1/13/13 It's like Christmas!

3:00 pm

Hey people! It's Renee again.  Man, my mom is impressive.  But we already knew that.

So far today she has:
-taken a shower with very little assistance, taking special care to make sure her hair is nicely "fluffed" for visitors
-brushed her teeth and given us a lecture on the merits of various styles of floss
-eaten an exciting breakfast of thinned creamed wheat and applesauce
-taken a couple laps of the fourth floor, stopping to check out the view
-ordered creamed chicken soup and tapioca pudding for lunch (She rated this meal a "3 out of 10." She's a food snob.)
-shown off her rad incision to everyone who walks by (it looks great--nice and neat, no redness.)

Every doctor and nurse we've talked to today is amazed with how well she's doing.  They keep telling us, incredibly, that there's a good chance she'll go home tomorrow.  She's working on weaning off the epidural pain meds.  As soon as she's done with those, the catheter can come out.  This of course thrills my mom, though I'll sort of miss it--watching the little bag fill up with pee is like sitting by a soothing water feature ;)

Daniel and our good friend Kristi are helping my mom get up for another walk now.  Off she goes at her usual competitive pace!  My dad and I are hanging out eating tasty roast beef sandwiches that my grandma brought over.  It turns out when your mom has cancer, people bring you anything you want. It's like Christmas!  Need some coffee?  Here it is!  Lunch, dinner, dessert?  Ta-da!  Daniel and I are trying to get someone to buy us new laptops, but no luck with that one so far.  Maybe we don't seem quite pathetic enough.  We've been smiling all day because my mom looks so great.

I made three New Years resolutions this year.  The first is to do my first century (bike 100 miles in one day).  The second is to learn to drive a stick shift (don't judge me).  And the third is so cheesy I didn't tell a single person until now: to write lists of things I'm thankful for whenever I'm feeling stressed.  I had no idea this one would be such a lifesaver.  It's been the craziest, most exhausting week ever, but I can honestly say I have so much to be thankful for.  I was reminding my mom this morning that about 90% of the news we've received since coming to the hospital has been positive.  The cancer was found relatively early, no other organs were involved, the surgeon was able to remove all visible cancer, the prognosis is good, the best possible medical team was assembled for her case, etc. etc.  Focusing on the good news, cheesy as it sounds, is a real mood booster.  As is the sun!  If we all go home tomorrow, we're going to miss watching the gorgeous sunsets against Mt. Rainier (aka the Mountain) and the city skyline.  The view in Shoreline doesn't quite compare.

Well I hear my mom coming back to the room, so I better sign off for now.  She played the cancer card to strong-arm me into playing her favorite card game with her.  I wonder how long she'll be able to milk this?  I would have been happy to play a strategy card game with her while she was all doped up, but now that she's pretty much her old self I don't stand a chance.

Bye for now, dudes!  Sorry about your Seahawks or whatever.

~Renee

PS: I just remembered that I also told myself I'd write more in 2013, and now here I am blogging about hospital adventures.  My mom's resolution was to lose a little weight this year, and my dad's was to work less.  Be careful what you wish for, I guess!