A Mother's Love, Updates and Healthcare Contest

Last night my mom officially "moved out" of our home. She has been living with us since April 13, just 3 days after I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. When she could, she would go home on the weekends to her house in Orem to recover from running the household and taking care of my kids. Then, every Sunday evening she returned and started all over again. During my hospital stay, she took her weekends "off" and spent them at the hospital with me. For 3 1/2 months she has taken care of everything in our home and shielded me from anything that would push me too hard, wear me out too much or cause me pain. My mother's love and selflessness has always amazed me, but never more than when she came to our rescue over and over again during this family crisis. I love you, Mom!

I don't know how I could ever repay what she has done, but we did try to do a little something for her before she left. The kids and I decorated the house while she was at the store, so we could surprise her. (You should have seen me attempt to blow up balloons! I am sure that was a sight...I ended up spitting all over the place and turned the job over to Lindi and Trenden! Too funny!) We put decorative giant flowers all over the walls, made a sign and had neighbors, family and friends sign cards for her. Still, nothing could be enough to express our love and thanks! We will miss you!


My mom with my kids. We love you, Grandma!


Mom, Daven and I on our last day together at my house.


One of Mom's "days off" with me at the hospital. She never ceases to amaze me!

Tolan went to the physical therapist this morning for his 1-week post-op from knee surgery. He found out that the recovery from torn cartilage (vs a torn miniscus which was the original diagnosis) is much longer. Instead of 2-6 weeks, he is looking at about 12 weeks before he is back to "normal". He was told to ride a stationary bike everyday to help with the recovery, but he should expect to be sore for some time. He also found out that his knee problems will never "go away" or get better, all the fixes are only temporary. The doc said if he takes really good care of his knee, it may last him up to 20 years, but at some point in time, sooner or later, he will have to have a knee replacement. Hmm, let's just hope it is later rather than sooner! For now, he is bruised and stil swollen, but doing pretty well.

Today our little family is going with Tolan's parents to Hebgen Lake, Montana, one of our favorite spots in the world. This will be our first vacation of the summer, (even though we were supposed to have gone to California and Hawaii already) so we are looking forward to the weekend get away! Something "normal" and fun for all of us! So, no posts for a few days.

While I am away, keep adding up the figures for your best guess for the Cost of Healthcare in America Contest! I posted this on July 9, so find the post and give us your best guess for the total cost of my brain tumor diagnosis and removal process! The person who comes the closest gets a fabulous prize. (So far I have a $25 gift card to IKEA for the winner, but I will try to find more fun items, too.) I still don't know the answer, as the bills keep coming, so we will keep the "contest" open for several more weeks, until we are fairly sure we have an accurate accounting. Much more fun than stewing over bills!

Happy 24th of July (Utah's pioneer "birthday") and have a great weekend. Thanks to Anna and Carrie for bringing dinner and the wonderful chat. Love to all, especially MOM (Grandma Orgill), my family and my Savior.