It's Not My Birthday, But I Got the Gift

Today is my mother's 76th birthday. This will be the best birthday to celebrate for me in a long time because for many years my mother has not felt well enough to do anything and certainly not celebrate. My mother has had lots of health issues through my 51 years, but in  recent years, mostly since my father passed in 2007, my mother's health has worsened. Some of her health problems are painful, and so doctors have prescribed very strong pain medication to "help" Percocet, Oxycodone and Morphine, to name a few. Over time those pills stopped helping and became the problem. I cannot remember the last time that my mother felt good. Most days in the past years, if I called her, she would answer sounding like death was near. There were several times that I or my girls were with her where she could barely keep her eyes open, and she would fall bruising herself terribly and not remember any of it. All of these circumstances piled on each other until she was visiting the hospital ER what seemed like every other week. Now, I am not saying that my mother was not in pain or that she was not sick, she was, but I knew that a good portion of that sickness, the shortness of breath, the stomach pain, was being caused or at the very least being made worse by the pain meds. What were we going to do? It is very hard to help someone dependent on prescription medication because the body needs it. Our family was at the end of our rope, and being one who is always honest and never one to hide my feelings, I stopped spending time with my mother. I hardly saw her. But something happened a little more than a month ago that has changed my life, her life, all of our lives. She took another trip to the ER, but she was admitted for bleeding ulcers. My sister and I discussed with the doctor if she would be able to go to physical rehab after discharge from the hospital. At 75, certainly not old in this day and age, she could barely walk, and she was always falling. The doctor agreed, and she went from the hospital to Beth Shalom to begin her rehab. The bonus was her meds were also being regulated and pain meds, other than Ibuprofen, were non-existent. It was hard at first. She didn't want to stay, but she stuck it out. She was there for almost a month, and the week after Mother's Day we took her back to her apartment. I cannot believe the difference in her. She looks healthy, she is upbeat and positive, and she can walk normally. My youngest has committed to seeing her every morning to help with her meds. I am trying to see her as much as I can, not because I feel I have to, but because I want to!
Today is my mother's birthday, but I have been given the gift. I have my mother back, and I cannot express how happy that makes me! Happy Birthday, Mommy! I feel like your little girl again, and it's a good feeling!