Mother's Health

Although mother did everything, her health gradually started to give her fits.  Perhaps it was because she had milk disease when she was a child.  I wonder what it was really called?  She said she got it from drinking unpasteurized milk.  Although she eventually recovered it caused her to never able to donate blood.

I don't remember mom ever being sick when I was a child, but I know she was. I remember being frustrated with her once when I was a teenager. I don't know what the problem was, but I was sure cross when I went to bed. Dad came into my room a little later, sat on my bed, and said, “Gale, don't worry too much about tonight. Mom's having a hard time right now, and she doesn't feel very good. Just be patient with her, OK.”

At the time, I suppose I didn't think too much about it, except it was nice to know I wasn't the one who was causing the problems, but later I realized a couple of things. First, when someone doesn't feel good it's easy for them to be cross, and second, dad understood and loved both of us. He was a great dad. And mom was a great mom.

The truth is, she spent a lot of her life not feeling good, but most of the time none of us even realized it. I remember her having to have polyps removed from her nose. The doctor cut them out, then packed her nose with yards and yards of gauze. How that must have hurt. I helped her sinuses, but she still struggled with allergies and sinus infections her whole life.

Mom inherited grandma Johnson's bad feet, (and I inherited them from her). She had bunions removed a couple of times, but they always came back. She had hammer toes and bone spurs, and who knows what other kind of problems, which eventually led to the podiatrist removing all the bones in most of her toes in later years. Aching feet are one of the worst things to have. In fact, one of my favorite bumper stickers said, “if you want to forget all your troubles, wear shoes that are a size to small.”

In 2003 mom had back surgery, hoping to alleviate the back pain she had endured for years. The doctor put a metal rod in her spine, and after the surgery he told her he was surprised she had been able to walk at all, her back was so bad.

The surgery helped, but it was still hard for her to walk because her knees were bad, so she had them operated on a few months later. After that walking was easier, but she started having pains in her legs and feet that stayed with her for the rest of her life, and the doctors never fully understood what was wrong.

Through all these surgeries and illnesses, mother never slowed down or stopped taking care of the rest of us. She would be down a week or so in recovery, but as soon as she could she was up, carrying on like before. It was cool to watch the way dad stepped up and took care of mom when she was down. They were a great couple, and had learned through the years how to complement and take care of each other. That's why dad began to worry as mom's health deteriorated bit by bit. He was determined to do whatever it took to keep her with him as long as he could.