I can imagine that there are quite a lot of stress going on for you aswell as your moms health. Please remember to treat yourself absolutly nicely. Good luck to your mom and I hope India gives you all what you wish for.
^Thanks, Aurian. It is quite stressful. It's so hard to see her like this. And having the talk about pulling the plug (she doesn't want to be on life support) was miserable. However, the surgery is pretty routine, her doctor is a leader in the field, extensive training all over the world, a guest lecturer at Harvard, and has so many letters after her name it's comical. Along with removing a bit of damaged intestine they are repairing a hernia that has been causing her a lot of suffering over the past year. Whatever the outcome her quality of life will improve dramatically. We were hoping as much, but it doesn't seem to be the case. There were some other anomalies on her PET scan which could be the culprits. The scan showed no sign of cancer which is actually a bit of a disappointment. The other options for the cause of her symptoms are even less pleasant: Huntington's or some other chorea, or early onset dementia. I wonder if the years and years of psychiatric medications, ECT, etc, couldn't be in part to blame. She does have a very odd assortment of symptoms, though, that don't really fit well the patterns of any of those awful diseases. Anyway, I learned great bargaining skills in Cairo, so I'm totally up for shopping. I'd love to get a salwar kameez, to wear over leggings or jeans, a sari for the beach, some silk scarves. I did get out a few times, and I'm really looking forward to doing more walkabouts once my mother has recovered some. Another thing I am looking forward to is spending a day and night in London: my mom said she couldn't bear another 22 hours straight of air travel, and insisted this time we have a layover of at least a day. At first we thought of going back to Paris, since all we saw of it on the way was the airport, but my mom hates relying on translation, and my French is a bit pathetic these days. We decided we'd both like to see a bit of London.
London would be a nice visit for you both. I hope your Mom recovers soon. *Fingers crossed that it ISN'T Huntington's.*
^Yes, for her sake, as well as mine and my sister's; Huntington's is inheritable. Man, the standard of care she is receiving is amazing. I left her side about a half hour ago when she was taken to the operating theatre. The surgeon just phoned me (I'm in our suite, I couldn't bear the dismal waiting room), to let me know that they are ready to operate, that the surgery has three major steps, and that someone will call me after each step to let me know how it's going.
Dang. That's impressive. I couldn't even get the surgeon's SECRETARY on the damn phone after my mom had to go to the ER, after getting a staph infection from her last operation.
Good luck, good luck and good luck to your Mom, tsq-- that's one good luck for each stage of surgery. I'm happy to hear there's no cancer, but I certainly hope it's not one of the less-pleasant alternatives.
All that tsq is saying is what we foreign devils have been trying to say about US health care - it just isn't cutting it. It's good to have an up close example of what we've been talking about. But I don't want to derail this thread. We can start another one of the debate should continue. tsq, glad your Mom is doing well.
i would be suprised if it was huntingtons. a friend worked w someone who had it and the major symptoms were there earlier. i could see really see some of the medications over time doing damage. i do have to say been pretty lucky with some through not all docs. good luck
My mother is out of ICU and back in our suite with me. She is doing well, she is actually walking up the hallway with the physical therapists as I type this. Thank you everyone for the support, I told her and it really brought a smile to her face. Seeing her immediately after surgery in the ICU, connected to the ventilator, all those tubes everywhere, was the hardest. I hate seeing her feeling so much pain and anxiety, when there's nothing I can do to take it away. But she is improving very quickly. Australis, you are absolutely right about the state of health care in the US, as I've posted often in appropriate threads before. I don't know when I'll be in London, it all depends on how my mother's recovery goes.
Being on a ventilator is not fun. I wish your mother my best while she faces the worst part; being tied to a bed after major surgery. I'm glad that everything is going smoothly! I hope you brought your guitar with you.
Wishing all the best tsq! I hope your mom makes a super speedy recovery. She probably just wants to be home in familiar surroundings right now. *hug*
I remember seeing my mum on a ventilator; yeah, not fun. My sympathies to you and get well wishes to your mother.