O brother....

my mom and bro. his shirt says, "Go to the gym."

I have to admit, I often try to come up with witty titles for each post, and then I pat myself on the back for how clever I perceive myself to be. Anyway, I thought this post title was appropriate because it's about my brother taking care of my mom. For the month of June, he was on break from school (he's studying for his doctorate in physical therapy), and he stayed over from Sunday to Tuesday. Even though it was only two nights each week, his stay gave me a small break in my care giving duties. He brought my mom to her appointments including chemo, doctor visits, and blood work. He took her on walks and spent some good mother and son time. And mentally, it was a relief. I didn't have to worry about my mom being alone if I stepped out of the house. I could remind my brother to cook something instead of me doing it myself. Sometimes people ask me why my brother isn't more involved, but he tries to be as involved as he can. It's just the way things have turned out. He lives in the city which is about an hour away, and between balancing two jobs and school, it's a lot. But my brother does call almost everyday to check up on my mom. Sometimes I do wish I had a consistent partner in this because having my brother here was really helpful. At the same time, I also see how sharing care giving duties can lead to miscommunication, especially if one is much more knowledgeable than the other. For example, my mom has to get Neulasta, an injection that increases your white blood cells, the day after chemo. No if ands or buts about it. That's how the injection is taken. That same week, we decided to move up the scan and after it was done, I told my brother I had rescheduled her appointment another day to see the doctor. My brother unknowingly thought I was talking about the appointment for the injection when I only meant the doctor. As a result, the next day, my brother did not bring my mom to get Neulasta insisting to my mom that it was rescheduled. I then had to stress to him that the Neulasta injection can never be moved to another day. Thankfully, you can get the Neulasta up to 48 hours after your last chemo.

Outside my house where we often take walks

Thought I'd share some funny highlights about my brother's time w/ my mom:

My mom (who is the most un-pc person I know) telling me a conversation he had with my brother.

Mom: You know what your brother asked me when we took a walk?
Me: What did he ask you?
Mom: He asked me if I knew that you and your brother love and care about me very much.
Me: Oh really?
Mom: Yes. (pause for dramatic effect) Do you think your brother is retarded?
Me: haha. Is that what you said?
Mom: No. I said yes, but I was thinking, "Is my son retarded?"

My bro showed mom some exercises on the playground equipment.

 My brother and I taking my mom out for a walk/ exercise.

He points to a lamp post and tells me to go over there. With my mom standing next to my brother and me in the opposite direction, he then proceeds to instruct my mom to sprint to me as fast as possible. We are supposed to go back and forth like a relay race. As soon as my mom comes to me, I sprint to my brother who then sprints to my mom, who then sprints to me, and so on.

It's time to start and my mom looks at my brother as though he's delusional. But he's serious and he screams, "RUN!!" "FAST!!" "GO!!!" "RUN!!!!!" To my surprise, she starts moving. My mom begrudgingly waves her arms in a running motion and tries to get over to me as quickly as possible with an ever present scowl on her face. Kodak moment.