What's Going On

I've been quiet here for the last month. There hasn't been any action on the cancer front because of the stuff going on with Mom's kidneys, except a discussion about chemo options for when the kidneys settled down enough, and this blog has been mainly about Mom's cancer fight.

Well, there's good news, and there's bad news. The good news is, the cancer fight is over. It's a tie. The bad news is, Mom has a partial bowel obstruction, a kink in the 10 feet of small intestine that she still uses. If the kink was going to go away, it would have done so in the first two or three days... it's been a week since she had the PET scan that shows the kink. The only option to fix it is surgery, and it would be surgery like she had three years ago when I first came out here. Back then even, the surgeon was hesitant to do surgery, and when he did, she had a lot of scar tissue, had to have emergency surgery that night for internal bleeding, and spent the next three months in hospitals. She said then that she didn't want to have surgery again. Even if she did decide she wanted surgery, we'd be hard pressed to find a surgeon to do surgery, and even if we found a surgeon that would do it, she's so bad off that she probably wouldn't make it through.

Mom has been trickling downhill over the last few months. She was spending most of her time lying down, either on the couch or her bed, resting. She was generally awake and with it, she'd confuse things sometimes, but things have been kinda calm. She's been losing weight, she's down to 103 pounds. Since the stints were put in her kidneys, her creatinine level had stayed around 2 or 3, but about two weeks ago, it jumped back up. Her urologist that put the stints in was rational and knew that waiting a week to get the PET scan results was the best plan. This has nothing to do with her kidneys, that's just a side effect of the obstruction.

Over the weekend, she spiraled down really fast. She's confused, has trouble talking sometimes, is nauseous constantly, in a lot of pain, and sleeping all the time. She has trouble with her balance, and she's really weak. We went to hydration on Monday, and the labs showed her kidneys were even worse off. We talked to hospice, and got some good information, but Mom isn't ready for hospice yet. They would give her more/better things for her pain and nausea, but they would also require that she stop receiving hydration, and hydration is basically what's keeping her alive. The nurses say that based on her condition, she'd only make it a few days without hydration.

So at the doctor appointment she had today, we had a good long pow-wow (her sister Anne had already planned to come out on Friday, and my sister Brooke came up yesterday). The current plan is the best of all worlds, considering the situation. Mom will be getting more hydration, it'll be almost daily, and we're going to work on arranging it so I can give her hydration at home on the weekends. The kink is making her dehydrated, even though she's getting as much fluid as she is. That dehydration is what's causing her kidney problems (if I understand right). So being hydrated more should help her feel better. The doctor has also given her different medications for pain and nausea, and they're in patch form, so we don't have to worry about them not getting absorbed from her digestive system. We also have liquid morphine in case of bursts of pain. So she's basically getting the comfort of hospice and the life extension that her stronger than steel will is fighting for. Best of both worlds.

The other thing the nurses have said, and the doctor has agreed, is that at some point, her body is going to trump her will. She'll have a heart attack, a stroke, a coma, something, and she'll be gone. They can't say when, because they don't know when. It could be tomorrow, next week, next month, or after her birthday, which is her first, or maybe ultimate, goal. So don't hesitate to call. She may not be up to talking, or talking for long, but it won't hurt to try. I try to keep all the phones with me, so if we're home, I'll probably be the one answering. If you call her cell, again, I'll probably be the one answering.

Please pray for her. If you go to church, please put her on the prayer list. Namely for comfort and peace.

Make The Best of It Quote

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

— Theodore Roosevelt

Quote of the ...Today. (Hero Quote)

Without heroes, we are all plain people, and don't know how far we can go.

— Bernard Malamud

Stories

I've seen that Mom loves to relive fun times that she's had with her family and friends. I'd love it if you would send a story or memory (or multiple stories/memories) to celebrate_pat@yahoo.com for her. Whether it's a story about the first time you met her, a funny thing that happened, any and everything you want to say, she'll love them. They may also come in handy down the line for a project I've been talking about with Mom. Thank you. =)

Updated Count

The good news, Mom's procedure is continuing to show that it worked, her creatinine is half of what it was. That's still about 1.5 to 2 mg/dL higher than a "normal" person, but we all know Mom has never been normal. ;) Anyone that extraordinary could never be called just normal. We'll see the urologist on Friday and go from there, as it would be nice if there was a way to lower her creatinine to normal levels.

Now for the not so good news. Dealing with the last chemo drug not working AND the bad kidney function at the same time was too much for Mom, so she took a break from thinking about chemo. In that time, her count has gone up to about 1440. We'll see the oncologist on Friday, and I imagine a game plan will be worked out for the next step in fighting the cancer. Mom has said she's not ready to give up, so as long as she's got the fight in her, we'll all be around for her. There are other chemo options, they're just not as appealing as the previous ones have been. Shall keep y'all updated. Much love CR.

Surgery

Surgery went great. Things appear to be working as hoped, so for now, we're considering it a success. Mom is home and, aside from having nausea still sometimes, she's back to (relative) normal).

More News

Mom's creatinine level (a measure of kidney function) has been running a little high for a few months now, but its been kept in check. In the last couple weeks, its jumped to a rather high level, and it's been affecting Mom. It's made her more nauseous, and a couple other side effects I can't remember right now. If not treated, it can also lead to the need for dialysis, or kidney failure.

To remedy this, Mom will be going in (right now she's scheduled for Monday) to have a couple stints put in. The surgery shouldn't be a problem, it's just an outpatient procedure. I'll put an update on here as soon as I have one, please just keep her in your prayers, especially on Monday.