The big C

Monday November 30, after we brought our tree in, and got the kids to bed, dad called, and with that, was the day that changed our lives forever. Mom had been sick over the weekend, i just assumed she got my stomach bug, and we think she did, but still by Monday she wasn't herself. After leaving our house dad came home and said mom was just out of it, so he took her to the ER. When dad called, they were still at the hospital, but after a CT scan, they told him (and now us) that mom has a tumor in her brain and it's most likely Cancer. 

It was 10pm at night and they had already been there a couple hours. They were transferring her to Mt. Carmel East for the night, to start running tests, and dad was coming home, but there was nothing to be done. 

The next day, I spent on the phone all day, getting mom admitted and transferred to the James at OSU--and by the end of Tuesday she was in fact there. Wednesday and Thursday were tests pretty much all day. Mom was in fact out of it, mixing up words, generally confused, and not herself. By Friday it was time for surgery. Despite her positive outlook and wishing and praying for the best--she went into surgery Friday afternoon.

By about 7 that night, Dr. Elder, her surgeon, came out and told us that she had a grade 4 Glioblastoma, and though they removed 90-95% of the tumor, it was very aggressive, and will grow back. Other of us who had been researching knew this was not a positive outlook, certainly not what we were hoping to hear, but in a way, December 3 was the beginning of the next phase of all of our lives. She was in the hospital another week, and dad was there as much as possible by her side. Friends and family visited and kept her occupied, and finally after a week she was send to Dodd Hall across the st. for rehab.

We originally thought she'd come home a day or two after surgery, but after a couple falls in the hospital, the decision was made that she needed more help.