What a week

This has been a very different week than those that have preceded it. Up to now, it was understood that mom has cancer, that she inevitably would die from it, and that she was fighting with everything she had to beat it. This past week saw mom getting settled in at her new residence, River Ridge Adult Family Care. Unfortunately she didn't have much of a chance to get comfortable there before everything came crashing down.

After finding out that the cancer was in her brain, mom had a 180 degree turn in her health. She is having great difficulty in processing thoughts into words. She is aware of what is going on, by no means is she not cognizant of her surroundings. She is incredibly frustrated by her inability to remember things that happened in the short term and by the aforementioned difficulty in communicating.

I spent a good part of yesterday with her and she relied on a wheelchair to get around. She is in so much pain in her shoulders, arms, and legs from the cancer that walking is too much of a chore. She also has fallen twice this week. Once Thursday evening and once Friday morning. That has contributed to her overall pain as well. No bones were broken, but she is definitely one hurting woman right now.

It feels very much like we were driving down the road at a leisurely pace, fully aware of the destination, but making pit stops along the way to have chemo treatments, to have lunches, and to feel like progress was being made. This past week it is as if someone has cut the brakes and placed a brick on the gas pedal. The entire situation has a much darker, imminent feel than before. These past 4 months, I held on to my optimism while embracing the reality of the situation. It felt like things were going in a direction that the doctor was happy with and it felt like mom would at least be around to meet her goal of making it to my birthday (first part of January). Personally, it doesn't feel like that goal is attainable based on what I saw yesterday. Only time will tell. We have an appointment with her doctor on Monday to talk about a lot of different things, the findings from her most recent ct scan among them.

Please continue to pray for mom as well as my father in law, Mike. Jenny and I got a call yesterday around 8 AM from Judy (the love of Mike's life) informing us that Mike's defibrilator had gone off somewhere between 4 and 6 times. This is akin to when you see someone on TV get the paddles placed on their chest in order to zap them back to life. With Mike, it was from the inside out. It literally raised his body inches off the bed. He will be at OHSU until at least Monday where his cardiac team will be re-doing an ablation that was done just a few weeks ago. I appreciate everyone who has been keeping my mom and I in your thoughts and prayers. If you could make some room for Jenny and her father as well as Judy and her father (who is in very poor health right now as well) we all would appreciate it.

Thank you,
Pat