Laughter is the best medicine

September 10, 2011: Today I woke up and felt a hundred times better about the whole world. I knew it! I decided to go to the hospital and spend some time with my mom and my siblings. Before I could finish getting ready, I had texts from both Dionne and Troy, telling me that Mom's breathing tube was OUT! What an accomplishment. We are all so thrilled, especially my sweet Mumsy. Her nurse today was Brent, one of the Life Flight nurses who brought Mom in a week ago. He remembered her and said that she looked 100% better. He was a gem today. He said it was a "Fighting Day" - her main goals were to breathe deeper, cough more, and try to keep her eyes open. She was a champ on all three.

I couldn't believe how much better she looked without her neck brace and the breathing tube. Almost back to normal! Dionne and I shampooed her hair and spiked the back. Brit and Emi painted her toenails "Harlot Red", her favorite color. I smoothed lotion on her back because she said she was "itchy". But the funniest thing was her voice, now that the tube is out. Of course, her throat is irritated and it has affected her voice, making her sound like "Greta Garbo" (her description). Just hearing her say "Oh, boy!" or "Whoa!" or "I love you" has had us laughing all day!

Physical Therapist, Maggie, really put her through the ringer today, too. She had Mom sit on the side of her bed twice and actually had her walk over to a chair and sit in it for almost an hour. It was amazing. Mom still listens and talks to us with her eyes closed, but will try to open them if we tell her to. She was exhausted when they finished physical therapy, but before she would drift off to sleep, she'd ask when she could have her Diet Pepsi. They promised her that after they tested her on ice chips (with a swallow evaluation to make sure she wouldn't choke) and water from a spoon and water with a straw, they would put a little bit of Diet Pepsi on the ice chips and let her suck on something with flavor. I didn't get to see that, as I had already gone home by then, but Dionne texted me to say that Mom savored every morsel of ice they put on her tongue! "This is so yummy," she'd say with the ice chips.

At one point, Mom asked me, "Am I going to die?" I said, "No, Mom, not on this go-around. If you had asked me that a week ago, I wouldn't have had a clue. But, no, you are not going to die now." Later, she said, "I better get well because this has been a hard fight." Amen.

When she and I were alone at one point in the day, she said, "How is your melanoma?" I said, "It's okay, Mom. I'm fine." "Are you sure?" she said. "Yes. I"m going to have scans on Monday. Everything is fine." I'm just not ready to tell her about the surgery yet. Maybe at some point I will, but I know she'll be heartbroken, so I'm keeping it quiet for the good of both us.

"There is hope smiling brightly before us!" We are so blessed. Today, I laughed and laughed. What a difference from yesterday when I was a sobbing mess. I really can get through this latest trial. "I have ridden this horse before!" To quote a sentiment I read from another melanoma victim recently: "I may live WITH fear, but I don't live IN fear." That's how I feel, too. There is hope in all things, even though we are all afraid of one thing or another. I can live with that for now...and in the meantime, I'm going to go have a good laugh with my funny little mama.