Homecoming...

Gerber Daisy at the arboretum.

 Mom is HOME! :)

We are both sooo happy that she is home. As soon as I saw her walk in the door today, my anxiety level dropped big time. She is doing so much better today than she was yesterday. While tired, she still looks like Mom, and seeing her doing so much better is a huge relief. 

When Dr. Neurosurgeon came in to see her today, he offered to let her stay another day at the hospital if she didn't feel she had enough help at home, but she was so ready to come home, take a shower, and rest in her own room. She could not wait to get a shower! A CNA woke her up at 5 AM this morning to weigh her. Really? Was that necessary? It is nice not to have those interruptions or be worrying about hospital errors anymore.

Thank goodness she bought an old-lady lift chair for her rotator cuff surgery a few years ago, as it is coming in handy again. 

We know that the resting and healing can truly begin with her home. 

Right now, Mom's biggest complaint is her sore throat. It hurts like heck to talk. Unfortunately, this means she can't talk on the phone if you call! :( And, really, I don't need more 'space' to talk! I already talk too much! Her swelling has gone down a lot, the numbness and tingling has gone away, and she doesn't feel pain where the surgery was. She also has an incision smaller than the one I had for my port! It is remarkable that she can shower right away and just has steri-strips.

Gerber Daisy at the arboretum.

One of the most interesting things we learned about the surgery was how severe the compression really was. During the surgery Mom was monitored by a neurophysiologist, Anita. Dr. Neurosurgeon said to her: "Would you like to look at this? Have you ever seen a compression this severe that wasn't in a trauma patient?" Dr. Neurosurgeon told Mom that she must have an incredibly high pain tolerance. He was very surprised by how severe the compression was and the surgery turned out to be more involved and longer than expected. Thankfully, it appears that he was able to alleviate the compression without complications. 


I found out he was wearing his Cubs sweatshirt the morning of surgery. Since my mom's family, especially her brother and mother (who also both had a similar surgery to this) are/were HUGE Cubs fans, this seemed like a little God moment letting her know she picked the right guy! :)


The anesthesia used is extremely powerful, which is why Mom was so completely snowed by it. (I misunderstood that she was partially awake during surgery. She was asleep an the anesthesia for this type of surgery is really strong.) She has a lot of phlegm to clear out from all of that! 


Mom has been living with pain for so long--some of it started as early as when I was born--that she really doesn't know a life without pain anymore. Once the swelling goes done, the bone begins to graft, and the titanium plate secures itself, it will be very interesting to see how her body responds and if she feels 1. less pain, and 2. better overall well-being. 


I am often told how strong or brave I am, but it is my mom who I always see as being strong and brave. She has lived with this for so long, with very little complaint.


Both of us got dressed in new PJs tonight, and as far as I know Mom is sound asleep downstairs as I write this (yup, she can do stairs already!). Asher is spending a couple of days with Dad and Abbie, which is hard and we miss him, but he gets way too stressed and anxious from the comings and goings of the caregiver and others. At their house, he can hang out on the AC vent (which is what he was doing this afternoon when I talked to Abbie). :)


We may be more quiet here over the next few days, but I will certainly update if there is any news. And I promise my blogs won't always be about medical emergencies, crises, dramas, etc.! :)


Blessings and many thanks for the continued prayers, thoughts, texts, emails, calls, and Facebook posts. You help keep us going, that is for sure!


Emily

First Day Post-Surgery Update...

Flowering tree at the arboretum.

Just a quick little check in from our little world.

Mom was transferred out of ICU this morning. On Saturday morning she will have a physical therapy evaluation to see if she is cleared to do steps, etc. and then she will be released--hopefully in the afternoon.

Mom continues to be completely and totally exhausted and uncomfortable--all to be expected post-surgery, but I think she is way more wiped and miserable than she ever imagined she would be. I haven't really been able to talk to her because her throat hurts so much and because she is so tired. She wanted the day to be as quiet as possible, so Jeannine just popped up to check in on her a couple of times. 


