My Tough Mom

Okay, this is going to be long...so there's your warning...but also this is for mostly my own documentation purposes, and for those who have wanted the details on whats been happening with my mom.

Thursday, September 3, 2009:
My mom has a normal day. She goes to work, I even come in and take her check. She plays with Brody for a few minutes, and I leave. That night, as executive secretary to the school superintendent she is required to be at all board meetings, so she attends and doesn't get home until the evening. After a few hours of being home, she comes downstairs to tell my brother, Spenser that she really doesn't feel well, and then goes back to her room. Spenser goes up to check on her, and she is curled in a ball and shaking. It freaks Spenser out and he tells her that he needs to take her to the hospital. My mom is not one for going to the doctor at every little concern, and she definitely isn't one to rush to an emergency room. She tells Spenser that she probably just has bad gas, and he tells her that gas doesn't make you act like that. He calls our step dad at work and he says she needs to go to the hospital. So after much more persuasion and protests of, "I don't have any gas in my car..." Spenser rushes her to the nearest emergency room 30 minutes away. Before going he wakes our other brother up to say he's taking mom just so that if he or our sister wakes up they don't freak that everyone is gone. Mom stays busy the entire way there throwing up what Spenser said, "wasn't normal throw up....looked like egg yokes."

Hours and hours go by.....Finally a diagnosis.....her appendix is leaking. Unfortunately, this hospital cannot perform the surgery, and they have to take her in an ambulance to a different hospital 45 minutes away. John (my step dad) has arrived at this point and sends my brother home while he follows mom to the other hospital.

Friday, September 4, 2009:
Spenser gets home by about 5 a.m. I get a phone call from my mom about 8:30 that morning telling me that she just got out of surgery. I begin to just shake as she tells me all that has happened. Here I was sleeping the night away and my mom was SO sick! I know I couldn't have done anything but worry....but I still wish I would have known.

Me, Trevor, Brody, and Spenser go to the hospital just as they are getting ready to transfer mom from recovery to a regular room. She is exhausted, but okay. I even go get her a salad from Wendy's. She visits and jokes with us, and I show her all the things I brought from home, or bought at Wal-mart for her. Mom shows us the pictures of her insides and tells us that the doctor found a couple of other things that will need to be fixed after she heals from this surgery. She only has one ovary and it is way enlarged, as is her uterus. She is told she will have to undergo a hysterectomy (sp?). Not fun, but Mom is positive. She has been having some issues, so that is like a relief to know what has been going on.

On our way home I get a little emotional. I know people get their appendix out every day, but what if Spenser hadn't convinced her to go to the hospital, what if they hadn't found it soon enough, what if.......the list just goes on....

Saturday, September 5, 2009:
Load up Brody to go visit Mom again. Spenser and his girlfriend, Stormy have beat me there and are just leaving. Mom is SO sick today. Not at all like yesterday. She is extremely sick to her stomach. All the air that gets in when you have surgery is bothering her. She tried to just take oral pain meds so that she could come home today, but its not even scratching the surface of her pain. They continue to give her morphine. She always always worries about things that really don't matter, and today she tells me she is so embarrassed...the nurses must think she is such a wimp, but she really can't explain all the pain. They also start giving her meds for the nausea. This makes her sleepy and she can hardly keep her eyes open.

The worrying really begins. She just isn't someone who gets sick. She bounces back easily, and I have never in my whole life seen her look so bad. She looks half alive to me.

Sunday, September 6, 2009:
Pretty much the same as Saturday. What in the hell is going on? I don't go see her this day, but I am getting so frustrated that she isn't getting better.

Monday, September 7, 2009:
Kade and Taylor (my younger brother and sister) still haven't seen my Mom since Thursday night. I take them and Brody over to visit. She looks awful. The waterworks really turn on and I can't even keep myself composed while I am with her. Taylor tries to talk to Mom a little and Kade just sits silently and stares. We are all getting worried. She hasn't eaten anything since the salad I brought her. She had a blessing from my Aunt Gina's husband, and my Grandpa already, but Spenser arrives and gives her another one. Only making me cry more. We leave and I sob the whole way to the car.

That night I make dinner for the kids and Taylor says, "Do we have to go see mom tomorrow when I go to my dentist appointment?" I misunderstood her and told her that yes we could go see her and she says, "I don't want to. I don't like to see mom like that." Tears well up in her eyes and I know I'm not the only one that is so emotional.

