It's been a while.....

I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted here. Since the last post, in July, there have been a lot of things going on!! (FYI - This post is long.... but please, read it. There are two more short posts about the boys that I did today immediately after this one).

In August, we enjoyed a road trip to Destin, Florida. It was Me, James, Nelson, Henry, Cary, Mom, & Shaylynn. We made a pit stop at John's house, just outside of New Orleans, and spent the night. It was great to get to visit with them. Our vacation in Florida turned out great. Our condo was very nice and comfie. It was a short walk across the street to the beach. We liked it so much we added an extra day to our stay! We were So glad to have Mom & Cary with us. Mom didn't feel great because the weather there was rainy off and on...that does not agree with her RA. But I know she enjoyed the day she got to spend on the beach watching the kids play and all the time we spent hanging out in the living room waiting for the rain to pass.... plus the seafood was great.

We got home from vacation on the 16th. Cary had to be at work on the 17th and Mom had Chemo on the 18th. This round of chemo really got her down and she ended up going into the hospital on the 22nd with a fever.

School started for Nelson on the 25th and as much as he dreaded it, he really enjoyed it when he got there! I was SO relieved!!

On the 27th they moved Mom into the ICU. Surprisingly, they let her back in a regular room the next day. I spent the night with her that night and although she didn't feel well, she couldn't sleep so we spent the entire night, until 4:30a.m. talking! It was really nice to talk so much. It was the last real conversation I've had with her. I left that morning to go see Nelson off to school and when I got back, things were not good. She was having a VERY hard time catching her breath. Karen, her sister, and My grandparents were there and by lunch time they had her back in the ICU...that was the 29th. It was really hard to see her fighting to breath like that... heartbreaking really. The night her other sisters made it in and got to see her. She was able to squeeze our hands and twice she asked what day it was. That was the last time any of us have heard her beautiful voice. Saturday morning they had to go ahead and put her on the ventilator. John and his family came in to see her and because they had to evacute New Orleans thanks to Hurricane Gustav. I was glad she was still somewhat responsive that day because he hated that he missed getting to talk to her. She did squeeze his hand and even opened her eyes at the sound of his voice. As far as I know, she hasn't opened them since. John has since had to go back home. Cary, Me, and My grandparents spend a good part of each day at the hospital waiting. Everyone else comes every chance they get. It's hard for them to be away. I think Mom has been sedated enough since the day after John got here that she hasn't responded to us by squeezing our hands or anything. She's still in the ICU and will probably get a tracheostomy tomorrow since it's now obvious this is going to be a long term thing. For those of you who are reading this and don't know, she has Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, also known as ARDS. www.ards.org

I guess that' sall for now...... hope this finds you all doing well.