Mom and I had agreed that it was best if I not come and visit her (this was hard, but also the right decision). I do wish that I could be there to advocate for things that have gotten missed or messed up, so that has been frustrating for me not to be able to take care of her more.


I don't know if you can ever fully prepare for these things, but I know that we certainly didn't have a sense of some of the post-surgery discomfort (such as the swelling and numbness/tingling in the arms and hands) that she is having. I guess no one would have surgery if they told you how bad it was going to be in advance?! :P 

Flowering tree at the arboretum

Asher and I are holding down the fort here as best we can (which isn't very well). I pretty much stink at 'running the household' even on a small scale and even with help from a petsitter in the mornings and a caregiver in the evenings. I'm trying to keep up with some of the small tasks that Mom does every day to keep the house running--like bringing in the newspaper, getting out my lunch, picking up papers and mail, feeding Asher, and picking up the dog poop--but even those small tasks totally wear me out!

Asher has been spending a lot of time waiting and watching by the patio door, hoping Mom will be home any minute. We are ready to have her home and take care of her here. 

Thanks for hanging in there with us! I'm sooo exhausted, I'm not feeling very creative or articulate tonight, but did want to get out an update as I've been unable to return phone calls, emails or texts at all today.

Blessings,

Emily

Mom: Fused and Recovering...

Crabapple (I think?) tree at the arboretum.

Mom is officially 'fused' and konked out in the ICU recovering from her cervical fusion earlier today. Jeannine spent the entire day with her, not leaving the hospital until after 8 PM, so I received regular texts and phone calls throughout the day. 


She is in the ICU simply as a precaution since she has existing heart issues. We actually like this better because the ICU is really empty tonight--so there is one nurse for each of the three patients! 


At this point, surgery appears to have gone well. Dr. Neurosurgeon told Jeannine that there was a "tremendous amount of pressure on the spinal column," which made for a long and difficult surgery, but a successful one. Surgery was somewhere between 3 and 4 hours long. 


Dr. Neurosurgeon asked Jeannine: "Now are you going to call her daughter to let her know what is going on?" Jeannine said: "As soon as you walk away!" So, the lines of communication were really open, and Jeannine was able to get good information and advocate for Mom throughout the day (making sure Mom was in the right room, re-doing her med list which had somehow been lost, checking on the pain meds she was supposed to get, etc.). Jeannine also dealt with me all day long! So many little things get missed when someone is not there to advocate for you...I just don't know how we could have done this without Jeannine, who really knows so much about Mom's history and needs.


Mom has only woken up a couple of times very briefly. She's mostly been sleeping (and snoring!) and has not requested any pain meds, which seem to be good things. She hasn't gotten up to pee yet or eaten anything other than ice chips. The times she was awake, though, she has been lucid and able to communicate, and passed all of the post-surgery cognitive testing with flying colors. Her throat is really, really sore.


Dr. Neurosurgeon said the anesthesia used for this type of surgery is like a big thunder cloud and will take some time to clear and for Mom to wake up. At this point, no one seems concerned that she isn't more awake. I think she went into surgery exhausted and her body is just getting some very much needed rest. At least that is what I hope is the case. I don't quite understand what the anesthesia is like, but patients are hooked up to electrodes and monitored by an off-site neurologists who makes sure that the patient can talk, feel, hear, etc. throughout the surgery. You know, while the neurosurgeon is digging, scraping and cutting around the spinal cord! :P

Crabapple tree.

It's hard for me to imagine how hard Mom's body has been working to even hold her head up with the amount of spinal instability and compression she had going on. I really hope that she will find that giving the nerves some much-needed space is going to help her overall well-being in the long run.

Thanks to all of you who texted, instant messaged me, called, and checked in on Facebook. It's been hard to 'sit tight' and wait today, so it really helped to have incoming messages to distract me and know that Mom and I were in your thoughts and prayers.

