Post 4

Happy Sunday Everyone!

Mom has had a really good week. She only had mild side effects from her first cycle of chemo.

The first couple of days were a juggling act between mild headaches, fatigue, and uneasiness. But she slept, ate, and took showers (to cool off from the internal battle going on inside her).

These last couple of days she has had to complete a five day regiment of steroids. (She hates the feeling that comes from the steroids). The steroids make it hard for her to watch TV and ride in a car (things move too fast for her). She also has a hard time concentrating when she’s reading. But she does not have to take them for another two weeks, so today she made up a song lyric set to an old Herman Hermits tune called No Milk Today.

“No steroids today, my five days gone away

The bottle stands forlorn, a symbol that we’re done” J

Empty steroid bottle YAY!

She is looking forward to next week because she only has to give blood, instead of having to receive bags of drugs or spinal chemo (intrathecal) .

Dr. Gowda consulted with some of her colleagues and has done more research on Mom’s behalf. She has decided to increase Mom’s intrathecal (spinal taps) to every two weeks instead of every three weeks. She wants to concentrate on getting rid of Mom’s chances of having any cancer coming back as brain cancer. We are supposed to get a new schedule on Monday (tomorrow).

Mom has taken up a new fashion trend this week. She has taken to wearing her swim suit around the house. She says it feels less binding than wearing anything around her middle. To her, it feels like her tummy is swollen and sensitive. The literature said that the fast replicating cells would die off just like the cancer cells. So the main three things you read about that are fast growing are bone marrow (which she can’t feel any effects yet), the stomach, and hair.  Her tummy and her hair are starting to show signs that something is changing.

Mom in her swim suit after going to the Y for a swim

We talked with the nurse earlier about what to do with her hair situation. The nurse said it was an individual thing. Some people can’t stand to part with their hair and need wigs to feel better. Some people do not want big clumps of hair falling in their soup, or down the shower drain so they shave their head right away. With Mom it has been gradual. Every time she combs her hair there just seems to be a few more tangled hairs in the comb than she had the week before. So her hair may just thin out until she is semi-bald. Then we will shave it off.

So far, all we have done is gotten a couple of hats and scarves. But no real plan on what to do with her hair yet. She thinks that her shirts and scarves should match. I think that is too ambitious for the reason that she will not feel like sewing as the weeks go on.

Scarves and hats

Yesterday we went to the YMCA to take Mom for a “wiggle in the water,” as she calls it. She does not like being cooped up. Her favorite exercise ritual is to swim with Dad in the morning before he goes to work. She has not felt up to swimming for quite a while, so it was a real treat for her. It was like releasing a captive living thing back into the wild. She got this big smile on her face, a big sigh of relief and just blissfully “wiggled” away. She had the best time floating and doing gentle exercise (which is what the pamphlets recommend). Although I am not sure her immune system will be able to handle all of the germs at the Y. We should ask the doctor tomorrow if swimming will help or harm her while her immune system is being compromised. She is just so happy in the water. J Maybe the chlorine smell will become too uncomfortable for her. She is supposed to become sensitive to “smells” also.

Dad made a new batch of bean dip today. He is splitting it up into two batches. One is very mild for Mom and me. The other half batch is going to be the usual “fire” style that Michael and Dad like. It would be great if Mom’s stomach could handle beans. As long as my parents have been married, it seems like there has been a pot of beans on the stove.

Flowers Dad got for Mom 

Mom has a new word today. “thetic,” pronounced THET-ik. It means positive, set as a guide. She’s going to use that word as a positive compass for her thoughts this week.

Thank you for all of your positive thoughts and prayers as we travel this journey together. Mom is doing really well.