#my baby luka passed away in october

[realmadridfamily]

“I want everyone to know how brave a woman she is”

“It's true, we feel privileged - we have a good financial situation and I play for the most famous football club in the world and everyone knows me - but this doesn't change the most important thing: we are ordinary people. Like everyone else, we have better and worse days, difficult and beautiful moments, cares and joys. We are strong but also vulnerable. The fact that today we have three wonderful children is largely due to my wife Vanja. I want everyone to know how brave a woman she is. When I think about the situations she had to face, my field worries are meaningless.”

Ivano

"... before my second season in Tottenham Hotspur Vanja and I started talking about getting married. We've been together for almost five years - over four years of which we've lived together. We both wanted to get married and legalize our relationship. During such discussions, we also established one important thing - we both wanted to have a child, or at least three children! One day Vanja was waiting for me at our favorite Italian restaurant in London. I didn't even wonder why she wanted so badly to go there. When I got inside, I noticed that she was nervous, which was unusual for her. I took my seat and Vanja said why she invited me here: "You're going to be a daddy!" It's hard to describe this moment with words. It was one of the best messages I have ever received! My beloved Vanja wanted to convey this to me in a special way. Even though she was tired of morning sickness, she tried to make this moment special. At home, I didn't even notice what was happening to her! She hid everything from me to make sure she was really pregnant. We really wanted our children to be born in Croatia ..." "... we returned to Zagreb on May 9, right after the Premier League ended. Vanja was resting, and I still had to fulfill two obligations with the Croatia NT. From May 24, I was free again and was able to be with my wife. These days were very warm, so I had the idea to go to Zadar and visit my family. Unfortunately, the doctor didn't want her to travel before the birth, so after the conversation we decided that I would go to my parents and sister alone. On the second night in Zadar, I heard my father. It was after five in the morning. Vanja called me but I didn't hear the phone! "Son, wake up! Vanja is going to the hospital!" In one second I woke up and was on my way to Zagreb! I felt bad about not accompanying her that night. Fortunately, her mother lived nearby ..." "... when I spoke to her on the phone I was very close to the hospital. "Vanja, I'll be right there! Please, wait if you can!" But she couldn't. Our first baby was born at 8:10 am and changed our lives forever. The moment when I saw my son for the first time and took him in my arms was one of the happiest in my life. I hugged Vanja and we promised each other that when she got pregnant again, we would definitely be together during the birth - and we kept our word! But then it was our first time, and we had no idea what was waiting for us - besides, Vanja was going to have a caesarean section. We couldn't have anticipated that it would all start three weeks earlier. Vanja and the baby had to stay a few more days at the clinic. I wanted to be part of everything that happened from then on, so I spent a couple of nights with them. For the first four days, the nurses would come to me every morning and ask : "Do we already have a name?" We couldn't make up our minds. Vanja was most concerned with the name Ivano. So I agreed. "Ivano! My little boy and great love ..." "... after two weeks, we were able to go home. Our families were very happy and I was enjoying the days when everything in my life was beautiful and had its place. One day Vanja said that something was wrong, she didn't feel well. At first I thought it was nothing serious and advised her to rest in the bedroom. After a while we heard the sound of a fall. I quickly ran to the second floor. I was shocked to realize that my wife couldn't breathe! We quickly took her to the hospital. Vanja felt a pain in her chest. The doctor admitted that he suspected a blood clot in the lungs and took care of it immediately. I calmed down a bit, but none of us could sleep that night. The blood clot was caused by the body's reaction to pregnancy. The situation was serious, but luckily everything ended well. How badly Vanja was, was evidenced by the fact that the next morning she forgot that she had a son! For the next month, I took her to the hospital every day, and she continued to take anticoagulants for another year and a half. Unfortunately, it wasn't over ..." "... a year has passed since the birth of Ivano. Vanja had migraines, and sometimes she had the feeling that the left side of her face was going numb. But she thought it would pass. One day in 2011, she told me concerned that she had stopped hearing in her left ear. She went for an MRI and there she was diagnosed with a tumor in her ear. At first, we were terrified, but the doctors explained that this was a problem to be solved. In the end, it was decided that gamma knife treatment would be the best option - but it turned out to wait ..."

