Tonga once again!!

Our Tonga nursing group

Picturesque scene in the harbor at Vava'u

Celebrating  mother's day with the mothers from the ward

And my favorite:  The Blowholes

In Tonga once again (actually, the 5th time) with the nursing students.  There are so many wonderful things here, and aside from missing my family, I love being here!!

One year

It was a year ago Dell Blair's heart stopped beating, a year since Mike helped bring him back. A lot has happened since that time
--A conversation stopped mid sentence with Dell pitching forward in the locker room. Last words on his way down --"I need help!"
--At least 15 minutes of CPR in the locker room before paramedics arrived. Two, sometimes three or four breaths between chest compressions to keep Dell from turning so blue
--2 shocks with the AED, followed by another 4 administered by paramedics and medical personnel after they arrived, before Dell's heart started again
--hours of cooling to minimize brain damage
--days that Dell doesn't remember; most memories starting in the MICU after a surgery--a single coronary artery bypass graft
--5 months of cardiac monitoring-- and NO SWIMMING
--7 months of swimming 5 days a week, first starting with 1,000 meters; now back up to 6500 meters/day
--25 paintings and works of art
--Hours spent with Dad, linguist Robert W. Blair, including working on Chinese and Russian courses
--A two week visit to Ecuador, including one last visit with Rafael Tabango, one of the first two Kichwa members of the LDS Church, before he passed from this earth
--Countless meaningful visits with family and friends, providing comfort, laughter, stories, and even a one last grasp of a hand from an elderly 102 year old friend, and then she was gone.
--A friendship, forged at death's doorstep, between Mike and Dell
--30,484,800 heartbeats, and still counting
--"Don't be afraid--I am with you"