Newer Pictures of Keirce & Peyton

Well, here they are...Keirce and Peyton, much more grown up than what you saw in an earlier post!! Keirce is 15 now, just completed his freshman year of high school and had the privilege of playing baseball for his high school team!!!

Peyton is now 12 and also plays baseball!! Jack and Terri spend more time at the ball field than they do at home!!! And oh yeah, that's Jack in the Georgia t-shirt!!

A big "thank you" to Terri for sending me the updated pictures!!

There Ain't Nothin' Like a Home Cooked Country Meal!!!

WOW!!! Double WOW!!! Mom and I were invited out to her friends house this evening for dinner (aka Longtime Friend Brenda). She cooked the most unbelievable meal we have had in as long as we can remember.....
Slow Cooked Roast Beef with rice & gravy, lima beans with chow chow, creamed corn made from scratch, fried okra, fresh sliced tomatoes and cornbread!!! It was SO incredibly yummy!!! I haven't seen Mom eat as much as she did in months, which was a good thing to see since she didn't have much of an appetite yesterday. Ms Brenda is famous for her ability to make homemade country meals and she definately out did herself tonight (she also makes the best fried chicken in the world)!!

So..."Thank you so much Ms Brenda" the meal that we just had with you is gonna get us through to Wenesday morning!! Not that we won't eat again, just that your meal will be on our minds and will put a smile on our faces for a very longtime!!!

We love you!!!

We are almost to the 72 hour countdown....

When the clock strikes 8am tomorrow morning (Sunday) we will be at the 72 hour mark till surgery.

Mom wasn't feeling too hot tonight...she only took one pain pill earlier today and it is my thought that she let her pain level get too high this evening before taking another pill to get some relief. I grilled steaks and she really had no appettite. I know that we are both are getting more nervous as the clock ticks down. Her statement to me just a little while ago before she went to bed was "I wish that I could go to sleep and wake up and it be Thursday morning".

Tomorrow will be filled with me "running many errands" to prepare for Wednesday....6 hours at the pool today was plenty. Plus...I want to spend more time with Mom as the time draws more near.

Thanks again for all of your positive thoughts and prayers!

It's going to be a great day!!

Just a short post to say that I am looking forward to a great Saturday...having coffee on the deck, the birds are singing and eating while Tiki monitors their behavior. The weather is close to perfect and I am looking forward to an awesome day of relaxation at the pool with friends.

Mom feels "okay" this morning...she is going to have breakfast with her tennis friends at the Waffle House (this is a Sat AM tradition for them)...this will be the last Saturday that she is going to be able to partake in this tradition for quite a while...maybe they will bring Waffle House to her on Saturdays??

I already know as the sun starts to set this evening that I will be "firing" up the grill...a special religion in my life and for all of you that know me well it is pretty much a God given fact that my grill gets lit AT LEAST once a weekend, if not twice!

Oh yeah...stay tuned for some updated pictures of my nephews....Terri (my sister in law) will be sending me some to post for your viewing pleasure.

Also..if you enjoy checking out blogs, please check this one out http://myreddogblog.blogspot.com/.
This is a great blog that my blogging mentor has been doing about their 9 year old Golden Retriever who was recently diagnosed with Osteosarcoma...she had the affected leg amputated and is doing really well...there are pictures and videos on this blog as well...feel free to become a follower there too...Brian, Debra and their pack of animals are very close friends of mine!

That's it for now...hope everybody has a great weekend!

A Big Thank You....

A great big "thank you" to everyone that has visited the blog since I put it out to publish earlier this week. For all the folks that have left comments, Mom and I so appreciate all your kind words.

She and I are a tad calmer today...but still anticipating the future and what is to come.

I would like to let everyone know that my brother, Jack will be coming into town for Moms surgery, he will be arriving sometime Tuesday evening and I am not sure how long he will be here as he is a very busy Dad with two boys that play A LOT of baseball!!! I am just grateful that he will be here with me on the day of the surgery as it is going to be a VERY long wait.