Ema

"... we packed our own things that had to be taken to Madrid. Vanja took care of this in her second pregnancy. All the problems during the transfer negotiations, moving, adapting to work at Real Madrid and living in Madrid - all of these things we faced during her second pregnancy. I'm not sure Vanja wanted me to carry all these things myself. She didn't feel comfortable with being felt for her health problems ..." "... as you know, after Ivano was born, Vanja suffered a pulmonary embolism, so we were all very worried about her when she was in her second pregnancy. We moved to Madrid, where she was under constant medical supervision and took regular anticoagulant medicine ..." "... the day before the due date of delivery, we played in Dortmund. Coach Mourinho gave me a day off so I flew to Zagreb right after the match. The birth of our daughter was the second of our most beautiful experiences. Everything was fine and we dealt with the name quickly. We both liked short names, so Vanja made her decision - Ema! After a wonderful son, a beautiful daughter was born. The next day I had to go back to Madrid. I had my phone with me all the time! I was able to look at Ema every day until they joined me in the Spanish capital ..." "... in early 2014, my wife decided to fly to London for surgery. She was accompanied by her mother and cousin, because unfortunately I couldn't. It was terribly hard for me to concentrate on football, but I didn't want to talk about my problems. Our fight was our private fight. I didn't want to tell my wife anything because I knew that it’s difficult for her and she tries to hide her fear from me. I had to be strong for her and the kids. We faced everything with a positive attitude ..." "... after returning from London, Vanja had to stick to a special order of the day. I helped her in everything I could. The symptoms went away, which was a good sign. After six months of waiting, she went for her first checkup. The study showed that the tumor began to shrink - today it is four times smaller than it was when it was discovered. Vanja visits the doctor regularly and she feels very well ..."

Sofia

"... after several years of full stabilization, we enjoyed our happiness with Ivano and Ema and the successful stage of my career. And then Vanja, in a moment of weakness, told me something that I believe had been on her mind for a long time: "Luka, I wish we had a third child!" She was fine and after Ema was born she had no complaints, but I didn't even want to hear about it at first. She always said she wanted three children. I had a similar dream: three or four children in a big and happy family. This, however, was before the new circumstances emerged. Vanja had risked her life twice already, and I didn't want this to happen again. She consulted doctors in London about the possible awakening of the tumor as a reaction to the pregnancy. They told her the chances were half and half. She also spoke to doctors in Zagreb, asked them how high the risk of a new blood clot was, but they only told her that despite the appropriate treatment, the risk was always there and only she could make the right decision. So in the end we heard what we already knew - that it could be okay, but it could also end very badly ..." "... but Vanja was determined, and I realized it when she confessed : "You know what, you give it the best in football and I'll give it the maximum for the family!" And so on October 2, 2017 Sofia was born! I came to the hospital in Zagreb from Rijeka, I was present at her birth and everything went well - both Vanja and our second princess felt great ..." "... but a year later, a new nerve arose in Madrid. Vanja was at home and at one point she noticed that her hand went numb and turned a dark blue color. She already knew it was a clot effect because she had learned to recognize the symptoms. She kept a cool head and called the doctor who lived in the neighborhood with whom she had a very good relations. The doctor confirmed her suspicions and immediately took her to the hospital. After all possible tests and studies, they concluded that Vanja should take adequate injections throughout her life ...” "... my wife's resolve in fighting for dreams of three children, despite the risks involved, showed her strength. She recently told me that her gynecologist, after Sofia was born, said: "Vanja, such courage is rare today. If I were you, I would not have decided to have a third child. You are really amazing!" The mother's gust of heart was stronger than anything else. I faced all these crisis situations and nerves, but I was not allowed to show weakness when she was so strong and brave. Thanks to her, today we feel happy and blessed with a wonderful family ..."

