Where we are now

I know it has been a while since I have posted any entries to this blog. Work, helping Mom, our new daughter ...basically life has gotten pretty busy these days.

The short story is that Mom broke her hip last Sunday morning. It took me 2 hours to convince her she needed to go to the hospital. Once I had put some things she wanted into her trunks, she let me call 911. She insisted on putting her lipstick on before the 4 firemen arrived. They cut the right leg of her pants, evaluated her and called a cabulance to transport her to Virginia Mason Hospital.

I followed them to the Emergency Room. They gave her a nerve block, took some x-rays, evaluated her overall health and sent her to the Ortho floor to await surgery. They ended up monitoring her the rest of Sunday and all day Monday to make sure she could handle surgery. They found she has congestive heart failure, some valve blockage, one side of the heart that doesn't move much, and of course, her diabetes.

I finally went with her to the door of the surgical area about 6pm on Monday night. The anesthesiologist called around 7:30pm to let me know that her age and condition made this a high risk procedure. The surgeon called about 10:30pm to let me know it had gone well.

I saw Mom the next day, and she seemed to be doing fairly well. They got her out of bed a little and worked with her on her post operative precautions...no bending down, not pivoting her right foot, no more than a 70% angle. Today she walked with the aid of a walker and a Physical therapist for 100 feet. She amazes everyone with her resilience.

Tomorrow she is being transferred to a rehab facility for up to 20 days to build her strength. I will meet her there and bring more clothes. I will also help ease her into the place, as I know she is extremely nervous about being in this facility. This is where my Dad died in June of 2007. She probably fears the same will happen to her.

It has been an emotionally exhausting week for both of us...but she is still in hanging in there.