Monday, February 28, 2011

Schlemiel, Schlimazel, Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!

Yes I am showing my age with this post's title, but then, when do I not? When we aren't at the hospital with my mom (which to be honest is most of the time for me), my Dad and I are staying in a basement apartment across the street, a la Laverne and Shirley. The place must have been built in either the late 1950s or early 1960s - it still has the original pink tile stall shower, green bathroom counter, and many other decorative amenities of that era...quite the charming throwback!

Our apartment is on the right, next to the Subaru (standard issue for all Oregonians ;) )Every time I walk down the steps to the apartment, the theme song from Laverne and Shirley goes through my head!

So if you missed my update on Friday evening, my mom came through surgery just fine and is doing well...her surgeon said on Saturday night that she's ahead of the curve with her recovery already. I truly think the fact that she started off in great shape, with a healthy diet and regular exercise routine, has helped with this, and if there could be a better case for all of us to take good care of our bodies, well, I don't know what it would be. That said, let us not speak of the M&Ms ingested in the past few days. Life will return to normal soon, and I will undo any damage done by getting back to my regular diet and exercise routine. Or maybe I could start sometime today by climbing the stairs to her 7th floor room instead of taking the elevator. Hmmm...I'll let you know on Wednesday if I actually did that!

Just a few more pictures, as I am pretty short on content lately. Oh, and please go and check out Helen's blog today to see what she did that made me cry on Saturday.
Around 5:00 am Friday - dressed and ready to head over to the hospital. My mom was saying to my dad "do I really have to do this?"
Not exactly thrilled about what awaited her, but she was in pretty good spirits.
One last picture on Friday morning. Somehow we managed to dress alike even when we didn't plan it!
Saturday morning, 7:00 am. Yes, you read that right - less than 24 hours after major, major surgery, my mom was up and walking the halls of her floor! With her is nurse Karen, a really sweet woman who looked (and sounded) so much like Debby that it was both uncanny and comforting!

31 comments:

  1. New follower, here! So nice to see your Mom up and about after her surgery. It's amazing what doctors have the patients do these days. At 73, and after back surgery, they had my Mom walking and going to the bathroom by herself right away, too. I hope this is a great sign of the days and weeks to come for your Mom!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. youve got plenty of content, Lady.

    LIFE.

    so so glad to see this post.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's so good to her that your Mom is recovering so well! Must be a relieve for you and your Dad too.

    I've read Helen's post and it's really sweet what she did.

    ReplyDelete
  4. So glad everything is going well with your mom, that is wonderful!

    I LOVE Laverne and Shirley :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. YAY!!! Your Mom is amazing!!! So are you, Shelley! Thanks for the ear worm... I'll be singing Laverne and Shirley all day :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. She's even smiling for the camera! What a spunky lady. My best wishes to you and your family.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Just read about Helen, almost made me cry.
    We've been talking about Laverne and Shirley this week..long story, suffice it to say...great minds.
    Who's apartment basement are you at?
    How far is their house from the hospital?
    M and M's....they are just pills, right? You need them for all the stress, chocolate coated meds?

    ReplyDelete
  8. The picture of your mom walking is making me all emotional. I am so glad to hear she's ahead of the curve, but somehow I knew she would be. I figure you get your spunk from her!

    And now all I can think is,

    "WE'RE GONNA MAKE IT AFTER ALL!"

    ReplyDelete
  9. LOVE Helen's concluding comment!

    And I am FASCINATED by Nurse Karen. I blew the picture up--she even has short arms and short fingers like me. And her hair looks a lot like mine when I was growing it out before I got my most recent 'do. Is that what you call a doppelganger (but not evil!)

    So so glad that you and your mom are doing well. And Helen's post is so sweet. You guys will meet up soon. If you make it for frozen yogurt, I'll join you LOL.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Love the smile on your mom's face. :) She is an amazing woman. And so are you!

    Hang in there.

    ReplyDelete
  11. So not surprised that your mother is ahead of schedule in her recovery. You can just see her zip and pep come through in all the photos.

    ReplyDelete
  12. So glad your mom is doing well. What a big deal to have the surgery over with. Sounds like quite a biggie. Now on to recovery.

