Being a mom...

Being a mom means that when your son needs you, you go! Even if he's 19 and lives an hour and a half away, because when he needs surgery, he still needs his mommy!

Thomas broke his finger in early November at the Florida-Georgia football game. He actually broke it at the tailgating picnic when he hopped out of a friend's pick up truck. Initially we just thought he had hyper-extended it but an x-ray showed that he had, indeed, fractured it. The x-ray also revealed a bone cyst which we were assured was nothing to worry about.

After six weeks, the finger had not healed so the doctor ordered an MRI which showed that there was some sort of growth. He suspected a giant cell sarcoma (I think that's the name). This doctor referred Thomas to his colleague, a specialist. When the new doctor took a look at the MRI, he ordered the surgery for the next day! Yikes! So this mamma tries not to panic, clears her schedule, packs up and heads south.

At check in, the lady behind the desk, whose name is Sheila (good sign?), gives us some information and then we wait a short time for our name to be called. The nurse hands Thomas a disposable gown and he is ridiculously excited to wear a backless gown. Like giddy. (What?)

In pre-op, Thomas is cracking jokes with the nurses and doctors. I'm glad I'm laughing rather than crying. I'm trying to be strong. I'm not *really* worried, but the "what ifs...?" try to creep in. I keep them at bay. The laughter helps. Praying does too. At one point, he laughs a little which causes the monitor to start beeping faster. He decides to see how fast he can make it beep so he hyperventilates.Yeah, that makes the alarm go off. He is delighted! *sigh*

I know that my son is in good hands. I know because my brother in law has assured me that this doctor is the BEST. He should know. He was a resident under him 18 years ago. But it's still nerve-wracking to watch two nurses wheel your son away on a gurney. It just is.

I wait in the waiting room, send out group texts updating everyone then head downstairs to grab a yogurt and a house coffee at the coffee shop. It comforts me to know how many people are praying for this doctor, my son, the surgery.

Soon enough, the doctor comes out to talk to me. The surgery went well. He explains what they did and what to expect next. I'm allowed to go back and I'm surprised to find that Thomas is already awake. The patient is but his arm is not. He says it feels weird to touch his hand but not not feel it, like touching someone else's hand. The nurse gives him a sling because he has no control over his arm.

In no time at all the nurse and I get him disconnected from tubes and dressed in his own clothes. We laugh as we have to "set his arm aside" which he puts his tshirt on. While wrestling with the sling, my hand slips and his arm falls limply to his side. We laugh. He gets to ride in a wheelchair to the valet retrieved car. He *is* still a little woozy from the drugs.

We go straight to fill his prescription for pain meds. The doctor assures us he will need them when the block wears off. After settling him in on the couch, I return to pick up the meds and then I go directly to pick up dinner at Chipotle since he had been fasting all day. We eat dinner together on the couches with the roommate, eating our burrito bowls and laughing about not being able to will his thumb to move. Then we snuggle on the couch and watch movies.

The next day feeling has returned to his arm and with it pain. The meds work but also keep him asleep off and on throughout the day. I administer pills and water as well as wash some clothes, clean the bathrooms, go shopping for dinner supplies. It's hard to leave him the next day but he assures me he's fine and I drop him off at class on my way out of town. I look forward to hearing what the doctor has to say today at the follow up appointment!

Despite the heartaches that inevitably come with the job, I just love being a mom. Best. job. ever.