Almost Home

Whew! What a month! I am trying to catch my breath. Okay, on to the news. Mom was released from the hospital Sunday. She completed her radiation on Friday. They removed the last of her IV drip on Saturday afternoon. They were able to manage her pain through oral meds so they released her. Just as we were about to leave, I thought about possible issues getting her prescriptions filled. It was Sunday, and some pharmacies do not have particular medications in stock. I won't go into detail, but it was very stressful. Ron got on the phone and was able to find the medicine. The doctors say that the radiation should continue to work within her body for the next couple of weeks. Mom did not want to go home right away for two reasons: 1) she was concerned that the severe pain would return and she would have to return to the hospital. The possibility of going home and having to make the trip back concerned her. Traveling is hard on Mom so she tries to limit travel, particularly if she cannot rest directly afterwards. 2) she has a doctor's appointment on Thursday morning. Mom wanted to stay put until after her doctor's appointment. The prospect of traveling home, then returning on Wednesday afternoon and then going back home on Thursday was too much for her. When Mom was released, she and I went to the camper. The Gorums have been gracious enough to bring their camper to Mobile. Providence Hospital has a space for a few campers. They have electricity, water, and sewer. The camper has a slide-out so it is plenty of room for Mom to get around on her walker.

Mom was very emotional Monday. She is tired. We all are tired of this circumstance we find ourselves in. Mom is tired of not feeling well. She is very weak. She sleeps alot. I am sure the pain medicine makes her drowsy. Mom did well physically until Monday night. She was in alot of pain and was in tears. I thought, "Oh no. We are going to have to go straight back to the hospital." Mom did not want to go back. I gave her all the medicine I could give her at the time and prayed really really hard. Within an hour, Mom got some relief. God is good! I cannot begin to put into words how God has provided these past few days.

So Mom is out of the hospital, but not home yet. She should be home Thursday. Please continue to pray for Mom, the doctors, and the caregivers. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. Thanks for taking time out of your day to call, stop by or to send a card or a dish. We are hanging in there, but it is so tough. It is truly one of those things that you cannot possibly express what it is like to go through. One cannot possibly understand until you have been there. I know many of you have been there and know exactly what we are going through. A cancer survivor gave us some advice shortly after Mom's diagnosis. She said to take it one day at a time. Truer words have never been spoken. One day at a time.

Update

Mom is still in the hospital. Hopefully, she will be able to go home soon. I think everyone is shooting for a Friday release, but that may be very optimistic. If not Friday, maybe it won't be too much longer. The doctors were finally able to control the pain through the IV. They decided to hold off on trying to manage her pain through oral medication so that Mom could get through the radiation treatments. Yesterday, the doctors decided that since she had received 7 treatments they would try to reduce the pain medicine in the IV drip. They are reducing the amount slowly and increasing the oral medication. We do not know at this point if Mom's pain has reduced the past few days because the radiation helped or because the pain meds had been increased. The next few days will be very telling. If they can remove her from her IV drip and control the pain via oral medicine then the radiation will have helped, and she can be released. I know she is past ready to go home. It is almost time for another PET scan. The scan should come shortly. In a couple of weeks the doctors will likely start more chemo, trying out a new combination of chemo drugs. They want to find a combo that all the cancer will respond to.

Just a little story to share with you: On Saturday, Mom wanted to "fix up." She had on some cute leopard print capri pajamas. The set looked like an outfit instead of pjs. We decided that we would put her on some makeup and earrings, put her hair in a ponytail (first time in years), and get a wheelchair. She was ready to get out of that room and ready to feel presentable again. We rolled down to the hospital gift shop. Mom got to enjoy her favorite pasttime, shopping. She really enjoyed it. She had several visitors on Sunday, and I think everyone was surprised to see her fixed up. She looked really good. I know it lifted her spirits.

I will let you know something when I know something more to tell. God Bless!

Still in Hospital

Sorry for the delay in updating the results of the MRI. I have been at the hospital in Mobile for the past 6 days. The MRI was not done until Friday. Mom could not stay in a particular position for the amount of time it would take to complete the MRI. After two attempts, the doctors decided that they would have to use anesthesia to perform the MRI. It was scheduled and performed on Friday. Mom was extremely upset that she had not been able to do the MRI. Thursday and Friday were some of the toughest days she has had yet. She was very emotional and down. However, Saturday was a new day -- a day where everyone seemed to regroup and things began to progress. The orthopedic doctor told us that there was nothing to be done surgically. As I have stated previously, Mom has cancer in her leg/pelvic area which has spread from her lung and has caused a fracture. The fracture is actually located in the pelvis, which radiates the pain down her left leg. The doctors are unable to determine what exactly has caused the increase in pain. The fracture may have become deeper and larger or another possibility is that the cancer appears to have spread to some of the surrounding bone tissue near the fracture. This tissue is where the pain receptors and nerves are found. It was decided that radiation was the direction to take in hopes that this would help with the cancer and pain in that area. Radiation began Monday and will take place Monday through Friday for 2 to 3 weeks. The length of the radiation will depend on how Mom does. If she feels better after 10 treatments, then they will stop. The doctors have not been able to get her pain under control through oral medication. She is administered pain meds through an IV and through oral medication. Until the doctors can get her pain under control through oral medication alone, they will not release her from the hospital. Mom is right where she needs to be right now; however, we hope that the radiation will work and that we will see some improvement by Tuesday. We hope that she doesn't have to stay in the hospital the entire length of the radiation. The doctors also took into consideration that Mom doesn't live in Mobile, and they did not think the daily trips to and from Mobile would be something that she could handle well. A couple of weeks after the radiation is complete, provided that Mom is able, the doctors will try a different chemo regimen. Although the particular chemo combination was working in most areas of Mom's body, it was not working in the pelvis. The doctors want to try a different combination. Mom is in Providence Hospital in Mobile in Room 1235. She is not able to receive food, flowers, or fruit, due to hospital restrictions in that particular unit. I am at home for a couple of days and will head back down to Mobile Friday. I will update in a few days.

In the Hospital

Mom was scheduled for her 8th round of chemo today. With each passing week, her leg and pain get worse. A couple of weeks ago she finally had to give in and use a wheelchair. I know that she really didn't want to, but she had no choice. Today, when the doctor realized the pain she was in, she decided to postpone her 8th round of chemo and do an MRI on the leg. The doctor wanted to admit her into the hospital (Providence in Mobile) to administer a drip of pain meds so that hopefully they can get Mom's pain under control to do the MRI. I hope she is out by Thursday or Friday. I just pray that Mom can get some relief. She has been such a fighter, but I can tell that the pain is taking a toll. She cried when I spoke to her on the phone today. It broke my heart. I will let you all know when I have any more news.