Mom waits for her remaining high school classmate,
Jody, to visit. There were four in their group of best friends, but now
there are just Jody & Mom. She spent her day in good spirits.
She and Tom had
been talking clearly about Dad, when the nurse gave Mom some pain meds. It
was only mitues later that Mom looked at the nurse & asked if her
husband had been in to see her lately. An almost immediate change.
The pain meds also heightened the itching, although the itch is almost
gone. Tom trimmed Mom's nails so she couldn't hurt herself so bad if she
does scratch. He gave up on trying to cut her hair until reinforcements
arrive. Tom believes that somebody that actually has hair would
have a better idea of what to do with it.
Dr Katsis told Tom that Mom's left hand
will heal. It remains swollen, as a left-over from the trauma (a
simplified term for what Tom was describing). It will not be a
problem.
The plastic
surgeon visited Mom today. He explained that Mom will need several grafts
to repair the open wound on her right calf. She will need a muscle
graft, skin graft, & then bone graft, in that order. I believe each
has to heal before they can proceed to the next. St Francis cannot do
this. She will require the services of a University Hospital. We
will not know which direction she will go, until they find a surgeon who can
provide her the services she needs. Dr Stafford will locate her next
surgeon. Guess she'll be skipping the nursing home for now. She will
have her scheduled surgery next week. During that time, more decisions
will be made about when & where to move her.
Dr Katsis is the
Lead Doctor on Mom's case. Each doctor signs off when their services are
no longer needed (as the Renal Doctors did a few weeks ago). Dr Katsis
will be the final doctor to sign off. So we need not worry that a
different doctor has unfinished business with Mom's healing.
Dr Katsis also
assured us that he will require Mom to travel with ambulatory
transportation. Tom & I are simply not capable of caring for her
as she travels. It really was out of the realm of reasonable to think that
Tom & I would be responsible for finding her transportation. That's a
great relief for us. We'd do anything for Mom, but we need her to have the
best care available.
Today has been long & frustrating
... things I thought I could accomplish today will now have to wait for weeks to
pass.
But then there
was the long night of basketball games at the school, and sitting there watching
my cheerleaders. If you need a pick-me-up, I can recommend an evening at
your local hometown gym with a lot of kids & kids-at-heart!
I didn't know
how I would be able to go back to something so cheerful as trying to keep a
squad of cheerleaders on task, after the tragedy my family has suffered, &
the great sadness that hung over me like a dark cloud. But the first time
I laughed just for the sake of something funny, was with & because
of those girls. They have been a blessing to me, despite the gigantic
gossip factor Lori & I must endure to coach & help them accomplish their
goals!
But it is now
midnight in Tulsa, so it is too late to call Mom, & I don't wish to wake Tom
up, to learn about the rest of Mom's day. I am tired & should get up
early, so I'm going to sign off, & hope I said everything I thought of for
this email! ~ Val & Tom