I'm ready for some TV time and cuddle time with Asher. I am going to call the ICU nurse right before I go to sleep so that I can check in on Mom and see how she is doing with her night so far. Jeannine will be in at 7 AM to check on Mom and will pop up throughout the day to keep checking on her.

As Jeannine left the hospital tonight she said to the nurse: "her daughter might call later to see how she is doing". As Jeannine walked away she heard the nurses turn to each other and say: "Who is she then??" We decided maybe Jeannine should just fully embrace her role as sister and daughter in our family and say: "My sister will be calling later tonight. She's on night shift." :) 

I wrote this post earlier tonight. Here is the 'Late Night Update':

Just as I was readying to call the nurse to check on Mom before bed, the phone rang and it was Mom!!!

I am so glad that I got to talk to her, but it's awful to hear her say she feels miserable. :( Because her throat is so sore and she is so tired it was hard to hear all that she was saying, but she is really uncomfortable from the swelling post-surgery and from the sore throat. 

She said she is absolutely exhausted and threw up from the anesthesia tonight. One of her former students is working the ICU tonight and she said she was getting exceptional care. 

She has asked for no visitors and no phone calls while she is in the hospital the next couple of days (this includes me). She just really wants to rest. Thank you for respecting and understanding this request. Your healing thoughts and prayers are much appreciated. 

Blessings,

Emily

The Surgery Scoop

Tree near the entrance the arboretum. These are all photos from our most recent trip there a week and a half ago. They give you a sense of the place overall.

When this post arrives in your inbox Thursday morning, Mom will hopefully be just about to head into surgery. She is scheduled for 7:20 AM surgery with a 5:45 AM arrival time. For those of you who are interested in a bit more detail about the surgery, recovery, etc. I'm posting it here.

Otherwise, I'll be using my blog to keep people updated on things here over the next few days, as I have done in the past with both Mom and Dad. Thanks for understanding my using my blog as my major way of communicating right now!

Mom and I have used the 'bonus days' we had to get more stuff organized before surgery, as well as squeeze in a bit more fun. I've mostly just had more time to get anxious, and am very ready for the surgery to be OVER and know that Mom is doing okay. Mom is ready too.

Entrance to the arboretum.

What exactly is Mom having done? 

Mom is having a cervical fusion of the C3-4 vertebrae. The neurosurgeon will remove the degenerated disc, replace it with a piece of bone from a corpse (yup, this is the way they do it!), and then secure it all with a titanium plate. Both my uncle and my grandmother had fusions in exactly the same location! Guess it runs in the family?

She will have another surgery in three months to decompress the area on the lumbar spine. 

Why is she having this surgery done?

Shortly before Mom's heart attack, Mom and I had gone to see the neurosurgeon about her spinal issues. She has both cervical and lumbar stenosis (narrowing of the spinal column). When we went to see Dr. Neurosurgeon in October 2010 he said: "Wow. Those MRIs are remarkable." And remarkable wasn't a good thing.

When he showed us the MRIs of her cervical and lumbar spine it was clear that the nerves in the spinal column were so compressed, it is amazing that Mom functions at all. He said he couldn't believe she could walk into the office.

He felt that he wished she had had the surgery on her cervical spine "done yesterday" (and he is super conservative!). If she were to have any sort of fall or accident the instability in her cervical spine could result in her being on a ventilator. I felt sick to my stomach as he kept emphasizing how unstable her spine was!

So, we scheduled surgery for December 16th. A month earlier, she had the heart attack, which meant a six month delay in the surgery.

So basically, we've been in a holding pattern for the last six months while we wait for her to get this first surgery done. The blessing is that she had the heart attack before the surgery, because the alternative could have been disasterous.

But, the waiting has been difficult and painful for Mom. She's in a LOT of discomfort. I've been so worried about her falling or hurting herself while we wait. Her stenosis and degenerative disc disease has reached a point at which surgery was and is the only and best option. She has been having a lot of issues for years, but now they are impeding dramatically on her quality of life. Being in this much pain is not at all heart healthy, but all of the consensus by all of the doctors was that unless absolutely necessary, surgery should be delayed until at least 6 months post-heart attack.

