Thursday, January 8, 2009

Some Answers - FINALLY!








I have to first of all thank everyone for all the thoughts and prayers that you have sent my mother's way over the past month. I felt all of those prayers as I was discouraged fighting the fight to get the care that I felt was necessary for my mom. The last month has been a merry-go-round here, but I believe that we are finally getting some answers to my mother's medical issues.



Many of you who follow my blog regularly know that my mother has been a paraplegic for the last thirteen years after being attacked by a virus in her spinal cord. She has had no feeling from mid chest down since that day. She has never complained and everyone is always amazed at her "can do" attitude. Many talk about what an inspiration she has been for them. Thus, when a medical issue arises, it is usually of the serious sort.




In September she developed a small blister on her outer hip which we immediately started to treat. Unlike her normal skin breakdowns, this did not respond to treatments. Wound care specialists were called in and they were doing all the dressing changes. Things were looking much better. However, in the beginning of December she started to experience bands of pain in her upper leg. Since she has been without feeling for thirteen years, this was odd. No one could figure this out and it was like pulling teeth to get anyone to pay attention. I was most concerned that it was perhaps the wound that was festering inside of her leg. No one seemed to feel that way since it looked "good."





A very long month of ER visits, septic work ups, doctor visits, holiday delays with offices closed was agonizing as I watched my mother become weaker, experience extreme pain, run fevers, have an elevated heart rate and become very confused. My sister and I were staying with her as she lives alone.




We were finally able to get into our local hyperbaric wound center and saw a wonderful doctor who agreed with me and cultured the wound. It turns out that what we saw as a blister was actually a septic hip. The pain has been because the sciatic nerve was exposed to the infection - much as a nerve in a tooth being open up. On Monday they put her in the hospital and are now treating her with antibiotics and will do surgery to clean out the hip. Since her heart rate was so accelerated they need to evaluate the reason before surgery can be done. The doctors feel that it could be the result of overwhelming infection within the body. Please continue to keep her in you prayers as we are not out of the woods yet.





Meanwhile, Christmas did come. The new year rang in as well. It is hard to imagine that we are well into January already.




A few events of the last month......




Mr. B turned 6.












Mr. T turned 11.









Our Christmas baby turned 1.











The children enjoyed Christmas Eve gift exchanges. I know the room looks filled, but remember that there were 50+ people here that night.











And Mr. J just enjoyed the older toys. Gotta love the crazy hair!









Cousins sharing a little Christmas cheer.













Meeting Mr. and Mrs. Claus at Breakfast with Santa.



My "chocolate" orchid bloomed. It seriously fills the room with the smell of chocolate. They are delightful plants to raise.







And now I am off for my yearly physical. YUK! It means a list of future appointments for mammogram, bone density, lab work and who knows what else.






I will be blogging as time permits, but I cannot promise anything regular at this point. I do try to get to your blogs and enjoy the time that I spend there. The visits always brighten my day.

29 comments:

  1. I will pray for the best possible outcome for your mother. I'm glad you were persistent on her behalf. It scares me because there are so many in this country who have NOBODY to advocate on their behalf and I'm sure many have suffered greatly because of this. Your mother is lucky to have a daughter like you.

    What a WONDERFUL family Christmas you had! Thanks for sharing the photos.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, what an end to the year you have had! The family Christmas pictures are gorgeous, so are Mrs & Mr Claus, so cute. All the best to you,you are in my thoughts. Good on you for having your yearly checks, just make sure your man has his too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your poor mother! I am so glad that you were persistent and got her the help she needs.

    Your Christmas looked lovely. Family is so important.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wonderful to see you posting, although I am really sorry to hear how difficult it has been to get proper treatment for your Mum. Thank heavens she is now in the right hands. I will keep praying...I know how worried you must have been.

    Great photos of all the Christmas celebrations! Those grandkids of yours are too cute!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Prayers to you and your family.
    Glad to hear you got help for your mom. I will continue to pray that she will get better soon.
    God Bless
    PS Loved the Christmas photos.
    Lovely family.

    ReplyDelete
  6. You and your sister have had your hands full taking care of your mom, but that is what loving daughters are for to share our lives with the ones we love!! Your Christmas looked like it was a great one..50 people was a special celebration!!

    Praying your mom is headed toward a good recovery..take care .. hugs
    Baba

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have been wondering what you found out about your Mom's situation. She is so fortunate to have you and your sister as her advocate! I just feel so badly for those that don't have someone to look out for them. I never knew how she became a paraplegic, I guess I thought she must have been in an accident. She does so well and to have such a good attitude is such a blessing! Keep me posted on her progress. Do you think you will be able to go to OR?

    Your Christmas pictures are wonderful! Love the one of the grandbaby on the rocking horse!

    Hopefully I will see you in a few weeks in the sunny south! It's getting cold here again, a cold front is coming down from Canada. Today is sunny and nice though so I must get out and enjoy it!

    Take care and please keep me posted! xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow, you and your family have been through the ringer with the medical system. At least it didn't take as long as Linds! I trust that things will look up soon and that she'll be able to return home.

    Christmas and birthdays look awesome - what a pile of gifts for a passle of people!

    I never heard of a chocolate orchid - it's gorgeous! But I"m afraid it would feed my chocolate addiction and send me to Hershey's!

