Mom on the day she got to go home...
As most of you know we heard last Monday (August 20, 2007) that my mom had Brain Cancer. This was devastating news and we are all so sad and worried. I love my mom so much and she is such a wonderful Grandma to my kids. They get so excited to see their grandma and grandpa Olson when they come. Well, it's been a rollercoaster ride ever since.
Marianne, Neil and I hopped on a plane last Thurs. night. We met Jared and Leslee, Julee and Brian there. The minute we got to the hospital I got a nervous feeling to see my mom. We walked into the hospital and got on an elevator. When we walked off the elevator, there was my cute dad anxiously awaiting for our arrival. He broke down into tears and could hardly compose himself. I think that he was so glad that we were all there to support one another during this time. I think he was also glad to see us to help lift his burdons and to lighten his spirit. We have never cried so much in our lives, yet we had a good time being with one another.
We have witnessed many miracles during the time that mom has been so sick. I want to share them all with you, so you can see how much we are being blessed at this time.
1) My mom has been not acting normal for a few months, her personality kind of changed and was a bit distant. We were so worried about her because she would forget alot and she didn't even know she was forgetting. We thought she may be in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's which worried us. So....now knowing that she had a brain tumor, they were able to give her steroids to help shrink the swelling, therefore, her fun and energetic personality is back, and we now can feel her emotion again. We have our mom back! We were so worried that maybe there was permanant damage, but she is the same loving mom that we had for so long. We were truly blessed.
2) My dad gave her a blessing that the Dr.'s hands would be guided by angels and that there would be a special spirit in the room to guide the doctors hands and mind during this surgery. The doctor performed this surgery smoothly and efficiently and his words were "Extatic". He said the surgery was so smooth and precise that he felt "Extatic" with the way everything turned out. He finished the surgery in 3 hours, far less than most of those kinds of surgeries. We truly know that the Lord was guiding that surgeon to do his very best performance and it truly did happen.
3) The MRI results came back for her full body and they found no other cancer anywhere else. This is why the doctor decided to take the tumor out, because no other cancer was found. At one time, he thought they might not even do surgery, that they would just start her on Radiation and Chemo, which depressed us, but knowing there wasn't anymore cancer, he was determined to get that tumor out.
4) The MRI results after the surgery showed that he was able to completely get the tumor off of her brain. Sometime this surgery is done in stages, because of the size, but the dr. was able to get it all out in one stage and the MRI showed it clear.
5) Mom went to church only 4 days after Brain surgery and she was so determined to live a normal life. She looked great and people were flabbergasted seeing her walk into church. There are no more excuses for us to never go to church. Sometimes a little cold keeps me home! One woman heard that mom may go to church; she had been up all night with her kids and she had a cold, but she was determined not to stay home and let Linda Olson show her up!
6) We were able to find her a Dr. at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City. This is a Doctor from back east that just started at the Huntsman Cancer Center. He specializes in Brain Tumors and supposedly has other forms of treatment ideas that have been under research for some time that are not available anywhere else. How ironic that he just moved here at this time and is waiting for his Utah license to arrive. By the time mom gets here and starts radiation, he will be her doctor. Right now he will analize all of mom's surgical notes, MRI reports and film, Medical records, and Pathology reports, because he has two more weeks before he can practice. Mom will be one of his first patients here in Utah.
7) Mom showed some horrible signs of shaking and dizziness. She would walk crooked and stumble and fall. She got the flu the week before and thought that was why she felt so weak all of the time. The doctor told us to be greatful for the flu that she had, because it flushed everything out of her body, therefore the signs of the tumor came to life. If she wouldn't of had the flu, then these signs would of never come about and they said that she would of only lived for a couple more weeks, because the tumor was so aggressive.
8) We don't want it to seem like a miracle that Neil isn't married yet, however, we are so glad that he is able to take mom into his house where it can be quiet. There aren't any stairs for mom to climb and there aren't any kids to make her nervous or cause her to not sleep. Neil will be at work all day, which gives mom and dad the quiet that they need. Neil is giving up his Master Bedroom and putting in a comfy chair for mom and dad to use for as long as they need. If he were married, he would have a wife around and kids around and it wouldn't be the ideal situation.
9) Dad has Marianne, Jared and I to help him drive to Salt Lake City everyday for her Radiation treatments. Utah is the ideal place for my parents to be with lots of help and also the best Cancer Treatment Center around. We are so blessed by this.
10) Dad received a little inspiration during one of his blessings to mom. He felt that mom had chosen this trial in Heaven to make her children better people. She has passed every test on this earth and that this would be her last trial. We, as her children wonder what he means by that, however, a little more temple attendance, scripture study and service can't hurt right? We love our mom and know that with our faith we will be blessed by this trial. We as a family came up with a family motto: HOPE H-Heavens O-Opportunities P- Promised E-Exaltation. We are the army of one! Mom get better and can't wait to see you here in Utah!
P.S. We thank our cute sister Julee for being in Oregon and helping out my dad with my mom. She was the one that helped my dad get her to the emergency room, comforted my dad when they heard the news and stood by my mom's side at every waking moment. She has been with my mom 24 hours for 11 days. She slept at the hospital everynight so my dad could go home and get some sleep. She has cleaned the house, cooked and supported both my mom and dad. She has 5 kids and a great mother-in-law who took her children so Julee could do this for them. Thanks Bonnie.....
