One of my very close friends gave birth to her daughter at 24 weeks on February 16th. At barely a pound when born, Kayla has been surprising the doctors and nurses with how well she's been doing. However, at one month old, she is still presenting with new problems and has a very long, hard road ahead of her.

The Junkie support system has been known to work miracles in the past, so if you could add Kayla and her parents to your thoughts and prayers, I know she'll continue to get stronger and surpass everyone expectations. Hopefully, she'll be able to go home with mommy and daddy sooner rather than later.

Thanks in advance from me, Kayla and her parents.

You got it!

Hey guys, a few of you got part of this on Twitter...but I wanted to share with my Junkie family what’s been going on.

Last Weds. TheBigGuy, age 50, starting vomiting and basically collapsed on the sidewalk near work. It turns out to have been a small stroke. We were very lucky that his coworkers immediately called EMS and he was at the hospital within 20 minutes.

His symptoms were atypical, but luckily his doctor's recognized that there was something seriously wrong - this was not the flu or food poisoning. The dizziness and his eyes being unable to “track” was the big clue.

He's doing remarkably well. The stroke was small and in an area that seems to have done no damage to his motor functions, speech or cognitive abilities. He's still having vertigo but we are home now. He can get around with a cane pretty well. All in all we were very lucky.

He's going to need to improve his diet and make sure to continue regular exercise and probably have to take some meds for a while at least to make sure he isn't having blood clots.

We’ll be seeing you at SF2K13 in Vegas.

So scary! Thank FDØ his co-workers were there for him! I'll be keeping you both in my thoughts.

I was lucky that his family lives here in town, plus the guys we work with are super. I had lots of support and people to trade-off sitting with him while I caught naps. Probably the scariest time of my life when they first started saying "stroke." 

So sorry to hear that, Beth. I hope he gets well soon. 

Quick update: TBG is doing great. He has PT this week, but since he's been walking without the cane for several days, I'm not sure what they will need to do. But those PT folks can always come up with some torture!

He's been working, taking mutliple breaks. We'll probably start going into the office next week at least for half days.

I feel so incredibly lucky. Thanks for all the Junkie love!

Glad to hear that he's doing better. Thank FDO for all your family and friends who were able to help take care of him. It takes a village!

Kayla had a really bad day yesterday. She gave everyone a major scare when her kidneys started to shut down. She's doing better today but it's been 1 step forward & 2 steps back recently so she could really use some strong Junkie medicine right now. Please keep her in your prayers.

Sorry to hear the little one is struggling. My heart goes out to you and her family.

How is little Kayla doing? Vibes are streaming her way...

@Belladonna420: I'm not much for prayer, but I am known to beam my mental superpowers across the known universe, often resulting in effects like turning lead to gold, creating perpetual motion machines, and impacting the health of people I've never seen. I am firing up the positive thought machine now ...

Thanks so much for all the positive thoughts, vibes and prayers. Kayla is doing well. She continues to fight and gain strength and there have been no major setbacks since the kidney incident.

Here's a pic of Kayla smiling. She says thanks to everyone for keeping her in your thoughts.  :)

I could use some vibes tossed my way.
Just found out my dog has an inoperable bladder tumor and the clock has started counting down.

Man, that sucks. I'm sorry to hear it.  I am tossing good vibes your way for your and your pup.

So sorry Josh.  Keeping you both in my thoughts.

@athanas: Oy, the short end of the pet-owning stick. Very sorry to hear about your boddy. The only solace is knowing you did everything you could to give the pup a life full of love. And treats. They like the love, sure, but man, treats.

There's no way around it and it comes to us all. Do the best you can until the end, then greive away. I still haven't got over the loss of Mookie and Emma, but they had great lives (and man, many treats). 

I'm so sorry to hear about your dog. I'm sending hugs and vibes out to you. xoxox 

Thanks, guys.

It was a rough couple days when I got the news, but I realized, (meaning, through a moment of clarity that forced itself through a vodka haze,) that he's not in any real danger right now and most likely won't be for a couple months at least; no point agonizing over something that I can't control and basically force myself to feel like I'm losing him every other day.

Now the plan is to live the good life for as much as he's got left and for he and I do do our best best to burn this motherfucker down....or start as much of a fire  as one can start with a 7 pound dog that likes to sleep more than most anything.  :-p

Well, good vibes are heading your way to the both of you anyway. :)