I know things have been somewhat quiet around the blog lately, but it wasn’t intentional, however, it was necessary.  Normally I don’t get too personal here on the blog, but every now and then I feel the desire to share bits and pieces of my life.   Writing this blog isn’t just my fun-and-game makeovers and thrifting our house into a home, but it’s also my outlet where I get to release some stress or tension and to talk about things and to connect myself with you.  Allow me to press the rewind button to last year this time to the March madness (somehow the post was deleted) but  all within a 30-day period, my mother suffered a heart attack and needed an immediate double-bypass surgery, my husband’s shop caught fire and I was diagnosed with diabetes (while battling vertigo).  Yes it was a crazy, twisted, world then and as things mellowed down and life began to become normal again.  Later in November my mother  began complaining about having pains in her chest (like a burning feeling, she began to feel tired and out of breath.  She even passed out a couple times.  All of which was extremely alarming to us.  As we reported this to her PCP, he didn’t seem to be doing anything about it or taking it quite as urgent as we expected.  He suggested perhaps switching medications, or maybe her diet was wrong, but given she had just had a heart attack a few months prior, we felt she needed better care and sought another care provider.  He immediately did some tests and ordered lab work on her and made the necessary appointments for her to see her cardiologist as he suspected she was having heart problems.  Within 8 days she was being admitted back into Palmetto Richland Heart Hospital as she was on the verge of having another heart attack.  Apparently the main artery from her previous surgery had collapsed which resulted to inadequate blood to the heart, causing it to pump harder.  She had to undergo another bypass surgery on the main artery.  This was very risky because her body was still healing and given her age (80) the surgeon was extremely concerned.  We were given all the information about the risks involved and what to be prepared for.  Here, is where I insert the enormous amount of prayers said for our mother.  I can’t thank everyone enough for all the phone calls, the prayers, the thoughts of well wishes for her…  As she laid in the hospital bed waiting patiently for her day, we surrounded her with love, attention and happy thoughts to get her emotionally ready all the while we were secretly crying and feeling the scary pain at the thought of losing her.  Her soft spoken words to us were “I’ll be alright – don’t worry”.  It was almost as if she knew something we didn’t know.  Perhaps mother’s intuition or the simple fact she knew Allah was with her and told her so.

Nothing pleases our mother more than seeing her family around her.  The love for her children is the driving force of her strength.

She’s indeed our rock of Gibraltar, our family matriarch and the backbone of our lives.  Our mother has suffered with heart failure for approximately 30 years, but it wasn’t until last year we actually dealt with the true risks.  Her diabetes was getting out of control and she was on the verge of needing dialysis prior to her heart trouble so we realized getting a firm grip on her health was vital.

Before the surgery, she was making wonderful progress with her health and was off her insulin and maintaining good blood sugar levels and her kidneys were doing better.  There’s no doubt that  having a good doctor along with a support system is crucial.  She was admitted into Palmetto Richland Columbia Heart Hospital and her lead surgeon was Dr. Pieti, (who also performed her prior surgery).  I can’t commend the hospital enough.  Not only was the staff very friendly and accommodating but, the level of care was impeccable.  The night before the surgery they gave us a “my story” note card to fill out – just something the nurses and staff read just a way to get to know a little bit about their patients.

That night we left her, with heavy hearts, scared to death of what the next day would bring.. but yet I had an overwhelming feeling that “everything IS going to be alright”.  The next morning we stood circled around her locking hands, saying prayers for her, the doctors and nurses.  The hospital had a teleprompter that informed us of the exact steps happening during the surgery (another considerate convenience).   They even supplied us with pagers to let us know when the surgery was over.. (great customer service). The surgery lasted 5 hours and when the surgeon came to us with a smile – we knew our prayers were answered.  It took a while for us to see her, but when we were able, it was a glorious site.  Looking around her room and seeing all the machines connected to her was truly mind boggling, but all I knew is that they were taking wonderful care of her.

It took a while before they could try to wake her because they had to warm her body up, so we left for the evening while she slept in peace.

Leaving her was tough, but again, we felt she was in good hands and we knew would want us to go home and get rest.  Even while she was in the hospital, she kept telling us we don’t have to come everyday —yea right— there was no way, we WOULD NOT COME…  When we saw the tube connected to the puffy bed plastic, we asked what was it.. the nurse told us it was a heater blowing warm air into the mattress…Me and Amina jokingly said we need to get one of those warming machines to put in her bedroom because she’s always cold..lol… (a chuckle moment to break the stress)

After two days, she had regained her strength, the tubes came out and she was sitting in a chair.  This day we walked in to find her hugging her second red heart and smiling again.

With her beautiful soft face glowing at us, feeling better as each day goes by, it’s hard to believe what lies on top of this woman with a heart of gold is the battle scars of life.

Although she hates seeing them, I told her to wear them with a badge of honor, to remind you of God’s saving grace.  For He has given you another chance to continue to live and enjoy your family.  So with her new red socks on she’s able to walk out of that hospital once again.

From the hospital, she spent a couple more weeks in a nursing home and then home.  What I’ve learned (again) about nursing homes, again, is: You have to be active in the care giving.  If something doesn’t seem right, question them.  Stay in contact with everyone who is overseeing the treatment and lastly, inform the PCP of what’s going on.  Mom kept saying she wanted to go home, so we made a unanimous decision to bring her home and work closely with her doctors.  Sometimes things happen for a reason…I told my oldest brother James, there’s a reason God put you out on disability.  He has done a tremendous job at caring for our mother while the rest of us are working.  She’s home in her own bed, resting and being well taken care of.  I told her it’ll be soon enough for her to dance at her next birthday party.  Again, I want to thank you all for the well wishes, calls and prayers.  Thank you again for hanging in there with me as I shared this story.

So as I bid you tah-tah for now.. I’ll be laying low until things mellow out.  In the meantime – keep on thrifting!!  Making your house into a home!  Happy Hunting!

btw… what’s your thought on that version of “Grandma’s Hands”  –   Mom loves to dance and I thought it had the perfect little beat-bop to it.