Well, we got a call from a cousin of mine at just gone 2am this morning. Mom came through her surgery okay. She was still on the ventilator, but had a good blood pressure and there had been no complications during surgery. The only thing was, they ended up doing a 5-way bypass rather than the anticipated quadruple… I have no clue what this is, or what was involved (more research for me - yippee) but it could not have been a good thing.
Tonight I phoned to get an update. They took her off the ventilator about 8pm last night. Her blood pressure is dropping, but the doctor says that is due to all the blood she is losing though the tubes in her chest, so they are replacing it as fast as she can take it. She’ll be in intensive care probably until tomorrow if she holds up. Apparently mom said “Not sure how I’m supposed to feel, but I don’t feel too bad… Can I have my morphine now??” Bless her!
So now we just wait.
Kal and I are trying to stay strong for each other - he being ever so much stronger than I. He’s the one who lets me fall asleep with my head on his chest every night and comforts me if I wake up teary from a nightmare.
Hubby has received an extra hug just cos Slainte suggested Kal get one.
My thanks to everyone for their prayers, good vibes and thoughts. They are much needed and apprecited. I can only hope to return all the goodness you all have shown.
One thing that has really been bothering me is the fact that though yes, I am far away, the family had been reluctant to tell me anything at all. When my dad found out he had cancer, it was more than 2 weeks afterward before I was told, and then it was because they were afraid I’d get an email from someone regarding it. I already had a clue something was wrong. Bad premonition first, then I received an odd, vague, email about praying for him… Eh?
Now with my mom, she went into the hospital on Friday. I wasn’t told anything until late Monday night. The day before she went in for surgery.
I may be far away and not be able to just pop down to the hospital to see them, but please people, am I not part of the family any longer or what?
Update: Mom is apparently in good spirits. Her blood pressure is still low and they are still giving her blood. She was able to get out of bed last night and take a few steps, which seemed to help bring her blood pressure back up a bit as well. They will get her up again today. She was told she may get to go home early next week - probably Monday or so.
I’m thinking of asking an uncle who lives nearby - her brother - if they will let her stay with them instead of going home where she will be subjected to my sister, her lazy-assed husband (who my mom cannot stand for any length of time), and her hyperactive son who is still traumatised by the death of my dad and has been acting out since. She needs a comforting, quiet place to recover, not be amongst people who will expect her to jump up and cook dinner and clean the house when she gets home… Argh!!! It drives me nuts not being able to intervene and help…
I totally know where you’re coming from. You’ve all had a terrible horrible run of bad things happening, all of them overlapping so you can’t quite resolve any of it. You didn’t have a breath to spare to grieve the loss of your first child, second child and your dad and now you’re mum is sick, too. I can only imagine how hard this is for you.
Re: living away, etc. Yes, as you know, my family is in the States and I’m here in France and this sort of stuff happens all the time. Frankly, sometimes I wonder why they bother to tell me something so long after it happened, as if there’s anything I can do now except feel guilty. I only really get the terrible news, none of the pleasant stuff.
In early December, I’ll be single-handedly moving my mom from her condo to another state to go to an assisted living facility (she has Parkinson’s), so I know exactly what you’re going through with the worrying, etc. I’ll have to leave my husband and child to go over, do my ‘duty’ and rush back, only to move to a new country 3 weeks later.
In fact, here’s another thing we have in common. I know you had your miscarriage as I did, while in the States. Ours cost $6400! That was just for ultrasounds, the D&C and a 20 minute office visit. Not only did we lose our beloved child, but we also lost over half of our savings, because we don’t have US health insurance coverage. I’m sure your situation was somewhat similar to ours and it’s just one more thing to worry about.
So, I totally know where you are coming from. I’m telling you all this so that you know you’re not alone and to promise you that this bad stuff will stop happening. It has to. I’m sure of it.
Washte’s mom was due out of the hospital at the weekend but developed an infection in her wound. They treated it by taking a swab to find out the bug involved, cleaning it out with water, then pouring hydrogen-peroxide all over it, OUCH! Oh, and then hooking her up to an IV.
It looks like she’s gonna be transfered to a rest-home type place to recover, maybe tomorrow. The doctor’s think that going home will leave her open to the risk of infection (having a grandson who goes to school and a daughter who works in a casino increases the chance of her picking up bugs from outside. Having a son-in-law who sits there scratching his ass all day wouldn’t help either).
She’s looking foward to some piece and quiet and my wife is far more happy knowing that professionals will be caring for her.
Oh, boy, Washte and Kal, you guys sure have had it hard.
If it’s any comfort to you, my grandfather had a quadruple bypass almost three years ago. I went with my nanna to see him in the ICU, and we were both quite upset because he looked so ill. But it was amazing how quickly he recovered once he was over the initial stage. Washte, sounds like your mum is a fiesty lady, and being well cared for, so here’s hoping she pulls through it as well as my grandpop did.
And, to both of you, lots of good thoughts and wishes that things will start getting better in your lives.
Bless her!
Good!