Hospital waiting rooms
Edit: She’s out, and everything went well. I still haven’t seen the doctor (was at lunch, so missed her when she came out) but according to the check-in desk everything went “extremely well,” and I’ll be able to see her in another hour or so when she’s out of recovery.
I’m sitting in the hospital waiting room right now (huzzah for free wifi…) because my mom just went in for hip replacement surgery. (Everything should be fine; I’ll post a followup later today when the surgery’s over.)
Sitting in the prep room while the nurses got her hooked up to IVs and explained how everything would work gave me a lot of food for thought. First, it was an odd (but good) experience to be ‘ladies’ed with my mom, and referred to as her daughter. Obviously, both of those are good things (it was particularly nice to be ‘ladies’ed while I was still in my big coat and only my head was really visisble) but I haven’t had a ton of experience being read as a woman while with either of my parents.
But the much bigger shock, and what I’ve been thinking about the last couple days leading up to the surgery, is that my mom is getting old.
She’s actually in really good shape for her age (65) – she does yoga, regularly walks with friends, and is fine living on her own. Likewise, a few of my friends have said, “Wow, your mom looks much younger than she really is!” But, in my mind, she’s still young enough to go running down the beach with me, or biking, or what not. (I guess that’s not entirely fair, as we’ve been biking within the last year and she’s supposed to be able to again after her recovery.) I just don’t like thinking about her (and, by extension, myself) getting older, let alone “old.”
I don’t really have any conclusions at this point… Just thinking out loud.
-R
Themocracy
My dad had hip replacement surgery a couple years ago. He’s 61. It improved his life drastically, and he seems much younger now and can do more (like walk without a cane). I hear you on parents aging, it’s scary, but her quality of life will get much better after she’s recovered. I send you good wishes for her speedy recovery!
Ash – That’s what I’ve heard (and what my mom has heard) as well. So I’m definitely glad she’s doing it (particularly now that’ she’s out…) but it’s still stressful. Thanks for the well-wishings!