Stitched-Up Heart

(source unknown)

Mama's got a brand new bag valve.

And a stitched-up heart.

My mom had open-heart surgery last week for an aortic valve replacement.  Being a former nurse, she took this all in stride, mentioning her surgery casually to me on Mother's Day.  "I loved the flowers, Honey, thank you.  By the way, I'm having open-heart surgery in a few weeks."  Of course, surgery came only after she stayed up till 7 AM (the day of) working, because "I'll feel better if I have everything settled and in place first."

Six hours long, she came through the surgery with flying colors and is such an overachiever that they moved her out of the ICU after only 24 hours.

The second day after surgery was a bit rough; she had really low blood pressure and could barely keep her eyes open she was so exhausted.  But she rallied and is now back to her usual self, getting ready to be discharged today after seven days in the hospital.  I'm sure she's happy she'll be able to sleep in her own bed tonight, and I'm sure she's already planning on what work she'll catch up on as soon as she gets home.

After all, she was just lying around doing nothing for an entire week.