Been a busy little bee since I've been home. Here are the highlights...Spending time with my Sweetie. Posting all the blogs that I wrote while away. Catching up on a humongous backlog of emails & messages from being offline for so long. Working, trying to beef-up my bank account. Getting my nails done. Furiously working on getting the DVD player going on the laptop, plus loading more music, images, and such to keep me occupied when I go back to my parents' house. Playing with the wireless "WiFi" card that my hunny got for me ($10 on eBay, plus a small shipping charge! Is he a good shopper, or what...?!?!? Whoo hooo!) Getting used to the new battery that my husband bought for the laptop so I don't have to have a power connection everywhere I go! Gosh, that man is good to me! Eating pizza. Sleeping. Playing. Recharging. And, of course, checking in frequently with Mom & Dad, and seeing how things are going with my aunt there with them.
Once again, it is time to return to my parents' house for a bit. My aunt is gone for now, off to another commitment that she had made. Mom has her "pre-op" appointment this coming week, to sign forms, talk to the anesthesiologist, have blood drawn for lab work, and have a pre-surgery EKG. And then there is the big day of surgery on September 8th, where they will remove 14-inches of her colon in an effort to get rid of the cancerous tumor that is growing inside her. Damn, I hope they manage to get all of it and find that it has not spread to any other part of her body. And I hope she makes it through the surgery.
So, if you don't see me online, you know what's going on.
And if you do see me online, it is thanks to the wireless card in the laptop that my awesome guy got for me, plus a cozy little "WiFi hotspot" somewhere.
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Oh. My. Goddess.
In so many regards, I am definitely the "Black Sheep" of our family. I am the one who is not Christian, prefering the wide open spaces to the suffocating closeness of the flock. I am the one who agrees with my "husband" that the sanctity of our relationship does not depend on having it recognized by a group of people, religious or political. I am the one who prizes existential wisdom over the preternatural logic of a society with narrow vision. I am the one who has dared to follow my heart rather than what others deem as proper and prudent. I am the Black Sheep. And, yes, I have wool, but I shall not pull it over your eyes for I wish you to see as clearly as I see.
Dad had a "follow up" appointment with the surgeon (Roberson) who performed the repair on his broken hip. The staff was blown-away by Dad's progress in mobility since the surgery. He also had excellent vitals that morning — blood pressure, pulse rate, and temperature were all in good order! After an X-ray of Dad's hip, the surgeon met with us and said that everything was healing nicely. He admitted that the post-surgical hip was slightly "crooked" and not perfectly straight, but said it was the best job that he could do with the amount of bleeding he encountered during the surgery (due to residual Plavix in my Dad's system, as a precaution against a second stroke). He thrilled my father by announcing that he was offically releasing Dad from his care, unless something else should arrive later.
Visited the surgeon (Wheeler) for Mom's appointment which was set yesterday. The biopsy report had arrived earlier than expected — that very morning — and the surgeon informed us in matter-of-fact manner that the tumor is malignant. He won't know whether the cancer has spread to other areas of the body (e.g., the lymphatic system) until the surgery is underway. At this point in time, he feels that it is prudent to remove about 14-inches of Mom's intestines — part of the transverse colon, the entire ascending colon, cecum, and a small portion of the ileum at the ileocecal junction. His staff is currently working to schedule the procedure with a nearby hospital.
[...this post hinges on the last blog entry...]
Took my father to an appointment at his hematologist's office for an Aranesp shot, then back home. He has to have those shots regularly because of a disorder that runs randomly in my family which causes the body to produce too few red blood cells, among other nasty things. Later in the afternoon, I had to go to GSP airport to pick up my brother, who was coming for the weekend.
Mom was able to have the colonoscopy today, finally. The hospital's gastrointerologist (Prostko) found a small tumor (3 cm in size) located in her ascending colon. He did a biopsy on it and sent it off to be tested for malignancy.
Dad sees the same Internist for a GP as does Mom (the same one who had recently hospitalized Mom for anemia). Today was Dad's "follow up" appointment, and the doctor was very pleased with his progress since being released from the nursing home! 
The gastrointerologist (Prostko) tried to perform the colonoscopy on Mom today, but discovered that she was not "cleaned out" enough. He postponed the colonoscopy until Thursday.
Mom has been placed on a diet of clear liquids in preparation for her colonoscopy. Of course, she has several doses of Dulcolax to consume as well. Yum!
I took Dad to the hospital again to see Mom, but he tires so easily these days and was ready to go home within one to two hours after we arrived. Knowing that Mom was lonely up there, I tried to get him to switch to a different chair and stay longer. He has always been a restless sort, never sitting still for long at time. I know it is difficult for him when his mobility is so limited by his slow-but-steady healing after his hip surgery, the arthritis in his knees, and all the other aches and pains of advancing age. 
A couple of large branches of the fig tree behind Mom & Dad's house were hanging over onto the roof. So, my brother climbed up there and sawed them off. He surprised us by brining in a huge basket of figs off the tree! I went out there, too, and helped him gather some more to fill a pot, and I started cooking them to make fig preserves! Fig preserves are one of my favorite things. I remember when my Aunt Carrie (one of Mom's sisters) used to make them a lot when I was a child. I strive to make them as good as she did.
Mom's endoscopy (EGD, performed by Prostko) showed presence of some mild gastritis, but no bleeding ulcer as has been expected. No blood transfusions are planned until they locate the cause of the blood in the stools. The doctor wanted to perform a colonoscopy this afternoon but was unable to schedule the assisting staff and room on short notice, and Mom's colon would need to be properly emptied, even so. He wants Mom to be observed over the weekend and perform a colonoscopy early next week.