The synopsis: Mom made it through the surgery, is in a hospital bed about a block from this Hampton Inn, being circled by nurses I'm guessing. The surgeon described two of her vertebrae as being occluded with extra bone, pressing on her spinal cord. She had been in accelerating pain, and as of Monday morning, all agreed she couldn't wait until the 31st, when her back surgery was originally scheduled. So all over the place, plans were moved around, suitcases packed, OR's booked and here we are, Johnson City, Tennessee, about 30 miles from her house.
I won't go into the details of my sweet mama throwing things at the caregivers, or that she asked me who I was when waking up from the surgery. Or that we are at one of same hospitals, during the same time period when we said goodbye to my father nine years ago. I won't try to describe the fashion scene, where evidently in Johnson City, Tennessee, it is de rigueur to wear one hospital gown forwards, another backwards and your flip flops as you escape to the parking lot with your cigarettes. My Mama quit some time ago, thank goodness.
We will know more as time goes by. Right now, it looks as though she will be in this hospital for another couple of days, then transfer to a rehab facility close by for maybe a couple of weeks. Not sure when I'll be home, I need to be upfitted with more vegetables already, fewer power bars.
I would be so grateful for prayers for Mama and notes to me of a part of the world that doesn't revolve simultaneously cherishing and letting go. Well, maybe it all does, but I'd appreciate notes all the same.
Love, blessings, and appreciation all around for your sweet caring about this,
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