Blog of Leonid Mamchenkov

Maxim went through the operation today.  Everything went well, and he is now back home, sleeping and recovering.  We’ll check back with the doctor in about 20 days, unless there will be any side effects (hopefully not).

Once again, thank you all, who wrote and called.

Yesterday I briefly mentioned that Maxim is about to have a surgery.  That was very inconsiderate of me.  I got a lot of people worried without providing any details whatsoever.   And for this I want to apologize. Thank you all who called and wrote.

Here are some more details just to lift that burden of the unknown.  Maxim will undergo removal of the adenoids and a related clean-up.   We are arranging blood tests and paperwork, and if everything will go OK, he’ll be operated tomorrow (Friday).  The procedure is widely practiced and should take only about 20 minutes, but will require general anaesthetic.   He should be back home before the end of the same day.

We tried to avoid the surgery for as long as we could, hoping that the problem can be cured other ways.  Unfortunately, in his case, it can’t.  And pushing it further is getting dangerous for his health.  He has been sick pretty much every other week for the last 6 month or so.  More often than not he needed antibiotics treatment.  His immune system needs a break, as well as his ears, which suffered to the edge of degrading his hearing.

So, that’s how things are for now.  I’ll keep you posted on how it will go.

Once again, thank you all for calling and writing.  Your support is very much appreciated.

(For those of you who don’t know, my mother came to Cyprus last Friday for just a few days to celebrate her birthday.  She is back to Moscow today.)

It was one of the shortest visits so far.  The longest one was when Maxim was born.  Ma stayed with us for a month or so.  There were a few two-weeks and 10-days stays.  There were some 1 week stays.  Those felt short, but we had enough time to pack all the fun in.  With 3 days at hand and all the preparations that had to be done for the actual celebration, we still managed to enjoy plenty of time together.

The celebrations were cool too.  A whole bunch of people, up in the hills with plenty of drinks, food, free time, and good mood - that’s a heck of a combination for great time.  It’s a bit sad that it’s over, but  I’m glad we didn’t spoil a second of it.  It was all fun.

Happy birthday mom.  Hope to see you again soon!

Today is yet another Olga’s birthday. She refuses to celebrate it. Again. Saying that it’s not a holiday and that there’s nothing to celebrate. Oh, well. That only means that all of you guys are out of luck. I’m still having my wife’s birthday and nothing can stop me.

Happy birthday, babe! All the best wishes, and some extra stuff that I won’t post here.

Album location: /photos/2006/2006-03-14_Olga_Birthday

Today is my brother’s 21st birthday. Congratulations bro!

You have become an adult by all standards now. Even by those way outrageous American ones. You’ve achived much, but don’t stop yet. There are so many wonderful things in life beyond of where you’re now.

I wish that you have enough energy to climb the highest hill around to see beyond the horizons. And then I wish that you have enough will to travel there (that is beyond the horizons, if you haven’t been listening).

There is a huge world out there with plenty of interesting and amazing stuff going on. There are plenty of interesting people. There is much to learn. There is much to find. There is much to gain.

Now that you’ve become totally adult, I hope you’ll explore the possibilities and push the opportunities even further. Good luck to you and welcome to adults!

P.S.: Being partially childish is a good thing too, by the way.

P.P.S.: Happy Birthday!