Friday Night Sunset

There was a beautiful sunset tonight. Love the pinks and mauves with the silhouettes of the trees.

Update on Mom

Mom has been released from hospital. They did an MRI and determined that she could be released if she could stay with someone. She choose to go to my niece's (her granddaughter's.) Her speech has been affected by the stroke. They're calling this one a major one and she has had a major stroke before that we had no idea about. She has had many mini strokes or TIAs.

She will be getting speech therapy and she has to see a neurologist. She still has a urinary tract infection and they didn't give her a prescription for antibiotics when she left the hospital, so our problems aren't over yet.

It's been crazy hectic around here and it's taking its toll. I'm tired. The stress of this year has been a little hard to handle, but what doesn't kill you makes you strong. By this point I should be super woman. LOL

One of these days I will have time to visit everyone and play catch up. I hope it is soon.

Update on Mom

This is a photo of Mom when she was about 16 years old. In September, she will turn 83. Where do all the years go? I can remember when she was in her 30s and now I'm a 60 year old grandmother.

As my regular readers will know from my previous post, Mom had a stroke yesterday and they sent her home from the hospital around 6pm. I was horrified. They didn't do a swallowing evaluation nor did they check her out completely. Last night her speech was very slurred and she had a terrible headache from the new meds they put her on, which was a blood thinner.

This morning I called her and she was still slurring her words. She said she was feeling good but I was still concerned. As the day progressed, it seemed her speech regressed. My niece came from out of town and we decided to take her there for another assessment. We went in about 3:30 and she finally saw a doctor, who ordered a urine test, blood tests and more.

The results were not good. Stroke...and four previous ones...we knew only about two and urinary tract infection. Mom was in hospital for 3 weeks this spring for urinary problems and we thought they had them all cleared up. However, we found out differently. So, they are keeping her for at least a couple of days and she's not happy. She was very emotional and angry at us for taking her, but she is where she will be taken care of.

Please keep Mom in your thoughts and prayers. She is going through a difficult time right now. This has been quite a year for the entire family.

And So It Continues...

This has been quite a year for us. My regular readers will know that it's been tough ever since March. For those unfamiliar with these events here is a quick run-down...

March - My nephew, Josh, was in a car accident and suffered brain damage. He is still in the hospital's rehab unit. He was able to spend a night last weekend with his father and tonight he's staying with his mother. They're hoping to get him in a group home by September and are thinking about allowing him to spend the Labour Day weekend at his Dad's.

April - I had a heart attack and within a week was in hospital for quadruple bypass surgery.
A week after I came home, Mom went into the hospital and was in there 3 weeks. Since then she has been getting stronger and finally getting back into her daily routine, with a lot of coaxing and reassurance from us that she CAN do it.

June - My friend of 36 years found out that the cancer in her jaw that was surgically removed in December '09, had spread to her lungs.

July - On the 14th of July, my friend passed away from the fast growing squamous lung cancer.

August 26th - Remembering Dad who died 29 years ago.

August 27th - Mom had a stroke this morning and was taken to hospital. They released her at 6pm but they shouldn't have. She still can't talk properly and may never do so again. All of her speech is slurred, as if her tongue was swollen. The ride side of her face droops. She should have been in hospital under observation for 48 hours, but told us we had to take her home. She can't be left alone until Monday.

And so it continues. It seems the entire year has been one thing after another. And life goes on...