Tuesday, February 05, 2008

It's a long long road



It has been a long time since I posted to this blog. The major reason is my youngest son. He has a disease called cervical dystonia. The usual treatment did not bring him any relief. He decided to have the surgery that could possibly help. It involves placing leads in his brain, attaching wires which run to batteries placed just below his shoulder blades. This was all supposed to happen in September, but due to errors with the paperwork at the hospital, it did not happen until January 9. He lives in Florida, but he had the surgery up here at Northwestern Hospital in Chicago. The surgery lasted 10 1/2 hours. It was a long day. He was concious during the whole thing. All went well, and the second surgery was on the next Tuesday. That also was successful. He went back to Florida on Saturday, the 19th. I was in Chicago from the 8th to the 13th.

Last Wednesday, I flew to Florida and on Thursday and Friday I drove him back up here to our house. We looked like the Beverly Hillbillies. We had three bulldogs, one generator, one chain saw, and one small rocking chair, plus our stuff. It was a difficult two days. On Sunday he went back to Chicago and left the pups up here. They were going to activate the devices and adjust them twice a week for three weeks.

Today, he found out that the left side device is infected, and he is in surgery as I am writing this. I am devastated. I cannot believe that the doctor yesterday did not pick up on this. His chest was so swollen. I sure thought that something was not right.

What more can I say? I just sit here shaking my head. I know I won't hear from him until tomorrow. There is nothing that I can do. He is there alone. In this life, I have found that there isn't much that hurts like seeing my children in pain, either physical or emotional. Motherhood.

2 comments:

Michelle said...

Oh Sharrie, no wonder you haven't been blogging! Even though you have the most wonderful subjects to photograph and write about (bullies!!!), your heart is elsewhere. Please do keep us posted on your son's condition; we'll pray for the best for him.

Nancy K. said...

I'm so sorry to hear that your son is going through such a difficult time! Call me if you ever just want to talk. I'm working second shift now so could meet you in LaCrosse for lunch some time if you want to get away...