They happen in threes

And all three happened in one day for my family.

Before anyone panics, I'm referring to hospitalizations and not deaths! Thank goodness. Each had their complications, though.

First was my sister. She had a hysterectomy on Friday, but it had to be done the big-ol'-incision way, not the easy laproscope way. Well, "easy" is a relative term with this kind of thing. Her husband, my unbelievable-effing-idiot brother-in-law Marine, is headed back to California on the 22nd, though. I'm playing it by ear to see if she'll need help, so I can hop in the car and head that way as soon as he's gone.

Hop in the car with Ranger, I might add. His kids live less than 10 miles from my sister. The situation with his son isn't getting better. He's dodging Ranger's phone calls. When they do talk, he's silent and unresponsive. He's changed his online photos of himself to ones that are very dark and brooding. Ranger is about beside himself. It's a helpless feeling, not knowing what's happening or what to do. His son is an adult, but the gut is saying something strange and serious is going on, and the boy needs help.

The second hospitalization was Matsi. She also had a hysterectomy, but they call hers spaying.

Apparently, it's rude to say your sister is getting spayed. Hmpf.

Dear sweet Matsi is fine, but she had complications, too. The vet said that in 30 years of practice, he's never seen this before. From what I understand, they sever the arteries to the uterus and tie them off with sutures. Well, Matsi had an artery that retracted, and pulled out of the suture. When they went to close, she kept bleeding. They had to go find the bleeder and fix it. So, she has an unusually long incision. And is mondo-shaved, poor thing. That's gonna itch.

But here's Matsi recuperating. You can kinda see the shaved belly. And this is her new favorite spot. My bed. I found her here when I got out of the shower this morning:



The third hospitalization was my aunt. She lies in an assisted living place near here. She has retardation and has limited use of her right side from a stroke about three years ago. She also has a weak heart and smokes like a chimney. On Friday, they took her to the emergency room with chest pains and jaundice.

It's not her heart; it's gall stones. So, they did surgery on Sunday and removed her gall bladder. However, the stones were lodged too far down to get, so they are doing a second procedure (as I'm typing this) to get to the stones and remove them.

The problem is that after the first surgery, she wouldn't breathe on her own. She's awake and aware, but can't breathe on her own. They've put her in the ICU, on a respirator. The nurse says it's odd, but she seems contented to be on the respirator. Apparently, most people try to pull it out themselves, but not my aunt.

I'll keep you updated, dear Diary. When it rains....