We buried my mom today. I write as a cathartic release, a way to deal with the emotions that threaten to consume me. I am not sure what I am trying to say in this blog, it is very stream-of-conscience, but I need to talk about my mom. I can’t NOT do this, so here it is. My mom died seven days ago and it still feels surreal to me. Nothing in life prepares you for laying your mother to...
At 12:21pm today my mom, Charlene Delores Sparks, passed away peacefully in her sleep, surrounded by her children and loved ones at Florida Hospital, Celebration Health near Orlando, Florida. She was 62 years, 9 months, and 8 days old. I am not going to type an emotional blog here – not yet, maybe never. Many of you read my blog for facts about my moms condition and this is, for obvious...
As you know, mom has been battling a septic fungal infection for a few weeks now. That infection has prevented her from recovering completely and has stopped the surgeons from finishing her skin grafts so she can go home. The infection is extremely difficult to control. Fungal infections are notoriously hard to fight because, as I said in my last blog, they so closely resemble a normal human...
I blogged the day before yesterday about how well Mom was doing. Her fever was under control and her bacterial infection was under control. Mom was awake, in pain, but communicating with me and she was looking better than she had for weeks. Her vital signs were stable and she was almost ready to get the skin graft on her belly that would allow her to finally heal and recover so she could go...
This post won’t be terribly long. It’s been a while since I updated everyone on mom’s status. There really hasn’t ben a lot to tell until now. Mom has been in ICU for over two months now. If you remember from my last post, Mom suffered a setback when the vac on her belly, meant to help close the wound, caused a rupture in her intestines. She was doing great until that...
Yes, you read the headline correctly; the Sparks household is officially soda-free. It’s been a long time coming, but we’ve finally made the transition from sugary, caffeine-laced, unhealthy drinks to more healthy teas, juices, and lots and lots of water. I grew up on soda. Every week, my mother would buy a slew of 2-liter bottles of Coke or Pepsi for the house. I always preferred...
It’s been a month since Mom went into the hospital. I wrote a blog many of you enjoyed – describing her plight and why this dangerous surgery was necessary. Since then, the ubiquitous Facebook updates I was posting have slowed down, but Mom’s care has been a constant roller coaster of good days and bad days. Many of you have reached out to me, my father, sister, brother, and...
My mom is the strongest, nicest, most compassionate, most loving, and most tenacious woman I know. She is, simply, amazing. Right now, she’s lying unconscious in ICU at Florida Hospital, Celebration Health, near Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. She endured six long, extremely high risk, hours of surgery yesterday and, despite the odds, emerged on the other side. A little back story...
My gall bladder is functioning at only 3%. This is apparently not uncommon for someone who went through chemotherapy and lost so much weight so quickly. The extreme punishment my body endured through cancer treatments was not without consequence. My gall bladder was damaged and has since deteriorated. Lovely. Let me start from the beginning. I like spicy food. A lot. To that end, we have a...
Ron Sparks is a technology professional, science fiction and fantasy author and poet living in Zurich, Switzerland. His latest book "ONI: Satellite Earth Series Book 1" is available on Amazon.com.