Mama

Two weeks ago my mom was anticipating major surgery. I realize that sounds a bit odd but she had been in desperate need of this "repair" for about ten years. She found a wonderful, empathetic surgeon and all systems were "go".
I took her to UAB for her pre-op appointments. The hospital is about an hour away from us so it takes a bit of planning. It has been cemented firmly in my mind why I love living in a "small town". I hate traffic. I hate crowds. I hate not knowing where in the blazes I am going. I really hate having to take out a loan for the parking fees!  No my name is not "Oscar" but when you plop me down in chaos central that is the way I sound.
I arranged everything as far as my own responsibilities. My house was clean. The boys were threatened within an inch of their lives if they didn’t do their homework and pick up after themselves. The fridge was stocked. My husband was working. (He is always working.)Lauren and my niece Heather met us at the hospital. Mama’s pastor and his wife met us in the receiving room. They had prayer with her. It was very comforting.
The entire staff at UAB were wonderful. It is a teaching hospital so there were LOTS of students in and out of the room. I think they will make fantastic doctors if they continue to remember that the patients are people.
We were shooed out of the room and settled in to wait. I found out later that the surgeon came into the O.R. and held mama’s hand until the anesthesia kicked in. That was very thoughtful of her.
Mama came through surgery (according to the surgeon) "perfectly". I was so relieved my knees were weak on the trek (literally) to her room. I was really nervous and seeing mama completely "out of it" and moaning in pain didn’t reassure me.
I took over. I let everyone know that they answered to me. Even with me there it was a good 12 hours before they finally got her pain to a tolerable level. I was NOT a happy camper but I did stay civil. I realize that nurses are overworked and have a lot of responsibility. I also know that they had better treat my mama like she is the most precious being in the universe or heads will roll.
We had issues with the catheter backing up which caused her absolute misery. When I had no success with the call button (6 times and no one entered mama’s room in over 2 1/2 hours!) I made one final call and told them to page a medical student that had thoughtfully provided her name. I even spelled it for them! After that someone was in and out of her room every 20 minutes. I don’t know if it was out of spite or concern and I don’t give a fig! "We don’t know why that happened" was the mantra of the day.
I took mama home the day after surgery. Lauren helped me by taking a "shift" if I had to go home to take care of grocery shopping, bills, shower, etc. We also had to work concession stands for the high school band boosters. Lauren took the Friday night home game and I put on my "game" face and went to work the Alabama/Penn State game. Ten hours later I couldn’t feel my feet and I ached in places I didn’t know I had.
They found out that I had had shoulder surgery so I was given the task of making drinks. I am almost certain that shoveling ice for ten hours was not on rehab plan. I survived. We won! ROLL TIDE ROLL!
I had been staying with mama every night since her surgery, whether at home or in hospital. I think double beds should be registered with some government agency as tools of cruel and unusual punishment. Mama didn’t want me sleeping upstairs and she didn’t want me sleeping in the recliner. So I slept beside her. This does not exactly lend itself to a restful sleep. I had to sleep in one position because I didn’t want to jostle her.  There is also the subconscious terror of falling out of bed!
She seemed to be recovering. Her color was improving and she had a bit of an appetite. Then on Monday evening (after I had taken my night meds which I take at night for a reason) she informed me that she had a temperature and the pain in her belly was increasing even with the pain meds. We phoned the doctor on call (her surgeon was out of town) and he said she needed to be taken to Emergency. Hopefully I asked if he meant the hospital here in town. Those hopes were dashed when he said, "No UAB. She needs to be seen here."
So at 11pm I got mama in the car and we set out for Birmingham. Bless her heart. I almost froze mama to death. I had to keep the car really cool so I could stay awake. It wasn’t easy! I got to the entrance of Emergency at midnight. Mama was hurting so bad it was all she could do to stay upright in the wheelchair.
I was told to drive down the block to the parking deck and come back to her. This was not easy. I had to walk through the hospital (which is kind of eerie at that hour) and go down an escalator and then find someone to let me through security before I found her again.
Countless lab tests were performed. X-rays and CT scans as well as an EKG. It was determined that she had "suspicious" fluid in her abdomen and that her lungs were not fully inflating. This is common after surgery. They were going to admit her.
I lost count of the interns and doctors we saw. Mama was in a LOT of pain, pale and very weak. As you probably noticed I have not gone into a lot of detail about the type of surgery she had and I won’t. That is for her to tell or not. 
In the end the temperature was probably caused by the issue with her lungs. The fluid in her belly was not due to infection or free floating blood. (Thank God!) Some other problems were resolved (the catheter was removed!) and she was sent home once again. Her recovery has been extremely slow and very painful.
<span style=”line-height: 115%; font-size: 12pt”>I stayed with her until she was strong enough to get out of bed by herself and walk around. I live just a few steps away so if she needs anything she only has to phone. I keep her kitchen clean, the laundry and errands done.
Mama has some really wonderful friends. There is one lady that has been over to the house and brought a whole meal so that I could rest a bit. This spitfire is 83 years old! She is mama’s "card playing buddy". They play Skip-Bo together.
Cards and flowers have poured in. Meals have been brought in along with gift baskets.  The phone rings off the hook. I am glad that mama is loved so much. I don’t want to think about what I would do without her.