End of March, already?!?

It's now been a little over three weeks since mom had her triple bypass. Her heart seems to be doing well, but now there are a whole ton of other complications. She actually has not been home since February 25. She had the bypass on March 1, after which she had a prolonged stay in ICU because her lungs were not recovering the way they should. Mom apparently has pulmonary hypertension, which combined with the diabetes has meant a much slower recovery time. Plus, being a 34-year veteran of the hospital you are staying in does earn you a break in the whole, "okay, you're not openly bleeding so off you go" sort of approach. Eventurally, mom was discharged from the hospital and tranferred to a rehab center for continued PT and OT. We were just about ready to take her home when she wound up with a fever and a quick trip to the ER.

Essentially, mom wound up with an infection in her sternum. There was some erosion of the bone, so right now her chest is open and she has a pressure pack keeping the area closed off from the air. She's back in ICU and the doctors hope to close her up on Monday. Unfortunately, they won't be able to bring the bones back together, so there will be something called a muscle flap, which is essentially grafted muscle bringing her chest together. I am cringing even as I type this, and needless to say mom can't quite imagine how the whole thing is supposed to work either.

For the most part, mom seems to be okay, she's being given drugs for the pain, but she can't sit up and she drifts in and out of consciousness. I was pretty near to collapse on Thursday and couldn't stop from crying when I spoke with her during my lunchtime visit. I had to sleep close to 12 hours on Friday to get myself back together. Of course, it's now allergy season, which leaves me in a constant drippy state which is not very conducive to visiting the ICU. I must have washed my hands 10 - 15 times today.

Mom is still insisting that we leave for Las Vegas as planned this Friday. I am a little scared to go, but I almost feel as though I need to. Never have I been more grateful for cel phones and the instant connectivity they bring.

There is so much to do, so little time. Mom will be okay, I know it, but it makes stupid insignificant things seem even more asinine. And big, important projects feel almost overwhelming in light of what little mental energy I have. Of course, in times like this, it is the love of family and friends, the aid of coworkers, and the solid partnership of my husband that keeps me from true dispair. I am grateful for all of my blessings.

^_^