I’m at my sister’s new house north of Austin. Mom’s hospital in Temple is about an hour from here. Several family members are there or on their way there. I spent all day yesterday with Mom. She slept most of the time, still fighting off some pain, but she is improving.

The second procedure, in which they inserted a tube through her abdomen into the problematic liver duct, was a success. They left the tube in place, externally draining the toxins from her liver. They will still probably put in a stint to maintain that duct, but there seems to be some debate among the doctors and what the root cause is/was, and thus, the best treatment.

Yesterday morning, a doctor did come in, making rounds with a room full of students, and discussed “what’s next.” But we were all a bit frustrated with his prognosis: Wait. They wanted to let her toxin levels drop much more and get her “feeling better” before they moved ahead. Mom hates lying there waiting to feel better. And I don’t like it much either.

She’s really bored, but still too “loopy” to do much. She doesn’t want to read, or watch TV, or much of anything because her head is too swimmy to enjoy it. So, we talked some, but mostly she slept.

I am waiting on more definitive news for today, but so far, “She’s feeling better,” is good enough.