Big Change in Plans

We made it to within 4 days of surgery, and then the wheels fell off.  Libby's mother took a bad turn for the worse, and after a frank conversation with the cardiologist, he made it clear that she was not going to get better and her heart was failing.  But he also said that she could go home if she wanted to, which everyone, including Mrs Harper, preferred. So last night, Neeni got to sleep in her own bed for the first time in two months.  The move here was not without its challenges, however. She was supposed to be moved Thursday night, but bureaucracy got in the way, so both Libby and her sister spent the night at the hospital. This continued on Friday, so it was 3:00 pm before they transported her home. But there was a thunderstorm going on, with lightning everywhere. No sooner did they get Neeni here, and get the oxygen machine set up and running, then the power was knocked out by the storm for two hours. This meant no oxygen, no A/C, no lights, etc. Even before that, while hooking up the machine, they tripped a breaker in the house, so when I arrived, the house was pretty dark, trying to conserve electrical use to make sure the power stays on. Libby has always jokingly called her house "Green Acres" because the power panel is terribly undersized and they have to be careful, as a matter of routine, what electrical devices run at the same time. Hospice is here, to take care of her to end. But the good news is Neeni was thrilled to be in her own bed, with her own remote controls to her own TV. All the traveling back and forth to the hospital is done, and everyone can just be at home.

Not to be overlooked in all of this is the fact that we had to postpone Julia's surgery. This was not an easy decision, at least for me. I was ready to press on, but there were too many loose ends, plus Libby really, really wanted to be with Julia during her surgery. The staff at Children's were amazingly accommodating, so the surgery will be rescheduled. Due to the various doctor's schedules, it won't be until at least the second half of August. So now it looks like Julia will start school, and then have to interrupt it once we get a schedule reestablished. Julia has handled this in a very mature way. She is disappointed in the delay, but understands. As we were counting down the days, she had calmed herself and was mentally ready to go, which I think resulted in her seizures subsiding.  Now we will have to go through the countdown again. Maybe this time she will be able to approach it with a little less apprehension.