Here we are, in May 2021! Who would have thought, after the long strange year behind us, that life would be starting to feel kind of normal again? Well… different countries, different states, different people… we all experienced the past year in different ways, but for me 2020 was a struggle from the start.
My mom was rushed to the hospital NYE 2019. I rang in 2020 with she and my dad in the ER where doctors discovered she had kidney stones and a growth on her pancreas. The growth was cancer.
On February 25th, 2020 mom went in for a massive surgical procedure to stop the cancer from spreading. Doctors removed half of her pancreas, all of her gallbladder, half of her stomach, half of her intestinal tract and 24 lymph nodes. The procedure (know as a Whipple) is one of the most invasive surgeries a person can have, and it is the only option available to try to stop pancreatic cancer. Doctors suggested mom would be in the hospital post operation for about 2 weeks, with another couple weeks in a skilled nursing facility for rehab.
I spent the better part of 2020 thinking my mom would die. After surgery she experienced every complication: Infection, delirium, blood clots, ICU time, a pulmonary embolism, blood infection, kidney infections, c-diff, etc, etc, etc. Because of covid, she endured all of these things alone. No visitors. No one to advocate for her in person at the hospital. No one to comfort her through so many months.
Home hasn’t been all sunshine and lollipops. Mom has been hospitalized again twice since her initial release. She also has a feeding tube, a nephrostomy tube, and is currently house bound in a wheel chair. However, the relief in seeing her and being with her again is indescribable.
I am also in awe of mom’s strength to have survived, and to have kept her spirit intact through it all. Plus, seeing how my dad has cared and fought for my mom through this has 100% increased my appreciation of their relationship and love for one another. I hope anyone who gets sick is lucky enough to have someone like my dad at their side.
Between mom’s illness, the threat of fire near Aussie family/friends in early 2020, the stress of a world wide pandemic, a friend dying, my dog having a massive back surgery and a cancerous growth, caring for my 96 year old grandmother during her bout with pneumonia, two friends discovering breast lumps, the threat of layoffs at my husband’s work, good friends losing jobs, social unrest, finding out someone stole my identity to claim $11k in unemployment benefits, being cut off from international family because of border closures, moving to 100% virtual work, losing all of my regular outlets for comfort/relaxation/fun, and having every plan for the year cancelled… 2020 was a lot.
All photos are my own unless otherwise noted.
