What was I saying about time on my hands?
We are still waiting for someone to discover and fall in love with our home. It has been on the market a little over three weeks and we have had around a dozen showings. No negative feedback so far. It was reportedly on someone's A-list but we haven't heard anymore about that. I am finding it easier than I thought to keep it showing-ready. It helps that we cleared out a lot of clutter last month (we could still do more). Dusting is a breeze!
Trevor is back at school. While I was driving him, everyone here fell ill with a cold. A couple of days after I got home, I caught it, too. It seems to be hitting some of us worse than others. Yesterday was Day 5 for me and was, I hope, the low point, as I felt just awful. I am a little better today, although I am still tired and have very little voice.
Meanwhile, we got either some good or some bad news about my mom, depending on how you look at it. You may recall that she fell and broke her hip on Christmas Day, 2012. Two days later she had surgery to pin her hip with screws, followed by a long period of recovery and rehab. For a time after she got home she seemed to be getting along reasonably well. Then several months ago she started having increased pain. We went back to the orthopedic surgeon, but after taking a new x-ray he said the hip seemed to be holding fine. He said it did appear to have healed in a less-than-ideal position (the ball is slightly off-center in the socket). We talked about the possibility of a repeat surgery to do a full replacement--my mom had a previous broken hip about 7 or 8 years ago from which she recovered quite well after a replacement was done on that one. But the thought of another surgery was a bit overwhelming at the time so we decided to hold off and see how things progressed before making that decision.
Well, things have not progressed well. The pain has steadily increased. I am frustrated that it has taken so long for us to determine that it is indeed the hip that is causing the pain. For a while, since the last x-ray looked satisfactory, the working theory was sciatica. But an MRI didn't reveal any significant spinal or nerve issues. Four doctor visits later, the most recent of which was to a new orthopedic surgeon, we finally have our answer: the repaired hip bone is dying due to lack of blood flow. This is known as Avascular necrosis and is a common complication of broken hips. Why did the first surgeon not advise us that this would be a possibility, especially as my mom's pain started increasing? We might have saved several unnecessary doctor visits and addressed the root of her pain sooner. At this writing, she is having trouble walking at all, even while using her walker, without someone supporting her on the left side. Surgery is scheduled for Friday, so it is going to be a very long week. Tuesday I have to take her in for pre-surgical testing, which means getting in and out of the car several times, a very painful proposition.
It seems we have spent the last few years waiting for one thing or another. Apparently we are not done waiting--for my mom's surgery, for the house to sell, for that day when we will be together as a family again. I know that God is working these things out, as He works everything out for the children He loves. Maybe the house has not sold because we need to get Mom healthy before we move. And maybe I need to accept that all of life this side of heaven is just one big waiting room. No sooner do we get called in to keep one appointment than it's time to schedule the next. But I nevertheless keep hoping that one of these days we'll have a little time where there isn't some huge, looming date with destiny and we can just go home and sit a spell.
"And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you." (Ps. 39: 7)
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