That's it for now..be sure and stay tuned because the posts will be coming to you closer and closer together as Wednesday approaches.

Mom and I together say again....."Thank You" for all of the good wishes, prayers and support!!!

The Most Lengthy Pre-Op in history....

I will start this post by saying "WOW"..... "Overwhelmed".... "Scared".....
We started the pre-op adventure today at 1:30pm and it ended at 5:30pm and involved the following:

1st stop was at Dr Walperts office where we met with Dana who works with the company that markets the "Bone Stimulater" which we learned how and why it works and Mom will wear this contraption (after she gets home) for 30 minutes a EVERYDAY for upwards of 5 months. (This will promote healing of the bone growth) Then we met Dr Walperts PA and answered lots of questions, then came the time to meet Dr Walpert. Another "WOW"...what a SHARP cookie she is, not to mention she looks like a "Rock Star", needless to say Mom and I were both VERY impressed with her all the way around (which is a great thing). Dr Walpert spoke to us about how BIG this surgery is going to be...how involved it is going to be...the medical lingo for the procedure that Mom will be undergoing is called....4 Level Decompressive Lumbar Laminectomy & 2 Level Lumbar Fusion with instrumentation @ multiple levels, fluro navigation & autograft! In other words...a Major, Major Surgery with a very long recovery period. Mom will not be allowed to bend over, twist OR lift anything for 6-8 weeks...I told her that she wasn't even going to be allowed to do laundry and God knows....I love my Laundry Fairy...she will be on hiatus until further notice after next Wednesday. (I am currently taking donations for my dry cleaning bill) Okay, enough of the visit with Dr. Walpert other than we both feel VERY comfortable that we were fortunate enough to end up with her as Mom's surgeon.

2nd stop....Saint Mary's Hospital. This is where we registered for today AND Wednesday...then it was off to tee-tee in the cup, have a 12 lead EKG, have 5 tubes of blood drawn, chest x-ray and answered another thousand questions and THEN we met with the anesthesiologist....the one we met with is not the one the one that will be sleeping Mom but nevertheless we both knew him...Dr Santoro and he was MORE than honest and blunt with us. Dr Linda Ritter will be sleeping Mom who we "hand picked" to be her anesthesiologist for the surgery. Dr Ritter and Mom have known one another since she came to St Mary's some 25 years ago AND she also lives in our neighborhood. Personally, this makes me feel better knowing that Dr Ritter will be "watching" over Mom while she will be under some 4-5 hours....I do know for a fact that she will pull no punches, take no chances and be VERY realistic about what Mom needs while in surgery and in recovery.

3rd stop....Atlanta Prosthetics and Orthotics where Mom was fitted for her back brace. When they finally got her fitted with the proper size she wanted to bring it home with her because it felt so good"....I told her that was a "view into her future"..... feeling good... as it has been so long since she has felt "normal". We don't know how long she will have to wear this brace but we are guessing that it won't be "short" term....looking VERY forward to her getting her awesome "quality of life" back where it belongs!

With all of the above said...the next 5 days are going to be VERY long for Mom and I as we wait for June 3rd to arrive. In all honesty, and I am not pulling any punches here....we are both going to need all the support we can get...it's gonna be a LONG haul. Dr Walpert told us today that complete healing won't occur for up to a year.

Personally, I am so glad that I am here for Mom to be with her, to take care of her and nuture her through this long healing process because God knows she has certainly seen me through many times in many different ways. It is a blessing from above that I am here and I am blessed to have a Mom like I do...she is EVERBODY'S friend, other than all of you out there that she considers a close friend she is also a great friend to all of my circle of friends...she is so much to so many people.

One last thing....a GREAT BIG THANK YOU TO our own personal Angel...Garnett Dress who made this surgery opportunity come MUCH earlier than it would have...remember..."it's not what you know, but who you know"

PS Number One: A huge "THANK YOU" to Gail Hutchins (my boss) and to all my co-workers at VistaCare for being so understanding and supportive of what Mom and I are facing!!

