Thoughts and prayers, please...

This weekend has been eventful. This morning my mom went to the ER (which, if you know her, you would know that she never goes to the doctor not to mention Emergency Room - so something had to be major). She was complaining of unbearable head pain & an ear infection. Last night her & my dad babysat Ben & Braden. The pain was so bad that she asked Scott & Stacy to pick them up at 5:30 this morning & went straight to the ER. She was diagnosed with a very severe ear infection & infected tooth. The doctor was smart enough to know that this wasn't the only problem....he knew it had to be something more for her to be in that much pain. They ordered a spinal tap to check for spinal meningitis this morning. Everything was taking a long time because there were many roadblocks. We all spent the whole day there & I guess it was about 2pm that the results came back. She has Bacterial Meningitis...the streptococcal kind - pneumoniae. Now...this is a scary thing. I've personally known someone who died from bacterial meningitis. We are so thankful that the doctor was smart enough to recognize the problem & treat her early. She was on antibiotics before the results even came back. Many of you know, my Mom has had ear trouble for a long time. She has had tubes in her ears in the past & it's been a constant struggle for years. The fluid behind her ear became infected & caused the meningitis to form. The surgeon said it's probably been brewing for a long time. Routine check-ups never show anything is wrong with her ears, but she always knew there was something more going on. Today she had surgery today to get rid of the infection. Hopefully she will get some relief now from all of her ear issues. She is on very rigorous, intensive treatment to get rid of the meningitis. She is such a trooper. She has been SO incredibly uncomfortable, words cannot describe how painful all of this looked for her. She will remain in ICU until they feel the meningitis is gone & she is stable. She is intubated right now & looking peaceful for the first time all day (b/c she is completely out of it). They will probably keep her in this state for atleast 24 hours. She will be very uncomfortable for awhile between the meningitis, spinal tap, intubation, surgery, millions of IVs, bruises everywhere...but she is in good hands & we know she will be ok. We look forward to getting some more information tomorrow. For now, only family is allowed in ICU & no babies, of course. She is not herself right now & probably would rather people not see her this way anyway. ICU is looking like it may be a 48 hour thing, but everything depends on her progression. She may be in the hospital for a week. Thank God she is in such good hands at Memorial City Hospital. We're so glad she got treated early on. We (family) will all be by her side. It will be tricky with the babies & stuff, but we'll all figure out a way to trade off or something. We love you, Mom!