Cancer schmancer

Mom left SWMC today as we hoped she would. She went to the cancer center to get shots of aranesp (to boost her red blood cell count) and neulasta (to boost her white blood cell count) and managed to find a few new hats to cover her dome with as well.

She did very well this time. The day after the second round of chemo was completed, mom felt as if she was going to die (her words). This time she feels amazingly well. Were it not for the beret she was concealing her balding scalp with, one would never guess that she was battling cancer. Her weight today is 112, which means she only lost 3 pounds this time compared to the 10 that she had lost during each previous chemotherapy session. Considering she doesn't have much weight on her to spare, this is a positive (and surprising) accomplishment. She exudes life and is happy to be back home with her new friends that she has made.

She even felt good enough at the hospital to let me take a picture of her for the blog. That itself is amazing. She is not big on having her photo snapped (nor am I). So here she is in all her glory. She looks fabulous for all that she has been through. I can't express how happy I am that the past four days have been so "easy" for her. We return to the doctor's office on Sept. 6 and at that time we will know when she is going in for round 4.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Talk to you soon.

Pat

A brighter light is shining

Mom has not had any of the nausea that she experienced with her chemo last time. This is due to her doctor prescribing a more aggressive regimen of anti-nausea medicines. Yesterday her weight was at 112 which is impressive for her. She has been dealing with some pulled muscles or tendons or something of that nature in her lower back. It is a result of her trying to lift a box prior to going into the hospital for the chemo. One of her doctors told her that chemo weakens the body, but the brain still thinks it can do what it is used to. A couple of lidocaine patches later and the pain is subsiding.

I talked to mom this morning and she said that she's quite possibly going home today. I am going to head over in a bit with the hopes that I have the privilege of taking her back to her home and a significantly less clinical environment.

I would like to thank Mary Lookingbill, a chaplin who has provided emotional comfort for my mom during these trying times for her. I also would like to express how happy I was to meet one of her pastors, Eugene Walters, yesterday. It is always a great experience to meet the people who are part of the team that cares for my mom. I have been to the hospital enough with her to know most of the nurses by name, but the spiritual piece of this puzzle has been instrumental in keeping my mom's state of emotional health relatively stable. As I told Mary yesterday, it is an invaluable service that they provide and I am immensely grateful for it.

Pat