Dear family and friends,
Happy New Year! I hope this email finds you all happy and
healthy.
The year 2015 was had a lot of ups and downs here in the Cohen
household.
We’ll start with the biggest down. Brian’s mom “Grandma Sue” had
some circulation issues with her legs and had been in the hospital a couple of
times starting around early March. Long story short, when she went back in
the hospital in late September, there was a complication, and she passed away
suddenly October 5th. It was a tough loss for all. On the positive
side, she did not suffer, and all of us as well as Ben were able to be by her
bedside. In addition, she had about half of her lung removed
due to cancer 15 years ago, and it was in her lymph nodes. We focus on the fact
that we were fortunate to get so many extra years with her.
Around the same time Brian’s mom first went into the hospital in
March, my Dad had an infection in his knee (this was about two weeks after we all had gotten together to celebrate his 75th birthday at a restaurant in Connecticut). He was on the operating table
about to go under to replace his knee, when he had a MAJOR heart attack. Luckily, he was not under anesthesia at that time because he would not have made it.
From there it was one thing after another; most things that could go
wrong did. He was in the hospital from March until May. Luckily for
me he was here in Huntington Hospital which is down the street. We were
able to see him every day. Then he was off to rehab for a couple of weeks
recovering.
Just before Dad was in the hospital, I celebrated my 50th birthday
in Manhattan with my mom and sisters for a long weekend. We had so much
fun and laughter. It was a great getaway for all of us. I also had another weekend of celebration in Manhattan with Brian and the girls, doing some NYC type of events such as a walking tour of Central Park, tea at the Plaza, and other fun things.
Spring came and went and the school year ended. Now it was
time for the family trip to Italy. My parents were taking the entire
family to Italy in July. By this time my dad was out of rehab and had a slew of
nurses and other professionals coming to the house to help in the recovery
process. It was decided by my parents that we should go without them as Dad was unable to travel.
We were all sad that they were unable to experience this adventure with us. So off we went. Europe here we come!
The Cohen's started their adventure in Rome with amazing tours of
the city, and we loved our time there.
We then headed off to Umbria for a couple of days, which was beautiful. Then we rendezvoused
with the rest of the Gray family in Florence. From there we all went to Mestrino
where we stayed at a wonderful bed and breakfast. Venice was lots of fun, and the kids took gondaliering
lessons.
We saw Aida in Verona in an open coliseum
at night, and had private cooking lessons for ourselves and separate lessons for the kids. My
parents were involved in helping to arrange all of those adventures. We
tasted 100 year old Balsamic vinegar in Modena.
Sampled grappa in Bassano
del Grappa. Went to a huge amusement park by Lake Garda named appropriately enough, Gardaland. All of our time with the entire family was great fun, and we saw great sights. Then we headed
off through the Italian lake region and the Dolomites to get to Austria. We were with the Farmer's at this point, the Dassatti's went south to Rome
and Capri. In Austria we went to a salt mine.
We then headed to Salzburg
where we went bike riding on the Sound of Music tour. From there we headed to
Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. It is the castle which Walt Disney
modeled his castle after.
We said goodbye to the Farmers and we continued
our adventure to the Rhine region of Germany. There we stayed in a real
castle on the Rhine and toured the area. Then to the Black Forest of
Germany where we stayed at Titisee, it is known for their coo-coo clocks.
We also went to spas in the area. Now off to our final destination, Switzerland, to spend some time with our friends the Hoares at their home in
Bern. We did so much in Switzerland: eating and visiting a chocolate
factory, Gruyere cheese making, visiting Lake Luzern, up the Swiss
Alps of Murren, to the top of the Schilthorn, and hiking. All so much
fun and beautiful.
After a month of sightseeing and traveling it was time
for all of us to come home. The entire trip was great and amazing! If curious/bored, we have a day by day blog of our trip that you can see by clicking on the following url. For most of the sights, pictures can't quite capture it or do it justice. But we tried anyway. Note; by clicking on the link below, the thumbnail photos will give you a sense of our adventure: https://bdarcohen.wordpress.com/
August was fine until my Dad went to see if his heart could
sustain the knee surgery. I met my parents at Huntington Hospital where
Dr. Patcha (the heart surgeon) checked his heart. Based on what he saw he sent Dad to Manhasset hospital to have bypass heart surgery. We weren't expecting that. After 6 hours of
surgery the surgeon came out and told us he was unable to do the bypass because
of the damage done from the heart attack in March. Again another shock and setback. The
next day (less than 12 hours later) back to have stents put in. My dad had 5 stents put in his
heart. He made it home again in late August, where unfortunately he fell in his
bathroom because he was hemorrhaging. Now off to Stony Brook Hospital. He was in really bad shape as a result of the
fall, he suffered a broken neck and collar bone, and punctured his lung. It was not good. They were unable to control the internal
bleeding so he had part of his colon removed. He now has a ileostomy bag. He made it back home in September after rehab
again. He is on the mend now and is
walking with a walker. He lost a lot of weight and looks great.
Rebecca is a junior in High School. She is taking some challenging classes,
cheerleading (which is two seasons long) and hanging out with her friends. She got her learner's permit for driving shortly after her birthday and is now taking lessons. Speaking of her birthday, we celebrated her Sweet 16 this past February in Manhattan. She and a dozen friends went shopping, went on a scavenger hunt, had dinner at Carmine's, and dessert at Sardi's.
Amanda got a new car. Well, at least it is new for her. It is a candy apple red 2004 Jeep Cherokee, that she has nicknamed "the Red Robin". She did not go back to SUNY
Farmingdale in September. Instead, she is going to
school to be a CNA (certified nursing assistant), which she really enjoys. She is busy with school, volunteering at a local retirement home, and working at Old Navy.
I continue to love my job as a speech
therapist and Brian is happy and busy with his business (Landmark Wealth Management, LLC) helping people manage
their finances as a financial planner and advisor. Buddy just turned 5 recently, and he continues to be the perfect dog for our family.
Upon reflection, this year has been very challenging. I miss Grandma Sue very much; her sudden departure
leaves me sad. I feel blessed
that we had so many wonderful memories with her. I have also spent a lot of time with my
parents and I am fortunate to be able to do that. I have taken away from this experience to love the people in my life, to spend time with them and not take them for
granted. In the end, it is the most
important part of life. Things and
situations are constantly changing. However, if you have great friends and
family, take the opportunity to enjoy them. That is LIFE and the key to
HAPPINESS. So to all of you, HAPPINESS and LOVE for 2016. ENJOY LIFE!!
