Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Wow we're in a pickle...well when I started this we were!

The Black side of the family has been struggling along the past few weeks crossing off the days until my MIL could have surgery.

Oh back up, we had a nice weekend over the 4th, hung out with some friends, went up to our daughter's friend's cottage and enjoyed a day on the lake and then our work really started.

MIL had neck surgery back in December. She wore a halo after that for 3 months and when it was removed, she gradually lost feeling in her arms and legs. Get to the end of May and she's basically unable to move at all. My FIL has been a saint of a husband tending to her every need for over a month. Since she couldn't really move at all, this meant lifting her out of bed and onto a portable toilet multiple times a day. He would adjust her pillows to make her more comfortable thousands of times during this period. She became so dependent on him that if after a few minutes she didn't hear him she would begin to yell for him. This also would happen if any of us came to sit with her while he ran to the store. After about 10 minutes she'd begin to worry and want to call him to get him to come home. So Matt and I had to do the running around so we could keep her calm.

We're on the border of Ohio and Michigan, and she was scheduled for surgery at the University of Michigan Hospital. Monday was her Pre-Op appointment, so I took the day off to help. FIL calls at 5:30am saying she's having a panic attack, paramedics are there, get over ASAP. She's calm when I arrive, so we head outside to get her in the car. I thank the heavens above that those paramedics were still there because when FIL lifted her up to put her in the car, he nearly dropped her. If it had been just the 2 of us, we all would have been laying in the driveway screaming for help. We get up to the Dr's office, FIL goes in to find someone to help. This young Dr comes out and again, everyone almost ends up on the ground. After 3 hours of lifting, peeing, pooping (OMG funny story), EKG's, blood, we're told to go over to the hospital for a radiology test. After spending 6 hours there, we head home. The 3 of us are dead tired so I call Matt to meet us to help get MIL safely back into the house, which we do.

After about an hour of settling her in, she goes into this panic attack. I know panic attacks are scary, so here we are, the 4 of us trying to calm her down. All I can say is it was really emotional.

BIL Jason came from his home in Cleveland to lend a hand on Tuesday afternoon. Oddly enough, once he arrived, things kind of calmed down a bit. He's a Paramedic/Fireman, so maybe that put her at ease?

Wednesday was good, we have dinner together and plan our trip for surgery on Thursday. Thank GOD FIL took our advice and scheduled an ambulance to drive her up to Ann Arbor. We finally get her into surgery, eat some breakfast, step outside and sit in this beautiful courtyard. This is FIL after breakfast...
This is FIL after the band starts playing...Note the surgery pager on his chest!

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading! I'm happy to report that when we finally got to see her at 8PM last night, it was like looking at a whole new person! Let's hope everything continues on an uphill path and she regains her strength to walk.

4 comments:

Linda said...

OMG...what a story. Thank goodness her surgery went well and she's doing better now. Please keep us updated!

Boy oh boy, your FIL sounds like a dream...and all of you too! Get some rest. Your probably all pooped out!

stalkermom said...

Thanks Linda! So far things are progressing very well for her. We're all so thankful things are going in the right direction!

Spanner said...

Glad to hear everything is going so well! I hope Matt has kept his sense of humor during this....

Oh, and I am also glad that you are there for mom too....It would seem that you are the new leader of our side of the family!

Love you!

Carl

Rhonda said...

I am so happy to hear she is on the "upside" of healing. Poor MIL, FIL hubs, and YOU! Sound like you all are very supportive. I have read your other posts where you are trying to keep your "chin up" and laugh so as to not cry. Keep up the GREAT job!

Take care.