This is what our date nights have turned into...

Jack has become obsessed with Mario and Donkey Kong...yes, I know, BIG stretch right?  He is his father's son.  As soon as Victor comes home, Jack is yelling "Mari mari mari daddy!"  So of course Vic eats this up, and says. "If that is what Jack wants to do tonight, then I guess we will have to play video games."  Yeah, I am sure Jack is the only one that wants to do that.  So now while the boys bond over Mario, I hang out with my puppies and read.  Jack has also decided he has better views of the TV if standing on top of Vic.  I think I need to enlist my son in the circus. 

Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel...

This whole ICU thing has really thrown our lives upside down.  Mom was in the ICU for a week exactly.  In the beginning we had strict rules about when we could go and visit her.  I totally understand why the rules need to be in effect, but they piss me off at the same time.  Only two people per hour for 10 min.  Come ON!!  Although after the first few days, the nurses started to relax a bit, and we were treated like royalty.  I don't know if the doctor thinks we will sue or what, but all of a sudden we were allowed to stay with mom for hours every day.  Last night mom was finally moved to an intermediate room.  This is a hall is one step down from the ICU.  She will still have constant attention, but instead of two patients per nurse like the ICU, it is three patients per nurse.  Mom is looking a lot better.  Yesterday she was able to get the tube that suctioned out her stomach up through her nose, out.  Although it didn't feel to good getting it out, she is very happy it is out now.  Today the catheter gets to come out, and she might be able to have some solid food.  Needless to say, she is thrilled.  I still think she will be in the hospital for at least another week, but every day she is getting better and better. 
Chad and Krista also left today.  It was so good to have them here.  Jack really took to Chad, just like when we went to MN last fall.  If Jack went to nap or bed, the last thing he would say was "unca Shad" and as soon as he woke up, he would say the same thing again.  I think we will have to skype more frequently now.   Life seems to be getting slowly back to normal.  Dad and Cathie are going back to work tomorrow, I will be back to watching both babies.  Thank you again for all your well wishes and concerns.  They have made the world of difference to us.  Here are a few pictures of Jack with "unca Shad",

A turn for the worst...

