Big D
I arrived in Dallas this afternoon – driving from Tuscaloosa to Dallas in pretty record time (but, I insist, I was NOT the fastest thing on the road and spent most of my time in the NON passing lane!)
I went right to the hospital and mom looked better than I expected. Karen had called her a few minutes before I arrived to tell her I was coming sooner than anticipated and I think that perked her up a bit. She is very weak, though, and it’s clear that she’s entering a new phase in her life – the phase where 24/7 help may be required. I’ll spare the gory details, but it’s a good thing I’m here because she’ll be coming home from the hospital – with a nurse – tomorrow and she needs the same kind of care that my kids needed when they were babies.
The woman who is sharing the room with her had her leg removed. I was speaking with her daughter and asked if it were an effect of diabetes. It turns out that the poor woman had a hangnail and the doctor flubbed the job up so much, and insisted that he could take care of it on his own for so long (several weeks) that by the time they got the infection stopped the circulation in her leg was gone. What a horrible outcome!
I just heard that my cousin – who is more like a sister – will be coming out early next week, which is good for so many reasons! It will be great to see her, great to have the women in the family together (that’s all that seems to be left…) and also great to feel that I can return home to my June classes with someone else here – at least for the short term. We’re going to look at senior care facilities this week and we’re leaving that open as an option.