Mom had an appointment at Johns Hopkins today to see how things were progressing with her and to see a comparison of the MRIs from her right after surgery and a few days ago. The doctor was extremely happy with her recovery since surgery, and while he is hopeful that it will not reoccur, he wants to have another MRI done in 6 months and 12 months from now just to make sure nothing changes. Mom brought a hand made quilt that she made years ago and gave to him as a way to thank him for the gift he has given her. Anyone that has seen a handmade one knows of the time it takes, and the thousands and thousands of stitches that it takes to complete one. I thought it was a very nice way of her to show her appreciation for the time and patience that he put into her operation. His skill and the passion that he has for the work he does is truly a gift from God.
It’s hard to believe that a week ago tomorrow, I was fairly convinced that we were going to lose mom either entirely, or at least how we’ve always known her to be.
Her surgery was at 7:30 on Tuesday morning, and they actually didn’t get started until 9:30 because they were trying to get her knocked out for it and in position. The operation ended up lasting around 6 hours total, and was the longest 6 hours of all of our lives I believe. The doctor, Dr. Quiñones, and 2 of his team came into the waiting room when they were done, all smiling with their hands in the air. He said it was an absolute complete success and it couldn’t have went better than it did. They worked slowly removing every bit of it all the way to the stem from where it originated. It ended up being about the size of a grapefruit and the hardness of one of those little bouncy balls.
We made it back to Baltimore today around 3PM. We left yesterday and stopped in the Salem/Roanoke area of Virginia, about half way, instead of doing the entire 10-11 hour trip altogether. It was actually pretty nice to not cram the entire trip in one day and not be in such a hurry. Not to mention it made the trip a lot easier and less stressful on mom.
Tomorrow mom has an appointment for her pre-op stuff at John Hopkins at 1, and again at 4 for a new MRI. Assuming she is cleared for the surgery, her surgery start very early Tuesday morning. The doctor has cleared the entire day soley for her surgery because it is so dangerous, and it’s going to require much more time than this type of surgery normally would since her tumor is so large.
We’re leaving tomorrow morning sometime for John Hopkins in Baltimore. The trip is only 650 miles, but we’re going to cut the driving in half over two days to hopefully make it easier on mom. Right now, it looks like the weather couldn’t be much worse for this trip and needing to be there without a doubt. They are calling for winter storm warnings up there, and quite a bit of snow.
It’s going to be neat to be in a few states that I’ve never been, but honestly, at this point I have no interest at all in seeing anything that any of them have to offer along the way. I’ve been talking for the past couple of years about checking out Washington D.C., and even though we’re going to be right there at it, I am just not in the right frame of mind or mood to even want to go there. The only place I want to see at this point is John Hopkins Hospital, and getting mom well. My camera will be with me in case I change my mind. I don’t expect to, but the snow may persuade me otherwise.
The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.
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