Just a quick update that mom continues her stay at the hospital today. She got moved to a better room yesterday (more private and has her bed by a window) for which we are thankful. Mom’s pain is being managed and they are keeping a close eye on her abdomen, to ensure there isn’t a blockage which would be very dangerous. We seem to be in a holding pattern right now. Lots of rest, liquid diet, and various medications. For the time being we have one family member at her side at all times. We have learned and continue to notice, that having an advocate is incredibly important whenever it is possible. There were some near mix-ups with medications last night due to miscommunication on the back end between the nurses or the doctor and the nurses. By being around and logging everything, we often times find that we are better informed about what medications mom is supposed to be getting and when. This is a little scary I must admit, but for the time being, we are managing by ensuring one of us is there. We are like her body guards! It also provides a great deal of comfort for mom, and she keeps telling us what a difference it makes for her and how thankful she is. Our response to her is more or less “where else would we be?”.

I had a “sleepover” with her last night, and tonight Sasha plans to stay over. We’ve been given this contraption of a reclining chair on wheels (intended for patients?) to sleep on. It takes a bit of creativity to get in and out, but it’s better than a hard upright chair so no complaints. We were fortunate that it was a relatively quiet night – mom didn’t have a roommate and her nurse was on top of things, which we can’t say for all nurses unfortunately. Sasha came by shortly after we woke up today with a coffee for me (yay!) and we had a little morning hangout at 7am on a Saturday! These are the moments that I cherish, when we can just chat and catch up together with mom despite the current circumstances. This morning we also had a little funny moment while mom was in the bathroom. Sasha and I decided to undertake a “room improvement project” and fix the blinds which weren’t closing properly last night. This required some furniture moving, climbing on chairs and a quick and quiet execution of detaching and re-attaching pieces. We felt like kids who are up to no good and are about to get caught by mom and dad. (or in this case by a doctor or nurse). It was great team work and we thought we were so pleased with our slick execution until we looked through the window at the wing across from us and realized the nurse’s station had a direct sight-line to our window. Well here is hoping they had more important things to focus on!

Dad came in the late morning and has been there for a few hours now. Maria, who makes delicious smoothies which mom really enjoys is there now too and we are waiting for further updates. I feel incredibly lucky to have these wonderful people as my family – and my admiration for mom grows for each day. Her deep unwavering faith and trust in God’s perfect plan for her (and us) even in this situation, is an inspiration. I know I have some work to do in this department 🙂