Monday, October 8, 2007

Mimi Toujours

Grandpa took Mimi to the doctor today, as I had suggested (though he's now claiming the idea, criticizing my French relatives for not thinking of it before, when he never would have thought of it either had I not suggested it...oy, men...). The doctor gave her the okay to travel home tomorrow, and did find something that the American doctors never did- her blood pressure is plummeting every time she stands up, which is one of the things making her less than mobile and definitely dizzy and disoriented. The American docs had her on meds to lower her blood pressure, and indeed when she was sitting her blood pressure was normal. However the French doc took the next logical step and took it when standing, and voila! Yet another example of teh superiority of the French national health care system- they actually take time with their patients, and really explore vs. the two hour wait my mother has for every appointment at her cancer treatment center which is then slightly rushed. The blood pressure is not the entire problem, but at least its one thing out of the way and she will be able to come home tomorrow as planned.

And I did get to speak to her, and yes, she did sound pretty horrible...but I'm not going to buy into everyone's panic. Cancer is full of ups and downs, and a down moment in the midst of a long and tiring voyage does not necessarily signify a huge turning point. It signifies that perhaps this trip was a bit much for her weak body. I'll panic when its time to panic (actually, I'll probably panic when its all over), and in the meantime I'll pick her up form the airport tomorrow night and stay with her probably until I have to leave for New York on Saturday. And WB, being the amazing supportive partner that he is, will be right there with me despite an uncomfortable bed and 30 to 40 more minutes of driving time to get to work. Because he is just that wonderful.

In the meantime WB just arrived home with the pizza that he got for me, only to discover that it was pepperoni instead of cheese. And this, dear internets, this sent me into a fit of tears screaming that I didn't want anything and I wasn't hungry. Yes, this is the beauty of pregnancy. Or maybe pregnancy combined with a stressful moment in time. Who knows. I just know that for some reason I just can't handle pepperoni pizza today.

5 comments:

Roxanne said...

I'm glad that things are looking at least a little bit better (not counting the pepperoni...which sounds pretty good to me because I'm on a perpetual diet. I will happily eat your pepperoni).

:( Hope you are hanging in there with the little poet.

hoosier steve said...

You can call me anytime, especially if you have pepperoni to give away.

Lots of love to all of you.

patience said...

if only the exact perfect food could appear magically during pregnancy, but yay for partners who try....hope your time with your mom is sweet until your trip.

Anonymous said...

Oy I just saw the last few days. Glad maman can make the trip home. Sorry for all that you are dealing with. You're so right about the ups and downs. Seeing the French doctor was genius - what a great idea your dad had. :P

Lots of love your way.
J

Jon said...

Too bad about the pepperoni setting of your hormones, or whatever the trigger and effect is :D

I am glad the docs found something. I was (to put it mildly) amazed at the movie Sicko. A must see for all. I don't usually believe what Michael Moore says 100% of the time, but it sure does make you want to move to another country.