Sandwiched

On Saturday 12/3, I received a WhatsApp message from my sister that my mom had taken a fall at her home in Santa Rosa and was in the emergency room. Mom was alone when she fell and not able to remember what happened. She needed stitches to a complex ear laceration, and x-rays revealed that she had fractured her pelvis. Ugh. She would not be able to go home. This was exactly the health crisis I was hoping would not happen during our year away.

Later that same evening, while we were getting ready to attend a special Christmas dinner at a friend's house deep in the Amazon jungle, Brynna ran into a corner of our wooden boarding house and sustained a large cut to her forehead that required stitches. Unfortunately, the tiny rural hospital did not have the appropriate suture material for the repair. Thus ensued an hours-long escapade to obtain the suture thread and get it to where we were staying. Many thanks to 1) my dear friend, Alba who became an instant case manager, 2) Silvana, who owned the Airbnb we had stayed at in Macas and who found the suture material, 3) a camioneta driver, who transported the sutures that Silvana had found 3 1/2 hours into the jungle, and 4) the two young doctors at the rural hospital who went along with my plan, Brynna was successfully sutured just after 3:30am on Sunday morning. She was a trooper.

Mom was transferred to a skilled nursing facility, where she is thankfully recovering quite well. Brynna tolerated her suture removal this week, and her forehead is healing nicely. Needless to say, I will be flying home to Santa Rosa for a week to help transition my mom to an assisted living situation, while Paul holds down the fort here.

When I told my kids about the last minute trip home, I was expecting envy or sadness, but I heard neither. Brynna wants me to bring a certain teddy bear she left behind, Jonah wants a box of cereal. Dillon is still pondering the specifics of his request. I am happy to report that I will be back in Ecuador in time to escort our next visitors, Erica and Melissa, over the Andes and back to our home here in La Josefina.

Before I left for the week, we put up our "Christmas tree" -- a yuca plant Dillon harvested from its roots -- and pulled out our stockings and a few ornaments I had packed for the occasion. There is definitely a hint of Navidad in the air.