Round three

October 23, 2011

Round three over and we are still amazed at how well mom is doing.  After talking to several people and recalling the cancer patients we have heard  about in the past, I think how you react to your treatment all depends on the type of cancer you are afflicted with and the course of treatment that you are prescribed.  She has been very fortunate not to have to deal with the sickness and the hair loss.  I think that is one of the hardest things to deal with when you are fighting for your life.  You are so sick trying to fight it that you begin to wonder which would be worse.

So, when the next round of chemo is done it is the beginning of the tests to see where she is and if she is a candidate for the stem cell transplant.  After the conference call with U of M, it looks like all of this may take place during the holidays.  Once they confirm that her cells are in the best shape for a harvest, they will do that and then the week following, she will go in for the month long stay at the hospital.  I believe that during this time she cannot have any visitors because her body will not be able to reject any sickness or virus’.  Dad will be her caregiver and will stay with her during this time.  It will be really hard to know that she is in the worst shape ever and me not being able to help her or my dad with any of it.  I believe that will be the time when I will need to pray the hardest.

Counting the blessings

October 14, 2011

It seems like it was so long ago when mom couldn’t do the simple things for herself.  I was just saying to her today how blessed she truly is.  Since the initial diagnosis and the chemo treatment it seems her side effects have been pretty minimal compared to all we have heard from other cancer patients and their families.  Constipation, a little swelling of her feet and the burning sensation in her hands and feet seem to be the biggest hurdles she has had to overcome.  She has been very fortunate that she has not experienced the vomiting and major hair loss those before her experienced.  Lately she has been a bit more tired than before, but overall she is doing quite well.

The report from the Dr. Zakem this Tuesday was that her blood work is fine and the abnormal protein seen in her blood before has decreased.  So, with a few more treatments she will be done with chemo and then prepare for the tests she will have to go through to see if the cancer is in remission enough to proceed with the stem cell transplant.

I am just so thankful that she is more like her old self.  She is walking along much faster now and quite able to do for herself.  I think the only thing I have noticed that has changed about her appearance is her legs are getting thinner and her pants are getting saggy.  It doesn’t seem she is losing weight, just shifting where it goes.  So, while her tummy hasn't done any shrinking, her legs are getting to look a little twiggy.  I told her she reminded me of great grandma.  We had a good laugh about that one today.

Continued prayers for her continued good health and that dad will also gain some strength and take care of himself so he can continue to care for her.

Halfway there!

September 30, 2011

Well, another end to a chemo treatment with positive outlooks and blessed results.  Thankful for the blessing of no horrible side effects, mom continues to do well with the treatment as planned.  We are almost half way through the chemo treatments with next week being her week off and I think mom and dad are going to try to make a little color tour up north.

Her continued positive outlook amazes me and with some regained strength, she is no longer using the walker and gets around pretty good with a cane; just to make sure she is remaining steady.  Her left side still bothers her some, but she is able to get through each day with the minimal amount of pain killers. 

I think during her week off of chemo she gets a little depressed because, I believe, she misses the human interaction.  During her on weeks, she gets out and can at least interact with people which we all know….mom is a people person.

Thankful for all the continued prayers and thoughts.