Monday, October 24, 2011

Family emergency

Friday I got a call.  It was my mom, and she said, while sobbing, "Your aunt has cancer, she has a brain tumor, she is having surgery at 1pm, she probably won't make it.  She is going to die."  I told her I would meet her in Port.land, where the hospital was, each of us having a 2-2.5 hour drive, right away.

I called my work, since I was supposed to be in at 3pm.  You are supposed to give 8 hours notice if you can't work your shift, I was giving 6.  I got yelled at by my manager that I was unreliable, that they were always covering my shifts(the only other time I called in was when I damaged my back) and that they were cutting all my hours.

I left for Port.land and found out that it wasn't cancer, it was a huge tumor, she had gone 80% blind, had MS (probably) and would survive the surgery, but would be in ICU for a while afterwards.  The surgery took 7 hours, and we waited in the waiting room the whole time.  Luckily my best friend was watching the kids at home for me.

The doctor came out, let us know he got most of the tumor, if not all of it, out, and that she would get better, and be fine.

Fast forward to less than an hour ago.

It is cancer.  It is a very aggressive cancer.  It has spread through her body, though we will find out more when they do the ct scan tomorrow.  There are spots on her lungs as well.  They will do chemo, but they don't know what her chances are.  She could go fast.  It's enough that my mom told me I didn't have to come, but I could if I felt the need.

My aunt was a late in life baby for my grandparents, and I was raised by them as well, and we were raised together like sisters.  So, for me, it is like having a sister dying.  Which my mom understands, which is why she had me there asap on Friday.

I told her I have school and work this week, but I would see if I could get there on Saturday.  If I can come up with the gas money.  Because my boss dropped my hours to less than 10 a week, and I don't know where the money is going to come from until January when school money comes in again.  I have to make a meeting with the owner of the company to meet with me and the manager about this, but until then, I have barely any money coming in.  The owner knows there is a problem, I showed up to get my paycheck from the main office so I would have gas to get to Port.land, and she saw me losing it completely.  I explained what my boss had done.  She suggested a meeting when things got better.  Now I really need to do it, on the off chance I have a funeral to go to.  

I am expecting her to actually survive until November.  But no longer, because my family has the curse of November.  My grandfather died in November, my uncle died in November, my aunt became a paraplegic in November, my husbands dad died in November.  It's not a good month for us.

I am numb.

3 comments:

Cinderella said...

Oh honey, my heart goes out to you - and to her.
Doctors are incompetent fools, and nature can be devastating when it means illness in someone you love.
((HUGS)) and I am sorry that things are so hard.
November is indeed not a good month for you, my empathy.

Brokenornot said...

thank you. My husband bought me a puppy the day before this happened, as a therapy pet, per doctors suggestion, so now I have a service dog, and he has been awesome. I took him to the hospital with me, and he actually was passed to family member to family member, and he was just what was needed. It was also my first time in a hospital without a panic attack.

Cinderella said...

He sounds like a bright spot among the darkness. Very glad that you have him, and he is so loving.