    ReplyDelete
  13. OMG, I loved Laverne & Shirley. Definitely missed ya at the dinner, btu hopefully your ankle will be well enough to start the
    10K program with us.

    SO HAPPY to hear your mom is doing so well!!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Your mom is the cat's pj's! Great photo of her - her attitude just zooms out of the picture.

    If you see Lenny and Squiggy, run for the hills. Carmine, on the other hand, ....

    ReplyDelete
  15. I had no doubt that your Momma would be a fiesty person in recovery - she looks fantastic!

    Love the picture of your parents too!

    Hang in there, I had my fair share of eating shit when Tony was in the hospital - but today is a new week and I have a plan - as Helen would say "It's all good!"

    ReplyDelete
  16. YAY!!! Glad your Mom is doing so well! She sure looks great! Take care of yourselves and each other -we look forward to more stories of her quick and full recovery!!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Your mom is a TROOPER! That is amazing that she was up and around less then 24 hrs after the surgery! Amazing!

    She is blessed to have such a caring loving daughter like you Shelley!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I read your post in the road, but wanted to know I am thinking of you!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. So glad your mom is doing well. My uncle is actually having half of his liver removed on Wednesday due to cancer as well. It is so inspiring to hear how well your mom is doing! My uncle is very fit and active as well and I hope he does well! Does she have a long hospital stay? Thanks for keeping us updated!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi Shelley,
    I just discovered your blog. Really nice! I'm glad your mother's surgery went well. I started my blog a year ago but didn't post much. Now I'm working at a PR firm which has a digital media group who really encouraged me to blog. They gave me a lot of great ideas and now I'm blogging weekly although I probably could easily blog twice a week. There are so many unexpected happy surprises from blogging and sharing your life with others. Be well - Karen

    ReplyDelete
  21. Super glad that mom is doing so well. You sound/seem okay too. Remember to take care of yourself which does not mean you can go to See's.
    Thinking of you all.
    And that Helen, what a show-off.
    I didn't mention what I did for you and your mom because, well, I didn't want you to know i ate a whole box of See's candies for you. But oh, well...

    ReplyDelete
  22. So glad to hear she's up and around. :)

    Thinking of you and your mom today!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Wow! So glad to hear that your mom is doing okay - what a trooper she is!

    I was SO EXCITED to open my mailbox this morning (the day after I ran the Disney Princess Half-Marathon - my first race EVER!) to find the "13.1 - 'cause I'm only half crazy" sticker you sent me!!!!

    Thank-you so much Shelley - after I take some pictures of it for my blog, I'm sticking it on my mini-van!

    A big *mwah* to you and your mom

    Love Debbie

    ReplyDelete
  24. I laughed at the classic TV reference. Of course we used to do that w/ our friends too. Glad to see your mom doing so well. She's in my prayers.

    ReplyDelete
  25. My dear friend: next month just read the recap at the top of my goals post and you know everything you need to know.

    I did think of putting out a warning for you before starting the number post as I know how much you "love" the numbers LOL

    ReplyDelete
  26. SO glad to hear that your Momma is doing well! That is awesome news :)

    Subarus and Jeeps are standard issue for us New Hampshire residents as well. :)

    ReplyDelete
  27. I'm back - and back where I started weight-loss wise.

    Just starting to catch up with blogs again -- I've always loved yours, so you were one of my first stops. I'm so sorry to read about your mom's health problem, but SO GLAD TO SEE SHE'S DOING SO WELL! She's like her daughter -- a real inspiration. It's wonderful that you are able to be there with her, and my thoughts are with you as you help her through her recovery.

    ReplyDelete
  28. HOOORAY!!!!!!!!!! Your parents are so cute. Love the laverne and Shirley. Does it come with a Lenny and Squiggy?

    ReplyDelete
  29. ♪♫♪♫
    Nothin's gonna turn us back now,
    Straight ahead and on the track now!

    and cool that you have such a great Nurse!

    ReplyDelete
  30. checking back in on you...hows yer mama??

    ReplyDelete
  31. May your Mom have a speedy recovery Shelley! So glad you were able to be with her.

    Take care!

    Jenn

    ReplyDelete

Comments are now moderated to prevent spammers from leaving, well, spam - but rest assured that as soon as I read a real comment, I will publish it. So please, comment away, even though the blog is officially closed. Thanks!