I am finding it a challenge to sit down and write about the day today. As you can see…it is actually 7:30 am on Tuesday, and I still haven’t written anything. Perhaps the easiest thing to do is to start out with a quick thanks to everyone. We’ve received all kinds of gifts, cards, flowers and treats that I just haven’t mentioned here. We are receiving your gifts, and we appreciate them. There is a beautiful plant from Jill and Paul Levine sitting in my mom’s room right now, and we’ve been snacking on treats from Allison Geare and Shelley Szekeley. I know that we’ve had other bins of cookies and snacks and treats delivered by our visitors and some even brought along from others, so please know we appreciate your efforts, even if I forget to mention you by name here on the blog.
Monday, September 13, 2010. I woke up this morning, hopeful that my mom would be feeling better. Once again, according to the nurses, Mom had a great night and was feeling much better. Both kids slept until almost 9 again this morning, which is always a relief. Micah woke up moments before Megan, our babysitter, walked in the door. I was nursing Maya while Megan tried to get Micah out of bed, and Maya fell asleep as she snuggled close to me. I made sure she was safe, then went into Micah’s room to help Megan out.
Micah was in a “standoff” with Megan, refusing to get out of his crib or have his diaper changed. He was quite polite, but had this defiant expression on his face, clearly saying “Sorry, lady, I’m staying put until I see Mommy.” I walked into the room, he shouted “Mommy!” and practically jumped into my arms. We changed his diaper, and I sent him down the stairs with Megan. Mistake number one for the day, since he became hysterical.
While Maya slept, I quickly jumped into the shower and got ready for the day. I came downstairs at 9:30, just in time for my work conference call. It was brief, and I am going to do my best to get the assignment done this week. After my call, Megan and I scurried to get the children dressed and ready to go. Megan left with Micah around 10:00 because he had a class at Kidville – the first day of the new semester. I haven’t been able to attend his classes there in weeks.
I dressed Maya in a cute little outfit – long pants with a flower applique on the leg and a cute little matching shirt. Moments after she was dressed, I heard her pooping again. Elliot walked in the room, ready to leave, and I asked him to change Maya while I went upstairs to brush my teeth. A few minutes later, we were on our way for the day.
We arrived at Hopkins on the early side today, and they were just getting ready to take my mom to physical therapy. She actually had makeup on her face and sporting one of her new grey hats…apparently, the speech therapist used the makeup as a training task for the day. I was hoping to find her in good spirits…but she was in excruciating pain. Suffice it to say, my mom’s intestinal blockage cleared, but caused a lot of damage and pain in the process, and that was the root of the problem today. Or, as a little child would say, her tushy hurt. She winced at even the slightest movement, and she was in tears. The nurse came in to try to make her more comfortable, but there was nothing that could be done.
My mom only made it through 20 minutes of physical therapy instead of an hour today. They did try her on a recumbent bike – she has far more use of her legs than she realizes, and she was using both legs to pedal! Unfortunately, every turn of the bike caused her pain. It hurt too much for her to stand and walk, she was drained of energy, and it hurt to move her legs. After a while, they realized it was just too much and took her back to the room.
I went into the family lounge to nurse Maya (she was busy yelling at the top of her lungs) when I discovered mistake #2 of the day…apparently, that was asking Elliot to change Maya’s diaper this morning. She was covered in poop – I can’t quite figure out how Elliot managed it, but there was poop all down the back of her shirt and it was soaking wet. Since there was no new poop in her diaper, it was obvious that they had a changing mishap earlier that day. I cannot figure out how he missed it! Since I have not yet started carrying around extra outfits for Maya, we had to improvise. Elliot found one of those newborn side-snap shirts in the car, and we put her in that instead of her adorable little shirt.
Lunch was waiting for my mother in her room, but she was too uncomfortable to eat. They had given my mom a valium to try and ease her pain. The nurse tried some new topical medications, and my mom was resting in bed. She asked me to read the journal entry from Sunday, and thankfully she fell asleep listening!
I had hoped that meant she was feeling better, but no such luck. When she woke up in the afternoon, she was still miserable. My father arrived around 2:15, and he and Elliot went in with my mother for a bit. Elliot managed to get her to eat a few bites of her sandwich and some fruit, and then my mother asked to see “Delicious.”
Over the past few days, she has nicknamed Maya “Delicious.” It started when she would kiss Maya and tell me that she was “Delicious.” Now, her nickname is officially “Delicious.” After a visit with delicious, my mom was back to crying and writhing in pain. It breaks my hear to see my mom so uncomfortable. We brainstormed several other ideas with the nurse, and tried them all, but nothing seemed to soothe my mother’s pain. Around 3:30, the occupational therapist tried to come in for a session. She worked on turning my mother over in bed and building up her strength with her left arm…but a few minutes later, she decided to cut therapy short because of my mother’s discomfort.
Diane and Joey showed up during my mom’s occupational therapy, and they came in for a visit after the therapist left. My mom was just miserable again. Because she was so uncomfortable, they were not able to stay too long – but long enough to distract her a bit and bring a smile to her face.
When they left, it was around 4:30. The nurse had ordered some new medicine for my mother, and we gave it a try. Unfortunately, the medicine stung, and my mother looked as if she was going to pass out from the pain. I felt sick watching her, and helpless again. I held her hand and kept her company for the next hour. Finally, around 5:15, I knew we had to leave. Our babysitter needed us to get home. I apologized to her for going, and she told me not to worry. Naturally, I started to cry…it just hurt me to leave her there in so much pain. Thankfully, my father was able to stay with her for another few hours. Apparently, she gripped his hand (and possibly broke a few fingers) for the next few hours until he finally left around 8.
I called Megan to apologize for running so late, and she said it was no problem, but asked if she could bring Micah to meet Christin (our other babysitter) at the mall to run an errand. I said absolutely!
Elliot and I made good time on the way home. I was crying most of the drive home because I hate to see my mom so miserable. When we got home, we were greeted by food delivery, ordered by my cousin, Francine. Amazing! Megan brought Micah home a few minutes later, clutching a stuffed Winnie-the-Pooh. Micah apparently latched onto Pooh and wouldn’t let go, so she just bought it for him.
We all had a great dinner, including Micah. We watched a little “Word World” after dinner. I think this might be my opportunity to brag a bit…Micah is actually recognizing letters and numbers now! Not all of them, but a lot. When he sees letters on paper or in a book or on a t-shirt, he’ll point to them and read them. “O,” “A,” “P,” “E,” “S,” “T,” “C,” and “M” appear to be his favorites right now. He also recognizes a few numbers…1, 2 and 4. I’m not sure what happened to 3, but it is his favorite number to say.
Micah went to sleep at a reasonable time (and took Pooh to bed with him). My friend Laurie came by to drop off a quiche and hang out for a bit, and little Miss Maya was just being cranky. It was pretty late (maybe 10:30 or 11) when we finally got her into her bassinet for the night.
The only other good news? My phone rang around 10:30…and it was my mom. She just wanted me to know that she had fallen asleep and was feeling much better now (although she thought it was 10:30 in the morning). What a relief! I hope she is still doing well after a full night of sleep.
I can already hear Micah stirring for the day, so I have to head upstairs and get him. Today is his first day of preschool, so I’m sure I will have a ton to report later!