Bye, bye Victor Martinez

Our visit with Mom this afternoon was a good one. We talked about her health (more on that in a moment), her spirit (which is still soaring from her small church group and daily communion), a gardening surprise and her love for baseball (and disappointment with the Indians trading Victor Martinez).

Where do I start?

Well, I already told ya'll about the gardening surprise and the awesome maroon truck. I guess I should dive right in to how Mom's doing, since that's the whole point of this here blog.

"I'm good, but a little tired and tight," Mom said when we arrived. She was sitting in the office-style side chair next to her bed wearing her light blue shaw and rubbing her left arm and upper shoulder (versus what? lower shoulder -- sorry that's the editor in me saying 'nice words, dummy'). "I have a slight temperature and I'm a little bothered by that," Mom continued. "But, enough about me, how are you guys?!" she said as she snapped up with a smile.

We told her about Helping Hands in the Garden. "Yes, Dad told me," Mom divulged.

"Aww..." Emma scoffed. She was looking forward to breaking the news to see Mom's face.

"But I heard you took some pictures," Mom added, wanting Emma to not feel like she had been scooped.

We cued up the laptop and showed her the photos. She cried. Emma grabbed the box of aloe-tissues.

"Thank you," Mom said. "And thank all of them. It looks so beautiful."

--

On a health note.

Tightness in her upper left area is probably edema. Doctor is introducing a new antibiotic for her to begin, so she'll be on it for three days before her next visit with the incredible Dr. Grainger (Mom likes him a lot). She's nervous about the fever but accepts that each day brings new challenges that she's blessed to face -- her words, not mine. Cellulitis (spellcheck isn't helping with that one) seems to be a possible culprit. BP is up a bit, but that's ok. Mom's worried about having to go home too soon. "I can't even begin to think about that," she says with her eyes closed. "I need all my energy to be here today."