(source of quotes - Book “Luka Modric - My Game”)

[hopetofantasy]

Culture, parallels & meta - S1 E5

Zaterdag 11:27

C is for culture: “My parents are gone for the entire autumn break” - Autumn/fall break is set in the last week of October and the start of November. This free week only applies to kindergarten, primary school, secondary school and university college. Universities start their lessons one week later, so they never have this vacation. 

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Zaterdag 14:12

C is for culture: “’Girl’ is apparently really good.” - The Belgian movie ‘Girl’ is the feature debut of director Lukas Dhondt, which immediately gained international acclaim: winning prizes at 'Cannes festival' and put on the long list for Oscar entries. The drama was inspired by Nora Monsecour, a Belgian trans female dancer and her struggle in pursuing a career as a ballerina born in the wrong body. Praised by critics, criticized by some, it surely made an impact in LGBT+ film world. In some countries, the movie is available on 'Netflix'. 

Where’s Wally? Ah, we forgot Lotte, didn’t we? Jens’ cute kid sister!

Perfect parallels: Robbe happily playing Fortnite with Jens in S1 and him playing the same game worrying about Sander in S3. 

Blink-and-y’ll-miss-it: Jens has a guitar, an amp and a djembé in his room.

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Zondag 10:45

C is for culture: “That’s summertime. It’s wintertime today.” - During last Saturday night in October, the clock jumps an hour back from our summertime (GMT + 2) to our wintertime (GMT + 1). So 3 o’clock at night becomes 2 o’clock, making it an hour earlier. It stays that way until the last Saturday of March, where the clock an hour jumps forward again. 

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Maandag 14:23

C is for culture: 

“Our first time”: The average age to loose one’s virginity in Belgium is around 18. A quarter of the ‘first time cases’ even happen between the bracket 21-25y. Reasons? The youth of today are more informed than previous generations (parental talks, sexual education, television) and decide to wait, have too busy lives or are shown more explicit images on television, which has a direct effect on body insecurities.

“Can I borrow the pill?” “I use the ring, you don’t want that”: At least 9 out of 10 young Belgian women use a form of anti-conception to protect themselves, with the pill on number 1. The IUD and vaginal ring are the second most popular. Since the 1st of April 2020, anyone under the age of 25 can purchase the pill - with a doctor’s note - for free. And the morning after? Is now free for anyone!

Blink-and-y’ll-miss-it: The monstrosity that’s called Jens-Jana’s baby 😂

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Woensdag 13:51

C is for culture: Even though the situation with the doctor was hilarious, this isn’t usually the response you’ll get. In most cases, the doctor will do a questionnaire and check your body. Afterwards, they’ll educate you on the different options of birth control and help you decide which one you suits you best. 

Actual sexual education starts in primary school at the age of 10 and goes on until the age of 14 in Biology lessons. Some schools might start some principles earlier, teaching about 'where babies come from’, consent or (same sex) relationships. 

That’s character: Amber is already complaining about her stomach - the air build-up - because she doesn’t eat enough. Other hints towards her problem with food will be shown later on: feeling dizzy, joining ramadan on a whim, running like crazy, following diets, claiming a gluten allergy (S2), needing to buy a certain type of food and calling s’mores disgusting for having too much calories (S3).

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Donderdag 14:09

C is for culture: This clip was published on the 1st of November, ‘All Saints Day’. This public holiday commemorates those who passed away and it’s part of the tradition to visit their graves/tombs and place flowers on it. Memories might be shared by visiting other family members afterwards.

Blink-and-y’ll-miss-it: According to the dates on his tombstone, Jana’s father Tom was just 36 years old when he passed away. Jana was 7.

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Donderdag 15:52

C is for culture: “I saw on Smartschool...”. - 'Smartschool' is a digital platform, where students can see messages, tasks, tests and documents about their courses. Parents can monitor their child’s grades and important communication surrounding their behavior or changes made to the curriculum.

Blink-and-y’ll-miss-it: Jana’s mom is drinking warm 'Lipton' tea. 

