Two steps forward, one back.

The Bloomsday weekend has come and gone. This was one of the few Bloomsdays in the past 28 years that Mom has had to miss. But Bill and I carried her banner. Bill even managed to get a t-shirt for her. She’s hiding behind it in this photo.

Over the weekend, her son-in-law and daughter-in-law Ron and Ingrid Williams, along with her grandson Chris and his bride visited Mom. Surprisingly, they managed to get hotel rooms even though the town was full of Bloomsday participants and volunteers. They visited with Mom Saturday night and watched the live coverage of the race’s start and finish on Sunday.

Since Bill and I were not featured runners enjoying live television coverage, we kept Mom up-to-date on our progress on the Bloomsday route by calling Ron on his cell phone and having him relay the information to her. Her hearing isn’t working well enough nowadays to get on the regular telephone, much less those silly cellphones.

I must say, though, that this past week has converted me from cellphone-resistance to cellphone enthusiasm. I’m sure that Peg and Bill would agree that we all would have gone abso-freaking-lutely insane if we hadn’t been able to speak with one another at a moment’s notice.

Note: the following may fall into the category of too much information. If the details of medical treatment don’t sit well with you, you can skip this paragraph. About Mom’s physical condition: the weekend has her continuing to improve. Her blood count and blood oxygen levels have gradually gotten back to near normal, her temp frequently has gone below 100, and her infection has almost cleared up. She has been retaining water, though. The heart and the lungs have been working extra hard as a result. The diuretic they’ve administered really kicked in yesterday, though. She’s probably lucky that she’s on a catheter. The water retention has also included pulmonary edema, so they’re tweaking the treatment plan for that, too.

Although she has definitely improved since she was admitted, it has been a case of two steps forward, one step back.

Recently, since the fever has gone down so much, she hasn’t been delirious, but she has been very sleepy. I stayed with her for three hours Sunday afternoon; she was awake for only 10 minutes. I packed a lot of news into that little bit of time, let me tell you, before she told me that she wanted to go back to sleep. Bill has been staying with her at times over the weekend and then all yesterday and today. When he told her that he had to go back to Wenatchee and asked whether Peg or I should come back in and hang out with her, she said, “Please, no!” She’s really tired and just wants to be left alone to sleep.

She may not realize that we hang around as much for our own peace of mind as for her wellbeing. But I guess it’s time to stop hovering and let her be taken care of by her wonderful nurses, nursing assistants and docs. So thanks Evelyn, Patti, Sandy, Linda, Amanda, all the other nurses and aides whose names I can’t remember, and thanks Dr. Rosales. We're counting on you!