For the last month or so, my mom has been staying at my sister's house with me here in Santa Cruz. She's old, so she tends to complain alot and she needs alot of help because she's got a wrecked knee and a bad hip and a problem with her spine and who knows what else. The list goes on and on, she seems to be a bit of a hypochondriac, and a drama queen on top of that. But she's my mom and I accept her for who she is.
Friday evening, she began to complain that she wasn't feeling very well, and this continued on through Saturday. I didn't pay alot of attention to it. But by sunday morning she was throwing up, and in alot of pain. I assumed she had food poisoning because she isn't very smart about treating food safely. She tends to leave perishable things sitting out, sometimes overnight, and doesn't properly heat things before eating them. So I wasn't surprised. I told her it was probably food poisoning because she felt alot of relief after throwing up. So I just kept her drinking water and got her some pepto bismal to settle her stomach. She figured it would go away in a few days. The next day, saturday, she seemed alot better, she was up and about, ate a bit, and didn't complain much. I figured it was all done with.
Sunday morning I woke up to hear her vocalizing what I can only imagine was an intense amount of pain, and after about an hour of slow moving, and plenty of rest along the way, she made it to the car and I took her to the hospital where I assumed they would tell her it was food poisoning.
Several tests and examinations later, followed by an x-ray, they still had no clue what was wrong with her. So she got a catscan. At this point, I was at home for a shower and change of clothes, but my sister Katy had shown up to keep my mom company. On my return to the hospital, I was told in horrifying detail about how my mom was litterally screaming from the ammount of pain she was in at that point, before she was given somthing akin to a quadruple dose of morphine and promptly slipped into unconciousness, awakening for a few moments here and there to incoherently inquire about when the reservations for dinner were, and what movie we currently appearing in. Mild, exhaustion induced hilarity ensued.
About an hour and a half later, the results came back. Much to our surprise, they found a tumor in my mom's abdomen. But not just any tumor, no. This was the great gran'pappy of all tumors. Measuring approximately 31 centimeters. Being a true American, and having little to no regard for the metric system myself, you can imagine how shocked I was when the doctor splayed his hands in demonstration, denoting an object similar in size to a small watermelon. And I assume you don't need me to tell you that when it comes to a foreign object camping out around your small intestines, there is no watermelon small enough to make it conceivably comfortable.
Due to her insurance provider, they were forced to transport her to Kaiser Perminente in santa clara. I could go off on an elaborate rant about the profoundly poor quality of the facilities, but suffice to say that as a person who is, out of personal necessity, almost completely unphased by most hospital conditions, I was absolutely horrified at what I witnessed there. And have no desire to recount the grim details.
We waited for several hours until a doctor finally came to explain to us what was going on, and we went home for a few hours of rest, before returning bright and early the next day, terrified of leaving our mother there alone for any longer than needed.
As I am sure you are wondering where I am going with all of this, I will cut to the chase, sparing you a recap of the traumatizing hours spent in the waiting room after being told her heart might not be able to survive the operation, which without, she had no chance of survival at all. I guess you can't look like a miracle worker without giving the worst case scenario first.
She made it through the operation fine. The tumor turned out to be benign, and there were no complications. On an impressive note they ended up draining 7 liters of fluid from her tumor.
Picture this:
about 3 and a half times. Just hanging out between my mom's guts. And what's more is, they said it could have grown in as little as 2 months!
Which brings me ow to the point of this whole bulletin.
While the operation was a success, they discovered another tumor inside her. This one is small, and near her lung. And since my mom is a smoker, there is a good chance it could be lung cancer. Which is very bad. I have been through so much in the passed two days, that I just don't have anymore strength left in me, emotionally, to be the rock for everyone else. I guess it's just my turn to break down.
So I am asking, from the bottom of my heart, to everyone. Pray for my mom, and my family. Because we need all the help we can get. And if you don't pray, then send us your positive vibes, or your happy thoughts, or maybe any spare good karma you might be saving for a rainy day. And let's hope for the best.
Thank you,
~Miles
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