her most recent surgery

I think I forgot to mention that my mom had surgery on her foot last week. A few highlights:

1. One of the tendons in her foot had a tear and she also had a neuroma between two of her toes on the same foot.
2. Her doctor had recommended treating both issues conservatively (i.e., rest).
3. Within a few weeks of diagnosis, surgery was scheduled, because we all know mom is not one to sit around resting.
4. Three times during the day before surgery, mom assured me that she would be fine driving herself to the hospital and dad would be fine driving them home because even though he has not driven a car in at least two years and has lost most of his eyesight and traffic isn't heavy around the new hospital on 5300 South State during rush hour (whaa? it is a freeway access street and the Costco is next door?), it's only two miles to their house and she could give him directions.
5. On the morning of the surgery, Jack and I went to work and mid-morning he called me to ask when I wanted to go to the hospital. We decided he could drop me off, I'd wait with dad and then drive them home in their car.
6. On the way to the hospital, I called mom's cell phone and my sister-in-law, Paula, answered. Apparently dad was at home with stomach flu or food poisoning or something so she had their cell phone because he could speed dial that number to check on mom. However, Paula needed to leave before mom would be ready to go home, so there was some question about who would be driving mom home.
7. Paula waited until mom was back in the room with us before leaving, taking mom's prescription with her and stopping to fill it and drop it off with dad on her way home.
8. Mom's doctor stopped in to explain the surgery to Paula and me. He said that the tear had been quite small, which meant he could have just left it to heal with conservative care, but then he said, "Then I thought to myself, what would Jeri want me to do? And then I attached a piece of tendon to strengthen the torn area." He said that was why it took him longer. Then he told us about the neuroma, which is a nerve that has enlarged. He said that it was fairly small, he'd certainly seen much larger, but once they start to hurt, the only way to eliminate the pain was to remove it. Then he said, "We all know Jeri--she's like a train coming down the track--no stopping her. So I feel good about the surgery." Paula and I smiled knowingly at him.
9. Paula left after we met up with mom in the recovery area. Mom kept telling me she was cold, and I remembered seeing the warm blanket container by the nurses' station, and they told me I could get as many as she needed, so I kept going back, putting the warm one next to her skin, piling them on until there were six of them wrapped around her. She was still shivering, and I remembered that feeling from coming out of anesthesia in the past, so I leaned over her, wrapped my arms around her and calmly told her to take some slow deep breaths and relax. As I held her in my arms, for the first time in years, I felt her relax for a moment. And the shivering stopped. But then, just as quickly, the shivering started again, so I quietly reminded her to take some deep breaths and relax, and she did and once again, the shivering stopped. After repeating this several times, the shivering stopped for good. I sat up, still perched on the edge of mom's bed, with my hands still gently on her arms, and we looked each other in the eye. That is when mom said, "I...think...you...have...a....zit...on...your...chin." I told her it wasn't a zit but was my cancer. She asked if I was going to have the same procedure she'd had to remove a skin cancer and I said I was just joking, I didn't have cancer. And that's when she looked at me and said, "You know, I really like your grey hair."
10. On the way home, after I somehow figured out how the hospital valet service works and somehow figured out how to drive the two miles home with constant directions from mom, I called Jack to tell him we were on our way and if he could come pick me up that would be great but if not, I'd be happy to walk. And mom said, "Were you joking about that walking home?"

And that is just a snippet of the afternoon of mom's surgery. She is healing well, scooting around the house on a knee scooter. She keeps trying to get dad's hearing aids into his ears, but he is making a stronger effort to keep them in their cases. Life as usual continues.