Last tuesday (29th) was a big day for us because that is the day that Mom finally left the hospital. This last round was 62 days of her 5.5 month saga. It took forever to undo the damage that Dr. Ridiculous created in 3 short days and then as the Aunts were leaving she was hit by 2 infections that sent her back to the ICU. She bounced back pretty quickly and worked hard at walking and regaining some strength until her picc line fell out. That ended her last round of IV meds and they felt she was ready to go back to rehab. The last two days of her OMC stay were busy with activity. All of the nurses were stopping by to say their goodbyes and to buy up her pottery. The Aunts brought up two boxes of mom's pottery from the coffeehouse and she sold all but 4 pieces in those last days. At one point, she had 5 nurses in their competing for the last pieces and it was just a sweet moment for mom. On her last day I arrived at the hospital around 12:30 and could see her sitting on the edge of her bed as I walked down the hall. She had a light up tiara on her head and all the floor nurses were wearing party hats. The sweet nurses had thrown her a party to celebrate how far she had come. They were just too sweet. Mom's nurse for the day kept wiping her eyes and they were all so happy for her. As we wheeled mom down the hall about 15 nurses and aides lined the hallway, blew their noise makers and cheered for mom. It was a great send off and they all said they would see her again soon....
These photos are all from that day of freedom. I am so sorry I don't have photos of the nurses lining the hallway but I left my camera in the car with Scott. :( You can see mom's tiara from her party...isn't it cute? Her clothes were so baggy because she had lost 40+ lbs but she was ready for a good meal. I asked Eli and Lucas where we should take grandma for her first meal out and Lucas didn't hesititate at all before he recommended IHOP! He must have had pancakes on the brain? I asked Eli and he said Fazolli's (Italian food) but when I asked grandma she said Cinzetti's (Italian buffet). It is one of our favorite places so of course we agreed with her. :) Our great friend Cheryl met us there to surprise mom and then Cheryl surprised us by treating us to our lunch. Thanks Cheryl! Mom ate a good plate full of food and dessert. She had been struggling with nausea so I wasn't sure she would be able to eat but she managed. After our lunch we dropped Scott off at home, grandma got to meet Lady and then we headed to the rehab center.
Right as we got off the highway mom asked if we could go to the mall. I was shocked because mom does NOT like to go to the mall but of course I said yes. She said she wanted to buy me a nice outfit for a trip I have coming up and then she thought she should spend some of her pottery money to buy gifts for the 2 Nov. birthday boys. We had a nice hour at the mall finding gifts and talking. I wheeled her around in a wheelchair that another friend (Cheryl) lent us and she had a great 4 hours of freedom. It was a great day! Dr. Miller wants to see if he can get grandma thru the holidays and plan for her 2nd open heart surgery in January. Please be praying about her health during these next 3 months and that the leak will subside for a while. Thank you for all your prayers during this 6 month ordeal. We love you all! *I started this on the 5th but didn't get it finished until the 12th so if the time references don't make sense, that is why.
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