I’m writing this entry this evening rather than in the morning, because today was a lot of information, so it’s best for me to get it down quickly afterwards and my phone has been dead for most of today.
I had radiation today and Hardy took me so that he could also come see mom. Shes in so much pain and it’s hard to see her like that. I wish I could take it from her so badly. I can’t stand to see my mother like that. I won’t ever be able to unsee my beautiful mother literally shaking from the pain.
Last night her blood pressure dropped dangerously low so they’re watching her closely and since she’s a diabetic, carb monitoring is crucial. Well, because in this surgery, they cut through her neck muscles, even just chewing, swallowing, eating mechanisms are hard. So getting her nutrition is difficult. She’s on fluids and everything, and we ordered her some food, but she didn’t want it. It hurt her to try. Please pray earnestly for her. Pray for my mom!
Sooo…. I asked her nurse if they could order her some Ensure drinks. They gave them to me in the hospital when I had no appetite (funny huh?) because they have full nutrition and it’s just a like creamy chocolate milk, and she can easily pull it through a straw. I didn’t get to see her try it, but I pray to God that she liked it and that that gave her some relief and nourishment.
On the positive side, her incision looks great. It looks healed already if you could believe it. Coming from someone who can’t handle looking at needles, I saw her incision: It’s a big mean incision, but it’s pink and looks like a scar with some staples/stitches on it.
Additionally, because mom does and was working on before, her little exercises for her neck and shoulders, those muscles were strong so it made the surgery more painful, it hurts her more now, but her nurse, Tiffany, said that will make them heal faster. So there is a positive in this!
Hardy is staying with mom tonight because dad really has to go to work tomorrow and honestly, he needs a break. He’s worn out from everything but he won’t stop going, he’s still exhausted from everything with me, constantly researching ways to help me or keep me alive. And then he’s wearing himself ragged with his job and being such a great husband to my mother. I couldn’t ask for a better example for marriage.
I’ve never seen someone research as hard and thoroughly as my father, and a researcher is all I wanted to be before all of this. He’s not sleeping well, he’s worried sick about mom, me, money, the business, and the boys, and on top of that, my father is 63 and has had a heart attack. He has to slow down. If something happens to him because of what’s happening to me, i truly don’t know how I will live, how I could try to be strong through this.
So, coming back to my point and to stop thinking so sadly, Hardy and Nathanael are on their way to Iowa City so Nathanael can see mom, and dad can come home to rest and eat some of the homemade chicken and dumplings grandma made for us. Along with fried okra. Oh and her famous sweet tea! Thank you grandma, you’re the best! And chicken and dumplings is my favorite.
This post has been super long, so I’m going to end it here, and I’ll pick up with the information from Dr. Nisely (she’s from Brazil and she’s wonderful!)