Well, it has been interesting times indeed. First my mom's cancer diagnosis in December*, and then on Sunday my father suffered a heart attack. Luckily for all of us, he is as tough as old leather (or tungsten as he likes to say), and he survived it but he now has to go for a bypass operation on Friday. His second. He had a triple bypass 20 years ago. For a more detailed account of what a stubborn old fartbag my teenage** dad is, go have a look at my sister's blog.
Needless to say, my already over stretched and absent mind has been somewhat occupied of late. Hence the dearth of blog posts recently.
As you know, along with my BFF Mel, I run South Africa's premier Egg Donor and Surrogacy agency (we rock!), Nurture and it is always so interesting to see the decision process recipient couples go through to choose a donor. People base their decision on many different factors, but one of the big things is the donor's family medical history. And naturally, most recipient couples would like a donor with a 'clean slate' so to speak, but quite honestly - which person out there does NOT have some form of disease or issue in their family history (we go as far back as mother, father, siblings and both sets of grandparents). However, having said that, I am pretty damn sure that no one would ever want to pick me as a donor (even if my tired old good-for-nothing eggs were in perfect working order) as between my mother, father and both sets of grandparents, I have just about every bloody dread disease in my family history, including Completely Crazy!
In other news, there is no other news. Well, there is other news, but I can't discuss it on this blog which is completely annoying. It's like someone saying "I know a secret but I can't tell you". Why bother mentioning it then? I don't know. Suffice it to say, it has something to do with this rather tiresome recession thingy that is severely cramping my style.
* My mom had her first check up recently (just a blood test) and that was all good. Which was good news indeed. Oh, while I am on the subject of my mom - she is suffering terribly from after-chemo pains. Shooting, sharp pains in her joints, especially her arms, hands and shoulders. It is really bad, so bad that she sometimes can't drive or sleep at night. Anyone have any experience with this? How long before it goes away?
** 'Teenage' as he is only a mere 19 years older than I am, which makes him a very youthful 60 years old.
PS remind me to tell you about two things I want to talk about: (a) How much I dislike school holidays and (b) the hair saga.
Sometimes I hate interesting times. Hope your dad recovers completely very quickly
Posted by: Jeanette | 01 July 2009 at 10:04 PM
Glad to hear that your mum's blood test was good. Praying for both her and your dad.
Posted by: Alison C | 01 July 2009 at 10:10 PM
Tertia, thinking of you and your family! It's crazy times I tell you.
Not sure about your mom's after-chemo pains (as I am not a doctor), but if she is experiencing joint pain, Olive Leaf extract (liquid kind) is meant to be wonderful for joint pain as it is an anti inflammatory and antioxidant (higher than all that, mangosteen and acai). It's holistic and natural too, so it isn't dubbed medicine. I use it to boost my immune system. Cause I hate getting sick!
xoxo
Posted by: kate | 01 July 2009 at 11:18 PM
Interesting times can seriously SUCK! Hope your dad recovers 100% and is around for a very long time.
Posted by: Kristin | 02 July 2009 at 12:02 AM
I don't know what these meds translate to outside of the US, but here there are 2 meds used with good success for neuropathies like your mom's. One is Neurontin (gabepentin or close to that) and the other is Lyrica. Lyrica is just an upgraded version of the other. I don't know its chemical name.
Posted by: Just Me | 02 July 2009 at 04:07 AM
Oh wow! Bummer! Hope all goes well! My thoughts are with you.
Posted by: Joey | 02 July 2009 at 04:32 AM
Good news about your mom. Hope your dad bounces back ASAP.
Interesting times, indeed. Personally I could go for a little less 'interesting' and a little more 'boring sh**'.
Hope things get boring soon (for all of us...)
Posted by: sheilah | 02 July 2009 at 06:26 AM
Interesting times is one way to put it. Hope things start to be a bit less interesting soon.
Posted by: tiah | 02 July 2009 at 07:38 AM
Sending healing healthy vibes to both your parents. What would we do without great parents?! Hugs to all, Amy
Posted by: Amy | 02 July 2009 at 08:30 AM
Sorry to hear about your Dad, sure the teenager is going to bounce back very soon. I think you must take your Mom to see Vicky in Pinelands. She would be able to help her.
Posted by: Debbie | 02 July 2009 at 08:31 AM
Good luck to you all
xxxx
Yeah, I can agree on the 'exciting times' comment, not necessary at all!
Posted by: Coral | 02 July 2009 at 10:19 AM
All the best with both parents :( .
Posted by: Adi | 02 July 2009 at 10:47 AM
sorry to hear about your dad. very best wishes to all your family.
Posted by: Anna | 02 July 2009 at 07:22 PM
So sorry about your dad. Hope is surgery goes well, and things get back to boring soon.
Still dying for pictures of your new house.
Posted by: Jeannie | 02 July 2009 at 08:33 PM
So sorry to hear about your dad. Hoping all goes well for the surgery and he is back and fighting fit in no time.
As for what your mom is going through, I will ask my mom if she has that after her chemo. Maybe I can just hook my mom up with your mom and they can discuss it directly. My mom had breast cancer 10 years ago and had chemo for close to 6 months. So far so good for her, when she can be dragged in to see a doctor for follow up. ;) Stubborn old coot, wonder where I get it from, eh? ;0
Feel free to email me and I can get you my mom's email address so the ladies can share their stories. It is always good to talk with someone else who went through the same thing.
Posted by: Shanna | 02 July 2009 at 10:44 PM
As the daughter of a heart doctor, Bossy can assure you those bypass operations work wonders, even the second time around.
Posted by: BOSSY | 02 July 2009 at 11:14 PM
Nothing but good thoughts and wishes for an easy surgery and fast recovery for your Dad. My Dad had his heart attack at 50 and bypass at 51, thankfully, 15 years later he's still going strong. Some men are just too stubborn to let stuff like this stop then and frankly, I'm quite glad about that!
Posted by: Erin | 03 July 2009 at 01:20 AM
I'm a long time reader and firt time commenter. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in May of 2007. She had surgery in June and followed that with 6 rounds of chemo. I asked my mom today about the pains and she said during chemo she didn't have any but after the chemo she did. She said she thought it was due to the steroids in the chemo. It was almost a year from the time she finished chemo before she started to feel like herself.
Posted by: barmet | 03 July 2009 at 06:30 AM
You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.
Posted by: Julie | 03 July 2009 at 06:08 PM
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Marion Barrett
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Posted by: Marion | 07 August 2009 at 06:28 AM