Saturday, August 06, 2005
Mom's Heart
My Mom called this morning. She called to tell me that the echocardiogram done on her heart turned out alright and that there was nothing unusual. I had been waiting for this call all week and praying that the results would be normal. I couldn't imagine my mother under the knife for an open-heart surgery, with everything else she has to worry about--diabetes and COPD. She wears an oxygen mask wherever she goes, and because of her COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease--which is a little like emphysema and bronchitis combined) can't walk ten yards without being winded and must use inhalers along with her daily medications which come in a box the size of Texas. I was overjoyed to hear that her heart is fine. We are still awaiting the results of a biopsy her Doctor ordered on a mole she had removed that had "suspicious coloring". (It is my opinion that her Dr. isn't concerned so much about the actual coloring of the mole as he is with the coloring of the money the insurance will pay him for removing this mole and calling it "suspicious".) I am sure the test will come back benign, as all of the moles in our family have done, harmless little creatures that they are, and it will be one less thing Mom will have to worry about. Still, those of you who are believers, please pray for her situation.
Despite all of this, she is jovial as usual. We talked for a long time this morning, drank coffee together (even clicking our cups together over the phone), and walked down memory lane. We have always been "chums", and even though she is not as mobile as she was when I was in college, just the fact that we CAN comfortably click our coffee cups together over the phoneline shows that immobility changes nothing. My Mom is a tower of strength and love for me. She's had a rough life, has suffered through illnesses and bouts of debilitating depression, but through it all she has come out smiling and laughing. Because of her good nature, people always took advantage of her, called her "slow" (she's an extremely literate woman!), and pushed her aside. All of this, however, has only made her stronger. She is the only surviving member of her immediate family of five children and seems to have become the family matriarch. She is now the sanctuary to which we go for wisdom and logic. Even my father, who has always been strong and sensible in his own right, comes to her for consultation in matters, even though they have been divorced for twenty-five years. She is the mother-in-law every man wishes he had. She is the mother that every little girl wishes were her mother. She is the friend that every person on earth desires. But, she is MY mother (Nah, nah, etc.) and my friend.
