This was the last month of my year. (Sorry for some repeat-o)

Mom fell COMING TO MY HOUSE FOR THANKSGIVING (Thursday, November 24, 2022), EVEN THOUGH ONE OF MY KIDS PICKED HER UP. Mom stayed for dinner. DH and I went over at night. She went to bed. We thought it would just be a wrenched muscle.

Friday, November 25, 2022 (J's 24th birthday): Took mom to urgent care. Waited the 2 hours they said it would take, upon which they said it would take 2 more. Took mom to local hospital ER, where they gave her Xrays, and a CAT Scan, and spotted a broken L4 vertebra (compression fracture). They sent her home on Tylenol, ibuprofen, and muscle relaxers (which, yo, don't exactly treat bone breaks).

Monday, November 28, 2022: Mom talked cousins into giving her an ENEMA (she hadn't pooped for a day and a half and I think I'm still more angry at the cousins than I am at mom, who hadn't eaten more than 300 calories a day since her fall, so no wonder she didn't poop, but she has a little fixation, and this is too much). Anyhow, it was a bad scene. It was also unnecessary. Her memory had taken a fucking holiday, but her bowels were decent, until this. After this, she was either constipated or had diarrhea for a month. No breaks.

Tuesday, November 29, 2022: SHIT STORM, plus PCP doc visit, at which he basically said Ativan is the DEVIL (LIES!) and that she could be on morphine, then prescribed her 2 Vicodin a day.

By the weekend, we got her oxycodone. It helped with the pain. It did not help with mom. I have not gotten this much emotional abuse since I was in my mid-teens. Did you know that I, who have been by her side since the injury, am USELESS? (That was the least bad thing she said to me. My cousin, who is mom's favorite, and vice versa, finally said to me, "Cindy, I didn't know you went through this." Yeah. Well. I did.)

Anyhoodle. I'm cutting a lot of shit out here.

December 12, 2022, mom got her kyphoplasty procedure. Her heart rate dropped during it, so they gave her something to raise it, then refused to give her IV pain meds after. She woke up and kept ripping off her johnny. She was stark naked and horrible to the recovery nurse, until she told him, "Fuck you," and I had to tell her, "You are being abusive. You need to stop."

And I already feel like the worst daughter in the world relaying all this, when it is only half. She has been awful to me. And I mostly feel like I shouldn't let it out here, but I need to let it out, so I can let it go and forgive.

December 13, 2022. Mom is discharged. She is supposed to have an MRI before discharge, because (and I think I left this out, but she was admitted after an ER visit on 12/8) for what amounted to constipation (but even that's why she insisted on going, she wouldn't tell them that's why she was there, unless/until you asked questions with the right words in the right order) but they saw inflammation in her bile duct, which could be nothing or could be horrible.

I have been with mom every day since her fall. I have had several sequential overnights with her (in which she didn't sleep, and fought me about meds, until I had to hide them on shelves she couldn't reach because she gave me the old, "I'm an adult!" --which fuck you. I already had teenagers.)

Usually, if I was with mom in the day, my cousin Cathy was with her at night. We had a nice little system worked out. But, when Cathy had to go home for several days, several times, I was with mom 24/7 for days at a time. It was exhausting. She didn't sleep. She wouldn't give up certain meds. It was a fucking nightmare. Then she'd cry and tell me how much she loves me. I get it. I do. I have been a fallible parent, but at some point, just no.

Finally, on 12/16, after spending all but one night of Christmas week, sleeping over, then providing all daytime care, I went home. 12/26 is mom's birthday. It was also my liberation day. [link]

I decided to take off a handful of days. On 12/29, DH started feeling COVID positive. On 1/2, he finally tested thus. C and I isolated from him. We didn't catch it, but I couldn't go to mom's. I felt both guilty about that, and grateful for that.

Then, on 1/7/2023, newly married son got locked out of his apartment. Long story short, but his wife did not lock him out on purpose, but she's a PICU nurse and shuts off her phone. He came here, despite worrying that he could catch COVID. He couldn't catch COVID here, only since he ended up with COVID the next day, which meant he had been previously COVID positive, which reset the clock for C and me.

I will see my mother for the next time on Sunday, 1.22.2023. And I'm mostly good with this. Despite all my venting, she loves me, and I love her. I just... she was awful and it wounded me.

So anyhow, that's where we were, until last weekend, when my dog developed Vestibular Disease, and we honestly thought she was dying. (She isn't.)

But anyhow, this all sucked, and if I ran over God's dog, I would like to apologize in a meaningful way.

(I thought that would take two posts. I'm kind of amazed it didn't.)

Plei, I hope you and yours are okay. I miss you.

(I need a little fluffing, Buffistas.)

Topic!Cindy, that was rough, is rough, and will probably continue to be rough for a while yet. Vent as and when you need to. Do what you can, when you can, where you can. Don't neglect or regret self-care.

Thank you, dcp. ♥

And I already feel like the worst daughter in the world relaying all this, when it is only half. She has been awful to me. And I mostly feel like I shouldn't let it out here, but I need to let it out, so I can let it go and forgive.

She has been truly awful to you. Even if she loves you.

Here is where we get to let out the things we need to go of, or not let go of depending on the thing. We're here for you.

So anyhow, that's where we were, until last weekend, when my dog developed Vestibular Disease, and we honestly thought she was dying. (She isn't.)

I thought my dog only had vestibular disease and then it suddenly turned into an emergency last weekend. She has discospondylitis which can be caused by bacteria, fungus or *shrug*. She's being treated, we are culturing and she has a good chance at a recovery. Pets are rough because they are family but they can't tell you exactly what is going on with them.

(Cindy)

Oh Cass. Thank you, sweet girl. ♥

(I hope your dog is okay. It's so scary. Also, thank you for understanding about my mom.)

HTG, we should go out for drinks.

(My poor mom. I don't want to shame her. I just finally know what I lived through.)

Not sure what's wrong with Buffy yet (yes, that is her name), but we're trying.

(Also, seriously, Jennifer. Thank you. ♥ )

Cindy wrote in Natter: "I keep thinking about meeting so many of you in person. I keep thinking about how real — how Velveteen Rabbit — we are to one another, even people like me, who only post here and then. Anyhow, I'm glad you're real.", and this echos my feelings perfectly and beautifully.

Shir. ♥

Plei, I hope you and yours are okay. I miss you.

I miss you, too (email me, bb!). Also, that's a lot. Also, OMG, even the most loving parents become THE WORST when they start to decline, and AHAHAHAHA. I don't even want to start, and I'm sorry you're having to deal with a mom who is older, in pain, and has taken too much out on you.

(We're now mostly recovered from the COVID bout. Which I'm using as an excuse to not call my family members right now. See also, I don't even want to start.)

Oof, Cindy, that is way more than rough; I'm so sorry, and... yeah, do your best to take care of you in all this, but I know that can be hard. And, hell, yes, come here to vent, to chill, to do whatever.