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Vrijdag 18:12

Perfect parallel: Zoë’s reluctant “[Sex] with that fuckboy? No, thank you!” in S1 and Zoë later having a actual (sexual) relationship with Senne in S2. 

Where is Wally? Another of Jens’ sisters forgotten! (We didn’t see her, though).

Blink-and-y’ll-miss-it: Amber refers to a dress from 'Morgan De Toi', a French clothing brand which originally sold lingerie. One dress costs around 70 euros. 

Bonus: Senne is actually a total polite cutie pie here?

[pgkwriter]

Just an excerpt from Chapter 18 “The American Dream” of Home because I’m thinking back to these happy cute times with Kerry, Susan, Elizabeth, Abby, and Sandy while I finish edits on Chapter 23 🥺

~~~

“Sandy! Kerry! Over here!” Susan called from a few tables over, waving until she caught Sandy’s eye. They weaved their way through an already semi-intoxicated ER staff until they found themselves at Susan’s table. “We saved you seats.” She gestured to the two empty spots across from where she sat. Sandy pulled Kerry’s chair out for her and Kerry immediately sank into it.

“Chuck, have you met Sandy?” Susan asked, smacking Chuck’s arm lightly as he chatted with Malik.

“No - hi,” he turned to Sandy as she took her seat to his right and extended his hand. Her strong grip surprised him if the look in his eyes was anything to go by.

Abby returned to her place at the table then, thanking Malik as he complimented her dress, her highlighted hair curled and cascading gently down her shoulders.

“Kerry, Sandy.” Abby said in greeting with a slight smile, setting down her drink at her spot.

“Abby,” Kerry smiled, watching as Abby sat and took a big gulp of her drink, which could have been a soda water or a vodka soda for all Kerry knew. Things had been awkward between the two of them since Kerry’s unexpected arrival at her apartment the week before, and Abby knew she had noticed the beer bottles. They’d never really spoken about Abby’s drinking problem, but she knew that Kerry had known she had sponsored John for a brief period of time. Kerry was a smart woman, she didn’t need things spelled out for her. Abby felt a tinge of shame, not relishing in the idea that she may have disappointed someone who’s opinion she valued higher than anyone else’s.

“Did you see the cupcakes they have up there?” Susan leaned over to Abby, looking in the direction of the waitstaff setting up the display of desserts for after dinner was served. Kerry watched the two young women chat and laugh together, almost getting lost in their camaraderie before a hand on her arm brought her back and she looked beside her at Sandy’s smiling face.

“Bored yet?” Kerry whispered, grabbing the hand that was still resting on her arm and playing with the ring on her finger absentmindedly. “Regret wanting to come?”

“Fat chance.” Sandy teased, squeezing Kerry’s fingers briefly before rising out of her chair. “I’m going to go grab us some drinks.”

Soon Kerry was watching her wife’s back (or, more accurately, her bottom ) as she wound her way through the crowd of Kerry’s colleagues.

“When are you due, Dr. Weaver?” Chuck asked suddenly, trying to fill the dead air that had taken over their table for an uncomfortable few minutes.

“Chuck, she’s not pregnant.” Susan deadpanned a whispered scolding, eyes wide and eyebrows raised into her hairline. Chuck turned red and then completely white before Kerry could save him.

“She’s teasing you,” Kerry laughed out of pity, Abby completely losing it at Chuck’s expense. “October 5th.” She answered his question as the color slowly came back to his cheeks.

“I hate you,” Chuck whispered quickly to Susan, rising out of his chair and excusing himself to the bathroom. As soon as he’d turned his back, Susan and Abby erupted into laughter.

“I can’t help it sometimes,” Susan confessed, taking a sip of her wine. “He’s just too easy of a target. He’s like Carter-” Susan began before she could stop herself. Kerry had noted the empty chair beside Abby but hadn’t thought much of it until now.

Abby waved off the concerned faces, taking another sip of her drink, but she didn’t say anything.

Almost as if sent from God himself to save the moment, Elizabeth approached their table, the form fitting gold gown stunning every male she’d passed on her journey across the room into silence.