PS Number Two: A quote from Mama Jane herself " Thank you for all the prayers and support...I will come out on the other side of this better than ever...everybody better watch out"

PS Number Three: A huge gracious "Thank you and we love you" to my Aunt Judith (Mom's sister) for spending the money to come and be with us when we come home from the hospital!!!

PS Number Four: Another huge "thank you" to my friend Julie Rizzi...and she already knows why I am saying this!!! I love you like a sister!!!

Reality is starting to set in......

Tomorrow will bring us even closer to the reality that surgery for Mom is right around the corner. She has an appt with Dr. Walpert at 1:30, after that we go and get her fitted for a back brace, THEN we will head on over to Saint Mary's for her "pre-op" visit at 3pm. It will be a fun filled afternoon and I am sure by the time that we get home Mom will be tuckered out.

I will have more details tomorrow evening on what we find out and of course, I will post the details!!

It's not what you know, it's who you know!

A great big shout out to my friend Brian for teaching me the greater aspects of Blogging 101. It is because of Brian that I am able to put together this blog so that all of you will be able to follow along as Mom goes through her surgery and recovery. You will also be seeing blog posts directly from the patient herself as well....we are hoping that this will make keeping everyone informed much easier and efficient!

Mama Jane's Grandchildren

Sunday 5/24

This is Momma Jane posting on my own blog .
Les has been great as I knew she would be, after all I raised her!
Trips to the grocery store would be impossible without her. She takes care of my every need and then some.
Only 10 more days until surgery but I plan to stay busy with my embroidery "business". My senior tennis team is going to State ( undefeated local season) and since I won't be able to go with them to be head cheerleader (state is June 4 to June 7) I am doing tennis towels for them.
My thanks to all all who are sending good wishes and prayers my way.
Momma Jane

We have a DEFINATE date for surgery!!

Mom's surgery is going to be on Wednesday, June 3rd, first case of the morning as far as we know. She will be in surgery upwards of 5 hours. I am taking her to see Dr. Walpert next Thursday, May 28 as well as to her pre-op visit that day (we hope).

So, with that said, Mom is off her Plavix and we are both looking forward to getting to the other side of this adventure.

We are working on getting her sister, Judie down here from Louisville, Kentucky around the time that Mom will be discharged from the hospital..."thank you Aunt Judith!" She will be here to help me that first week home and therefore making it easier for me to work.

Mom will probably be an AM admit to Saint Mary's Hospital...we will know more after the pre-op visit. Stay tuned for more.....

Possible Surgery Date

Well..we might have a surgery date...June 3rd. This is all dependent on whether Dr. Walpert (Georgia Neurology) takes Moms case or not.....we should know sometime Wednesday which will give Mom her two weeks off of the Plavix that she needs before surgery. Keep your fingers crossed that we don't have to wait any longer than June 3rd...the only thing that sucks about this date is that Mom will be in the hospital on her birthday AND for The Preakness..she has already told me that I will have to sneak her a Woodford Reserve cocktail in, if this happens!

Housebound for the most part.....with pictures from Mom's 70th birthday party (June 2008)

We finally got a definitive diagnosis as to why Mom's legs have been giving out on her and her back has been hurting. Her lumbar spine is all messed up and she will be undergoing a procedure called a Laminectomy with Spinal Fusions. We do not have a surgery date yet, hope to have one the first of next week. Her doctor says that her problems were probably caused by being on her feet for 40 years in the hospital and age does play a part in this problem as well....she will be 71 on June 5.

For now, Mom is pretty much housebound UNLESS she is with someone. For instance, I accompany her to the grocery store now and she is walking with a cane, in fact I take her wherever she wants to go and I do whatever she needs me to do. No tennis for Mom until further notice. We have both canceled all plans (except for me working Monday-Friday). To keep herself busy she is welcoming embroidery projects and alterations, we bought a lap top so that she can we can be mobile with the internet now and of course, she still loves to read.

Mom's attitude about all of this is rather positive....please keep her in your thoughts. As I know more...so will you!