Flowers for Surgery and Birthdays

I’ve been ordering a lot of flowers lately. Since my mom, who lives in Florida, can’t manage some of these more tedious things due to her eyesight, I try to help long distance whenever I can. And since everything is on line, it makes it very easy. This month happens to be birthdays for two important people in her life. So before I order anything, I suggest a few options to her by sending emails with photos. It usually takes a few back and forths, but it is easy enough. So I thought that would be it for awhile. Well, last Friday my mom was admitted to the hospital for a few days for medical reasons and went home last Tuesday. She wasn’t in much distress and the stay was uneventful. Yesterday she landed in the emergency room again with a fractured ankle and she will be having surgery today. She had a very uncomfortable night and was in distress. I know her favorite colors are lavender and purple, so I ordered a bouquet that hopefully will arrive by the time she gets back to her room. It’s been a rough few years for my ninety five year old mom. My dad died three years ago; she fractured one hip two years ago, and the other hip last year - both in August and with hurricane problems to boot. Now this happens. We are considering what we,  my siblings, and our wonderful caregiving neighbors need to do going forward to help her as much as we can. Until that happens I hope the flowers are a diversion. 

Fractured Ankle, Surgery and Hospitals - Long Distance

Two years ago my mother fractured her hip in August. Last year my mother fractured her hip in August. So I was hoping we would get through the year without an incident - because each time required an emergency car ride from DC to Florida. Last week I got a phone call that my mother was in the emergency room with difficulty swallowing. She was admitted on Friday and sent home on Tuesday. She has exceptional neighbors and a close friend who take excellent care of her, and she was not in a great deal of distress. We spoke every day and we followed her progress by talking with the nurse about how she was doing and planning next steps. Today I got another phone call that she was back in the emergency room. This time it was for a fractured ankle that she sustained in the house when she was getting ready to go to her scheduled follow up doctor’s appointment. I talked to her on FaceTime, she looked okay, but needs to have surgery tomorrow. The hospital stay may be two days followed by some rehab/home rehab, etc. for at least 6-8 weeks. So now it’s time to figure out what we need to do. My siblings live in DC too, and my mother is in good hands. When to go and for how long is always an issue. Being a nurse and my husband a physician helps, but I’m sort of bewildered right now. It’s always so much easier when all this happens to someone else. I have a feeling the cousin family reunion is Boston may not be in the cards. We were looking forward to seeing everyone after twenty years but it may just have to wait for another time. This year has not been so hot for a lot of reasons. But it could be much worse.