First of all, Aji’s words about this post were, and I’m quoting her directly:
I WANT IT KNOWN THAT THIS WAS COERCED.
So… there you have it. All that follows was coerced. She didn’t want us to do it, but we’re doing it anyway.
Seriously.
After last weekend’s events (I’m getting to it, hold your horses), we’ve overruled Aji’s determination to not have us post this. Yeah, we basically rode roughshod over a frightened and exhausted woman in a hospital bed… so there’s that about us. But you all knew that, right? You knew we were ornery. ...Right?
Here’s the thing. As we’ve been saying in every post for Aji and Wings, we’re running out of time. Which actually has meant they were running out of time to get the house buttoned up for winter. And running out of time means increased stress and pressure.
And cumulative pressure has consequences.
Hence, the scary news: Over the weekend, Aji had what may or may not have been a heart attack. She spent Friday night in the hospital with Wings beside her, while medical types dithered over her condition. She had all the classic physical signs of a heart attack, and her EKG seemed to confirm it, but her blood tests and enzymes didn’t concur. She said to me, in a Direct Message:
I had every single symptom if MI, but no elevated troponin levels. My family history means acting as tho it IS cardiac, so next week I'll be going thru the referral process for a nuclear stress test. Now? Mostly just very, very tired.
Aji is home now. They sprung her the next day. She’s okay, but she’s on limited activity until they can run further tests. And let’s just say, gently, that she’s not happy about it. (That’s a wild understatement, but [shhh] don’t tell Aji.) Not least because of all that remains to be done.
The exterior has to be finished by the 18th. It’s getting colder, and harder to get the work done, and there are things that simply must be done before it’s too cold to do them. The exterior decking and walls have to get their final coats. It’s already been delayed by cold, rain, and snow. It must be done before it’s too late. There’s a brief window predicted this week with warmer temps, and they need to be able to take advantage of that before winter slams in for good. That means materials, labor, and other unforeseeable expenses.
In addition to the uncertainty surrounding the doctors’ non-diagnosis, there’s the uncertainty about just what Aji’s medical bills will look like when they arrive. Hospital, EKG, blood tests, ambulance, etc… all those could be astronomical.
That means that what they need now is cash. Cold hard cash is what pays for materials and labor (and unpredictable expenses). So we’re asking that you purchase that piece from Wings you’ve been wanting. Or make a donation to their PayPal account.
So how about taking the edge off all that with some joyous news?
Aji and Wings are getting married on November 18th
Yup. It’s been a really long wait. And it’s been planned several times before. And cancelled. And planned again. And cancelled. And… you get the idea. But this time it’s for real. So…
From Aji’s blog last night:
They would've been willing to write it off to some bizarre manifestation of severe long-term stress, BUT FOR two factors: 1) the way it presented, above; and 2) my family's ghastly history of severe, even deadly cardiac events at too-young ages, on both sides of the family. Given all of that, despite no spike in troponin, they're unwilling to rule it out, although I was enough better this morning that they were willing to leave the decision about leaving to me (and I, of course, opted to heal better at home, now that we have one, even if it's not complete yet).
...[W]hat is partly a housewarming kind of thing with some traditional aspects to it is also actually something far more significant, even if it doesn't have quite the same sense of immediacy for two people who began their second decade together some years back. A few of you know this, and a very few of you will even make it, and yes, you're damn right it's still on, and in light of yesterday's events, Wings now wants me to let everyone know: We have been together for many, many years, and lived as a married couple very much in love and devoted to each other, but we never got around to the paperwork. It was . . . not a thing. A couple of years ago, though, we decided it was time to make it legal, but we were just starting the process with the house, and there was always another reason to delay it. Since then, we've set half a dozen different dates, and each has fallen through thanks to house-related issues, and we are now at the end where it's the last possible date for the year because of some specific scheduling issues. So next Saturday, November 18th, Wings and I will finally be getting married in the presence of a very few close friends and family here at the house, and yes, you're all invited. No gifts; just good wishes and joy for us.
Emphasis mine.
We need to take care of those final before-winter details so the house is sound for the season. What a wedding gift we could all present to them! With bows, even. (Or, as my Cockney father would have said, “Wif knobs on.”)
After a weekend of intense worry for Aji, for Wings, and for those of us who were keeping up with events, we now have this wonderful wedding to cheer about. They wanted to be able to have their loved ones around them when they celebrate their marriage. They wanted to have it on their land. And they couldn’t do any of that while they lived in the beer-can deathtrap. It had to be in this new home, on Wings’s tribal land, where all the lost and damaged animals have come to them for care and love, where they’ve struggled through together for the past decade-plus. So it’s now: It’s finally coming together for them on Saturday.
Our support and love has contributed to giving them a home that is a sanctuary at long last. A home in which they can gather with friends and family in a few short days. A home in which they can rest easy after a hard day’s work. Where they can heal their souls and cares. Where they are, at long last, safe. Two people who’ve given so much to their neighbors, their friends, their community, and every animal that has come to them for safe harbor have, finally, a home of their own.
You’ve all been so terrific, and you’ve helped get them so incredibly far along. They have a safe, warm home to sleep in, and shower in, and cook in. And in which to celebrate a love which has survived so much.
So we’re making a big ask: there’s less than a week left, after all. We need to get them as close to the $4000 they need this week as is humanly possible. No matching funds this time. At least not as of this writing. We have $1000 $1200 (!!!) in matching funds. That would bring us more than halfway there! Think of it as a gigantic wedding gift — one they can actually live in. Forever!
What do y’all say? Can we give them a boost on those costs?
- Wings's direct PayPal link;
- Wings's site, for sales*;
- Lowe's cards (the physical version) via our Amazon wishlist;
- Lowe's e-cards (delivered via e-mail) here; and
- Home Depot cards via the company site. The e-version using my e-mail address is great; I take the tablet to the store with me, and they scan it off the screen.
*Wings site directory:
Additionals:
- Their Amazon wishlist generally.
- Wayfair gift cards, to replenish all the furnishings that the RV has destroyed in one way or another.
- Partial registry #1, from Bed, Bath and Beyond.
- Partial registry #2, from Wayfair. About Wayfair, and VERY IMPORTANT: They make it possible to crowdfund each item. So if you'd like to help, but the prices are too much for one person? You can kick in 20 bucks, or ten, or five, on any one item; many small donations can add up to one item. Even the backordered/out-of-stock items can be crowdfunded in advance.
(Matching funds means a cash-for-cash match: a donation to PayPal. [If you have a problem with PayPal, please speak to me, either in comments or via kosmail.] Gift cards and registry items don’t count toward the match.)
Tuesday, Nov 14, 2017 · 5:20:02 AM +00:00 · Yasuragi
$800!! Two-thirds of the way there! I love you folks!
It’s getting late here on the East Coast, so I’m gonna go crash, but I’ll be here all day tomorrow (and don’t forget to tip your waitstaff). Thanks for all you do, always.
Tuesday, Nov 14, 2017 · 2:55:50 PM +00:00 · Yasuragi
Match met! That’s $2400 for them, with the matching funds. You people are the best! And I don’t usually say this, but can we keep going? Let’s make sure they’re fully covered for this week’s vitally important work. And bills — hospital bills, ambulance bills, all kinds of bills. I said it before, but I love you guys!