So, um....yeah

Is anyone still there?

I really have a hard time believing that I haven't posted since April. But then I think of the many strange twists and turns of the last seven months and ... I get really tired.

This is not even remotely quilt or craft related beyond an explanation for my near complete disappearance from the interwebs.

In May, my mother was feeling poorly and finally admitted that maybe a trip to the doctor was in order. (Stubborness is a family trait that has definitely NOT skipped a generation!) We actually went to the ER because it was a weekend and the situation went from bad to worse so quickly I found myself wondering if my mom was going to make it through the day.

It's strange to write some of this - sharing such personal details - especially when it feels like it is really her story and not mine to tell. But this whole experience has absorbed all of my "spare" time and drained me of all creative momentum and inspiration. So, it seems mildly therapeutic for me to share.

Anyway, my mom was diagnosed with a heart condition which causes a very rapid heartbeat. it's like your heart is running a marathon even thought you're pretty much just hanging out, watching television or reading a book. And that can make your heart very very tired. And THAT can sometimes cause fluid to build up around the outside of your lungs. Weird, huh?

So, after sucking some of that liquid out and sending it off to a lab for analysis she had various scans and xrays, which revealed blood clots in her lung as well as some sort of mass. I'll spare you the step-by-step proceedings, but my mom was ultimately diagnosed with small cell lung cancer, atrial fibrillation, and pulmonary embolism. And all of that really sucks.

She was a champ, seriously. Went through three rounds of chemo (lost her hair and had multiple transfusions and infusions of all the stuff that chemo completely depleted from her system), 23 radiation treatments, and several hospitalizations. Somewhere in the midst of all this, another scan was done that revealed she also had colon cancer - completely unrelated to the lung cancer. Lucky, right?!

Well, this new diagnosis required surgery, for which my mom was obviously not an extremely great candidate. But she did it, and ended up with a brand spanking new ileostomy! After an extended stay in ICU, where things were quite touch-and-go for a time, she bounced back and was really doing well. By the end of summer, we were able to go out and actually have some fun enjoying simple pleasures like grocery shopping.

And then she fell and broke her hip. Can you believe it?!?! Of all the dumb luck. She had to have surgery again to put some lovely new hardware into her left hip and has spent the last few weeks at a rehab facility regaining her strength and working with various therapists. The good news: she is due to come home this Friday!

So, any and all good thoughts, prayers, healing light and love are all welcome and needed. There is still a lot to look forward to, including a check in regarding the lung cancer and a procedure to slow down her racing heart, which seems mercifully straightforward.

And that, my friends, is why I disappeared for awhile. So if you're still here, thank you. I am vowing to myself to get back to creating in the new year - if for no other reason than I enjoy it.

Meanwhile, love your family and your friends and all the people important to you. Life is precious and fleeting. It's easy to wait, easy to procrastinate; but what are we all waiting for? During this holiday season, especially, try to spend quality time with the people you love. Don't get too bogged down in the stress imposed by commercial interests. Time and love are the most important things to share with one another.