“Look at this group of miscreants,” she teased as she approached, pulling out the empty seat beside Abby and sitting down. “You all look beautiful tonight.” Sandy approached, then, setting an iced water in front of Kerry and taking her seat beside her, sipping her martini on her way down so as to not spill it.

“Elizabeth, do you know Sandy Lopez?” Kerry gestured between the two women, surprised when she could not remember a time over the last three years when the two might have crossed paths.

“Only by name,” Elizabeth held her hand out. “Elizabeth Corday; surgeon, but I tend to crash the ER banquets.”

“Sandy Lopez, firefighter,” Sandy noted with a smirk that Elizabeth’s handshake was more firm than Chuck’s had been. She liked the woman already.

“Well, my late-husband was an attending in the ER for nearly a decade, how did you manage to crash this party?” Elizabeth prodded, knowing the answer but wanting to hear it out loud. She leaned forward and took a sip from her glass of wine - she had obviously had a head start in the alcohol department, her words slurring just slightly.

“I know the right people,” Sandy’s eyes flashed to Kerry whose lips turned up into a slight smile, a blush creeping into her cheeks.

“If you happened to catch Romano’s press conference with the Alderman a few weeks ago… perhaps you could say that this is my husband .” Kerry’s lame attempt at a joke made Sandy choke on the sip of her martini she had just taken, coughing into the crook of her elbow as the other women at the table watched on wide-eyed.

“Ah, I was wondering who the lucky woman was.” Elizabeth said, the sarcasm in her voice so barely evident that only Susan truly picked up on it. “It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. Weaver.”

The table erupted into laughter as Elizabeth rose out of her chair, excusing herself as she saw Haleh in the distance and wanted to go say hello. She took a few steps before stopping abruptly and turning back, leaning against the back of the chair she had just vacated. “Oh! I wanted to ask, did you get the results of your amnio back yet?”

Sandy looked to Kerry, wondering how she was going to handle such a personal question asked so publicly and casually.

“Uh - yes, we did. Everything looks fine.” Kerry’s face broke into a wide smile. “Thank you for asking.”

“Wonderful!” Elizabeth replied genuinely, leaving them with a small wave and continuing toward Haleh.

“I was surprised when Luka told me you RSVP’d, Kerry,” said Susan, taking another sip of her wine as she watched the blush begin the fade from Kerry’s face.

“It was my fault,” Sandy spoke up before Kerry could reply. “I reminded her that the opportunities to party will go down significantly in just a few months.” Kerry could swear that Sandy’s smile lit the table brighter than the candles in the centerpiece.

“That’s true!” Susan raised her glass in a mock toast. “You’ve got what, three months to go? You must be getting really excited.”

“Excited but unprepared - we still haven’t finished putting together the nursery,” Sandy continued. “I think we were both so nervous, you know… that something could still happen.”

“But we’re nearing the safety zone,” Kerry added, sitting up and doing her best to mask the grimace that accompanied the movement, the hard dining chairs doing her hip absolutely no favors.

“God, I can’t wait to have a baby around again.” Susan picked at the appetizers on the small plate in front of her. “I love the baby years, particularly when it’s someone else’s baby and you can give them back. I’ve always been so bummed that I missed so much of Ella when she was tiny.”

Sandy smiled at Kerry, relishing in the friendly, personal conversation between her partner and her coworkers, but noticed Kerry’s jaw clenched and her hand kneading furiously at her left hip under the table.

“With the amount of time Kerry spends at the hospital, I’m sure you will have plenty of baby time. We might as well make her an ID already,” Sandy joked, taking another sip of her martini, trying to make up for Kerry’s silence.

“So you do know it’s a girl.” Abby finally spoke, engaging in the conversation for the first time since sitting down. “I wasn’t sure, and I didn’t want to say anything if not.”

The silence that fell over the table told Abby that she had just made a big mistake and her cheeks immediately flushed. Sandy’s eyes widened and she looked to Kerry who looked equally stunned.

