So Much To Say...So Little Time

Alright, I know it has been a long time since I have posted anything, but I do have an excuse this time. It all started on Wednesday, December 21st. Everything seemed to be going okay in the morning. My Mom felt good and everything seemed alright. Then my grandparents showed up with some Christmas gifts for my Mom. Oh, actually I just remembered. Wednesday morning, everything wasn't fine. My Mom couldn't remember things too well, and she didn't recognize us, or at least she said she couldn't. Then in the afternoon after opening a Christmas gift, my Mom went into a seizure.

At first it didn't scare me, because she has had them before and they last abot 45 seconds. So, after 30 seconds I went over to her and just started praying for her. Then, my Grandma made the comment, I think your Mom is having a seizure. She didn't know that I knew. After about a minute, my Mom started shaking all over and it just got really bad. My Grandpa got the time so we could see how long it was. After 5 minutes, and no changes...only for the worst, my Grandpa called 911. About 8 or 9 minutes into the seizure my Mom stopped breathing. I couldn't find her pulse and couldn't get her blood pressure. It was so scary for me. I really realized then that there is nothing we can do. God is ultimately in control, so the only thing worth doing is to pray. And that's what I did, althought I did believe my Mom had died. After 15 minutes the seizure had stopped and my Grandpa did mouth to mouth and she started breathing on her own again, she was still unconscience though. The paramedics showed up and said she was in a stable condition. They said it is actually safer for her to stay unconscise.

As she was being loaded into the ambulance David showed up at the house. He came home as soon as he heard about Mom. On the way to the hospital my Mom did regain conscienceness. The guy riding in the back with her told me that she was following commands, she just couldn't talk.

They ended up taking her into St. Josephs West in Lake St. Louis. They said that she needed to be admitted into ICU that night, untill they could get her medications under control. On Thursday morning, we went to see my Mom and she looked much better. She was on NO oxygen! We couldn't believe it. Her level was staying at 98 to 100%, when the night before she was at 84 with no oxygen on. Praise God for that!

Then on Thursday to our surprise the whole Myers Family came up from Kentucky to see us and deliver my Mom's Christmas present, the Quilt! We had such a great time with them. That could have been a really tough day for us, with all of the stress of being at the hospital, but they made it so much better. We have been so blessed by their family. Since she was doing so good on Thursday we figured she would come home on Friday.

On Friday, my Mom was much worse. She was swallowing because she was so tired. She couldn't stay away from one bite to the next. The doctor was in the room while I was trying to feed her so he said he thought it best to keep her another day and see how she was. And if she wasn't eating, he suggested putting a feeding tube in. So Friday, Lora Tate, took Mandy and I shopping to get our mind off things that day! We have really great friends! :) It was nice to spend the day with her.

On Saturday, my Mom was still doing pretty bad. She wasn't eating so they did order to have a feeding tube put in. The doctor gave us the results from her MRI and said that the two tumors appeared to be one large mass now. There was lots of swelling, but the size of the tumor didn't seem to change from the MRI done in October...which is good! From August to October it grew 2 mm, but from October 2nd to December 22, it didn't grow! Praise God!

Okay, this is turning out to be really long....On Sunday when we went in to see my Mom she was doing really good. We were so happy to see how she had improved. She was eating and she stayed awake almost the entire day. We were almost positive then that she would be coming home for Christmas! Well...on Monday morning all of us, plus Tara and Jason and David's Dad, went up to the hospital to open presents and celebrate Christmas up there. When we got there, my Mom wasn't doing as good as before. She wasn't eating again, and was very tired. She was able to stay awake while opening her gifts but that was it. So, unfortanately she didn't get to come home on Christmas. Around 2:00 on Christmas my Dad picked Mandy and me up to go to my Grandmas house. I had a good time, but towards the evening I started feeling really sick. I just went in the back bedroom and cried. All I could think about was my Mom. When we left the hospital she didn't look good at all and my Grandpa had made a comment, "Oh, so your Mom seems to be like she is at the end"---That didn't help at all. I hated facing the truth, but that night it stood right in front of my face. I was really scared and I missed my Mom.

On Tuesday my Dad dropped us off at the hospital and my Mom was up in her bed and ready to go. They had taken out the feeding tube and she was anxious to go home. She looked a lot better. She still wasn't talking, but she felt better. So, around 2:00 the ambulance brought her back home. She was so happy to be home! As soon as she got put back in her bed she fell asleep and slept untill 10:00. When she woke up she was talking a little bit. We decided to have her open a few more Christmas presents that we forgot to bring up. She was very alert and was excited about each gift. I then asked her if she remembered what gift I had gotten her, and she didn't. So, I brought the quilt back out. She loved seeing it. She didn't remember it at all. She was so interested seeing who made each block and what each block said. I really enjoyed the time last night reading them to her. Everyone did a wonderful job on their block! And thanks Hannah, for making the quilt for me! :)

So, last night I slept out in the living room with my Mom and around 3:00 I woke up and checked on her. She was awake, just laying there. I got up to turn off the TV it was playing the same song over and over again, and as I was walking to it, my Mom said to me, "Danielle, will you turn that thing off, It's been playing for an hour and a half!" I couldn't believe it! She hadn't talked that much for a long time! I was so happy. I stayed up a little while with her talking and then we both fell asleep. When we woke up that morning she was still talking just as good. It was so encouraging to see her like that again. Mrs. Osborne came today and my Mom stayed up almost the whole day talking with us.

The Hospice nurse came today also to have me fill out information. She said they will have a nurse out every day to check on my Mom. I never thought we would put my Mom on hospice, but I had to get to the point where it wasn't that we were giving up, just getting help. A friend helped me change my out look on that.

We are still praying for a miracle, because that is what it will take. I haven't given up hope, even though many think I am crazy. I sort of feel like Noah. He told everyone that it was going to rain, but no one believed him. I think, a lot of people must have thought he was crazy, I would have. I know I must seem like I am hiding from reality, or don't want to face the truth, but I really do believe she will be healed. Even though, every sign points to death, I just can't believe that.

Please continue to pray for my Mom and thanks for the prayers already!