Rest Day

Today is another rest day on the A - Z ChallengeSo I thought I would take the opportunity to write a personal post about what's going on for me and my familyNext Friday my Mum is having surgery in DublinA few weeks ago She saw a consultant And the surgery date is next weekIt's surgery on her footHer toes to be precise You see, for as long as we can remember Mum has had a wonky toeHer big toe is kind of growing the wrong way And is almost as a right angle to the rest of her toes Her toe had been a source of fun over the years Especially during the summer when her feet are out I would show you a picture But I don't want to scare youBut if you look up 'Hammer Toe' on Google You will surely find some pics 
AnywayUp until recently Mums funny toe hasn't given her any trouble Apart from the way it looks Which never has really bothered her But now She gets pain in her foot and up her leg So we finally managed to get her to go to the doctor Who promptly referred her to a consultant in DublinWho told Mum it was one of the worst cases he has seenHe immediately booked her in for surgery It's sounds like a small and simple procedure But it is in fact complicated Both the big toe and the toe next to it will broken Straightened And pins will be inserted to keep the toes in place All done under general anaesthetic of courseMum will be in quite a bit of pain following the procedure And will be off her feet for a couple of monthsSo needless to say We will be looking after her for that period of time My sister and I live  here So we will be doing the bulk of the workBut we have another sister and brother who will hopefully help tooWe have already done out a roster for cooking and cleaning etcBut I'm sure there are some things that we haven't even thought of yetWe'll get through it Albeit with a few sibling arguments and tiffs
The other thing is That recently I have become aware of my own big toe As it seems to be heading in the same direction as MumsWhich is a worry But I guess I don't need to worry about it just yet But I definitely won't let it go as bad as my MumsWhose foot is now quite deformed 
My Dad is also going to see a consultant in Dublin next month It's his hands Over the years the muscle in his hands has wasted away And he now has very little power or strength in themHe can't close buttons Open jars His hands are quite disabled now It was hard to get him to go to the doctor But he finally did recently And was referred to the consultant I really hope they can do something to help his hands As soon they will be completely useless if something isn't done
It's worrying Both my parents having separate health issuesI guess it's a reminder that they are not getting any youngerIt's scary to think that they are getting olderI'm not ready for it Even though I'm 34 I feel like I am still growing upI need them I still need my parents It's scary It feels like the rug is being pulled from under us And all of a sudden They are old I guess we are never ready to lose our parents And I don't think that will happen for a long time But it's something that will happenWhether we are ready or not 
Having said all that I was wondering about you Do you still have your parents?Or have you lost either parent?Are your parents getting older and having health problems?How do you feel about it?Are you worried about them?