Last time I had a chance to blog, I told you that my mom was going in for a routine polyp removal.  The doctor says he has preformed this same surgery at least once a week for 20 years.  After my mom got out of her initial surgery she kept complaining of how much pain she was in.  The nurses couldn't get it under control.  Then on Friday she got a slight temp of about 99 degrees.  The nurses and doctor noticed this, but since it wasn't a huge fever, they thought it would pass.  On Sat, my mom was still in an extreme amount of pain.  Although the doctor just thought that it was because they took out her epidural, and she was just taking pain meds by mouth.  She still had a slight fever, now at 100 degrees, but the doctor thought she might be able to go home on Sun.  Well Sunday comes, and her fever is still at 100 degrees.  The doctor is getting a little worried, because she got the chills and sweats really bad.  He ordered a CAT scan to see if she had a "leak" at the splice in her colon.  When the results came back, he couldn't see any leakage.  All of her tests came back normal, so he just couldn't figure out what the deal was.  He did say, if her fever went up at all, he was going to take her into surgery again, and see for his own eyes if there was a leak at the splice.  When I left to go home her temp went down to 99 again.  So I felt good about leaving to go home an shower and spend time with Jack and Vic.  Immediately after getting out of the shower, I get a call from Cathie, "mom's temp just spiked at 103 and they are rushing her into an emergency surgery!!"  So I book it to the hospital with wet hair, and just some clothes I found on the floor.  My dad, gpa, gma, uncle, and Cathie were all there, along with my mom's good friend Shannon.  We were all in pretty bad shape.  I guess right before this surgery, my mom was in so much pain she was crumpled on the hospital bed barely breathing.  We all just sat there and cried for two hours.  The doctor came out, and told us that he did find a leak.  According to him, during the first surgery, her colon got nicked, causing a hole.  This entire time, all the gunk and feces that is in your colon was poisoning my mom's blood.  She turned septic.  Now, if you have anyone in your family that is a medic, you know the word "septic" is one of the worst words you can hear.  The doctor then proceeded to tell us that he irrigated her intestines and cleaned as much of the infection as he could, along with taking out the portion of colon that was infected.  Now my mom has two splices in her colon.  He had to giver her a colostomy bag, because her colon is so raw at this point.  He kept saying that she was going to be ok, but then next couple days were going to be really bad.  She is really, really sick, and it will take time to get all the poison out of her system.  If my mom hadn't gotten this emergency surgery, she would have been dead by morning. 
Now even though the doctor prepared us that my mom was going to look really sick, he couldn't prepare us for what she really looked like.  She was up in the ICU with about 10 tubes coming out of her.  She was on a breathing machine, and about 5 antibiotics.  We all broke down when we saw here.  I think this will haunt me forever.  I honestly don't think anyone slept Sunday night.  Her life was so frail at the moment, and it was in God's hands.  I was able to be there first thing in the morning, and just sat there holding her hand.  She couldn't talk, and she was so drugged up that all we could do was look at eachother.  She kept squeezing my hand when I told her how much I loved her.  On Tues, my brother and his fiance flew out to be with us.  When we told my mom that they were coming, she just got tears in her eyes.  I think it meant so much to her that they came to be with her through this.   That same day, the doctor took out her breathing tube, saying she was doing well with breathing on her own.  I think this is what made the world of difference.  Her throat was really raw, but she was able to talk in a very hoarse whisper.  Tues was the first day we were all able to take a breath of relief.  She was going to be ok.  Now today, she is even better.  She is still in the ICU, and to anyone else, looks really, really bad.  But to us that have watched her the last few days, she looks so much better.  The physical therapist was able to get her up and walking a little.  She got dizzy really fast, but at least she was able to stand.  They think that she will be able to move out of the ICU tomorrow.  We are all crossing our fingers. 
Thank you to everyone that has kept my mom and our family in your thoughts and prayers.  This infection could have easily taken her life, but God had different plans for her.  Our family will be grateful forever.  Also, a big thank you to Vic's mom and Shannon who have been helping with Jack and Jaidyn, so Cathie and I can spend all our time taking care of our mom.  Another big thanks goes to my family in MN and my grandparents here, who immediately purchased tickets for Chad and Krista to fly out here.  I will keep everyone posted on the progress she is making, and I truely  believe the worst is behind us.  Now it is just getting the last of the infection out, and recovering.

What a wonderful day for laproscopy...

Well, today has not been the best day of my life by any means, and I wasn't even the one who got cut open.  That pleasant procedure was reserved for my mom.  Back 4wks ago, my mom had her first colonoscopy, where the doctor found a pretty big polyp inside her colon.  He said this had to be removed along with a foot of intestine.  He went on to tell us that the polyp doesn't look cancerous, but he couldn't say for sure till it came back from pathology after the surgery.  The reason he needed to take out the foot of intestine, was because in case it was cancerous, he would get all the bad cells.  My mom stayed tough this morning.  I was on the verge of breaking down a few times, but we tried to keep it light and joking this morning.  No matter the length of the surgery, it was still scary as hell, knowing your mom is under anesthesia and there are no definite outcomes.  She ended up rocking her surgery.  The doctor came out and described everything he did, and said she was just coming to from the anesthesia.  We all couldn't wait to see her when she got to her room.  When they wheeled her in, all I could see was how much pain she was in.  Her whole face was crumpled up.  My mom has a very high pain tolerance (she has been living with neuropathy for 10 years and never complains.)  So, when you see my mom writhing in pain, you know it is excruciating.  For some reason, it was her hip and not the actual wounds that was hurting her.  We don't know if it was the way she was placed on the operating table, or what, but I never want to see her like that again.  Both my dad and I broke down a little.  She was brought to her room around 12:30pm, and when I left at 4pm, the nurses still could not get the pain under control.  She is on morphine plus she has an epidural.  I am heading back to the hospital when Vic comes home tonight, to spend the night with her.  I hope by the time I get back, around 8pm, she will be a little more comfortable.  On a positive note, I have never seen so much support and compassion.  My mom's room is filled with flowers, balloons and get well cards, and this was all within the first hour in her room.  You really see how many people love her, and how many lives she has touched.  I have always been told what a wonderful mom I have.  She is the most caring, sincere, strong, amazing woman I know.  I love you mom!!