Visting Mom

Yesterday my mom went into surgery at the hospital. They planned to remove her thyroid to help her breathe. I was jammed up and could not visit her until today. First I went to pick up my bro and dad. On the way there, I got into a traffic jam. A car on the side of the road was on fire. Great. I thought the thing might blow up. So unlike everyone else who crammed into one lane, I stayed in the lane on the side of the burning car. I sped past it.

Went had to wander past the intensive and critical care units to find mom. She was in a specialized critical care unit. She could not speak. Luckily I brought my planner and a pen. She could communicate with us by writing in my planner. Mom was unhappy that they left her in this unit for a long time. I tracked down the nurse who seemed busy helping another patient. Like magic, mom seemed to get moved to another room.

Moving mom was a significant feat. She can't breathe on her own. She also has other tubes connected to her. A weird sounding technician did all the work to transport mom. I saw the doctor who operated on mom for the first time. He cleared up a lot of misinformation I had. The surgery was to correct the problem to help her breathe. I thought it might have been something or one thing of many that they were trying.

The doctor was able to remove the whole thyroid and some of the cancer her found. However the cancer was aggressive and was growing into mom's trachea. For now, mom needs to recover and learn to deal with the tracheotomy (she breathes through a tube instead of her mouth). The doctor said mom can leave the hospital next week if all goes well.

After recovering, another doctor will study the cancer they found and determine the options. We left mom in her new room. She was trying to get used to the new environment. It is tough when you are struggling to breathe. I had to return to work. My bro planned to return again later to visit mom. My little bro has stepped up to the plate to take care of my mom and dad's needs during this ordeal.