I know I don’t talk about my personal life in much detail on here, and more so lately than usual (mostly because I have no life other than working 13 hrs a day at lab). But today I am sharing something about my mom, which is the reason I made cake pops in the shape of flowers to form an edible bouquet. Yes I do realize it is Pi day and being the nerd that I am, contemplated changing today’s post to a pie but I don’t think anyone will argue that my mother is more important than any pie in the world.

1985 – Mom, brother & me

Let’s begin with the year 2002. I was a senior in high school and my mom moved from upstate NY to live with family in Maryland (why she moved there is an entirely different story that I’m not getting into today). Shortly after, she was diagnosed with not one but two aneurysms in her brain, one located behind each eye, and they were not small (golf ball-sized). Her neurosurgeon attempted to put a stint in for the one behind her right eye but it was not successful and therefore moved on to the next option – a craniotomy. Unfortunately in the process her optic nerve was cut for that eye and obviously resulted in the termination of vision through that eye. As far as I know none of the family was aware that this was going to be a possibility. I was none too pleased because having the terrible vision that I do, I am very conscious of the ability to see. And upset because not only were we unaware that this may happen, but it did happen and there was nothing to do about it.

Naturally, my mom feared losing sight in her remaining left eye and did not want to pursue a second craniotomy for the other aneurysm. I can’t say that I blame her but it was always in the back of my mind, “What if it decides to rupture? Would I rather have a blind mom than none at all?”. But the decision was hers not mine (thankfully). So she continued to live her life, got remarried, moved to Delaware and is the happiest I have seen her in a long time.

Then last year, I got a message from my aunt (in MD) saying my mother was being helicoptered to the hospital – no more details given. WHAT!?!?!!? Commence ultimate freak out. Later I was told she had been bumping into things and saying things which did not make sense so they thought her aneurysm was acting up. For the next couple of days, my mom sat in pre-op, not being able to eat anything because she was told she would go into surgery in the morning after they ran tests, but then never having the surgery the next day, or the next. Meanwhile, I was preparing for a seminar I had to present on my research and was juggling whether I needed to jump into my car and haul the 15 hours to be there for her surgery. If my mom was going to lose her vision completely I wanted her to see me one more time. The fact the hospital was being so wishy-washy whether or not they were going to perform surgery was most frustrating. In the end, they decided her aneurysm was stable and that she was just suffering side effects from dehydration (she and my step-father as been battling a cold of some sort). Yup, all that drama just to find out she needed a glass of water.

I wish I could say that was the end of it all. But unfortunately over the next year she started to notice the occasional symptom (headache, cheek numbness, blurred vision) but it would fade away and she’d let it go. One day she confessed to me that these symptoms were becoming more persistent and severe. (Guess a glass of water wasn’t the solution after all.) After an MRI last week it has been decided that surgery needs to be performed. The aneurysm is growing and the size of it categorized her as an emergency – life or death. Which started my frantic scanning of flight prices which were not economically friendly. After talking with her, since this surgery is “just” for a stint, I am holding off on the last-minute travel for now. If for some reason the stint doesn’t work on this one either (crosses fingers and every body part possible), then I will fork over whatever it costs to be there. That’s assuming she even goes through with another craniotomy, because from talking to her she has no intention of doing so.

Unfortunately my older brother is also unable to be there because my sister-in-law is full term and due any day now with their first child (YAY!). But our step-dad, aunt (her sister) and uncle will be there. Mom goes in for pre-op at 8 am EST and will go into surgery around 10 am (and I will be tethered to my cell phone all day). I called her yesterday and she was scared but is in good spirits. (I know the feeling. In early high school I had surgery on my left eye to correct the strabisthmus and I cried while waiting to go into the operating room.) She did mention that her headaches have intensified and cannot wait for it to be over. We all hope that the stint relieves her pain swiftly.

Little does she know what is crawling to her doorstep at this very moment. I cannot wait for my package containing these flower bouquet cake pops to reach her today, she will be so excited! I know she will want to show them off to all of her friends too because that’s what mothers do.

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I LOVE YOU MOM! Be strong. I wish I could be with you today like you have been for me. And even though you don’t have the internet to see this post, you get the better end of the deal – the cake pops!

(Please excuse any poor grammar or lack of fluidity in this post. I can’t proof-read emotions haha.)

One year ago: Cookies and Cream Peanut Butter Pie

FLOWER BOUQUET CAKE POPS

Makes 45-50

Ingredients:

1 box chocolate fudge cake mix*, plus ingredients

1-16 oz. tub chocolate frosting *

Pop sticks

Colored chocolate candy melts (such as these)

White chocolate M&M’s

*or whatever flavor variety you prefer

Directions:

1. Prepare cake as directed for a 13 x 9 inch cake.
2. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl. Mix thoroughly with frosting. Form into two large balls.
3. On a lightly greased surface (I like to use a pastry mat) use a rolling pin to roll one ball to about 1/2-inch thick. Cut out shapes using greased small flower-shaped cookie cutters (I used these by Wilton). Gently push out of the cookie cutter onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet.
4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)
5. Melt chocolate in microwave (or over a double-boiler) per directions on package.
6. Dip the end of a pop stick into the chocolate and insert halfway through the bottom of a cake-flower. Roll in chocolate, tap off excess, add M&M and insert into styrofoam (or lay on wax paper) until firm.
7. Repeat with the remaining shapes and use different colored chocolate coating if desired. (I started with the yellow and worked towards the darker colors so that I could keep using the same bowl.)

Source: Adapted from Bakerella.