MY POOR MOM

So sorry Andy, my mom went thru repeated hospitalizations, the doctors told me, they would get closer and closer together until the end.  And thats just the way it played out.  My suggestion to you, is to spend as much quality time with her as you can.  Have some heart to heart conversations with her just so you and she know how special you are to each other and God will come into play somewhere in the middle.  Wishing your Mom a peaceful recovery.  Be aure to have plenty of support around you.  We love you here and our thoughts and prayers are with you both.

Hey Nan, thank you so much for that advice.  You're right, I need to have a talk with her so she knows just how special she is to me and how much I appreciate everything she has ever done for me and my brother and sister, not to mention her grandchildren.  I have noticed that I find myself telling her a lot more often lately that I love her.  That is something that was always just assumed, but rarely said.  Thanks again Nan.

Andy, you know I can sympathize with you the mom issue. I am so sorry to hear she fell and broke her hip - oddly when my mom broke hers they said that a lot of times the hip breaks first and then they fall - doesn't really matter how it happens, just that it does and nobody wants to be stuck in a hospital going through all that, so please know that many, many thoughts and prayers are coming your way and your mom's that she comes through all this okay.

Hugs and prayers to you and all of your family...Kathy

Thank you Kathy.  I think my mom already has very brittle bones to begin with.  She's an old fashioned, stubborn lady.  She has emphyzema and still smokes.  NOBODY can talk her out of it.  Despite her losing a ton of weight and now being at 112 pounds, she refuses to have tests taken to see if she has any form of cancer.  That's the scariest part, not knowing if she has just days left with us or months.  By the way, we haven't talked in quite a while.  You have done an absolutely fantastic job and your new avatar is stunning.  Great job girl!

Trust me Andy, when they reach a certain age you just have to let them do what they want (almost like a kid). My mom is 79 and lives with my husband and I - she stopped driving 2 years ago when she went on oxygen full time - she has COPD, asthma and lung cancer, and yes, she still smokes. She also has osteoporosis (brittle bones) - has broken her hip - has had uterine cancer - the list goes on, but then again so does she! They're a lot stronger than you think. I dropped my mom off this morning at the cancer center at Riddle for the first of 3 chemo treatments since we just found out her lung cancer is spreading - its inoperable and we know that but right now she's still feeling pretty good so that's the best we can hope for.

Thanks for the compliments on my success, too - its been an incredible journey and even with the bumps along the way I wouldn't change it for the world!!

Take care of yourself thru all this too - its not easy to do when caring for a parent, but we're not good to them if we're not healthy. And that is one more thing I'm thankful for with losing all the weight - there is no way I could be caring for my mom the way I am if I were still the old Kathy.

Wow Kathy, I didn't realize your mom was going through all this as well.  I guess you do know how I feel.  My thoughts and prayers are definitely with your mom, you and the family.  And you are right, once they reach a certain age you have to let them do their thing.  My dad was the same way when he was alive, he was an alcoholic and died from some kind of cancer related to his alcoholism (sorry, forget what it was).  He dran****il the day they took him to the hospital, where he wound up dying. 

Andy, I'm sorry you and your family are having to go through this.  It's tough to become a caregiver to our parents, but your mom is so fortunate to have you and your sister.  Hang in there!

Thank you, and we are fortunate to have her.  Unfortunately, I have a suspended drivers license and haven't been able to get to the hospital yet because my sister is on her way home from her vacation as I write this.  I actually have a friend picking me up at 12:30 to run me up there.  Thanks again.

Andy, prayers being said for your Mom.  I hope the surgery is non-eventful and her recovery as comfortable as possible.  I remember just reading about her Co2 problems as my Mom was in the ICU with the same thing at the same time.   Very scary stuff.   Let us know how you both do.

Andy,

My prayers are with you too.  I know how scarey it is.  My mom is 78 and I keep wondering how much time together we will have.

Stay strong.

Geoff