Becky Says...

October 24, 2000

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More Mother

My mother has been on my mind today. If you've followed the story told in the entries for October 10, 11, and 12, you recall that she had brain surgery. That happened ten years ago today. (And I'm being lazy: links to the entries mentioned are available by clicking on the "Archives" link in the left column.)

I got to the hospital that morning in time to see her very briefly on her way to surgery. And then began the wait. With me were several family members and friends, and our pastor. We were all gathered in a waiting area near the operating rooms, which was wonderfully set up. I had learned that I couldn't concentrate on reading while waiting in hospitals, so I had taken a knitting project with me.

During the course of the morning, we were all talking about all sorts of things. At one point, the pastor made mention of the morning routine at his home, but he forgot that some of the people in our group did not know much at all about him. So he blurted out something about how he and Becky needed a new alarm clock. At that point I heard the collective intake of breath, and looked up from my knitting to announce that his wife's name was Becky. That relieved any number of panicky relatives!

The surgery went well, and eventually I was allowed into the recovery room to see her. That was late in the evening, and after that visit, one of my cousins and I went to dinner, then back to Mother's home. I knew she was in good shape, and that I wouldn't be able to see her again that night, so there was no reason to go back to the hospital.

The next day I did go to visit, of course. She was in Intensive Care for several days, as is not unusual in such cases. Her roommate was an elderly gentleman. Both of them were connected to all sorts of intravenous drips and monitoring devices, and the gentleman's son told me his father's condition was such that he slept most of the time.

On the second day after the surgery, one of my cousins went for the morning ICU visit, to let me sleep in a bit. I got a call from her after she got back to her office. She was most perturbed that Mother had a male roommate. And frankly, she was upset that I wasn't bothered by it. I managed to say I was sure it was all right, and that all propriety was being duly observed. What I wanted to say was that if this ailing man and my ailing mother could manage to get something interesting going while still connected to all the drips and devices, well, more power to them!

There were other amusing things that happened during her hospital stay, and I'll share them as I think of them.

Text © copyright 2000 Becky