    ReplyDelete
  9. So glad to read that things are under control for your mom. I will keep her in my prayers/thought! Happy New Year! Wishing you the best 2009 has to offer!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for coming by. I hope your mom improves soon! Have a wonderful weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Mary, I have given you an award .. come over and claim it..have a great week-end. Baba

    ReplyDelete
  12. So good to hear from you. Your mother and your family will be in my prayers. I am so glad you are finding answers, what a time you had!
    You have a beautiful family! Thank you for sharing your pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  13. So sorry to hear that things have been so hectic for you...but glad that Mom is finally getting the medical attention she needs.I will keep her(AND YOU) in my prayers.May the New year bring better things...
    Suzy

    ReplyDelete
  14. I do get a sound nights sleep as his hypo's are not very often and it is surprising what you wake up to if you have to. I can wake up if he walks round the bed to go to the loo in the night!

    ReplyDelete
  15. You are an amazing woman. You knew all along, why don't these doctors listen. They could have tended to your mother soon and she would not have had to go through so much pain. I am sure it is a great relief to you. What a wonderful family you have....

    ReplyDelete
  16. Your poor mother, I feel so bad for all of you.
    Your Christmas pictures look like so much fun, I love a house full of people on the holidays!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. cool plant!
    beautiful blog!
    and my the pics are so great of christmas!
    Happy Birthday to all the kiddos too!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Dearest Mary,

    Isn't it the most frustrating thing, knowing that something is wrong and yet not getting the doctors to listen! That's the way it is with Ross right now, they keep releasing him from the hospital without really telling us anything and then he ends back in there. I'm so glad to hear that you finally found a doctor who did check out your mom and pinpointed the problem!! Breaks my heart, though, at the thought of her suffering all that time before being diagnosed properly. Bless her heart, please know that my prayers are with her!! I can well imagine what a frustrating and worrying time this has been for you and your sister.

    I so enjoyed seeing the Christmas photos, the children are so adorable:-) And look at all those gifts...fun, fun, fun!!! lol Everyone looked to be having a great time. Take care of YOU and know that I think of you often:-) xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  19. I hope now that you have found the problem with your mom that things can be fixed and she will being feeling well once again. Looks like you had a delightful Christmas with you family. Nothing better is there?

    ReplyDelete
  20. wow! You've had quite the time this last month! I'll keep her in our prayers that she continues to heal.

    ReplyDelete
  21. And an obviously happy time was had by all.

    So sorry to read of the difficulties your dear Mum has been going through. Obviously one of the many downsides of having no feeling. We tend to think how great it would be without pain, but as we see here we would not know when anything was wrong.

    Many blessings to you and prayers.

    ReplyDelete
  22. And an obviously happy time was had by all.

    So sorry to read of the difficulties your dear Mum has been going through. Obviously one of the many downsides of having no feeling. We tend to think how great it would be without pain, but as we see here we would not know when anything was wrong.

    Many blessings to you and prayers.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I'm praying for your mom. Bless her heart! It is so frustrating not to know what's wrong, but to know something is!


    My brother in law is also a paraplegic and will be having shoulder surgery this month!

    Love the Christmas pictures! Looks like our family was there with so many! :)

    ReplyDelete
  24. So sorry about your mom. What a wonderful Christmas party....and to be able to share it with so many ...lovely photos.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I will keep your Mom in my prayers and be looking for positive updates. What a struggle you have all been through. I will pray for healing and peace.

    Your family pictures are delightful, I especially love the cousin picture and the Christmas baby picture, oh they are all cute!!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. What a relief for you to have some answers, finally! I'm so glad you found a Dr. who listened to you and acted. PTL for that! I will keep your mom in my prayers...and strength for you and your family as well, as you cope with the trials.
    What a treat to see all your beautiful family photos :)
    The chocolate orchid is gorgeous!
    I hope and pray that all will go well, and that your mom will be on her way to recovery very soon.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hello Needled Mom……..
    I have sent you an e-mail to let you know that you are the winner of the items in my giveaway at Legacy of Stitches. I have had a wee bit of trouble getting a winner. Even though everyone is instructed to leave an e-mail or blog address that’s not always done……..so the first winner drawn had no way to be contacted – no blog, no e-mail address. And the second winner had no e-mail but she had a blog address so I have left her two messages but she has not replied. So guess what, you are the next in line. We will keep drawing names until someone replies!! So what do you have to do………please e-mail me or leave a mesagge on my blog that you have received this message by noon Monday Pacific time (2:00 my time). I am hoping to hear from you!!
    Sandi in snowy but warming up to the 30’s this week Minnesota!!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Dear Needled Mom,
    I popped in quickly last night to send you an e-mail just before I went off to bed. Didn't take time to read your blog but did a quick "picture tour" and thought...gotta check back. I should have read more for now that I'm home from church and have a few minutes, I read about your mother and I do hope she is doing all right. My mother suffered a septic infection a year ago this past October. She had a kidney stone that was blocking and caused infection to build up and a whole team of doctors couldn't find it. She didn't have the pain they associated with a kidney stone so didn't do a catscan until they called us together to tell us she was not going to make it. We were fortunate that she survived. At the time, I felt the doctors were doing the best they could and yet as time went by and I became more aware (I'm not a nurse) it was hard to believe they had not done that simple scan that saved her life. I surely do hope your mother does well. It looks like you had a wonderful Christmas and so many grandchildren must have made it a delight!! I have just one grandson but we make it fun with just one! I look forward to hearing from you when you have time.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Thanks for the comment on my blog. Be sure to send me an e-mail with your name and address so that I may send off the items in my "Snowman Surprise" giveaway. :-)

    ReplyDelete