Mom update

Many of you have asked me via email for an update on my mom. Thanks for asking, that's really sweet.

She's doing great. She's still in pain and gets 'hapo' so easily (winded...or out of breath). She's been out of the house a few times. To see her doc, to Kohls and Mervyns, and once even to the Commissary. We have to wheel her around in her wheelchair when we go shopping. At the Commissary she learned how to run one of those chairs with the cart attached. She knocked over a candy display but otherwise she was a pro at it, zipping up and down the aisles and weaving in between the grumpy retirees (she didn't hit any of them, thankfully).

She's been to church twice and our pastor hugs her everytime he sees her, followed by mom saying "Thank you for the prayers" and then she cries. Mom gets so emotional. It's the Vicodin, she says.

She hates being on meds and wonders how people get addicted to Vicodin because it makes her feel like crap: dizzy, nauseated, floaty, sleepy, and not like herself. If it weren't for the pain in her back and armpit she'd like to pour the Vicodin down the drain.

She's able to watch Lauren with the help of my sister. She just can't pick her up and I occasionally catch them snoozing together on her bed. Very sweet.

She's on her way to recovery and gets annoyed by the whole breathing thing. She used to take walks everyday and do her exercises in front of the TV. Now she can barely walk around the house without getting winded. She's no longer using her walker so that's a good thing. Her doctor said it will take months for her lung capacity to increase...and mom's patience is wearing thin.

Thanks for the thoughts and prayers for her recovery. She'll be up and dancing before you know it!