Hello!

Hello strangers! 👋🏻

It has been months since I posted. MONTHS. And... this is my first time using Hive. Do I even know how mark down works anymore? What are the tags these days? 🤷🏻‍♀️

The past few months have been a 💩 storm.

Last time I was here, was not actually here. It was on Steem pre-fork. Corona virus had just been found in my home state of Washington. Last post Life was starting to feel uncertain.

So what has been happening since?

Where to even begin?.... 🤔
You may remember my mom needed to have surgery for a mysterious growth in her pancreas. Doctors discovered it New Year’s Eve after mom was rushed to the ER via ambulance in a tremendous amount of pain.

Her surgery happened February 25. It was extensive and brutal. Things initially went OK but then quickly deteriorated.

Mom suffered all the complications including:

• Surgical site infections
• Inhaling vomit
• Blood clots
• Pulmonary embolism
• Post surgical diabetes
• Delirium

She ended up in the ICU three times. (Once just last week). It is the worst thing I have ever seen, seeing my mom so sick and frail. Overnight she went from being a relatively vibrant 70+ year old to being completely helpless.

Mom was initially hospitalized for fifty days. FIFTY!!! Most people spend two weeks in patient post the procedure. After her hospitalization, mom was transferred to an assisted living rehab place. Because of covid restrictions we didn’t see mom for over TWO MONTHS. The day I showed up at the hospital (March 10) and was told I couldn’t come in... to say I was absolutely devastated would be an understatement.

Since that day in March I have only been allowed to see mom three times. She has also been readmitted to the hospital three times. As I mentioned earlier, she is in the hospital again right now. My family never thought in February that mom would still be struggling so hard come August.

At the moment mom has very little strength and a lot of difficulty eating. Her procedure back in February, a Whipple removes a huge portion of the digestive system in an attempt to prevent or cure pancreatic cancer. The aftermath makes eating and absorbing nutrients very hard. As a result, mom has lost 75lbs and her energy is depleted. She struggles to stand let alone walk and can’t tend to some of her own basic needs. Until she can progress she will continue on between the hospital and rehab.

So that is the mom update.

The rest of the year hasn’t been much better. Aside from the pandemic, I feel like 2020 has really been piling on with one hard thing after the next. But... there has been some happy days.

• I am still employed and happily working from home until at least January 1.
• We are getting furloughed for two weeks soon, but I am actually grateful for the upcoming time off.
• I grew potatoes and lettuce for the first time! 😄
• My pup Jasper is mostly recovered from a massive surgery he also had in February.
• I have been playing a ton of this video game called Animal Crossing New Horizons on the Nintendo Switch. I got it the day before covid shutdowns started in my state. It is the perfect mindless fun for pandemic and sheltering at home.
• My husband and I were able to get out of town for a few days despite the pandemic. We stayed at the cutest AirBNB with our pups, and everything felt normal for the first time all year.
• @raybrockman sold me an awesome, 8.45oz, hand poured, silver sugar skull he made himself at spot for STEEM when silver spot was less than $19/oz! 💥 #winning.
• I also celebrated my birthday at the end of July and was sent the loveliest card from @silversaver888 and two awesome coins from @summertooth. It was really great to feel the love from friends near and far on the day.

^{The smallest and largest of my home grown potatoes. They were tasty!}

^{Little Jasper on the mend.}

^{Scenes from Animal Crossing New Horizons.}

^{A few snippets from our July Adventure to Whidbey Island. Whidbey is a short drive and ferry ride away from our home. We stayed at a darling AirBnB, saw tons of wildlife, walked on beaches, shopped in small towns and ate a restaurant for the first time since February!}

^{Birthday celebrations! Here we have two bouquets of flowers I received from friends, the cake, me enjoying a zoo outing on the day and the awesome coins I was gifted from @summertooth. Both were minted in 1974, my birth year. One is a gem proof quarter, the other a Dominican Republic silver peso!}

^{Look at this awesome skull made by @raybrockman! The best thing I have purchased with steem!}

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I hope you all are mostly doing well. I try to check in some both on the blockchain and on discord. But a lot of the time when I am around I don’t comment or chime in. I have been so preoccupied with life at home, it is hard to participate in all the goings on.

Take care everyone.

💕💕💕💕💕