Things continue to go quite well.  Mom had almost all of her tubes pulled today except for her peripheral IV's.  She was up and walking and even got a shower today!  We are really just waiting on a fart... This has never been a problem for mom in the past (sorry mom)! So why now?!?! ahahha.  Maybe all those times she was blaming Boomer she wasn't lying! This is pay back for all the times I've been exposed on your blog! I'm kidddddinnng.  But honestly - we're waiting for the green light to start eating and she can't do this until she lets one rip!  Mom's lost quite a bit of weight in the last 6 months and can't afford to drop too much more - so we're all anxious for this next step.  Hopefully tomorrow...

Not much else to report from a surgical point of view... so i'm going to take this time to give a little tribute to mom (because I know she'll be reading this in a few days).  In the last year I've spent a lot of time sitting and waiting while mom's been in surgery, in chemo or radiation sessions and recovering in hospital.  I've made it to most her doctors appointments with radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, thoracic surgeons and liver surgeons.  I've had my claws in her care since day one. Mom is always trying to talk me out of everything "don't move back to Calgary," "don't come home for the surgery," "don't come up till the end of the week," "you don't need to come to this appointment," "everything's finnnnee...really." Sometimes I feel a bit overbearing - and I wonder what other people must think about my escort service.  The truth is --- I don't want to be anywhere else...  

When I think back over my life my mom has been present for every single moment of significance - good and bad.  The things I wish I could share are those moments unique to a mom and daughter....there's a lot of them.  She's been my biggest fan, my friend, my support, at times - my rival, my teacher, my partner, my side-kick and my inspiration.  I remember one time this summer riding along in the golf cart, mom looked at me and said, "we're lucky you know, not all mothers and daughters are this close."  I do feel lucky. So lucky. She has been there literally and figuratively my entire life.  She has either been part of my many adventures or always there to drop me off and pick me - I always look forward to her smiling face at the airport.   The countless number of badminton tournaments we attended together - celebrating my victories and pep talking me through my tears.  I specifically remember being distracted by her outragous cheering during my national doubles final in Vancouver! She has been the proud and exuberant mom at my graduation(s). She's picked up the pieces when I've had my heart broken.  She kicks me in the butt when I need it most.  She was the first person I called when I got a medical school interview - and her and my dad called me in Ghana the day I was accepted!  She bought me my first stethoscope and even made me a mother survival-package when I finally moved out of home.  It's of course the big moments but also importantly the small moments - the cups of tea, a new pair of pyjamas, pedicures, chick flicks, sunday dinners, reliable phone calls and emails, left-overs, and my mom's intuition...

Last week I went over to my parent's place for a cooking lesson.  Hanging on the front door was some junk mail  - in big bold letters it read "Need Joy?!"  I jokingly brought it in the house and said to mom "Need joy?!" - she laughed and said - "my joy has arrived."  Mom's love and enthusiasm for my life has filled it with worth, building my sense of self and has made me who I am.  She's been my shoulder, my back-bone, my conscience and the beat in my heart for my entire life.  So - during this incredibly difficult year - I ask, why would I be anywhere else than at her side?!?!  I can certainly guarantee that if our situations were reversed she would be doing the exact same thing!!

Love you mom.