“Oh my god.” Abby could have gotten sick right on the table, absolutely horrified at accidentally revealing the gender of their baby. She hid her face in her hands, not noticing how much pleasure Susan was getting out of the whole situation.

“How-how do you know?” Kerry asked, the pain in her hip gone for the time being, all of her focus being pulled to the panicked nurse sitting an empty seat away from her.

“The amnio, on the monitor,” Abby’s voice was muffled by her hands, her head still down, practically on the table. “I thought you knew, oh my god.”

“A girl.” Sandy leaned over to Kerry but stopped herself before kissing her, unsure of exactly the amount of PDA Kerry would be comfortable with surrounded by colleagues. But Kerry turned to Sandy, her eyes glossy with happy tears, and grabbed her face in her hands, pulling her toward her and kissing her deeply, passionately, and without a care of who was there to witness it.

“A girl.” Kerry whispered as they parted, her hand lingering on Sandy’s cheek for a few extra moments before they pulled away from each other, Kerry looking sheepishly at the small crowd that had formed behind Susan. Luka, Lydia, Randi, and Jerry all stood with different variations of shocked looks on their faces. Abby’s face had yet to recover and she took a greedy sip of her drink.

“What’s going on?” Luka asked with a laugh, observing the chaos of what he thought would be one of the more tame tables at the banquet.

“Well,” Susan started, rising out of her chair. “Abby just told Kerry and Sandy the gender of their baby without realizing they didn’t know, and now I’m going to go take Abby to get another drink.” Susan grabbed Abby by the arm and began to pull her away with a laugh.

“I am so sorry Kerry, Sandy, I really thought-” Abby began before Kerry could stop her.

“It’s fine, I promise. We’ve been saying ‘she’ for months now, it’s nice to know we were right.” The audience of coworkers was not sure they’d ever seen Kerry look so happy as she turned again and gave the somewhat speechless Sandy another kiss. Susan managed to drag Abby away - though the fact that they were going to the bar was not lost on Kerry, even in the commotion of the unexpected news - and Randi’s eyes widened as she stepped away, having thoroughly enjoyed what she’d seen and needing to tell everyone about it promptly . Jerry and Lydia continued in the direction they had been going in when they’d been sidetracked by Kerry and Sandy’s PDA and Luka rounded the table to give Kerry and Sandy congratulatory hugs and kisses on the cheek.

“You really did a great job organizing this, Luka.” Kerry said as he straightened up again after their hug; she hadn’t even been able to meet him halfway, the momentary respite from her pain having certainly passed.

“Last year was good practice,” he chuckled, taking a sip of his drink. “Be glad you weren’t here for that one.” Kerry had heard mumblings about the banquet the year before, something about an unstocked bar and a broken thermostat. “I’m glad you decided to come tonight, though, both of you.” He placed a hand on Sandy’s shoulder who looked up appreciatively. “If you’ll excuse me.” He smiled apologetically as an obviously perturbed Romano waved him down from across the room, and both women were grateful Luka had decided to go to him instead of the other way around. If they could get through the night without an interaction with the Chief of the ER, then they would really know luck was on their side.

Kerry grabbed Sandy’s hand, squeezing it on the table as she laughed, watching Jerry and Randi begin dancing in the middle of the room, prompting others to partner off and join them. Kerry looked at Sandy whose eyes were trained on all the giddy couples.

“You want to dance.” Kerry pointed out, a tinge of sadness in her voice.

“Nah…” Sandy shook her head, looking at her partner. “I’m good just sitting here with my wife. And my daughter.” Sandy pulled her right hand from Kerry’s and set it on Kerry’s stomach for a brief moment. Kerry’s hand found Sandy’s and she rested it on top - the baby hadn’t moved much since they arrived at the banquet but Kerry couldn’t help but think it would be a Hallmark moment if she were to move, to kick, to say hello somehow to her mothers as they so patiently waited for her. If only real life were like the movies. Kerry’s eyes found Sandy’s again, who leaned in for another kiss, their hands still on her stomach. Sometimes, life is like the movies … Kerry thought, and the baby gave one solid kick felt without fail by both of her mothers.