Good grief. I did not realize it had been so long since my last journal entry. Oh well, no news is good news, right?
Another hospital stay....same as all the others. You watch/read/serve while someone you love is poked/prodded/hurt all for the good of healing or cure. The dry hospital air gives no clue to the heat of the sun or touch of the breeze you can see through your hospital window. This time it was me doing the watching and Momma in the hospital bed.
On Tuesday, she was coming up the stairs from doing laundry (regardless of various attempts by myself and her family to convince her not to go up and down the stairs), got 3 steps from the top and started to fall backwards down the stairs. She grabbed for the railing and snapped her arm in half. One side of her humerus had been eaten through by her cancer, so it was weakened. She said she sat down on the stairs and cried. I called to make sure the boys had gotten off the bus ok and Austin told me that 'Maw Maw thinks she broke her arm'. I called her orthopaedic and he suggested a trip to the ER. So, our preacher took the boys home and I took Momma to the ER. The NP we saw verified that her arm was broken. They gave her 8mg of morphine in her hip and then started an iv between her middle fingers (EEEK) and gave her 4mg more. They put a plaster splint on her arm and sent us home. She was still in pain, and after we returned home the morphine made her sick, which didn't help her feel any better. I stayed with her on Tuesday night.
Trip to the ortho on Wednesday confirmed that surgery would be happening on Friday. Pre-op on Wednesday and I stayed with her again to make sure she was ok. (As ok as you can be with a broken arm).
Tim did an admirable job getting the boys up and to school, while I stayed with Momma. The boys had Camp Merrytimes on Thursday (cancer camp put on by Friends of Santa that the boys look forward to each year) and then I returned home to prepare Momma and me for an early morning to the hospital. She was scheduled to be there at 5:45am on Friday. I set the alarm on my cell to get me up and woke up every hour to check to make sure we weren't late. I got us up at 4:30 and dressed Momma and helped her to the car. We were there on time and went almost immediately to surgery holding. They started her iv (this time in the side of her wrist--eeek again!) and I went to surgery waiting. My preacher and my Aunt Sue were with me. Uncle Bill and Aunt Marie soon joined us to wait. What a very unproductive thing. You'd think that I would have had something to occupy my time, but I knew from past experience that my mind would be too busy to do anything of consequence. They called and let us know the surgery had started about 8:15 and we were in the conference room with the surgeon by 11:00. They put a rod in her arm from her shoulder to her elbow with 3 screws. They brought x-ray pictures and gave them to me. I later teased Momma that, even though she hated having her picture taken, I now had pictures of her insides!
Two nights in the hospital, one where I stayed and then one where Patti came down to stay with her, and then Momma was 'sprung' on Sunday afternoon. I came to her house and stayed last night and, although still nauseous from the pain meds, she seems to be in less pain than before and have more mobility.
I am grateful for that, even as I realize that the road we are on with her multiple myeloma is going to be a very long and painful one. Her disease will continue to make lesions in her bones, they will continue to break. My heart will break right along with her bones. But for today, she's feeling a little better. Tomorrow will most assuredly be harder, but for now, I'll take today.
The boys are good and had a great time at camp. Austin is graduating from the 5th grade on June 8th. Cole has blood work again on June 4th. Pray for no cancer cells!
Thank you again for your many prayers.
bj