About 2:30 in the morning Mom throws up....its a lot of throw up too. She hasn't eaten so all she throws up is stomach acid....2 whole quarts of it. The nurse just can't believe it. She feels awful for Mom and calls the doctor at home and he tells her to put a tube down Mom's nose to pump out the stomach acid.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009:
I call for the latest update and Mom tells me about the tube. It hurts and burns so bad, but she is grateful for the relief she gets from the nausea.

Taylor goes to her appointment and I go visit Mom. She feels a ton better. What a relief. I take Taylor to see Mom because I knew she would feel better about Mom seeing her look so much better. Things seem to be looking up.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009:
Finally after 3 days of tests, x-rays, katscans, and whatever else they have been doing we get an answer to why Mom hasn't been getting better. They have found a blockage in her bowels. Come to find out, the place where her one ovary has been gone for all these years has quite a bit of scar tissue. That scar tissue has grown over part of her bowels and is pinching it closed like a rubber band. All the air and pressure Mom has had from her surgery has been having a hard time escaping because of this blockage. The doctor just feels sick that he didn't see this when he went in the first time. He schedules a surgery for the next day. He already has a full schedule so she is only told her surgery will be sometime in the afternoon.

Thursday, September 10, 2009:
Its surgery day, part 2....I'm extremely nervous for my mom. I know things will probably go well, but surgery is always scary to me. I worry about something going wrong or them finding something worse. It safe to say that I am a mess. I cry all morning. I load up the Brodester again to go see my Mom before she goes in for surgery.

I walk into the hospital and this old lady at the information desk asks me where I am going. I am surprised at her tone of voice and wonder what the heck is going on. She tells me that as of that very morning no child under 12 is allowed past her desk. I ask her why and she says its because of precautions the hospital is taking for RSV. I am furious. I just drove 45 miles to be told I can't come see my mom. I had been coming for a week with Brody, but now I couldn't. Not only that, but the lady isn't even nice about it. Brody had walked a little bit away, and by the time I walked the short distance to him and picked him up I was sobbing. The lady said something and I told her, "whatever" and she kept talking so mean and I was so emotional that I just put my hand up and told her to "shut-up" as I walked outside.

I understand the precautions they are taking and why, but how stupid that you'll let a baby into the lobby with sick people and tons of germs, but he can't go to my mom's individual room. Luckily, my step-dad was there. He came outside and played with Brody for about 45 minutes while I got to visit with my mom. Had he not been there it would have been a wasted trip.

Mom is doing well. She just wants the surgery done and over with. Her voice is completely shot from the tube down her nose. Her throat and nose hurt so bad. I wish it wasn't so bad for her. She still hasn't eaten anything besides a little jello the night before and ice chips since friday.

At 2:30 she goes in for surgery. Everything goes well. She comes out of recovery and already feels more relief than she has had in days. The doctor thinks that this scar tissue problem might be the actual reason for all the pain that brought her in, not even the appendix. She did need that appendix out, but that probably wasn't the initial problem.

Friday, September 11, 2009:
Trevor drops me off at the hospital and I visit Mom for like 3 hours while he shops around with Brody. While I am there I am so relieved. This is the BEST my Mom has looked so far. She almost seems back to normal. She is craving food, joking, and ready to be home. While I'm there the nurses come in and take out the tube in her nose! Woo-hoo! This is major progress....

Spenser and Stormy come to visit, and bring Kade and Taylor with them. We all laugh and feel better and are SO GLAD that Mom looks good and feels better!

I go home pretty optimistic. Doctors say Mom should come home Sunday.

Saturday, September 12, 2009:
Maybe just maybe if we are lucky my Mom will get to come home today! I am awaiting a phone call. She had to take oral pain meds and wait to see how her basically empty stomach handles them. If she does well, I will get to pick her up!

Can't wait! So glad.

We have had so many phone calls from people concerned. We appreciate all the prayers. We appreciate those that visited my Mom in the hospital. Thanks to those that have brought meals by for the kids. And thanks to those that have sent flowers to mom. I appreciate every ounce of help and prayers sent our way. I know my Mom does as well! Thank you thank you thank you!