Conquering Obstacles (Part 49--My Mother's Secret)

I loved my job; I loved my husband; I loved my life. I was living the fairy tale of my dreams. First along came a bouncing baby boy, followed by a beautiful baby girl, two new loves of my life. At the time of my children's births, my mother always asked me how I was feeling. I found that somewhat odd but didn't give it much thought at the time.

Three or four months after my daughter Janelle was born, my leg began to hurt. At first I shrugged it off as a pulled muscle; however, when it didn't subside, I thought that perhaps I had a blood clot and made an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon. After viewing the x-rays, he casually told me, "I won't touch you because I cannot help you."

He further explained that my hip joint had slipped out of the socket more than likely during childbirth and was gradually tearing its way through my muscles and nerves with every step I took. He assured me, though, that he would refer me to a surgeon who could help me. Great, just great! This is NOT fair! I have two wee ones (and one big fella) that need me.

Driving home that afternoon, I remembered my mother's question, "How are you feeling?" She knew--she knew all along that this was a possibility, didn't she? But how did she know and why didn't she forewarn me? I was upset with her even though it unquestionably wasn't her fault that this had happened.

Later that evening after explaining the situation to Terry, I telephoned my mom to give her the bad news. There was no confrontation because she admitted immediately that she knew this could happen. The doctors at the Shriner's Hospital had told her that the hip would eventually wear out of the socket, but they thought it best to leave it as it was. It could last for tens of years; in addition, I had perhaps not finished growing yet which would cause further problems and possible surgeries which they couldn't perform because I would be beyond the age of 16, the limit set by the hospital.

When I asked her why she hadn't told me this before,  she quietly responded, "Why worry when there is no reason? We only worry when the time comes. You'll be back to feeling normal soon."

I truly believed that my mother was always right and knew everything there was to know; but  in this case, not even she could predict what lied ahead for me.

To be continued...