me mum update 7-8-07
Much thanks to all for your continued support.
We went and visited Mom for most of the day today. It was good timing as Mom needed a little moral boost and Dad an afternoon break from everything. Mom would converse a little in-between falling asleep on and off, but the pains from the lumps in her chest and groin would wake her about as soon as she'd get settled in.
Her anxiety and depression are really what's making things the most difficult. Having to wait for the results of her 4 most recent biopsy samples is especially causing her a lot of anxiety. She has some meds for help with that but they can only do so much (when you're scared out of your mind). Now Mom’s primary oncologist is telling them that he wants to take another biopsy sample from the area of her spine where the cancer was at. This is really freaking her out as I guess the last time they took samples of the area the pain was so bad that she screamed bloody murder. Even talking about it makes her cry. Apparently the local anesthetic didn’t work last time and she felt every bit of the procedures they did. Before any such procedure is done again they will now talk to the oncologist about options for being asleep (a.k.a. Knocked Out) when the procedure is done.
We did have some time to take care of a few chores around the house that had been piling up that Dad hadn't had time to get to yet. For the most part though, it looks like Dad has been able to keep up very well with the house chores. We made sure that all her meds were in order and that no bills or letters had gone unread and that they understood all of them. Insurance has been taking care of many of the costs so far so that's been a huge blessing for them. What Mom needs most at this point is the continued support of family as well as positive thoughts and/or prayers from everybody.
We went and visited Mom for most of the day today. It was good timing as Mom needed a little moral boost and Dad an afternoon break from everything. Mom would converse a little in-between falling asleep on and off, but the pains from the lumps in her chest and groin would wake her about as soon as she'd get settled in.
Her anxiety and depression are really what's making things the most difficult. Having to wait for the results of her 4 most recent biopsy samples is especially causing her a lot of anxiety. She has some meds for help with that but they can only do so much (when you're scared out of your mind). Now Mom’s primary oncologist is telling them that he wants to take another biopsy sample from the area of her spine where the cancer was at. This is really freaking her out as I guess the last time they took samples of the area the pain was so bad that she screamed bloody murder. Even talking about it makes her cry. Apparently the local anesthetic didn’t work last time and she felt every bit of the procedures they did. Before any such procedure is done again they will now talk to the oncologist about options for being asleep (a.k.a. Knocked Out) when the procedure is done.
We did have some time to take care of a few chores around the house that had been piling up that Dad hadn't had time to get to yet. For the most part though, it looks like Dad has been able to keep up very well with the house chores. We made sure that all her meds were in order and that no bills or letters had gone unread and that they understood all of them. Insurance has been taking care of many of the costs so far so that's been a huge blessing for them. What Mom needs most at this point is the continued support of family as well as positive thoughts and/or prayers from everybody.