PATTERNS

We're definitely noticing patterns in mom's new course of treatment. She'll have about 5 really bad days after chemo, then she'll gradually perk up to feeling pretty darn good. She felt great over the weekend and managed to get out of the house for some errands and to attend church for 2 hours! We're excited to have another normal week before chemo starts again this Thursday.

IMPROVING

Mom is worried that this blog is going to make people sick of her, but I assured her that people do voluntarily read what's going on with her health. :) She looks much better today and feels a little bit better, too. She still gets little sleep and her appetite is pretty nonexistent, but she must be getting enough of both to be on the mend. We're so thankful that she has 2 weeks between these treatments!

ROUGH

The chemo is in full swing and it's not fun. Mom has been flat-out, wiped-out, sick and tired for the last 2 days. She had her neulasta shot (to boost her white blood cell count) this morning, but has slept almost all other hours of the day. We woke her up after a few hours of sleep, squeaked in a little Sunday dinner, then she was ready to get back in bed. I really hope that she bounces back after a few days, but this time is definitely rough.

WIG

Mom's hair has continued to thin and thin and thin. Her scalp was showing so much that she decided a wig was in order. Here it is:


Okay, Okay! Here it is on mom:

ROUND #2 DONE!

Mom had chemo round #2 today and is doing well so far. She spent the day at the doctor's office and will probably rest/sleep for the rest of the evening. Dad said that her platelet count was fairly low, but high enough to continue with chemo. Hopefully, her neulasta shot on Sunday will help with that. She went into it strong. She walked 2 miles on Tuesday and was eating pretty much anything she wanted without side-effects (including coconut cream birthday pie). :) We hope that she has a good recovery again over the next 2 weeks. GO MOM!

60

Today will be (and always is) a good day! It's mom's 60th birthday today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! I feel so lucky to have her as a mother. She's kind, patient, loving, thoughtful, funny, optimistic, energetic, extremely unselfish, and caring. Mom has had a horrendous last year or more, and she has endured with courage and optimism. She always has room in heart to love people, even if they don't deserved to be loved (in my book). I am amazed at her resiliency, and I have decided that she's made of half steel. I don't know how many needles and doctors she has encountered over the last year, but she always seems to have energy reserves to do it over and over and over. She doesn't complain. The other day I saw that she had over a dozen huge blisters in her mouth, and she had not whined or complained about it ONE BIT! She's an incredible person and we're lucky to have her example.

DONE WITH #1

Mom is unhooked from the chemo bag, has had her neulasta shot, and is now in full-blown chemotherapy fun. She did go to sacrament meeting this morning, but barely made it through. She's definitely feeling puny and tired, but she's happy. She slept most of the afternoon and ate Sunday dinner with us. She said that she's already nauseous and has lost her appetite, but she forced a good amount of food down. The side-effects have definitely taken root faster than we anticipated. Hopefully, she'll be able to get good rest and keep food down well enough to gain strength and energy over the next 2 weeks.

ONE TREATMENT DOWN!

Mom and dad just got home from spending the day at the doctor's office. She did well and she's in good spirits. She went in to this with quite a bit of strength. She was walking 2 miles each night by last week, so her body is ready for a fight!

We were excited to find out that they can combine her erbatux treatment (the one every other week in-between the heavy duty treatments) with her heavy duty treatments. What that means is that she doesn't have to go to the doctor's office every single week. Instead, her extra erbatux will be given along with all of the other chemotherapy drugs every other week. So, she'll go in on Thursdays for her chemotherapy, come home with her chemo pump to administer the rest for 48 hours, get the pump removed on Saturday, then receive a neulasta shot every Sunday (neulasta boosts her white blood cell count). She will then have almost two weeks to recover before visiting the doctor again. It will be psychologically and emotionally easier to be away from the doctor's office. Although the nursing staff has been great, one of them told her yesterday, "You and one other guy are the only ones still alive who had this kind of cancer!" She was trying to be optimistic, but I think that's enough to freak anybody out! Luckily, they read a memo faxed to the doctor here in ABQ from Dr. Abdalla in Houston. The memo said that he thinks her 5 year prognosis is excellent. Thank heaven for Dr. Abdalla! We just hope that mom stays strong and continues to respond as well to the chemo as she did prior to the surgery. We're optimistic and have no reason to be anything but!

HERE WE GO!

We have been so grateful to have 3 weeks of bliss with mom feeling healthy and strong before starting the toughest fight with her battle so far.

She went to the doctor today to do all of the blood prep work to start chemo tomorrow. Tomorrow's the big day! She'll have chemo treatments once week for the next 15 weeks. If all goes well, and she doesn't need to take some breaks to regain health and strength; she will finish this crazy year on November 15th! We certainly hope that all goes well, and that we can celebrate the holidays with a cancer-free mom. Thanks to everyone for their continued fasting, prayers, notes, and love. The support has been sustaining for us all!