"What was that all about?"

My mom forgot she had cancer.

Or at least she forgot that it was terminal. Some people came in today to talk about different after-rehab options, and specifically Hospice, and after they left, she basically asked my dad “what was that all about.” So he told her, everything, for the second time.

The first time he told her about the cancer, about a week and a half ago, she was just really quiet. This time she cried, and cried, and cried.

I don’t know if she completely forgot she had cancer. We talked to the doctor today, the one in charge of her rehab, and she said that every morning she talks to my mom about her brain tumor, and why they’re doing rehab, and all that stuff. Which is great – she said she does it because we shouldn’t have to be the ones to do it.

But maybe my mom just thought that she could beat this cancer, just like she did her breast cancer. Maybe she thought the tumor was just a benign tumor, that wasn’t really going to affect anything, but just caused a stroke. Or maybe she really did forget.

I just can’t imagine what its like to find out, after a week or so of working hard in rehab, that its not going to be enough to get life back to normal, or even closer to normal. I can’t imagine what its like to find out (again) that you’re not going to grow old with your husband, or see your daughters grow up, and then still work hard at getting better anyway.

I just really hope she remembers this time. She needs to know, and I don’t want my dad to have to go through telling her again.