100th Post: being a helpful helper

For the past few weeks I've been helping my mom move stuff from her apartment to her new house. She's been in the buying process for what seems like forever, and she finally got the keys I think the second week of May. It's a brand-spanking new four-unit condominium, and she had a say in some of the specifications of the interior of hers (the type of wood trim and cabinets; how many outlets and where; a fireplace).

For roughly four days out of seven for the past three weeks she's picked me up in the morning and Matthew, Mom and I pack up the apartment into boxes, load them into her car, drive to the new place and then unload. The going's been slow because we usually only manage one trip a day, so lately I don't hold back on stuffing her car as full as possible to make up for it. I stay the night every few days to save Mom the time of coming to pick me up, this past week especially because she has to be out of the apartment by the 30th. She picked me up this past Wed and I spent that night and Thur night, so three days/two nights spent altogether. I took today off because I needed a break. It wasn't just the time spent there, with her always nagging Matthew and not giving him a chance to use the brain in his head. Mom rented a truck for Fri to move all the big stuff (i.e. beds, a small freezer, the entertainment center and tv) and Lotis and her husband Renato came over to help. I'm assuming the truck was a stick-shift, otherwise Mom could've driven it. So driving, along with most of the heavy lifting, was Renato's job. Lotis carried the spare and left-behind things (shelves, pieces of bed) to the truck while the men (Renato and Matthew) took the heavy stuff.

Lotis being there wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Until now I've only seen her around Messengers with her no-nonsense, "I'm the boss" persona so I was afraid she'd be that way at Mom's too. Not so much. I was also anxious because I'd heard Dave might be coming over later. He didn't, and I was both relieved and disappointed. A week ago I would've just been disappointed but like I said, spending three days at Mom's took its toll on me psychologically. I felt the same aversion to people that I did on the way back from Canada with Messengers. This time it's just toward Dave and Lotis and I think I know why, but I'm not getting into that now.

Yesterday, Fri, Mom and Matthew spent their first night at the new place. Matthew really wanted me to spend the night again but I said I needed a break, a night sleeping in my own bed (not to mention a shower). Tomorrow she's picking me up early so we can get a full day in and I'll probably spend the night at the new place. What I keep looking forward to with great anticipation is this coming November when Messengers goes to the Philippines. Mom said I can stay at her place and house/pet sit. I'll have the place to myself for a week. Sounds like fun.

Mom's surgery: Part Two

Where did I leave off...? Ah, yes.

Mom had her surgery and everything went swimmingly, so Dad and I took her home the same day around 3pm. When we arrived at the apartment she said she felt dizzy and light-headed, she wasn't sure she could make it up to the apartment. Dad and I told her that there was no rush and to just take her time. But after 3 hours she didn't feel any better so we all agreed she should go back to the hospital (she is a nurse after all and knows better than the rest of us if something's off).

By the time we got back to the hospital the mild abdominal discomfort she'd had at the apartment turned into a sharp pain across her stomach. It was about 7 o'clock when we first got back to the hospital and she had to endure this pain, which became worse as time went on, until the doctor decided she needed to have another surgery at 12:30 or 1:00. When Mom went into surgery her doctor personally escorted us from the ER waiting room to a quieter waiting area where we could sleep if we wanted (and also so he'd know where to find us afterward). Considering I'd been up since 6:30 that morning I'm not surprised I fell asleep.

Some unknown time later I woke suddenly straight out of a dream. Dr. Shibley was sitting in the waiting area. He started explaining about what he thought happened. He said that during Mom's first surgery what probably happened was that a vein got nicked and slowly leaked into her abdomen, which is why she felt ok before leaving that morning but not by the time we got her home. Shibley wanted to keep her in Intensive Care overnight so she could be kept a close watch on just in case. She ended up staying until Sat afternoon because her hemoglobin was low and had to have a couple blood transfusions.

She's back home now, safe and sound, ready to get back into packing up and moving into her new house.

Mom's surgery: Part One

On Wed the sixth my mom was scheduled for a Laparoscopic Hysterectomy. (For those who don't know what that is, look it up. It'll be educational.) Since she was having the surgery at a nearby hospital I originally planned to bus in to lend moral support, but she called me the morning of and said she would pass by the apartment on her way to the hospital so would I rather she just pick me up. It was earlier than I'd planned but I answered an emphatic yes because a ride beats taking the bus any day. Plus I brought my Gameboy so as not to get too bored.

Once she checked in at the hospital it was a few minutes' wait until one of the nurses took Mom to a pre-preop info session/prep. After a few more minutes of waiting I was able to go see her in the room where the anesthesiologist and then the surgeon came in and explained the procedure and what Mom should expect. The anesthesiologist was all business, a little stiff with his bedside manner. The surgeon however, whose (last) name was Shibley, had a very interpersonal way about him. I felt that when he talked to me and my mom he was focused on the moment instead of just wanting to get the conversation over with so he could get to work. It's like with Doc Sig, I felt that Shibley didn't see Mom as just another surgery but as an actual person. Maybe I only think it'd be otherwise because I watch too much t.v.

So after the nurses came and walked Mom to surgery I went back to the waiting room to...uh...wait. An hour later Dr. Shibley came in and said the surgery went perfect, couldn't have gone better, and Mom was currently in Phase One recovery (waking up and being monitored just after the surgery) which would take about an hour and a half, after which I could go see her.

My dad only had to work in the morning on Wed and so intended to meet up with me and my mom to give her a ride home. He got there about 15 minutes after I was escorted in to see Mom. Another nurse came in and made sure Mom had the pertinent information about post-op activities, the do's and don't's, and checked that Mom did indeed have a ride home and that there would be someone present to keep an eye on her. We answered yes on all points and so Mom was discharged around 3 pm.

Unfortunately she had some minor complications and we ended up taking her back that same evening, which I will not get into at present. Hence the name, Part One. She's fine, but I need sleep and so will finish this tomorrow (or the next day).