I think my MIL has been pretty much living at the hospital the last few days. Poor lady. Fortunately her sister also lives in Tucson, not too far away from my MIL, so she has family nearby. I'm not sure which hospital Mom-mom is at; they have a bunch in Tucson, although I have an idea where she might be.
I made a card for Mom-mom yesterday, nothing fancy because I'm not creative enough for that, but something from AmericanGreetings.com. Gracie drew on it for her, and I'm hoping that will cheer her up a bit.
Mom-mom has other issues than just the stroke. I'm not sure what all of them are, but I do know she had throat cancer about 25 years ago and had radiation and all that. They also performed a tracheotomy on her way back then, so she breathes through the hole in her neck and uses a handheld machine to talk. I'm pretty sure she's always used her left hand to hold the machine against her neck, so the stroke shouldn't affect that. I know the spot she puts it against her neck is pretty callused from the vibration; it wouldn't be fun to have to switch to another spot on her neck. I don't know if she has any lingering effects from her bout with cancer and the radiation and the chemo, or if she has any other serious health issues. She's always looked fairly healthy, tracheotomy notwithstanding, when we've gone to visit. Before this, she's always been able to get around and take care of herself, and she has several friends who visit at least once a week to keep her company. The only thing she doesn't do anymore is drive.
But Mom-mom's also close to 80. I don't know how she's feeling about things because I've only talked to my MIL about Mom-mom's physical progress, but I do know that you have to want to get better in order to do so. I hope she feels that way too, and that she will be around for quite some time.
Kurt told me that Mom-mom's cancer was linked to smoking. Now I don't mind smokers; I don't mind being around cigarette smoke, as long as it's not done in my house or my car. When we lived in Virginia, if the first available table at a restaurant was in the smoking section, we'd take that one. (Washington doesn't allow smoking in public places, not even bars anymore. The only place you can smoke inside now is in the casinos on the reservations. Virginia can't do that -- it gets far too much money from the tobacco companies.) I just never wanted to start smoking myself because I knew that once I started, I would NEVER be able to stop. I can't even stop biting my fingernails; how could I break such a strong chemical addiction like nicotine?
When Mom-mom got so sick, it prompted my in-laws to quit smoking. What I don't understand is why Kurt's aunt and uncle, who also watched Mom-mom go through her cancer treatment, continue to smoke. Or even why they can't at least cut down on the number of cigarettes they smoke a day. They're the type of people who stop smoking only to eat, and then once they're finished eating, they're right back to smoking again.
Also they smoke around Mom-mom, which makes me a little worried. Her breathing hole doesn't have the filters that the nose does, so whatever she breathes in is going straight into her lungs.
The other thing that totally confuses me is both of Kurt's younger brothers smoke. I can understand that Kurt's aunt and uncle can't stop smoking because they're addicted, but why would you even start smoking when you've seen someone get so sick as a result from it? Plus Kurt's one brother is a chef. You'd think he wouldn't smoke so he would be able to taste the food as he's making it.
Oh well. I just hope Mom-mom continues to get better.