As promised, I'm writing a post-dated post for my Mom's birthday. I don't want to include too much of what I said on Mother's Day, but I didn't go back to reread what I wrote last month, so sorry for any repeats.
It's pretty fair to say that I wouldn't be here if it weren't for my mom. Literally, due to the whole she gave birth to me argument, but also figuratively. I applied for the job in Sweden without her knowledge, but she was nothing but encouraging from the moment I told her that I had applied. There were plenty of reasons not to move...close family, good friends, aging grandparents, etc., but no matter what concern I voiced, she steered me in the direction of making the trip. Like a good mother, she put my thoughts first, wanting to make sure that I followed my dream and didn't let this opportunity slip away. At the same time, it's hard to imagine how hard it must have been to try to convince one of her children to move to an unknown land that's so far away. And she was enthusiastic about it the entire time! Thanks, Mom. Then again, maybe she just wanted to get rid of me... ;)
Mom has had a rough few months now. Over two months ago she felt a sudden knee pain. The pain only got worse over the following days (weeks?). She dealt with it for a while but finally gave in as and went to the doctor. The specialist she saw said it was pretty bad...something he only saw about twice a year...the bone in the knee was dying due to lack of blood flow. Apparently it's usually caused by a traumatic injury, something else I can't remember that didn't apply or a stress fracture, none of which she's ever knowingly had. The remedy? Six weeks on crutches with absolutely no weight on the knee, then come in for a checkup, and after that either rehab or a knee replacement. Six weeks! Apparently it isn't getting worse, which means she can expect a slow recovery and lots of rehab. She was pretty bummed as she was planning to visit all three children this summer...relaxing in California, hiking around Portland and walking the many streets of Stockholm. She's able to walk a little now, but the doctor advised against any travel that would put a lot of stress on her knee, so two trips will need to be rescheduled. I'm obviously bummed as well, but I would rather have her recover with a healthy knee than have her risk making the injury worse by coming to visit.
I hope she has a relatively fast and painless recovery, and hopefully our readers will keep her in their thoughts as well. If you can't tell, I think the world of her, and hope the knee problems didn't prevent her from enjoying her birthday.
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