Part Un: A Hue-Stun Experience
Monday, October 8, 2007
My mom had an appointment in Houston on Monday. It was the day they were going to tell her when her surgery was going to be. I was at work, having a kind of good day since time was going fast. I had in mind that I needed to talk to my mom to see what they told her. Later that day, after bugging my dad all day, he finally called me. It was around 1 o'clock when I got the news. He told me that it was bad, but my mom wanted to tell me herself. So he passed the phone to her and from the beginning, you could tell by the tone of her voice that she had been crying. I asked what was wrong and what had the doctor told her. The doctor basically told her that he would have to amputate her leg if the infection was bad. So we wouldn't know till they did the surgery on Thursday. He also told her that if it didn't lead to amputation, it might also lead to a stiff leg. After hanging up with my mom and getting the bad news, I didn't know what the hell to do. I broke down at work. I wanted to leave so bad. I didn't want anybody to know that I had been crying so I was in the restroom for a long time, and from the restroom I would go outside and smoke about three cigarretes. The next few hours at work seemed like a lifetime, and after crying every 30 minutes, my eyes were really starting to show. When it was time for my supervisor to leave, she asked me what was wrong, knowing directly from my appearance. She wanted me to tell her what had happened and I told her I would tell her later. I was so depressed the rest of the day and I was making plans to go to Houston. Later that day I knew my dad was going to come down, but my mom also came down unexpectedly. I was so happy to see her, I felt like I hadn't seen her in months. After tears and laughter we called it a night, and I felt a little relieved. I decided to work the next day, but decided to call in sick on Wednesday and leave to Houston till Sunday. My mom was scheduled for surgery at 7am.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
The day of the surgery arrived with a blink of an eye. Somehow I had driven from McAllen to Houston, following my dad, with Roxie by my side. We were sitting in the waiting room, simply waiting for the receptionist to call my mother's name. I don't think it took long, but to me, every second seemed like an hour. They allowed two people to go in with her and that turned out to be my father and me. My mom changed from her clothes to her robe, and they started asking questions. I was translating since they didn't speak spanish of course, and the nurses kept telling me I looked way to young to be translating, and asking my mom if it was ok with her for me to translate. So they eventually put in her I.V. and prepped her leg for surgery. Before the surgery my mom went to the restroom and the anasthesiologist was waiting impatiently outside the restroom door. As soon as she got out they gave her the anasthesia, she started to fall asleep. I was already walking out with my dad and my mom shouted at us to pray for her. I wanted to cry right there and then, but I wanted to stay strong for her. The next few hours were just a matter of waiting for the doctor to come and tell us what he found and what he did. We had a buzzer thing that they gave us when my mom went into surgery. When the doctor was ready to talk to us it vibrated like crazy and scared the shit out of me. My mom's sister and brother, my dad and myself went into the room with the doctor. He bluntly told us that the infection was bad and it ate up most of the tendon underneath the patella which allows us to bend our knee and walk. They cleaned out alot of the infection and inserted antibiotic beads in her which he described were the size of M&Ms. He also told us that she would have her second surgery on Monday 15, 2007. Then they would determine if she had enough of the healthy tendon for her to walk. This news depressed the hell out of me as well. When the doctor walked out of the room my dad just walked out of the office and went outside the hospital to the car. My aunt and uncle just went back to the waiting room. I went outside as well to smoke my life away and Roxie came along for support. I started crying again and well, I was trying to blame this on everyone in my head. Then I told Roxie to go inside so I could talk to my dad in the car. My dad put on some sunglasses on and was just quiet. I tried talking to him but he really wouldn't respond. He just said that my mom didn't deserve this. Which made me think, who determines if we deserve it or not. No one really deserves this. Especially for a simple little fall. We started talking about finding a job in Houston and moving there so we could be there for my mom. Then eventually I remembered I had to call my brother and sister to tell them what had just happened. I really don't know how they took it, everyone has a different way of coping. After two hours, we finally got to see my mom. Even though she was sedated, it made me happy to see her smile faintly. It is a horrible feeling seeing her on a hospital bed hooked up to IV's, oxygen, medication pumps, the works. We were there until around 6pm and we then left to my uncle's house and left my dad behind. I got frustrated after a while because I wanted to drive on my own and go wherever I wanted to go, so Roxie and I went to Wal-Mart to buy a map to find our way around town.
Friday and Saturday; October 12 & 13
These days were a blur really. I was already driving on my own, getting to know the city, and visiting my mom whenever I wanted to. We stayed with Liz, which was much more comfortable than staying with my uncle since I barely know him. I really missed hanging out with Liz and her OCD made me laugh. Anyway, like i said, these days were a blur and full of traffic jams. The infection doctor came to see my mom on Saturday and told her that they found out what the infection was. She said the infection was a fungus and this was good news since they know how to treat the infection now that they found out what type it is. Saturday night, we went back to Liz's and saw a long movie, which was totally worth it. We fell asleep around 3am and didn't wake up till noon Sunday.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
So we woke up and got our things ready and said our goodbyes. Our drive to Houston from College Station seemed like forever. When we got to Houston we stopped by Krogers and bought my mom flowers and some things she had asked for. We got to the hospital and I told my mom I was leaving and I hugged her and told her I loved her. I didn't want to leave since her next surgery was schedule for Monday. But I needed to go to McAllen to work. Two of my aunts decided to come with me so they wouldn't be as crowded for my other aunts which all came in one car. So the drive back seemed really short with just a few stops. My aunts were actually very entertaining and I didn't mind at all giving them a ride home. I got home at 10pm and I got ready for work. I dropped off Roxie at her house, and then came to work. I fell asleep most of the shift, but I am working two shifts in a row. I came in at 11pm Sunday and I don't get out till 7pm Monday. Now I am just waiting to hear some news from my mom. I know that if it is bad news I will start crying again and there is no denying that. I am going to work Monday thru Wednesday and Thursday I plan to leave back to Houston. I have a feeling, this is going to be a tough month for me, and I thank God for all my friends and family who are being supportive in this dilemma.
Thank you Roxie for coming with me to Houston. You left your job and school, and basically everything for me. And it really means alot to me.
Thank you Brenda for your frequent check-ups and prayers which just made me feel like there was indeed hope.
Thank you Mayda for working with my work schedule and understanding my problem, and also for your prayers.
Thank you Liz for allowing us to stay and being a good friend.
Thanks to all my aunts who are nothing but supportive and I take all of your advice into consideration.
I now wait for news from my mom.