My mom has had another multiple sclerosis relapse and is in the hospital.

Talk about a damper to a day that started off on a high note – coming off from a crazy good weekend, having a productive morning, and feeling the love from my little ones.

Then, I get a call around 9:30 this morning. From my mom, all laid back and asking how I’m doing and about my weekend…but, oh by the way – “I’m in the hospital because I had trouble breathing and they don’t know why”. What the what now?!!?! But, that’s my mom. The quintessential selfless woman always worrying about others and glossing over her own struggles.

I love my mom. And not to sound hoakey or anything, but aside from Jesus she is the biggest inspiration in how I hope to live my life and the kind of person I want to be. Every time I hear she faces another relapse or has another scare related to the MS, a little piece of me crumbles. Yet she somehow remains so strong.

She was diagnosed this past February after having some weakness in her legs and trouble walking. Her regular medicine normally helps her feel fairly normal, but it seems every two months things become more difficult on her lower body again. The treatment for her relapses typically helps her to function as normal again within a few weeks. It carries standard side effects of additional fatigue, headaches, and nausea, but my mom just acts like my mom and sails through it all as serenely as possible.

This time was different.

After three days on the treatment for her relapse, she started noticing some trouble breathing. She was advised to stay home, rest, and monitor her breathing. It became worse and she ended up in the hospital last night around 9 pm. She had to be placed on an oxygen machine and has remained on it since last night. Every time they try to allow her to breathe on her own, her oxygen levels drop significantly.

The doctors are unsure whether this is a side effect or possible allergic reaction to the treatment or separate from treatment and caused by the MS. She has received numerous tests (an EKG, X-Ray on her chest, and CAT Scan on her lungs) to help determine the cause. The uncertainty and lack of answers bother me the most. Yet, there’s my mother. Full of peace…at least outwardly…and worrying about others.

Obviously, I spent my afternoon visiting her without a second thought to the spin class I missed or the list of to-dos that would not get done. I baked her peach muffins (recipe tomorrow) instead of folding laundry. I shared Mama Pea with her instead of hoarding the laughs for myself. And the Glamour? Just in case the Mama Pea stories make my mom cry….that’s just how she is.

It’s days like today that make me so grateful to have my faith.

It’s days like today that remind me that our relationships with others and with God are the only two things that truly matter in this life.

And it’s every day that I love my mom and pray for her body’s strength, her doctor’s guidance, and her heart’s peace. Would you mind doing the same for us today?

Thank you. And I know she says it too…thank you. Just before she asks you how you’re doing and what she can do to help you, of course. Oh, mom. I love you.

Tags: faith, family, personal, relationships