Last year, a week after my hip breaking, my mom fell very ill. She was hospitalized for several weeks with acute pancreatitis and nearly died. It was an extremely tumultuous and emotional time for us all, and I've nver been so scared in my life. I couldn't do much for her at first, besides just sit there at the hospital and be there for her as much as possible. When she couldn't speak, I tried to be here voice. When she couldn't sit up or walk, I tried to be her arms and legs and strength. I tried to do as much as I could for her whenever I could. There were several times when I thought that we were going to lose her and many times that I went home crying, as she was in so much pain.
When she was finally released to a skilled nursing facility, I was strong enough to spend a lot of time with her. She hated her first facility so I found a better location for her, which she liked better. Her roommate was a 90-something year old woman who had been there for nearly a decade and listened to her tv so loudly that the administration told us that no one had lasted more than a few days as her roommate. She was a sweet lady and so my mom tolerated it. Besides, she was getting stronger every day and only spent about a week there.
She went home and I basically spent all of my time at her beck and call... because, well... she has done so much for me over the years and I couldn't imagine myself living life without her.
Unfortunately, she went back to the hospital exactly a week upon returning home. They diagnosed her with a HUGE pseudocyst on her pancreas and no surgeon was willing to touch it, due to the dangerous nature of the surgery. Several doctors even told us that she had the largest pseudocyst that they had ever seen!!! (Talk about scary!!) She was released from the hospital with the plan that she would return a few weeks later for another CT scan and then they would decide what surgical option to take - although everyone we talked to was very negative and skeptical with regards to performing the surgery.
Once she returned to her home from this 2 week hospital stay, she was very weak an still on about 10 medications. I spent many nights and days with her, ensuring that she was eating properly, taking all of her meds, and getting better. We spent so much time together that I feel we completely rebuild our relationship and started to really enjoy each other's company. She slowly regained her stamina and strength.
In any case, flash forward to about 5 months later.... the most recent CT scan showed NO pseudocyst on her pancreas and only MILD damage to her pancreas. Prior to this CT, a portion of her pancreas was thought to be necrotic and malfunctioning... but now, there's NOTHING there out of the ordinary. How amazing is that/!?!?!
