Okay... all caught up. SS sounds like a cool plan.
Not sure what I'd get for some of you. Would there be a way to have gift suggestions?
Okay... Mom update:
I talked to mom just a bit ago on the phone. She sounded a little groggy from the pain meds, but okay overall. Here's what we know as of this evening:
1) She will need surgery on both the left hand and the right wrist. They will be fixed in the same surgery session, but the timing will be dependent on the situation with her back.
2) She was fitted for a back brace today. Tomorrow they will take a CT scan of her back to make sure that the brace holds her the way they want. If it does, then she will not need surgery on her back. If she does need back surgery then she will have the back surgery and the hand surgeries at the same time.
3) If she doesn't need back surgery, she will be in the back brace for 3 months. If she does need surgery, she will be in the hospital for several weeks and the recovery timeline is uncertain.
So, that's the story for now. Thank you so much for your concern and prayers. I really appreciate it so much. Mom's been through a lot this year and I just hope we can keep her spirits up. She seems to be in good spirits so far, but I can hear a note of gloom in her voice. Then she said, "I'm not sure why this has happened too, but there has to be a reason right?" And it didn't really sound rhetorical.

So now I'm trying to think of spirit-boosting ideas. Feel free to pass on any good ideas you might have.