What do you get when.....

What do you get when all in one year you lose your Dad, you have you Achilles tendon detached and reattached because of tears in it, you lose your Uncle/God Father, you try to help your mom maneuver her new life without the man she has loved and been with almost 24/7 for 66 years, you lose 50 pounds and gain a lot of it back and you find out you have breast cancer--all in the year you turn 65 and become Medicare eligible (you know the sure sign that you're not a kid anymore!!!)
...What do you get?  You get a mind that is trying to cope with sad realities, challenging realities, confusing realities, one right after the other, one on top of the other, all mixed up until you feel like you are being pulled in  65 different directions at once.....then add surgery, lots of doctor appointments, the chaos of Thanksgiving (while still trying desperately to be Thankful)....is it no wonder you feel like you're losing your mind!

So let me try to paint this picture for you.We've gone back and forth as to staying at home and having a nice quiet Thanksgiving (after having to cancel plans to fly to New England to have Thanksgiving with family and friends.....cancelled because I found out I had breast cancer...and needed surgery and treatment) to going down and having it with family that lived near by.....(which we finally did do) and I get a call from my Radiation doctor's office to schedule a consultation (remember in my last post I said it was scheduled for this coming Friday, December 6th)...you might want to get a note pad because it begins to get tricky....well not tricky, but a bit confusing.  OK so I've made this appointment after a rather lengthy discussion of when the doctor would be at the clinic nearest to me. She wouldn't be in my location on Monday, Dec. 2nd at 10:00 or Tuesday Dec. 3rd at 10:00....but she would be there Friday, Dec. 6th at 9:30 (honest that is what I heard and wrote down).  I walked into our sun room where John has his computer and tell him the appointment so he can write it on his calendar.  I call Mom that evening and she asks if I can come down and take her to a doctor's appointment on Friday, December 6th...........oh (heavy sigh), "Sorry Mom, I can't..... I have an appointment that same day".......

We head down on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving (to help get things ready) and as I walk in the door, I say to Mom....too bad you couldn't get your appointment changed....because after we have Thanksgiving dinner, you could've come back home with us (we live about 2 hours away) and spent the weekend and then I could've brought you back on Sunday and taken you to your doctor's appointment...........well she started laughing and said, "I just got off the phone with the doctor's office and was able to change my appointment to Tuesday Dec. 3rd at 1:00!"....perfect!  Isn't it wonderful how things work out! She packs her little bag, we do Thanksgiving with the family and we (along with Mom) head back home for the long weekend.
                                                                                                                                                
When we walk in the house....I notice "YOU HAVE A MESSAGE" on my home phone  I push the button and the recorder starts...."This message is to remind Peggy that she has an appointment at the Radiation Clinic on Tuesday, December 3rd at 10:00 . "

WHAT?!   Wait...let me rewind that and play it again.....yep same message..."This message is to remind Peggy that she has an appointment at the Radiation Clinic on Tuesday, December 3rd at 10:00 . "  That can't be....my appointment is for Friday, Dec. 6th~!  Am I losing my mind????  OK...check what I wrote down...yep Friday, Dec. 6.......check what I wrote in my blog....yep Friday, Dec. 6....check to see what John wrote on his calender...........................Tuesday, Dec. 3rd at 10:00!!!!  WHAT????  65 DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.....I feel like I'm in a terrible time warp....the room is spinning....how could I make such a mistake???  So I tell Mom....she can't believe it either.  But it's the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and no way to get in touch with them to see if they (surely not I) made a mistake and if I can change the appointment if it truly is Tuesday.  Nothing to do but enjoy the weekend and take Mom back home on Sunday afternoon.....I'll call early Monday morning and get this straightened out.

"Good morning....I'd like to check on an appointment that is schedule for Friday, December 6th"..............."No sorry, your appointment is for Tuesday, Dec. 3rd at 10:00.  The doctor won't be at your location on Dec. 6th and doesn't have any other appointments available until near the end of the month"..........W H A T !!!!

Well I have no choice but to see if my sister can take Mom to her appointment on Tuesday.....and drive back home to make my appointment on Tuesday.

Deep breath Peggy....deep breath.....your world is not spiraling out of control...you are not losing your mind......just too many things going on...too many appointments to keep track of.....

Long story....long.....I made my appointment and I'll share the news in my next post.....

Now let's see where did I set my cup of coffee down????/