One side of the arboretum. They are adding new parts all of the time!

Who is taking Mom to the surgery? 

Jeannine. 

Jeannine's mom has had several brain surgeries by Dr. Neurosurgeon so she is in charge. I don't know what else to say except that I have so much trust and comfort in having Jeannine take care of Mom, and Mom feels the same. Jeannine's better at it than I am, as she stays more calm! She will be texting me and calling me with updates, taking care of Mom at the hospital, etc.

We love Jeannine!

Who is doing the surgery?

Well, we only have one neurosurgeon in town and we have never heard anything but rave reviews about him. We carefully weighed the pros and cons of going out of town vs. staying at our local hospital, and ultimately decided that Dr. Neurosurgeon is exceptional, as is the support we have with Jeannine and others.

Mom had received enough opinions and consults over the years from other neurosurgeons, orthopedic doctors, physical therapists, etc. to know what she wanted.

Who is taking care of me during while Mom is in the hospital? And of me and Mom after surgery?

Thankfully, the same woman who took care of me when Mom went to Arizona earlier this year will be taking care of me and also helping when Mom comes home. Peg is excellent at 'mothering', cooking, etc. 

We have the petsitter coming in to take care of Fuzz.

Dad and Abbie are 'on call' for whatever we may need.

And, we have a list of those of you who have offered to help with rides, outings, groceries, Farmer's Market runs, etc. We are learning to ask for help and are grateful to know we have people to call and help! 

Another 'big view' of the arboretum.

What will the recovery be like?

We have been told that the biggest discomfort immediately after surgery is a very sore throat, difficulty swallowing and not having a voice. This is because the incision is made in the front of the neck. The vocal chords are pushed to one side to make room for the surgery to take place. 

Otherwise, Mom will have internal stitches and just some steri-strips on the incision (seriously that is less than I had for my port removal!). Amazing! She can shower right away and doesn't have to wear a collar. She can also do stairs right away.

The hospital stay is expected to be 2 nights.

The hardest part is that she cannot lift more than 5 pounds for 6 weeks! This is going to be a HUGE challenge. This means no carrying laundry up and down the stairs, no lifting a large bottle of laundry detergent, no lifting a large pot of soup, packing teeny tiny bags of groceries, and well, you get the point. We are not quite sure how we are managing this part of things. Mom will be carrying one towel up the stairs at a time. :P

Mom also will not be able to push me in The Rolls for 6 weeks. I DO have an electric Red Rolls that I will be taking for neighborhood StRolls but we don't have a way to transport it for outings.

It is so, so, so important for Mom to be careful and not lift too much or she will just mess up the healing process. The fusion needs time to set.

We also expect Mom to be VERY, very fatigued for the first few weeks. We will see if she is grumpy too! :) 

I have lots of projects around the house to keep me busy. And lots of correspondence to catch up on. We have lots of good TV and movies to watch together if Mom feels up to it. She also has a stack of library books waiting to be read.

Mom used one of her 'bonus days' this week before surgery to engage in some retail therapy. She is now prepared for her Pajama Days with a pair for every day of the week! :) Gotta love big sales!

What improvements will Mom see?

At this point we don't know how much relief Mom will get from this surgery. She has a lot of numbness and tingling down her right arm. She wakes up with it numb. And using her arm to garden, drive, etc. creates numbness and tingling. That should be relieved by the surgery. She also has weakness.

Mom really feels that this surgery is simply a step towards the lumbar surgery. Most of her discomfort comes from the extreme sciatic pain she has, along with weakness and numbness down in her leg and foot. Despite neurontin and the epidural, she is still enduring a LOT of pain.  This likely comes from the lumbar area and not the cervical area, but the two are so interconnected that we can hope the first surgery will bring her some relief.

