The Month from Hell

Man! Has it been a craaaaaaaaazy month! I've missed being in touch with those of you who check my site from time to time, and have not had a chance to write on the blog as much as I've wanted. So, I thought I'd post a brief history of what's been happening in the Intuitive Woman's world:

October 25-30: Business conference held in Detroit, and a brief visit to Canada.

October 31: Found out my mom was in the hospital and was set to have surgery on November 2.

November 2: Left at 6:00 a.m. to go to see my mom before her surgery. Returned home at 6 p.m. Surgery (a thombosis of inflamed hemorrhoids) seemed to go fine.

November 5: Found out mom she had complications from her surgery and would have another surgery on Monday, the 7th.

November 7: Mom had second surgery. For those of you who are curious, this one was a full-blown hemorrhoidectomy. Very painful and long recovery process. A time when you learn just how much you take for granted "going #2".

November 7-9: Worked my buns off to get a report done before Wednesday.

November 9-13: My mom was released from the hospital (10 days and 2 surgeries later), so I went home to care for her when she was released.

November 12: Celebrated my best friend's 33rd birthday. She got wasted, and I was the designated driver. I'm sure you can assess how much fun that was!

November 18: Mom had her post-surgeries check up and was released to drive. She was not allowed to pick up anything heavier than a gallon of milk (still isn't). So, went to my parents to help continue care for my mom, and assist dad in taking care of their two grandchildren on Saturday, the 19th. My nieces are 3 years and 11 months.

November 19: Mom woke me up at 3:00 a.m. to inform me she was taking my dad to the hospital - he was unable to catch his breath. (Good thing the doc released her to drive less than 24 hours ago!) Found out that the medication he had been taking for his gout had progressed his congestive heart failure and he was scheduled for an angiogram on Monday and a pacemaker insert on Tuesday. So, I decided to stay through Monday to get the results of his angiogram.

Also that morning, my youngest niece woke up at 7:30 a.m. with a 103 degree fever - had to take her to urgent care = ear infection.

I should mention here that I have no children. So, being responsible for two young children is quite a task, but I managed alright.

November 20: Woke up and could barely lift my arm to answer the phone. Shoulders and back: killer pains. Packing around a 25 pound baby all day long does have its repercussions.

November 21: Dad's angiogram showed two blockages in the bypasses constructed in 1995. Pacemaker insert was canceled for Tuesday, and instead he was scheduled for open heart surgery on Wednesday. Decided to stay the rest of the week, since we were off for Thanksgiving that Thursday and Friday anyway.

At this point, I have to say how appreciative I am that I work for someone who believes that family comes first, and was empathetic to the fact that I wanted to stay with my parents on such short notice.

November 22: Watched a video and was prepared for what to expect with my dad's second open heart surgery: very serious, more dangerous, potential for stroke or heart attack while on the operating table - particularly since his heart is only pumping at 28%. Great.

I was very scared. As much resentment and anger I have for my father at times, the thought that he could die tomorrow really freaked me out. I called all my friends, asked for prayers, spoke to my parents' friends who had called to check on mom and explained what was going on with my father. Got ahold of my brother, who has little contact with my parents despite living in the same town, and talked with him about what was going on.

November 23: Dad's open heart surgery. Expected 7-8 hours in surgery. Surgeons closed him up in less than 3 hours! It was remarkable, and the closest I've been to seeing prayers answered right in front of my face. I knew that dad was on at least 5 prayer chains across three states, but 3 HOURS?!! With NO COMPLICATIONS?!! Wowzers!

To boot: he woke from the anesthesia before he made it into recovery, so they had to drug him to keep him still. Three hours after surgery, he was taken off the ventilator (this usually takes at least 6 hours or more). We went to see him at 7:30 p.m., but he was sleeping due to being given pain meds at 6:30. At 9:30 p.m., he was calling from intensive care (which is really not allowed, but he's the VP of the hospital, so he has certain perks) to see how things were going at home!

November 24: Thanksgiving. My relatives came down with food in tow to celebrate the holiday and be thankful for all the blessings that had been bestowed upon us in the weeks and days prior.

November 25-27: Stayed at my parents the rest of the weekend, since my mom is still recovering from her surgeries and to help take care of my nieces. Helped make out a babysitting schedule since my parents care for them a lot while their mother works and goes to school.

November 28-December 2: Returned to work to deal with additional BS that had collected in the two weeks I was out of the office.

December 2-4: Mom brought my nieces to me and Honey to watch over the weekend. Now, we've kept the 3-year old several times, but never both of them at the same time. Shew! That was a fun experience. Good thing there were two of us, cuz I don't think I could make it alone. I have a renewed appreciation for all you single mothers with multiple children. I don't know how you do it.

December 4-5: Mom and nieces' mother came to retrieve the little ones. I had to shower, eat, pack, and catch the 4 o'clock train to Chi-town for a business meeting on Monday. Arrived at hotel at 10 p.m., ate dinner, had crazy insane dreams, woke up and re-packed, and attended the meeting at 10 a.m. Caught the 4 o'clock train home, got home around 9:45 p.m.

December 6: Back to the realities of work. *depression sets in*

So, there you have it! The many reasons why I have been out-of-touch. I hope all of you have been well, are staying warm, had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and have healthy selves and family.

But I have to say, the cliché "when it rains, it pours" has never been so appropro. I'm just thankful I had the strength and ability to be there when my family needed me. It felt good.