Change attitude

These days it seems as if there is no day without its share of troubles or tribulation. When I was younger, I feel there were more days when I used to smile and be happy. Now it looks like the burden of troubles grows by the day.

A thought for today:

” to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn,

” to provide for those who grieve in Zion- to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise in place of a spirit of despair.”

Isaiah 61-2-3

Gemini’s thought for today

” Whatever is chased with ferocity runs away with equal fervor. Its when you transform your wildest ambitions into doable aspirations that you realize how much is within your reach.

There are terrific blessings all around you when you stop to smell the roses. A breather allows your perspective to calm, and that can in turn inspire a meaningful redefinition of your goals. Bigger and more aren’t always synonymous with better.

Once your priorities are in order, everything else falls into place .”

I think this thought is so good for me. Getting priorities right. All my life especially after having a family its all been about getting priorities right. Even if one’s dreams don’t come true the way we think they should, there are still roses to smell, there is still sunshine and water and air and life around us.

Hospital stay explained

I was home with my mother- in- law for her surgery for a week.

On Easter day, she picked up a breast lump that turned out to be malignant. Being the very aware woman that she is, she diagnosed her condition herself and caught it right at the early stage when it is treatable. Unlike my mother, whose cancer was picked up after she started losing weight and having lymph nodes which were ridden with malignant cells.

She was admitted two days before her surgery( May 11), a Saturday. It was also her 58th wedding anniversary . No one remembered to wish them on their anniversary because of the anxious moments we had. My husband, her eldest son is 57 this year. He was born a year after their wedding. Isn’t it funny how days don’t matter when we are worried?

The days before the surgery were spent in pre anesthetic check ups, cardiology checkups and other tests to ensure she was “fit” for surgery. Fortunately, for her the room allotted to her was spacious and almost suite-like, with a large bedroom( two beds), an almirah, lots of furniture, a wash room and a toilet. It was situated almost next door to the nursing station, so nurses were ever present.

During the anesthesia check-up they noticed her thyroid lumps, those that had been there for more than 30 years’. So she had to have additional X-rays to see if the lumps would obstruct the endotracheal tubes that would be used during anesthesia.She cleared all her pre- surgery checks and was taken up for surgery on the Monday. There was no requirement for blood, so that part was easy.

At her age, the surgeon preferred to do a lumpectomy and just an axillary sampling as she might not tolerate the extended surgical procedures. A part of her chest wall muscles was removed as the lump was rather deep in the muscle.

She stayed in the Intensive Care unit for a day, after which she was moved back to her room. One of us stayed with her every night, while she was in hospital.

My father in law missed having her at home, so he talked to the doctor to bring her home at the earliest. She was brought home on the Thursday, four days after her surgery.

She is in pain now as they have weaned her off her pain killers. But she is moving about normally and is able to do her things for herself.