This has been a bit of a rough week. My mom has heart failure and is slowly dying. Last weekend we went to visit and found her very short of breath, barely able to speak or move around. We decided she should probably go to the hospital, so took her in and they admitted her with congestive heart failure. She's actually been struggling with this since last summer, but it's progressively getting worse. They did some tests and found her lungs were filling with fluid, and her oxygen levels and blood pressure were low. It seems her heart is just getting too weak to do its job even though she was given a pacemaker last summer.
She ended up spending a week in the hospital, so I visited her several times. It was quite a long drive across town, and of course during rush hour, since I had to do my visiting after work. We were able to have some really nice visits though. Lots of times people complain she talks too much, and tells the same stories of her bygone days over and over, but I actually love to listen to them, and just enjoyed sitting by her bedside listening to her tell about her lovely friend Marjean, or the time her visiting teacher came over and found her crying over a huge pile of diapers in the middle of the living room floor, or why she chose the names she did for her children.
I don't know how much longer we will have her around, but for now she is doing better, and I an glad for this precious time to spend with her towards the end of her life, and glad that I finally have enough maturity to appreciate her.
Mom wants to be able to see all her kids and grandkids before she goes, so has offered to give financial assistance to any who might need it to come and visit her. Harley decided to come and see her, so drove down from St. Paul with his kids. He had a bit of a rough trip, as Kate, the baby, was sick and threw up five times in the car. It was still nice to see them though, so we visited with them and with mom, and took one evening to take Zane to the movies (Kung Fu Panda 3). Unfortunately now Zane is sick too, but they made it home safely even though they had a howling chinook wind all the way home.
Marianne is supposed to be coming this weekend, and I have Friday off, so it will be nice to spend some time with her. Then on Saturday I'm off to Edmonton to see Zach's play.
I'm so grateful for my family, and the opportunities I get to spend time with them.
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