In speaking to my father chatting today about Mom, he mentioned the old military favorite of the waiting game when it comes to her health. Hurry up and wait he said, the all too familiar saying and I didn’t swallow that well for many reasons. Mostly as I hardly have the inclination to remain patient with this matter. Progress came to a sudden halt, and mom is scheduled for major GI surgery. Tests showed that while the antibiotics after 5 days have been effective, the perforation of her bowels is not healing. She will have a colonoscopy bag inserted so that her bowels can heal. I have mentioned that she has a complicated history of surgeries, she has beat a stroke, kidney cancer, infections…she is an amazing woman, not only strong, but an unwavering ability to overcome adversity. I hope that this surgery scheduled will be just another testament of that. I am planning at this time to fly up and assist with her recovery when she gets home from the hospital. I hope and pray that it is not needed to come up before this.

While my mom has been hospitalized, the girls and I have called her every morning on our walk to school. The girls I presume have been a bright spot in my mother’s day, a good distraction from her reality. As we walk, we talk, FaceTiming and the girls share with their Mimi all of the important things. Such as, hazels bright red cowboy boots that she insists wearing on the long walk, her pig tail braids, Ella recounts all of the excitement with school. Today and tomorrow we have had bad rain rolling through and are unable to walk in the morning to school with Mimi. Regardless, she asked me tonight if the girls could call her on their way to school. I could tell how much it meant to her. I agreed that we would call.

She told me lately before the hospitalization in so many words, not to end up like her, with her health. While I hope to make improvements with my health with time, these words hit really hard. I thought to myself about that statement, and cried. Even when she is sufffering, she is thinking about us, I know she will come through, because she is unwavering. I am forever grateful for everything she has taught me. She is the modern version of the unsinkable Molly Brown, the unrelenting, durable and steadfast Melinda (Mimi) Ruth Rossignol-Ashworth.

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