Gone but not forgotten

 

A big thanks to my friend Karen for encouraging me to continue on my blogging journey. I have been away from blogging, but never far away from writing. What has kept me so busy? A new chapter in my life. Bladder cancer. Not mine, but my mother’s cancer.

My mother had lived in Indiana almost her entire life. After my dad passed away, I noticed a decline. A decline in the subtle things. How much she was eating for breakfast. (I called nearly every morning, and this was a frequent topic of conversation.) How much interaction she had with the outside world. What she was remembering. . . and what she forgot. More of that for later. The very shortened version is that we began the  conversation of her ability to maintain independent living. About one year ago, she stated she was sometimes afraid to live on her own. Fear of the aforementioned. A fear of her driving abilities. Many others that were perfectly normal. Move forward to January 2012, and she had moved across a few state lines to an independent/assisted living facility. With the help of a fantastic team rallying behind her, she lives in an apartment. The transitions that have taken place? Tremendous for all of us, but she has made the greatest changes of all. In  true characteristic form, it is without nary a complaint. Okay, she has complained some.

What would I do in her situation? Well, that is much of what this year has been about. Trying to put myself in her shoes, ask what I would want, and help her as best as possible to believe she still has great worth and things to offer.

In the process, she has been fighting bladder cancer this year. In the process, I have been overseeing her personal, medical, and financial needs, for the short list. I have been writing. Praying. Going to medical appointments, the ER, Urgent Care, etc. In short, I’ve been giving what I normally receive every day. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

Tagged: Bacillus Calmette-Guérin, Bladder cancer, Cancer, Caretaker, Conditions and Diseases, Health