Standing and walking are incredibly difficult. Mom is incredibly strong and stoic, but it has been hard for her to hide the pain. I can see it in her face. There is just no space in her spinal column for her poor nerves. She struggles to stand up long enough to make dinner, go to the market, etc. and using the electric carts at the stores when I am not with her.

Mountains in the background. We are having the most beautiful, lush Spring.

Mom is so ready for both of the surgeries to be over and to regain some quality of life. This has been and will be a hard year for her. :(  We hope after her second surgery her warranty will be good for the next 30 years or so? :)

We hope for a year of healing for both of us. After that we plan to 1. go on vacation, and 2. find some way to give back to all of you who have given us so much.

Thank you for all of your continued prayers, love and support!

Blessings,

Emily

Mom's Surgery Bumped + Davidson Graduation Anniversary

Tulips at the arboretum.

Just a quick post to say two things:

1. Mom's surgery date has been bumped to Thursday May 19, 

and

2. Today, May 17th, is the 13th anniversary of my (and therefore many of yours) graduation from Davidson!

Big, beautiful PINK tulips at the arboretum.

On Monday morning I woke up from a dream in which Mom's surgery had been pushed back to July 4th. I woke up thinking: "Oh no, I hope that doesn't happen to Mom." I know that it was an anxiety dream, but then when Mom came into my room to say good morning her first sentence was: "Well, my surgery got bumped." 

Thankfully it is only moved back by two days. We are grateful that the person who needs to have surgery for a brain tumor can get immediate attention from the surgeon and we understand the need to wait. This is how it works when there is only one neurosurgeon in town!

I have been wanting to go on outings and do 'fun stuff' before the surgery, so we have continued to do that this week, along with preparing to have things organized and in order for Mom's time in the hospital and her recovery at home. I figure while Mom is recovering I can catch up on email and all of the other things I've left undone!

I am not sure if I'm having a burst of energy because I'm anxious or because I'm feeling better or a combination of both! My ANS is a little mad at me for pushing so hard. Mom is just plain ready for the surgery, and I'm just ready for her to be safely through it! I am officially six weeks out from my port removal surgery, and am hoping that this new energy is the result of finally recovering from that trauma to my body. (Dr. Complex told me it would take up to six weeks and that seems to have been right on.)

More lovely tulips! Tulips always make me think of Davidson.

On Monday, we made a little outing to Target and watched DWTS in the evening. Over the weekend we made a little trip to Penney's for summer clothes (not super fun, but necessary!), and watched a movie. We felt relieved to get that chore done. If I still have any energy left, and it is not POURING, we will hit the Farmer's Market today for one last outing together. 

While the outings are exhausting, they are also exhilarating. It is hard to explain how exciting it is to engage in the simplest of choices such as picking out my own cards for my dad for Father's Day, for my nephew David's birthday, etc. (Usually Mom does ALL of this for me.). Going to Penney's was exhausting, but it was two hours of time and I'm all set for summer. How do I explain the joy in making my own choices about what I want to try on? Ordering online is way more challenging, time-consuming, and expensive. I limited myself to one brand of clothes, which is hard to do, but that is the only way it is manageable.  And don't worry, I got some pajamas too.

 We also made it to the arboretum and the Farmer's Market last week, which is where I took these photos of the tulips. These are two of our very favorite places to go.

Purple tulips. It was the 1000s of white tulips I saw on my first visit to Davidson that made me say: "I want to go HERE!" :)

Last of all a little shout out to my fellow Davidsonians who graduated with me 13 years ago today. Whether I'm snapping these photos of tulips at the arboretum (oh, how Davidson knows how to do tulips!), listening to WDAV while I blog, using the skills I learned to navigate chronic illness, watching Stephen Curry play for the Warriors, or a million other things...Davidson is always with me. 

