Still waiting

I sent the application forms for the homestudy to WIAA last monday. Still haven't heard anything, hoping to hear that they have accepted us tomorrow. This waiting isn't as bad as it was when we adopted Myleigh. I seem to have a lot more peace about the whole thing.

Now that we are planning on a trip to China in the coming year, suddenly, we are looking at decisions regarding whether to take what would end up being expensive trips for potential funerals.

Tim's grandmother's health is failing. She basically raised him for the first four years of his life, and he is so close to her. We would definitely want to go to pay our respects to her in Minnesota. Then there is my mother. We are far from close, and in fact have not spoken for three years. I found out two weeks ago that she had not told a surgeon performing a gall bladder surgery that she had been diagnosed two years ago with emphysema. She probably did not share the fact that not only does she have arrythmias but, that she is also addicted to pain medications. She is a three pack a day smoker, and doesn't want to give that up, so, she just didn't tell the doctor much of anything. After the surgery, she was being discharged when she started having difficulty breathing, collapsed, and had a heart attack. Tests revealed two badly clogged arteries to her heart, so, when she stabilized, they performed bypass surgery. During that surgery they discovered two more blocked arteries, and that her lungs were in terrible condition. The couldn't complete the last two artery repairs, the tissue was so flimsy it wouldn't have held up. She crashed once on the table, and they had to stop the procedure completely. She is now on a respirator, and they have given her less than a 10% chance of survival, and even if she lives, she will likely be on a respirator for the rest of whatever life she has left.

So, now that they feel some obligation, family members are calling me that I haven't heard from for probably 30 years to tell me how bad things are. The one sister that I still talk to called the day it all happened, and I had her relay to them that I know all about it so they would leave me alone. Either way, we may be seeing one, perhaps two funerals soon. I have no hesitation going to Minnesota for Tims grandmother's funeral, but, I really don't know if I will spend the money to go to Pennsylvania for my mother's funeral. That sounds terrible, but, she, along with the rest of my family, have had absolutely no interest in me or my children for 25 years. They don't even know their names, and I would be surprised if any of them cared about our little Myleigh. They are all so prejudiced and bigotted. It just isn't a good place to be.

I guess I will cross those bridges when I come to them.