Daily Progress

Monday, October 24, 2011: My girl and I returned last night from a few days vacation down where the days are sunny & bright and the evenings are star-filled and cool. Loved it. Every second. Not only did I feel that warm air on my face (yes, our good weather is waning by the minute here), but I had my heart warmed, as well. Time spent with family will do that for you.

From the first moment I saw my cute Mom, standing to greet us, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for her daily progress. She doesn't see the day-to-day miracles - like doing her own laundry and fixing her own peanut-butter toast breakfast -but the rest of us are cheering like crazy! I am so encouraged by her strength. It isn't gigantic - it fluctuates almost hourly - but it is there. She's using her funky walker and carrying things from room to room on its little seat. She was discouraged about getting it at first - thinks it's what all the old people have to use! - but I told her that I see that little black, wheeled walker as an "injury aid", not an old-person aid. It's helping her gain confidence and balance while she recovers from her injuries. She showers herself, combs her hair into its signature spikes, and dresses cute. She came to eat pizza at Chelsea's one night and watched the little kids splash and play in the condo pool another day. Our Mumsy is coming back!

We had a good, long talk about some of the things that happened in the hospital that she doesn't remember. I hope I was able to explain some of the hard parts and questionable parts that didn't (and still don't) make complete sense. None of it was clear cut. It was simply emotional, and that is never easy.

Last week, I saw Dr. Bradley for a follow-up. I told him (among a bunch of other things) that I had an earache. When he checked my right ear, he said it was "full of junk." Under the microscope, he discovered that my eardrum had a dime-sized scab on it. He dug it out (owie!) and found a bunch of dried skin underneath, irritating it and causing a bit of infection. Of course, radiation is to blame for all that skin. Remember how itchy and dry my ear was? Where else could it go, but down into the ear canal. And at one point, after my last surgery, when Dean was coughing his guts out with his pneumonia, I wore earplugs to bed every night, which probably accounts for the scab. So, I'm glad to have that cleaned out. Janessa helps put drops in every day, which I hate - I can't stand the sound or feeling of "water" in my ears. It freaks me out every time. But, hopefully it will heal quickly and I'll be done with that. There's always something new to make me say, "hmm, really? I needed to worry about that, too?" Day to day, I'm handling it. Mom and I are tougher than we look...