Davidson is most present in my life in the daily interactions I have with so many of YOU--on Facebook or through texting and emailing. I love to see what my Davidson friends have to to say on Facebook. We are certainly a group of passionate and compassionate people!  We've now known each other for half of our lives, my dear Davidson friends. I love you.

I hope to write a blog post about what Mom's surgery will actually entail and have it go out on Wednesday, but we will see if that happens! Otherwise, I will be posting updates on my blog as I am able. This is the only way I know how to keep up with folks during this time.

Blessings,

Emily

An Awesome First Lyme Walk

Turn the Corner walk T-shirt!

Today, May 15, 2011, is the 1st Annual International Virtual Walk to Turn the Corner on Lyme! 

Thanks to all of YOU for your incredibly generous support, I raised over $1000!!!! ($1042 to be exact). This is more than four times my goal of $250! If you would still like to contribute please click here. My fundraising page will be available through mid-August. 

Me and Mom all dressed for the walk! She is at the grocery store right now raising awareness while she shops! :)

Over the last few weeks I've be uplifted by the messages from FirstGiving letting me know a donation had been made. You all overwhelmed and humbled me with your kindness, enthusiasm, support and generosity towards this cause. I want so much to send you all personal hand-written thank you notes, but I know that is just not possible right now. I hope you will accept my thanks in the form of this blog, and if you have not yet received a personal email or text from me you will. Soon!

One of my youngest supporters! :)
I woke up this morning to this photo of Lana and the message: "Good luck on your walk today, Auntie Em! We love you!!!" Lana looks a little unsure about how this shirt is impeding her ability to be mobile! Oh, how I am in love with Lanadoodles!

I remember when I first got sick and was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The CFIDS (Chronic Fatigue and Immune Deficiency Syndrome) Association of America was a small, fledgling organization fighting for awareness of an often-dismissed and little supported illness. Over the years, the CFIDS Association of America has been instrumental in changing public opinion about CFS, funding research, advocating for funding of CFS research, providing support and information to patients and doctors, raising awareness, and even calling out the NIH for misappropriation of funds designated for CFS research. It's an incredible organization that has grown tremendously over the past 13 years since I first discovered it. While CFS has a long ways to go in research and understanding, the resources, awareness, and research has grown tremendously. Patients like myself are indebted to the CFIDS Association for fighting the good fight on our behalf.


I also spent many years finding great solace in DINET (The Dysautonomia Information Network) where I found a group of supportive and wonderful people, many of whom are my close friends now. I have been in touch with some of the same women for over 10 years now. Every day, I am in touch with women I met on this forum. Together, we support one another, understand one another, make each other laugh, help each other navigate the symptoms we are experiencing, and combat the isolation and loneliness that chronic illness often brings. Many days, we may just be in touch via FB or texting, but we are always supporting one another. It was on DINET that I first met two women who led me to pursue the diagnosis of Lyme Disease. There is a lot of overlap between CFS, Dysautonomia and Lyme.

Rachel, one of my close DINET friends, all decked out in her Lyme Walk shirt. Her cutie patootie, Adelaide, wanted to be in the photo too! :) Thanks for wearing your shirt Rachel, and for using your precious energy points to take a photo! My phone just dinged with a text from you!

I share this story about the CFIDS Association of America and DINET because I now find myself living with another misunderstood and invalidated illness. I feel so strongly about supporting fledgling non-profits like Turn the Corner Foundation, CALDA (California Lyme Disease Association) and Time for Lyme who work tirelessly to raise awareness, educate, support, advocate and fund research. 

In many ways, the support I have found from all of these organizations has literally been a life-saver--emotionally and physically. My life has been greatly enriched by the personal relationships I have formed as well as by the information, awareness and research these organizations support.

Lyme disease is an urgent and growing health-care crisis. Without organizations like Turn the Corner we would not have the much-needed efforts being made to raise awareness, provide support, fund research, educate doctors, and so much more! Seriously, how did I end up with all of these little understood illnesses? Without organizations like Turn the Corner Foundation who would speak up against the IDSA and its denial that Chronic Lyme even exists? 

