Seventy

Mom turned 70 on December 24th!  We were all able to be there with her to celebrate the big day.

She has had a tough last year of her life, probably one of the hardest physically.  She got sick last March.  The doctors found a blockage in her bowel.  Just a couple weeks later she underwent the Whipple Procedure/Surgery (a major surgery) at KU Medical Center.  (A quick definition of the Whipple Procedure - A Pancreaticoduodenectomy, Whipple Procedure, or Kausch-Whipple Procedure is a major surgical operation most often performed to remove cancerous tumors off the head of the pancreas.  It is also used for the treatment of pancreatic or duodenal trauma, or chronic pancreatitis.)  At the time she underwent the surgery we were still awaiting news on the biopsies so we had no cancer news.  We just knew of a blockage.  The surgery went very well and Mom's recovery went well too.  About a week after the surgery though she was hit with a cancer diagnosis... Ampullary Cancer.  This meant she would have to undergo many months of chemotherapy.  She did this all with more grace and strength than most people I know could have.  She said from the beginning, "I have lots more to see and do.  Lots of grandkids activities to watch and I am IN THIS TO WIN THIS".  Her attitude and perseverance deserve a standing ovation.  Of course, she could not have done this alone, thanks and praise should also be given to God for his mercy, grace, and healing in this situation as well.  In November, just after finishing her last chemo treatment, she fell at home in the driveway and broke her right hip.  She underwent an emergency total hip replacement the next day at a hospital close to our house. Her total hospital and rehab facility time for the hip was about 2 weeks.  She was released to go home and continue physical therapy right before Thanksgiving.  Folks, talk about some whammys, but she did not let them get her down, keep her down, or hold her back.  She was and is determined (and stubborn) and she loves her family and close friends more than anything in this world.  She was, and is, here for them and she is not going to let anything stop her.  THAT IS MY MOM!  And, I am so happy that she is with us still and doing so much better every single day.

Will turned 1 at the end of December so he had a few presents to open from family too.

We took Mom out to eat at one of her favorite restaurants for lunch, The House of Ma, a Chinese restaurant.  Then came home and she opened her gifts from us.  Later we ate chocolate birthday cake, another one of Mom's favorites.

Pictured below, Sarah, Silas, Dad, Will, Mom, and Phoebe.

That evening we all attended the FUMC Christmas Eve Service together.  Our whole family took up an entire pew, and my Mom's smile couldn't have been bigger.  She told us that having her whole family here, together, on her birthday, and there with her at the service was one of the greatest gifts we could have given her.  WE LOVE YOU MOM, and we are all cheering you on as you continue to recover and thrive in your 70's!