My amazing mother-in-law

I spoke to my mother-in-law on the phone last night. She sounded great!

If you don't know her, this probably would seem to be no big deal. But truly, my mother-in-law is an incredible woman.

She is one of two remaining children in a family of nine children. When she was just 17, she lost her mother and at 18 she lost her father. All her siblings pulled together to get everyone through school and most through college. She trained to become a social worker. Her heritage is Finnish and while those who didn't know her very well would say she was 'stoic', those of us who know her well would say she is unflappable.

Eight years ago in December, she had surgery to remove cancerous polyps. My father-in-law was so confident in her ability to heal, he was sure they wouldn't need too much help at home. After all, she hadn't had any trouble recovering from a c-section some 37 years earlier! He would have been right, too, except that at the very end of December, she had a minor heart attack. She went on to fully recover.

Last Fall, my mother-in-law had emergency gallbladder surgery. She was very concerned about how slowly she was recovering and that she would never feel normal again. By her 90th birthday, on Thanksgiving Day, she was beginning to feel normal, except that her knee was giving her more trouble than it had before. She thought she would have it repaired in December and the surgeon decided she needed a full knee replacement!

So on December 15th, my amazing mother-in-law underwent knee replacement surgery. During part of our time in Minnesota, Vern worked on the rehab wing of a nursing home. From his experience, he figured his mom would spend at least six weeks in rehab. This past Wednesday, January 16th, my mother-in-law came home to her apartment (she lives in a senior apartment building near Minneapolis). She was out in record time--one month and one day, including Christmas and New Year's.

She can shower on her own, she can walk without the aid of a walker, though the therapist said to feel free to take it if it made her feel more secure at first, but, that she could use the rails in the hallways if she really needed to.

She was happy to be home and actually kind of tickled that so many of the residents came to welcome her home and rejoice with her in her great progress!

WELCOME HOME, Mom! We love you!