was so brave!

She dealt with the brace for a little over six hours last night, waking up about every two hours and asking to take it off for a few minutes to stretch. Finally, the tears came around 4:30 am (she'd been in bed since a little after 10 pm) and I let her sleep the rest of the night without it. It's something that has to be built up to--not just my opinion--the doc says so, too. I'd say six-plus hours is very good for a first night, when you have something pushing against your back all night. The brace has to be worn tight, too, and it takes a while for your body to realize it can move around while it's sleeping in that thing.

Anyway, I'm just so proud of her!

On a completely-different-but-not-so-different note, it's my day at The Cheesecake Thickens, and I've posted about me being brave...and being not so brave....

Beasts and Burdens

Today is just links, folks, but they are important ones.
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The first is my post on The Cheesecake Thickens, which is about my little Beastie who has a long road ahead of her right now. Prayers are much appreciated. Click HERE for the whole story.

The others are links regarding a dear and awesome writer who was a big part of Splashdown Books and our online zine Avenir Eclectia. Walt Staples passed away this week. You likely have never heard of him unless you are a fellow Lost Genre Guild Member or you follow Avenir Eclectia. But he's been published in quite the array of magazines, and deservedly so! He also wrote the tie-together story in Splashdown's Aquasynthesis anthology.

More importantly, Walt was simply a great guy. His quirky sense of humor had me nearly spewing coffee on my laptop more times than I can remember. He worked hard at his craft, was true to his fellow writers and friends, and left behind a family he dearly loved.

So, in honor of Walt, please visit the following links:

His stories on Avenir Eclectia.

Grace Bridge's blog tribute to Walt.

Fred Warren's blog tribute to Walt.

His stories in Residential Aliens.

Walt's very own site with links to more stories.