A Lot Less Tomorrows

Kevin's mom is in the hospital again.  I say again because it is about an annual thing.  This time though, she nearly didn't make it.  That's a first that we hope isn't repeated any time soon.

She gets sick every January and it invariably turns into pneumonia.  We thought it was that again this year but it seems like they're having a difficult time putting their finger on a diagnosis this time.  No fluid in the lungs = no pneumonia, no shadows on the lung x-rays = no cancer, yet she was in respiratory failure.

She's on steroids, antibiotics, iv fluids, and occasionally on oxygen.  It seems like every time they back the respiratory medicine off, she struggles.

So that's fun.

We have been talking about how she's been failing in health. We've been slowly wading into the "How are we going to do this" waters.  Now we are being shoved into the deep end of the pool and can't ignore it any longer.

Even Kevin's dad has come to the realization that this is it.  To quote Grey's Anatomy (strangely) he's realized  that there are a lot more yesterdays now than there are tomorrows.

We have to think about dividing up chores...who's going to clean the house and help cook.  Who is going to begin going to doctor's appointments, every single time.  Who is going to help pay the bills. And lots of other tasks that we aren't going to think of until they are needed done.

Included in all this is keeping an eye on Kevin's dad so that he doesn't overdo it.  He's so healthy that a person easily forgets that he's 75 years old. Last weekend he spent both days working on the racecar with Kevin like one of the young guys.

So, that is what is on our minds right now.  We are unsure when she is coming home and what care will be necessary upon her return. 

One more movie quote before I go: the scene in While You Were Sleeping when Jack tells his father he doesn't want the family business.  The father says "Just now, right this moment, everyone's healthy, everyone's happy."  Jack tells him "I'm sorry but it's not this moment."  That is what New Years Eve felt to us as the new year rang in.