Mom is actually doing far better than her radiologist expected -- and I was there to get that news live and in person. Still, between the chemo and radiation she's really slowed down a lot. By the time I left, she had begun Week 4 of 6 weeks (Monday through Friday) of treatment. That would knock the stuffing out of just about anybody.
We didn't do a lot. One trip to the doctor and a visit to one of her many favorite resale shops, and she was done for the day. Thursday we saw the radiologist, dermatologist and the internist. Mom looked like she'd been run over by a steam roller by the time we were done.
The esophagitis is just starting to become irritating, but really good drugs are taking care of most of that. Another upside of that is that she actually sleeps through through a good 8 hours or so a night -- not her usual waking two or three times a night.
A downside of all these treatments is that she's lost a good bit of weight that she didn't already have to lose. Body mass loss is now an issue.
The upside, in her opinion? The docs all say to quit worrying about her blood sugar and start eating things that will put some weight on her. Protein -- more than 4 ounces once a day! Ice cream! Real ice cream! Fresh fruit. A Frosty from Wendy's. That's the challenge. It's difficult, because she can't eat very much at any one time (some days even one scrambled egg at a time is a problem). Thank goodness for Boost Plus and Ensure Plus. They've finally made them really palatable, and she can get a whole serving down in one sitting.
She's doing the "Sarasota Shuffle" (shuffling along like a little old lady with a walker) at the moment, but indications are that she'll start getting some pep back in her step when this is all over.
We're keeping our fingers crossed. Your prayers have been a wonderful source of strength and comfort. Keep'em coming.
_____
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1 comment:
Glad to hear that your mother is doing well!
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