Sunday afternoon I arrived at mom's a tad early. Mom was beaming. She informed me that her beloved Aaron (my son) had "...left in the middle of church service, to drive all the way across town, so that he could sit and visit with (her) before (she) left for the hospital." She was beaming with her tears swelling up in her eyes and it had the same effect for me as well. We are so proud of him. I am so proud of him for thinking of mom and making the gesture to see her. You should also understand that Aaron is very active in his church. He never misses a day, he preaches on some occasions, he attends other church-related activities - they are very much family for him too. He had not gotten the full-911 on mom and, this morning when I woke him for church I let him know that I was going to be gone a while and told him why. So, this was the first earful he got on mom's condition. I suppose it was weighing on him and he decided to surprise her. It was a perfect surprise and she bragged about it to everyone. (I sent him a text to let him know how happy she was and how good it made her feel.)
By afternoon, my sisters, mom, and I were headed for M.D. Anderson with the expectations that mom would be taking some pre-op tests, meeting with the doctor, and (hopefully)
surgery on Tuesday. Monday morning we
all arrived at the hospital and sat down with Dr. Burke. His wavy, red hair is well-manicured, and his
smile is welcoming. He has a friendly
face with eyes that radiate peace. We like him. He reiterates the sequence of
events from mother’s last visit and explains that the team of doctors expected
to be in the operating room need to organize their schedules for surgery (date
to be determined). He confirms again his expectation that she will come out of
surgery with an ostomy pouch and mom informs him about the two new tumors that
have appeared since her last visit. She
is trying to come to terms with the idea that she may come out of surgery with
two pouches now, rather than one. After
the consult, the doctor leaves and another nurse enters. She is known as “the
bag lady” because she wheels around a small metal basket full of bags
containing her supplies. She begins counseling mother about life with an ostomy
bag.
*
After lunch, we load up and head home. Brenda receives a
call from her daughter, Kaitlyn, who has just had her first fender-bender.
Brenda is screaming demands into the phone about what Kaitlyn is, and is not,
to do. She is, and always has been, very intimidating; keeping everyone around
her afraid to disagree with her. I’m tired of it. Kaitlyn is fine and the car
accident is minor.
I’m relieved to finely be home again.
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