Tubes Be Gone

In spite of the 'pain' challenges that we've had, it's been awesome to see the victories we've had. One of those is the removal of the tubes. Day to day, one more tube or the like has been removed from Mom. As of right now, she is no longer hooked up to anything, including the Foley catheter. The only thing that's left is the epidural. The epidural isn't actually hooked it up to anything. The doctors just haven't removed it.

This morning they began the weaning process and are transitioning Mom from the epidural to oral medication. She walked quite a bit already and is allowed to eat whatever she desires. The only thing she has to be careful with is raw fruits and vegetables. She has an appetite and is still tolerating food really well. Let's pray this continues.

I was telling Mom earlier how proud of her I was for fighting so hard to get well. I mean, if I had this huge, long cut in my abdomen and knew I would be in pain from walking, I wouldn't do it. I think I'd be one of those people who just lays in bed. She knows it's the way to heal, though, and she's going above and beyond what the doctor ordered. Sure, it wears her out, but she does it anyway. Sure, it causes pain, but she does it anyway. Mom is determined to get well. So anyway, I was telling her how proud of her I was, and she wouldn't take the credit. She just said, "Thank God. Thank the Lord He is helping me so much. He is so good to me."

And it's true. God is so good to us. I complain so much about so many things when really I have nothing about which to complain. Nothing. Nothing compared to the blind man down the hall who is recovering from surgery and depends on the nurses to help him walk around. He does it without complaint and with so much joy. I have nothing to complain about compared to little Anya, who has been battling Leukemia since last June and has to deal with all of the crazyness of the side effects from treatment. I have nothing to complain about compared to so many people, including my mom. Yet, she feels like she can't really complain and doesn't.