Mom and Scott

 We received amazing news about my Mom.  Although she did indeed break her femur, the knee replacement is not compromised. The bone is aligned and the surgeon felt that operating is not necessary. She needs to remain in the immobilizer and continue to refrain from weighting her leg for the next several weeks/ months. She is uncomfortable and miserable, but she won't need surgery!

Unfortunately the prospect of hosting Thanksgiving while in an immobilizer was overwhelming so we have decided to scale back this year. My cousins won't be coming, but the Cousin Crew will be together. I've decided that this unfortunate situation may be the perfect opportunity to create a Cousin Crew Thanksgiving Extravaganza!  I'm thinking junk food, games, bowling and other adventures. Perhaps hearing all of the grandkids squealing with laughter will be the best medicine for my mom.

The countdown is on for Scott's new job. He starts on Monday and the excitement is palpable. Meeting with at-risk students to help break down their barriers to success, whatever they may be, is a perfect use of his skills and experience. He has always related well with teens and I know that these kids are going to benefit from him being there. 

While I'm delighted for his new professional adventure, I am probably more enthusiastic about his current role coming to an end. The position which shall never be discussed again (lol) has been a nightmare for him and for our entire family. I feel like we have been living under an umbrella of misery but forecasts are calling for sunny skies and smoother sailing.  

By this time tomorrow, he will be completing his final day, and we will be able to turn the page on an extremely difficult chapter in our lives. 

 

Happy Walking Day

 

Updates

 It was wonderful spending the weekend with my mom and sister. Although my mom remains relatively immobile and continues to experience the persistent pain from her break, her spirits are strong. Tomorrow she goes to the surgeon for answers and a plan. After reviewing all of the information from her initial hospital visit, we are gearing up for surgery. Hopefully we are wrong and she will emerge from the appointment with just a walking cast, but I suspect an OR is going to be in our future.

This is a weird week at work with everything being closed Tuesday for Veteran's Day, although I have to admit I am grateful for the respite. Spending the day in my jammies and watching Christmas movies all day might just be the perfect thing to lift my Grinch-like spirits. It is also an exciting week because this is Scott's final week as an autism aide. 

He finally received the paperwork over the weekend with his official offer and start date. He starts his new position on Monday and I don't think I could be more excited for him. Not only is he getting out of an inappropriate and uncomfortable working situation, he is stepping into something that will allow his unique experience and skill set to shine.  After today he only has 3 more days in the classroom and we are both seeing the light at the end of a very dark and depressing employment tunnel.

Weekend Away

 It has been difficult hearing about my Mom's discomfort and not being able to provide any respite or relief for her or my sister. After an extremely long week, Friday has finally arrived. I'm packing a bag for the weekend and I'm heading to my Mom's house directly after work. I'm looking forward to giving her a huge (albeit in gentle and strategically placed) hug.

Yesterday she went for another scan, although we won't have the results until Tuesday. It has been difficult for her to maneuver around the house without the use of her leg. I'm really hoping that the doctor's will deem her break worthy of a walking cast instead of full traction. Of course it all depends upon the depth of the break and the proximity to her knee replacement. Until we know, she is to remain as still as possible.

Spoiler alert. She's miserable. I don't blame her at all. Hopefully spending a few days with her will prove to be a distraction. At this point, there is nothing else I can really do. 

Updates

 I love my job, but being tethered to WV right now is difficult. With my Mom struggling with a broken leg in traction and reliant upon my sister for care right now, I feel utterly helpless. While I'm happy to be a cheerleader, my words of support do little to lighten the load for either of them. It's ironic that I am finally working a job that leaves me feeling valued but it also renders me unable to travel to help my family.  

I'm very grateful that my sister works from home and has seamlessly stepped into the role of temporary nurse.  (No Mom, you are not helpless.  But you have a broken leg and need help right now. It's okay!)  With a scan scheduled for tomorrow and a repeat visit to the doctor to the review the results scheduled for next Tuesday, the next week is going to be difficult for everybody involved.

Hopefully everybody will ease into a comfortable schedule and the healing with be smooth. 

In other news, Scott has officially resigned as an aide. It has taken several weeks to go through the system, but the official notice for his new job has finally arrived. In order for him to accept the new position, he needed to promptly resign from his current role. Needless to say, that was an email I was happy to help him craft.

I am so excited for him to step into this new job. Forging relationships with teens is his strength and he is going to do an amazing job. He is already gathering supplies for his snack and grooming closet and I bought him a huge hidden picture poster to help his students pass some time as they open up.  When does he start? We still don't know, but we assume it is soon.

Fall

 My heart is hurting this morning for my Mom. Yesterday she lost her balance as she was trying to disinfect her dishwasher and she ended up falling with significant force. Now my Mom is a bit of a professional faller. She has taken dramatic tumbles across streets, on boardwalks, in hallways, in school parking lots and a variety of other locations during her 'career.'  She has emerged with horrible road rash and gnarly bruises, but she has never caused any damage. Until yesterday.

She began complaining about pain as soon as my sister and nephew tried to help her up. When I learned that she was en route to the hospital, I steadied myself for bad news. It turns out that she has broken her tibia and that her knee replacement may or may not have been compromised. We won't know if surgery is required until Thursday.

In the meantime, she is in a full leg immobilizer at home. Talk about miserable! She is in significant pain and a lot of discomfort from the brace. If you are in contact with my Mom, please consider reaching out. I think she could lean into her support army right now.

 

Halloween

 Another Halloween has come and gone. This year was special because it marked our first Halloween in a new state. I heard that our street was 'epic' for trick-or-treaters, so I decided that this was the year we were going to make our impression. We were going to be the fun Halloween house.

I filled my mom in on my plans and she immediately agreed to come down and to help me with the execution. Friday afternoon was spent moving the fire pit down to the end of the driveway and setting up the treat table. I brought down my wireless speaker and some spooky lights to finish off the effect. By the time the sun was setting, we had the start for a fun neighborhood party.

Sigh. Yet again, I set up a party only to have nobody attend. We hosted maybe 20 trick-or-treaters, all of whom were incredibly impressed by our efforts and our offerings. But it certainly was not the hundreds I was anticipated. Like so much in West Virginia, I was left deflated and confused. Even though nobody came to our party, my mom and I had a blast!

While we were overseeing our lonely party, Scott and Timmy headed out on the scooter to trick-or-treat. The pair returned about 40 minutes later to grab the car keys so that they could venture into 'better' areas. They came back a few hours later with a bag overflowing with candy, many of which are full size, and plans for where they are going to go next year.