Peeking out the curtain

Man oh man...its been a very long time since I've written...Its 7:25 AM on September 27, 2010 and here's what's on my mind..I'm so thankful for the time I'm spending with my Mommy. She's 75 years old and I still have her here to look at and hug and kiss. On August 23rd she went to Rochester General Hospital for an angiogram..As my son and 2 daughters sat in the waiting room I got a call from the Doctor doing the angiogram..."we found blockages...I'm going to send them to...whoever it was...I don't think its anything serious that will have to be dealt with immediately..? 15 minutes later my phone rings again..."This is so and so..I'm a Nurse Practioner with Dr Split your chest open..we're admitting your Mom and doing a triple by pass tomorrow". I'm so glad the kids were there with me. So I called my aunt..and my sister...and my Mom's boyfriend to let them know what was going on. The surgeon came in that afternoon and said he was available to do the surgery that evening. Mom said no and I was kind of glad because I hadn't gotten to get my sister yet from Warsaw. Surgery was scheduled for 10:00 AM. He told us to be there by 8:30 if we wanted to see Mom before she went down. Later on that afternoon we had her side of the room packed..Me, my hubby, my 3 kids, my aunt, my cousin and her husband and my sister. Family...being there for each other because that's what families are supposed to do. We all went home..at 6:45 AM the 24th my phone rang..it was Mom..they were taking her down in half an hour. I was angry and scared. You've probably never seen so crazy as my sister, 3 kids and I running around that house trying to get dressed and out the door to make it to the hospital and up to the 4th floor in under a half hour. We didn't make it. Just thinking about that morning makes me nauseated which is pretty much how I felt after they told us she was out of surgery..nauseated to the point that shortly there after I lost the contents of my meager breakfast in the bathroom or the CTICU waiting room. Its been a very slow climb from that day...there was another stay in the hospital..originally pain in her left lung that turned into a slight kidney malfunction. She's here with me now..trying to get better..we have to remember she's 75 years old. Yes I'm thankful for this time I have with her. Time to love her and be what daughter's are supposed to be a caregiver...doing for her what she did for me the first 18 years of my life. So this week is 2 doctor's appointments..maybe getting her hair cut...and trying to get her to eat and drink and walk so she gets her strength back. Yep its work...but so was feeding me and changing my diapers and making sure I had all that I needed. That's what I'm trying to do for her..well minus changing the diapers I hope coz that's what families do. I love you Mommy