Matters in a Mom's Heart...

This is the post that I have been putting off for 2 months. And I *finally* feel like I can get it out.

On February 18, 2011 my mom had open heart surgery. I know, a lot of people have loved ones that have had the surgery and there's nothing extra sad about it being my mom. But.

She's my mom.

My mom's always been crazy energetic and bounced from wall to wall. She raised me and my sister all by herself since I was a year old. She's owned her own businesses and always seemed to be able to make the impossible..possible. Easily. With Class.

She started getting sick about 3 years ago.

She had a heart attack in 2008 and they discovered that she was 80% blocked in the left side of her heart and had a very large aneurysm. Her cardiologist said: "we can't operate. You will not live through the surgery". And that was that.

So we go home and over the next few months she's just kind of, off, ya know? She'd fall down for no reason, seemed to be out of it a lot, and totally lacked energy. Then, in 2009 my grandmother passed away and mom took a total turn for the worse. She ended up going in and out of the hospital and it was incredibly frustrating. No one could find what was wrong with her. It was a very, very rough period in my family.

Fast forward to February 14, 2011. I was baking cupcakes and about to get ready to go to a fancy dinner with hubs. A {sister} called and said mom was on her way to the ER {where my sister just happens to work} "great, again?". 10 minutes later she calls back and says get here. NOW.


And I did. Turns out that she wasn't having another heart attack but the ventricular aneurysm in her heart was growing and one side of her heart was 100% blocked and the other side was 80% blocked. Not wonder she was falling and not making any sense. 


So surgery was Feb 18 and it went great. She spent 5 days in the hospital and was about to come home when she starting having a weird reaction to medication and had to have a blood transfusion. The next day A calls and says she's coming home now. 


As in. my. home. Yes, mom was moving in with me and hubs for her recovery. whew. 


We've been home for almost 2.5 months. She's doing well but we've been back to the hospital twice with infections. It's been 2 weeks since we're been to the ER so we're on a pretty good run right now. 


So, that's where I've been for the past few months. When I'm stressed, I shop. I'm now poor. When I'm stressed, I bake. I'm now chubbier than I was 3 months ago.


But, my mom is here. Healthy enough to fight with me and drive me crazy. And between us, I count my blessings that she is. 


She's here. 


Alive.


and I'll never take that for granted again. 

:::::: loves you family ::::::