I'm excited to watch and support the Lyme organizations grow and bloom, as I did (and continue to) the CFIDS Association of America. I am excited to see the difference that such organizations of dedicated people will continue to make. I am excited to help turn the corner on Lyme! Thanks to all of you who are helping to pioneer these efforts to turn the corner on Lyme. Every time you make a donation, watch Under Our Skin, or talk to another person about Lyme disease you help to create the ripple that will turn the corner on Lyme. 

Blessings and thank you,

Emily

NOTE: Blogger has been having a LOT of issues lately with losing posts, retrieving them, republishing them, etc. Last night I wrote a much better post on this topic and lost it. I am trying to re-create it. :P If you are a subscriber and have been receiving old blog posts that you've already read, it is because Blogger is a bit messed up lately! Hopefully they will have things fixed SOON! :)

Happy Birthday Mom!

Mom makes a wish (or two or three?).

Happy 66th Birthday Mom! 

Birthday balloons from Jeannine.

In addition to celebrating Mother's Day over the weekend, we also celebrated Mom's birthday. Didn't Jeannine do a great job with the balloons? :) The best part was when Mom spotted Jeannine walking down the street towards our house with these HUGE balloons. At first, Mom saw the balloons and thought: "Hmmmm, someone in the neighborhood must be having a birthday." Then she realized they were moving, and that Jeannine was carrying them! :)

Jeannine and her Mama S.

Jeannine came over on Saturday evening for a wonderful dinner of fresh local asparagus, shrimp and scallops, and a wild rice salad. We had chocolate truffles from the market for dessert. After dinner we got out for a little StRoll.

Me and the birthday girl.

I was struggling a bit Saturday evening to get through the 'party', but we still had a lovely time celebrating with Jeannine (aka Mom's second daughter).

Usually, I push myself really hard to try to get gifts and cards together for Mom. This year, I used all of my energy towards time with Mom and we ended up having a lovely, low-key, low-stress, and fun weekend together. Mom is always encouraging me to let go of the gifts and cards and notes, but it somehow feels like a failure on my part not to do these things for her. It pains me to have to make the choice between energy for dinner or energy to make a card. It was really hard for me to let go of the unrealistic expectations I place on myself, but in the end we had such a great celebration that worked for both of us.

Me and my bestest friend.

After Mom turned 65, she seemed to have one medical problem after another, and this past year has been a really difficult one for mom with the heart attack, bleeding ulcer, and major pain from her stenosis. Jeannine joked that maybe her warranty had expired and perhaps she needed a new one. Our greatest hope for Mom this year is that she will have two successful spinal surgeries and ultimately better health (i.e. a renewed warranty!).

Flower planting (with help from Asher) on Mother's Day.

For Mother's Day, Mom got her favorite thing: a perfect day weather-wise. We spent the afternoon outside. Mom filled the pots with potting soil and I did the planting/design. We make a good team! As you can see from the photo, Asher didn't want to miss out on the action either. 

Checking out the fruits of my labor and enjoying the day.

Since dinner on Saturday, Mom and I have been packing in the fun before her big cervical fusion surgery on Tuesday May 17. 

Over the weekend I think I finally turned the corner post port removal (fingers crossed), and started to be able to enjoy things again. We had a birthday dinner with Jeannine, flower-planting and sitting outside on Mother's Day, a trip to the arboretum on Monday, and a trip to the Farmer's Market on Tuesday.

After a Spring filled with rainy dreary days, we are now enjoying the benefits of all of the rain: one of the most glorious Springs ever. To top it off, we have had perfect weather this week to enjoy our outings.

It has felt good to unplug a bit, spend some time with Mom, enjoy some time outside (new allergy meds from Dr. Complex seem to be making this possible!), and finally feeling like I can engage in life a bit again. 

I plan to write a blog post in the next couple of days with the details of the cervical fusion surgery and what it entails. 

Blessings,

Emily