This has been a really crazy summer.
On July 8th we took my mom to the emergency room. My gut told me to stay even though my mom and I were positive that she just had food poisoning. They ended up doing a cat scan because she has a history of cancer. The doctor came back in and asked my mom some questions which made me a little nervous. Sure enough my mom’s cancer was back and with a vengeance!
Not that cancer can come at a good time but this was extremely stressful for me. I had to be the one to call my dad who was at work and then rush my mom to her cancer doctor 30+ mins away all while trying not to scare my kids. The doctor wanted to do surgery right away and my mom being my mom and stubborn told him he had to wait a week. She was more worried about missing my daughter’s second birthday party.
To add on top of that, my husband, my daughters and I were leaving the next day for a week in California with my dad. I also got a new leg the day before we left. You know how doctors tell you to take it easy when you get a new leg? Well I hardly ever do, but this was really a test for it.
My dad has always pushed me to my limits and boy did I put it through a test. I mean climbing up and down playgrounds and climbing up a 6ft sand cliff. Well, it passed with flying colors! I was able to do things that I have never been able to do even when I was little and bad two legs.
It was so much fun that a week later I was laying down on my bed with my leg up and all of a sudden a bunch of sand fell out! I am still new enough to the amputee world that I never thought to stop and see if sand was in my leg. I have never laughed so hard at myself like that moment.
California was something that my little family needed so much.
My oldest received a new diagnosis before we left and my youngest ended up needing afos. These were very hard for me to handle. It is one thing to go through so much medically yourself, but to watch your babies go through things is completely different. I have had afos since I was a year old, but I still sat there and cried as the same doctor who made my first pair and still till this day makes mine do my daughter’s first set. Then to sit here and figure out what my oldest diagnosis was and how it explains so much with her. It was really rough.
It was so nice to sit on the beach and watch a kid who can’t handle new textures playing in sand and dump it on her head. Then to turn around and see your 2 year old waddling right behind my dad up a cliff was wonderful and amazing.
Well as soon as we got home we got the kids into swimming lessons and I was forced to get into a pool for the first time since I became an amputee. It was amazing until I got a really bad blister on my foot.
And then we signed up my kids up for gymnastics. When you have a two year old gymnastics turns more into PT for mommy then fun for her!
My oldest turned 4 this month! It’s amazing how easy going she can be on a good day. All she wanted was to go play at a place kind of like chucky cheeses and all she asked for was a princess cake. She also started her second year of preschool. Due to her diagnoses she didn’t handle the summer very well. We kept her busy between the library, children’s museum, and lessons on top of all the trips to the doctors. She had a hard time at first with all the new kids but once her best friend appeared she was fine. She has been doing so well that she fights us to come home.
I am having health issues right now. Between my spina bifida issues and my mental issues I think my husband might just lock me up, haha.
I hope to meet everyone at the pizza party!!! We will be there with the kids.
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