What's Going On

I'm sorry that it has been a few weeks since I spoke with you all but, as always lately, life keeps getting in the way.

My soon to be 95 year old mother had a medical situation that led her to be taken to the emergency room where after taking around 34 gallons of blood, which took them 76 tries to find a vein, and another CAT scan they figured out that the small mass they found on her colon two weeks earlier had grown about 20%. Her options were to have surgery, where they gave her less than 50/50 chance of surviving, and if she managed to not be killed in surgery, she would have to wear a colostomy bag for her remaining days, or be put on hospice. She chose hospice.

So, the hospital put a hospice company in touch with us and we met with them and got the ball rolling. Unfortunately after a few days it was clear that they were not going to be the answer. (That story is for another time) Thankfully my sister came down to help and we met with another company that Linda and I had used for her mother a few years ago and they agreed to take over yesterday. We all feel better about this choice.

She is not eating like she should because additionally she is losing her sight and she can't see the microwave to heat up her chicken pot pies she loves. She has lost around 45 pounds in seven months so I agreed to come over each day and make her a late afternoon meal so we know she is eating something. She still will only eat 1% of what she should be eating but that is double the 0% she was eating. We need to work her appetite back up to hummingbird level.

And if that wasn't enough going on, our 19 year old dog Ellie is on the final approach of her life. She also has lost her eyesight, is deaf, and falls over easily. Unlike my mother, however, she still is eating well so we have yet to make the final call but this morning she fell into her water dish three times in fifteen minutes. I would say Halloween and Thanksgiving are likely not in her future.

Things are rather unsettled here right now so I haven't really felt like writing for a while but eventually it will all run its course and after an adjustment period I promise I will be back to my ornery and confrontational self. Linda and I are both in a good place as we know how this will all end, we've been here before, and both girls have had a pretty good run.

Thanks for your understanding.