First Week of Radiation Over 8/7
Hi Folks,
I thought it time for me to give another update.
So this week marks the end of the first week of radiation. Mom has tolerated the radiation pretty well. Most of the week has had it's ups and downs, as Mom's condition seems to vary somewhat widely. However, this week we started her on "Ensure" and "Boost" drinks, which have about 360 calories a drink. After she started having these, she has seems much better.
Also, yesterday, Mom got a nifty walker from the VA. It's a four wheeled walker with a seat and a basket, and she tooled all over the VA with it. She actually was able to walk much farther than I thought she might be able to with it. I am VERY concerned that she is not going to have enough excercise when I am gone, as Dad is not prone to going on daily walks with her, as he himself has difficulty walking quite often. He tends to become completely numb in one leg, risking a fall, and also uses a walker himself often. I hope that he will be able to keep up some daily excercise with her however. I think Mom's sickness is very taxing for him, and he has been having instances of angina again as well. If he falls over at some point before this is all said and done, that would be bad.
I'm wondering about hiring someone to come and walk with Mom, but they may be somewhat resistant to paying for that, and I'm not sure if i can afford it or not either. But I am going to look into it.
We have also been reading a new book called "Life Over Cancer" by Keith Block, and it seems to dovetail nicely into many of the other efforts we are putting into help Mom as well. By other efforts, I mean increasing her nutrition and anti-oxidant foods that we hope will fight her cancer as well. The book seems quite good, and hopefully it will help us map out a better stratagey for Mom over the next few months, which is a more integrative from of cancer care. We have our fingers crossed.
After the radiation is over, Mom is going to be re-evaluated for chemo. Most of the doctors we have talked to have been hesitant to recommend chemo as they don't think it will significantly add to her time or to her quality of life. That's the next big decision to come up.
We have also started the hospice service, which send out a nurse to evaluate Mom weekly, and they can step up their care as needed. It's covered by medicare, and has a host of services, and Mom and Dad seem quite pleased with what they have to offer. They have a nurse that will check on her, and a nurse assistant that will come out and give her a regular bath. Also they are checking on her bandage where the hepatic shunt is. The hospice seems to work as a whole team, with the home care nurse as the head of the team. They have a doctor, the nurse, the nurse assistant, they even have massage therapy and music therapy. Fat chance mom will take advantage of the music therapy though. But the rest seems like a good idea and great to have at our disposal. If Mom should get better, she can just be removed from the hospice care. If not, they will be sure to make her as comfortable as they possibly can.
In the midst of all this, I'm going back on Wednesday. I wish I could just stay, as Mom and Dad clearly can use someone here to make sure stuff like medications and excercise don't fall through the cracks. But I've been here for a month already, and have 2 more months left (approx) of PTO. I am leaving so I can conserve my time for when Mom and Dad need it most, should/when Mom's condition worsens. Dad has asked me to return for November and December, which is about the course the doctor projected for Mom's potential decline (if all our other efforts don't pan out) which seems like a good time. Hopefully though Mom will have a more time thn just that, if we have any say in the matter. :0)
I have a little more video to put up on here, when I get a chance to make the excerpts. I'll try to get that done as soon as possible. Hope all of you are well.
Bob
I thought it time for me to give another update.
So this week marks the end of the first week of radiation. Mom has tolerated the radiation pretty well. Most of the week has had it's ups and downs, as Mom's condition seems to vary somewhat widely. However, this week we started her on "Ensure" and "Boost" drinks, which have about 360 calories a drink. After she started having these, she has seems much better.
Also, yesterday, Mom got a nifty walker from the VA. It's a four wheeled walker with a seat and a basket, and she tooled all over the VA with it. She actually was able to walk much farther than I thought she might be able to with it. I am VERY concerned that she is not going to have enough excercise when I am gone, as Dad is not prone to going on daily walks with her, as he himself has difficulty walking quite often. He tends to become completely numb in one leg, risking a fall, and also uses a walker himself often. I hope that he will be able to keep up some daily excercise with her however. I think Mom's sickness is very taxing for him, and he has been having instances of angina again as well. If he falls over at some point before this is all said and done, that would be bad.
I'm wondering about hiring someone to come and walk with Mom, but they may be somewhat resistant to paying for that, and I'm not sure if i can afford it or not either. But I am going to look into it.
We have also been reading a new book called "Life Over Cancer" by Keith Block, and it seems to dovetail nicely into many of the other efforts we are putting into help Mom as well. By other efforts, I mean increasing her nutrition and anti-oxidant foods that we hope will fight her cancer as well. The book seems quite good, and hopefully it will help us map out a better stratagey for Mom over the next few months, which is a more integrative from of cancer care. We have our fingers crossed.
After the radiation is over, Mom is going to be re-evaluated for chemo. Most of the doctors we have talked to have been hesitant to recommend chemo as they don't think it will significantly add to her time or to her quality of life. That's the next big decision to come up.
We have also started the hospice service, which send out a nurse to evaluate Mom weekly, and they can step up their care as needed. It's covered by medicare, and has a host of services, and Mom and Dad seem quite pleased with what they have to offer. They have a nurse that will check on her, and a nurse assistant that will come out and give her a regular bath. Also they are checking on her bandage where the hepatic shunt is. The hospice seems to work as a whole team, with the home care nurse as the head of the team. They have a doctor, the nurse, the nurse assistant, they even have massage therapy and music therapy. Fat chance mom will take advantage of the music therapy though. But the rest seems like a good idea and great to have at our disposal. If Mom should get better, she can just be removed from the hospice care. If not, they will be sure to make her as comfortable as they possibly can.
In the midst of all this, I'm going back on Wednesday. I wish I could just stay, as Mom and Dad clearly can use someone here to make sure stuff like medications and excercise don't fall through the cracks. But I've been here for a month already, and have 2 more months left (approx) of PTO. I am leaving so I can conserve my time for when Mom and Dad need it most, should/when Mom's condition worsens. Dad has asked me to return for November and December, which is about the course the doctor projected for Mom's potential decline (if all our other efforts don't pan out) which seems like a good time. Hopefully though Mom will have a more time thn just that, if we have any say in the matter. :0)
I have a little more video to put up on here, when I get a chance to make the excerpts. I'll try to get that done as soon as possible. Hope all of you are well.
Bob
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