Road to Recovery

It's been a little while since our last update on how Mom is doing, and for the most part things are just moving along as they should. She is recovering from the surgery, albeit with some new creeks and pangs, but still recovering. Aunt Janet and others have provides some fantastic information on a variety of treatments and helps, a number of which Mom has tried and found success with. She has found a great homeopathic physician in Idaho Falls who has helped her identify some of the things that were causing her more disturbing symptoms. I haven't talked to her about specifics, but her strength and steadiness seem much better now.
Today Mom joined the family for a Memorial Day barbecue at Code and Bart's home, following a day of moving Heather into her new home in Idaho Falls (Mom wisely did not participate in that part of the day's activities. ;) Heather is all moved into a great home that fits her family just right. New paint and carpet have made the home, which isn't that old to begin with, look like a brand new place. It will be just perfect for her and the kids.
Mom did also keep an appointment with the doctor to undergo the necessary genetic counseling so that she could sign the informed consent form and have the BRCA genetic testing done. Her blood work has been sent to the lab and we expect the receive the results any day. Once we do, and if the results confirm that she is a carrier of BRCA 1 or 2 (and everyone expects the results to come back positive), the kids will probably undergo testing as well. The Hunstman Center, which did the original study with the family to identify the presence of BRCA1 (was there any BRCA2 found in the family?) is running out of funding for that particular study, so whatever kids can get tested there, then it will be up to individuals to have the testing done through private labs. Apparently there are several labs now that can perform the test and insurance will frequently assist in the cost. Knowing which version of the gene mutation is being looked for also helps to keep the testing costs down because it allows them to only look at the DNA region of interest.
Mom and the kids did a great job decorating Dad's grave for today. We all miss him and look forward to being with him again someday. May we all remember our incredible heritage today.