Mom is home!

Wow, what a whirlwhind of a day yesterday! I drove to the hospital and got there about 9:30 in the morning. Mom had been taken off the (what I call) dopey drug and was administered 1 Ibuprofen and 1 Vicodin. I could already tell she was more alert! During the night and again in the morning she had had a bowel movement, but was feeling a bit dizzy and her stomach was upset. She was eating fruit because she was told to do so. I could also see that her anxiousness was returning, which made me worry a bit. She knew she wanted to get out of there, and was doing everything she could to prove it. Walking when told to do so, eating and drinking even when she didn't feel like it...what a trooper!!

I could tell it was wearing her out, so in the afternoon, I told her I was going to get something to eat so she could rest. I told the nurses that I would be RIGHT back, and went downstairs. I came back, and they had already removed her drain! Ooooh, I was pissed at myself at the nurses. I wanted to be there when they did it, because I had been told earlier that it was going to be painful. I had told the tech that, but she was not the one that had removed the drain. Mom told me it was incredibly painful, but she made it through. I told her that would be the worst part of the day...and I was right! Her resident came in and asked her if she was ready to leave that day, and she told him that there wasn't anything she could do to recouperate more at the hospital than she could do at home, so he said he'd be back. A little while later, the physical therapist came in and asked mom to get out of the bed. When mom reached for the bed rail, the therapist put the bed rail down and said, "you won't have one of those in your home bed." Then mom reached for the chair that was close by and that stinkin' therapist moved that out of the way, too!!! Mom rolled onto her side, sat up, than stood up with her arms up and said, "Ta-da!!" and was up and moving!! LOL. Nothing was going to keep her in that hospital another day. She then had to go up and down stairs which she didn't seem to have problems with. I don't know if it was adrenaline that was keeping her going or what, but I was so proud of her!!! I called my dad and aunt and told them that she was able to go home.

As we waited, a nurse came in and told mom that she had to take a medicine to keep the blood clots from forming...and it was in the form of a shot. Her anxiety sky rocketed. Mom and I started working on breathing techniques and waited for dad to get there, since he was the one who had to administer the shot. Dad finally walked in, read some material, waited for the nurse to come in, and then showed her how awesome HE is by not blanching at all, and gave my mom a shot of saline to show her he could do it. I was just humbled by the entire experience. After waiting for what seemed forever, mom was finally released and was able to go home. I know that her recovery will go even faster at home, and know that we will all rest a bit easier now that some of the worry of her recovery has passed. I still ask for prayers that she gets through the recovery period. Now that the morphine-like substance has left her body, the anxiousness will return. My mom has OCD and has a hard time NOT focusing on certain aspects. I pray that God will calm her mind and her heart as reality sinks in on what needs to happen next. I pray that since her body has not had solid foods in a week that her stomach eases, and the reintroduction of food does not cause her so much discomfort that she doesn't want to eat!! I also pray that my dad stays steady and strong. He CAN do this.