First let me explain the picture. I have always felt very blessed with the friends I have in my life. I think of some of them as family more than just friends. I have also felt bless with the relationship I have with my sister Jeni. She is now and has always been my best friend. Together we have shared loves, losses, laughter and heartbreak and through it all we have always been there for each other. I was at Mom's today looking for some pictures...for several reasons....one being Hannah is a senior this year and I promised to make her the most embarrassing photo memory board possible for her graduation party......I found some great additions to the board while going through Mom's pictures. I always knew Mom & Dad had a group of close friends and until I found a certain box of pictures I didn't realize the memories they have made with these friends. There is an entire box dedicated to photo's of their friends. Trips they have taken together, camping, parties, outings and things I am sure their friends would appreciate me not mentioning. I have known some of their friends my entire life and some of them I have just recently had the pleasure of getting to know. Mom is a very lucky woman to have had so much love and so many memories with friends who truly love her. She also has a very special relationship with her brother Pete. I am sure I mimic my relationship with Jeni to how theirs has been their entire lives. The picture above was taken on one of the trips she and dad took with their friends.
Mom has been very sick the past few weeks. After she finished her treatments we all thought it was downhill from there. Boy were we wrong! It wasn't until the treatments ended that she got really sick. So sick that she didn't get out of bed for several days. Some days she didn't even wake up. We had to keep checking on her to make sure she was OK. We went to see Dr. Potts because Mom was in severe pain she had headaches so bad they were making her sick and every doctor we have said there is no reason for her to suffer through pain. Dr. Potts gave her Tylenol 3 and Lasic because her feet and legs were so swollen the skin was splitting open. My brother Steve decided to get us together for dinner at Moms a few Sundays ago. This was the fourth day in a row that Mom was in bed. Jeni and I decided to help her get up and get her to the kitchen so she could eat with us. I think this is the first time the boys realized how sick she actually was. After we ate Mom wanted to go right back to bed...that used up all the energy she had. The next day she had to go for a blood test and an MRI. The Dr called shortly after the test and told us she had to go to the hospital for a blood transfusion. The next day she got 2 bags of blood. When I asked the nurse about how long until she feels better she said it could take days. This was not the news we were hoping for. Mom slept the entire time and all the was home. I was starting to get worried because she was loosing several days at a time. She didn't remember the boys coming over or being at the hospital. The next day she was doing a little better. She was out of bed and walking around with her walker. We went to see Dr Potts again and he was pleased with how she looked. He said he thought the transfusion helped and that she was doing well. He had her MRI results which he went over with us. He read the report and then dummed it down for us. The space where the tumor was removed is filled in with other stuff ( perfectly normal ) the good news is the space is not filled with swelling, infection, fluid or TUMOR! This was very exciting news...this means the chemo and radiation worked! Dr gave her a stronger prescription for pain.....she was still having headaches and took her off her Ameril ( for sugar) because her sugar has been around 120 everyday. Yesterday we went to see Dr Chuck (neurosurgeon) He went over the MRI with us and we got to see the scans. He was very pleased and said this was the outcome we were hoping for. He showed us where the tumor used to be and IT IS GONE! This does not mean she is cancer free. The cancer cells will always be in her brain waiting to cluster and multiply. She will be on a very strong dosage of Temador (chemo) 5 days a month for the next several months. When we were leaving Chucks office he said follow up with him in 6 months! No Dr has ever scheduled an appointment for Mom 6 months out!
Mom started her Temidor last night and got really sick shortly after taking it. We forgot to give her the compazine ( nausea med ) first. This morning she told me that she is frustrated because she is throwing up and doesn't have any energy. Dad said that he thought something wasn't right because she treatments have been over for several weeks and she wasn't back to normal. I said Dad this is normal. This may be the best we get but aren't we thankful that we have this? Mom said your right I am so thankful that I am still here. I said when you were first diagnosed no one thought you would still be alive today and look at you now 5 months later and your still here and your tumor is gone. Mom turns 61 on Friday. This will be her best birthday yet!
