Senshi and Pirates and Robots , Oh My!

One week and a Christmas later, I'm back at home, waiting to go back to work tomorrow. BOOOOO.

So, how did it go? Well, it was kind of up and down....

( fa la la la la... )

I think I've caught a cold though; my throat's been scratchy since Sunday, and now I'm coughing. Of course.

And I didn't get any art/fic done while traveling; I slept through most of both trips, just because of how freaking early the trips were (I was on the move by 6am, both ways). But from the sounds of it I'm not doing anything for New Year's besides working, so I may try something holiday-related this weekend. If not, there's always next year. XD;

So today is Thanksgiving here in Canada, and I'm actually on my way back to my place. I'm thankful there was an Express bus to Toronto, so it'll only be 6 hours on buses instead of 7-8.

I've actually been up north with my family since Thursday afternoon, and we had our family dinner last night. As always, SO MUCH FOOD. Really mom, you need to figure out portions. Really. =_=; We also picked our names for the Secret Santa thing.

My poor sister wound up working all weekend, and couldn't find anyone to take her shift so she missed the dinner last night. She was NOT happy. Christmas dinner is going to be worked around her schedule, as even though she requested Christmas Eve off, there's no guarantees. She's already been stuck working two Xmas Eve's in a row now though, so heads will roll if she's stuck again.

My grandmother...*sigh*. She's still at home, but she looks even worse than the last time I saw her in August. My mom and aunt are getting her into an elderly living apartment next weekend, so at least she'll be able to move around a bit, and sleep in her own bed/bathe in a shower (both are on the second floor of her house, which she can't get up to anymore).

But she can't dress, bathe or cook for herself, and her hand shakes like crazy when she tries to eat. She needs to be in nursing home. But nothing short of a hospital stay is going to get her there now. My aunt is willing to bet that's going to happen by Christmas. I can't disagree with her...

It's hard to see how quickly my grandma deteriorated; 2 years ago, she was still so strong for her age (late 70's) save for a bad shoulder. And watching my 50-something mother already struggling with sore joints and my dad with bad knees...

Two weeks ago today, I was frantically trying to complete my costume for Anime North, which was occurring the next weekend. I spend two full days (aka 12 hours a day or more) sitting at my dining room table getting the thing done.

BUT, I got it done. I was happy with it, and all geared up for that Thursday, when I was planning to leave. After two years, I was going back to Anime North!


...Wednesday afternoon at work, I get a phone call.

Up north, my grandmother's gone into the hospital. It's really not looking good for her; people are coming in from all over the country.

After A LOT of talking (and some arguing) on the phone, my father finally convinces my sister and I to go ahead with our plans for the weekend, and I would drive up with my sister to be home in case the worst happens. We do so, and I did enjoy the convention. But the situation back home never leaves my mind.

It only gets worse when we hear from our dad late Saturday that our mother is back in the hospital for the 5th time this year, as yet another complication from her surgery has come up. This time it's a pulmonary embolism (aka blood clot in the lungs). My sister can't drive in the dark, so we decide to leave for home early on Sunday.

My father neglects to mention our mother was taken to the hospital via ambulance (my dad had been at the hospital already with our grandma) and put into the ICU. Didn't want us worrying. Right.

So after a long weekend, we pull into the driveway, and within 15 minutes we're going to the hospital to see our mom and grandma. Mom is weak, pale, and being loaded with blood thinners, but she's good. She came home on Friday afternoon, hopefully for good this time.

And grandma...is absolutely stunning her doctors. Her kidney function is up from 10% to 40%; she's awake, and speaking a little bit despite the drugs she's on. 11 days after being admitted, she's fully conscious, and while weak and unable to feed herself, is eating a small liquid diet. She's nowhere near out of the woods, but there's actual hope.

For the last week, I was running back and forth to the hospital, doing errands for my family, and visiting friends and more family. I was expecting to go to a funeral.

For all the changes in plans the last week, I'll gladly take that result .

*goes to flop onto couch*

So, 11 months ago, I underwent surgery to deal with an abscess in my intestinal tract, which had been causing me pain for MONTHS. They had to do a resection (for those not in the know, that's when they remove part of the intestine, and reattach the two parts again). Took me MONTHS to recover, mostly because the opening decided to be a bitch and not heal properly. This was my introduction to the world of Crohn's.

So early in March, my mom wound up going into the hospital. For the first time in 13 years (since she got her ostomy), she was having complications from her own Crohns's (it's believed to be genetic). She was in there for a few days, getting her nutrition back up, and was put back on medication.

She was back there last weekend with pains, and this time they discovered and abscess they hadn't seen the last time she was there. They put a drain in her, and sent her home after a few days with instructions to see Homecare to get it replaced/cleaned every couple days. The whole time she was feeling pain.

My dad wound up rushing her to ER Friday night; the abscess had burst, and needed to undergo surgery for the first time in 13 years yesterday. She wound up not only getting a resection, but they also decided to move her ostomy from her one side to the other (meaning removing/sewing up one side of her, and reopening/implanting on the other side).

She'll be in the hospital for at least a week. She's going to be out at minimum 6 weeks; she's in pain because the morphine just ain't doing it for her this time (immunity buildup?).

EDIT: Just spoke to my mom via the hospital who had better info (and apparently is on better meds). Turns out it wasn't just an abscess, but a fistula, which had been leaking into her body and out the drain. So she's now got 4 separate openings that need to have packing done.

I'm pissed that the CAT Scan didn't show how damn bad this thing was, that the Homecare nurses didn't suspect anything when my mom was complaining of pain, and that they let my mom out so goddamn early in the first place. Two days is NOT enough time.

And even though dad told me not to worry, I really, REALLY wish I wasn't 5 hours away right now.

*goes off to plot for a longer Easter visit*