Yankee

Casey texted me the other day and asked me what I wanted for "dinner".  Now, as a southern girl I was a little confused.  It was 5 o'clock in the evening.  Then I realized that she meant supper.  I guess she didn't know that we eat dinner around noon and supper is in the evening.  That got me to thinking, she and Heath really need to talk these things out, maybe even see a counselor.  I just think that you should really get important issues like that taken care of so that it doesn't cause major problems in the future.  Can you imagine the chaos it would cause if she called Heath up and was like "Come home for dinner" and then he showed up at noon and there was no food. It would just be mass confusion.  I hate to get all personal with them, but I am the older wiser sister. 
Heath is always giving Casey a hard time about being a "Yankee".  She will tell you right quick she is a MIDWESTERNER! She is from Idaho which is not the North.  Its just north of us.  I heard one of my smart-alec little cousins say they thought if you lived north of Arkansas you were a Yankee.  But now, Casey has something she can rag Heath about.  He is now part Yankee.  Mmmmmhmmmm, you heard it here first.  The skin that was harvested a few weeks ago was grafted today.  The Yankee skin flew here on a plane with an armed escort.  This was serious business.  They wouldn't disclose the exact location that the Yankee skin was grown at, but they did say it was north of here and definitely east of Idaho.  I think I heard them whispering something about Boston.  Now the last time I checked Boston was just about as Yankee as you can get.  I may have even detected a slight accent change already.  I hope we don't have to get a speech therapist to make sure his drawl is safe. 
The Yankee skin was placed on the entire right arm, the back of the left arm, both flanks, and the front and back of both legs. It was then tacked down with hundreds of tiny staples. For the next several days Heath will have to minimize his movements so that the skin won't reject.  We won't know for several days if Heath is a half breed and the skin has taken. The next several days are going to be rough and he is going to be in a lot of pain.  Two surgeries in two days is hard for anyone. 
Skin grafts done with cultured skin are not common.  Growing skin is very tedious and expensive.  The literature that was sent to us described the growing process.  The skin cells are mixed with mouse cells to encourage growth.  Bovine (cow) serum and steroids also feed the cells.  Wow, the jokes I could crack with all this, but I won't for now (I'll just stick to the Yankee jokes).  The cells are brought in on cards.  They are very delicate and fragile and must be brought in by a company representative. The skin has only a few hours that it can be used after it is cracked open.  The doctors and nurses are all so very dedicated to their jobs and I am certain they were as much into this procedure as we were.  The company also sent Heath an autographed picture.  It was pretty cool looking at all those people that grow the Yankee skin that is going to heal Heath.  I think its pretty much a miracle that some skin can be grown in a lab and then begin to grow on a body just like it was always there.  Miracles happen everyday! They may not be as obvious as seeing someone walk on water, but they do happen.  As we go through the next few weeks, I'm convinced we will see one walk out these double doors.

'Til Tomorrow