(photo via wiccked’s flickr photostream) I spent much of yesterday in Carmichael, CA, up near Sacramento, getting mom discharged from the hospital, and admitted into another extended care facility. The doctor said she is much better, physically, but he diagnosed her with major depression. I wouldn’t disagree with that diagnosis, as it would explain a lot in the way of her not eating and not wanting to get up and move around. Also, she had realized before her surgery that she had been suffering from some depression, which I’m sure the trauma of surgery and the life altering changes she has experienced since then have only made worse. The doctor…

My regular readers know that my mom has had health issues as of late. She had a heart attack in February, which landed her in the hospital, where she received heart bypass surgery (otherwise known as a ‘cabbage’, I hear). She spent some time in assisted living, getting strong enough to care for herself, to the point where she can move to California, and stay with her friend, Kate, regaining her strength. Well, she’s been doing ok, but not great. There was some misunderstanding between the cardiologist in Anchorage, and the doctor at the extended care facility, and she didn’t receive some of the heart medications she should have been…

There’s an update on my mom, here. 🙂

On Mom, found here. On Steve, yesterday he had a pin put in to hold his collar bone so it will grow straight and strong, and the surgery went well, and he’s doing much better already. Yay!  Now for world peace and a cure for cancer…

One of mom’s bloggy friends requested an update, which reminded me that I’ve been remiss in my duties. Pretending that all is normal with books and movies and recipes, when in reality life has been mighty stressful as of late. If you’re so inclined, there’s an update here. Oh, and Maya finally got her ‘phase 2‘ braces today. Ouch. I treated her with a book from the bookstore, and a donut from Safeway. Plus Advil. Poor kid. Oh again, Ted’s brother is doing much better after his bicycle accident, but needs to have a pin inserted to keep his collar bone aligned so it will heal correctly. He’s pretty upbeat…

But if you’re in a position where it doesn’t hurt your wallet, and if you’re at all inclined, we’ve set up a fund to help pay for Maya’s Granny to move from Juneau to California.  My brother Richard is taking this on, and it’s a chunk o’ change, let me tell you.  Change he doesn’t have, except on a credit line.  So, if you’re interested in making any kind of contribution, run on over to this post, where there is a link to Richard’s paypal account.  And if you don’t have paypal, and want to help out with a check, you can email me and I’ll send you a snail…

Blogging from the Seattle airport now, at a chi-chi little place with a cheese plate and a glass of wine, and that feels just about right right now. I went to visit mom early this morning, on my way out. It was just about the hardest thing ever to leave with that tube still down her throat. Her nose itched, and I was there to scratch it. But then I left, and who would help her with that? She couldn’t talk, because of the tube down her throat, helping her to breathe. She tried spelling something to me, but either I was too lame to read the letters, or she…

Mom is doing better today than anyone expected, which just goes to prove that she’s strong and determined, even when knocked out cold. They woke her up for just a few minutes today, and she was breathing on her own for a bit, so they feel confident that they will be able to remove the breathing tube in a day or two. I’ve been in here, talking to her and rubbing lotion on her wintery feet, and I think she can hear me. She opens her eyes once in awhile. I know she’s not completely awake, as they said they don’t like to do that with the tube down her…