3/28/14. The post where I explain why I haven't been posting.

3/28/14: a lot has happened since I last posted. A few days turned into two and a half weeks. I will try to catch everyone up, but this will be a long one.  Here we go...

Monday, March 10 started like a normal day. Normal for me, at least.  I was leaving very early Tuesday morning for a training class in Washington DC, so I did my best to tidy up things at the office and went to a late afternoon PT appointment.  During my appointment, my PT talked with me about how best to handle traveling solo to a place requiring a lot of walking during a bitter cold spell.  I am a seasoned traveler, but this one was going to be different.  I was not looking forward to it.

The last exercise involved walking on the treadmill with the weight-bearing corset.  I remembered that I had promised to post a photo of myself in the contraption, so I grabbed my phone.  When I looked at my phone, I saw missed calls from my dad and my brother, and a text message from my brother asking me to call as soon as possible.  My heart stopped.  I stepped outside to make the call and learned that my mom had gone to the emergency room for severe anemia that morning, where a CT scan found a large mass somewhere in her lower abdominal region. After a brief (and probably incoherent) explanation, I raced out of the PT office, flew to my house and started throwing clothes in a suitcase.  DC would have to wait.

My patient, long-suffering husband cancelled all my travel plans while I packed for a different journey.  Within 45 minutes of the call, I was in the car, starting the three hour drive to the hospital. If only I could pack that quickly for every trip.  About twenty minutes into the trip, a warning light came on in my car.  Not a "check your wiper fluid" kind of light.  More of a "do not pass go" kind of light.  Uh-oh.  I briefly considered turning around and trading cars with my patient, long-suffering husband. Then I said a little prayer, set the cruise control, and settled in for what I hoped would be the long drive to the hospital.  Fortunately, I had a full tank of gas and wouldn't need to make any stops. 

Sure enough, two and a half hours later I pulled into a parking space at the hospital.  I killed the engine and then, out of morbid curiosity, tried to start my car again.  A couple of sputters, then nothing.  Apparently Someone was looking out for me.  I made my way up to Mom's room and found her there with several other family members.  Those of you who know her won't be surprised to hear that she looked beautiful and elegant in her hospital bed, even after a full day of medical tests.  In contrast, after my car adventure, I looked like this:

I won't keep you in suspense.  She was diagnosed with colon cancer and had surgery to remove the mass.  After spending 16 days in the hospital, we got her home Tuesday evening, where she will continue to recuperate and prepare for chemotherapy.  I returned to my home late Wednesday night in anticipation of a nerve block Thursday afternoon.  

I have never been more proud of Mom than I am now.  After 66 years of being the only member of our family with almost no health issues, she had a real doozie and none of us were expecting it. She endured the entire ordeal with dignity and grace.  Those of you who know her will not be surprised to hear that she quickly captured the hearts of all the doctors and nurses treating her, and on her last day she had a parade of people who had cared for her at various times during her stay coming by to say their goodbyes and wish her well. She knows she still has a long way to go to complete her recovery and she is up for the challenge.

In fact, I have never been more proud of our entire extended family, both those who are genetically related and those who entered the family by love.  Ordeals like this are the true test of family relationships, and I'm happy to say we passed with flying colors.  We also had an amazing amount of support from friends of Mom and Dad, a testament to the difference they have made in the lives of the people they touch on a daily basis.  In lieu of this blog, I made daily entries into an online journal called CaringBridge.  (If you ever have a major medical event requiring updates to a large number of people, I highly recommend CaringBridge.  This is not a paid advertisement.)  I live nearly 200 miles from my parents and it is a comfort to know they have such a good support network.

I have so much more to say about the last two and a half weeks, but this has already become a longer post than I intended.  Mom has never liked being the focus of attention and she may not be happy that I spent so much time talking about her, but I bet she'll forgive me.  I'll start posting again about my adventures with RSD tomorrow, but for now, I'll leave you with a few fun facts about the ordeal:

Family cars that required trips to the dealership: 2 

Pairs of jeans I packed: 1

Pairs of jeans I bought while there: 2

Times the clothes I packed had to be laundered: 3 (shout out to my aunt for helping with that)

Estimated surgery time: 1 1/2 to 4 hours

Actual surgery time: 7 hours (amount of respect I have for her surgeon: immeasurable)

Size of mass: approximately 15 cm long and 8 cm in diameter (the anesthesiologist proclaimed it "pretty impressive" - award for understatement of the year)

Number of times I was mistaken for Mom's sister rather than her daughter by health care providers: 4 (This has been a common occurrence my entire adult life, but even after major surgery and two weeks in a hospital bed, she still looked as young as me.)

Weight I lost: 3 pounds (Not a recommended weight loss method by any means, but on the other hand, woo-hoo!)

Thanks for your patience and please keep Mom and our family in your thoughts and prayers as she enters the next phase of recovery.