Update 7/16

Mom hasn't had a good couple of days.  She was in some pain early Saturday morning and was given some pain medication.  Since then she really hasn't been aware of things going on around her.  The nurse came by today and adjusted her medication some and we gave her an iv.  Last week was such a good week for Mom.  She was sitting up, eating, watching tv, and talking. This week is quite the opposite.  Hopefully she can snap out it in the next day or two.

The Hospice people have been great so far.  The nurse seems on top of things and the aide that comes 3 times a week to help bathe Mom is such a blessing.

Katie's Pool

Some of you may not know Aunt Shay's daughter,  Meredith.  This is Meredith and her husband Paul.

I'm sure you are wondering why I am pointing this out.  Watch this video about Paul's little sister Katie and you  will see why.

Productivity

I have spent 90% of my summer sitting at Mom and Dad's house trying to be of some help.    I must admit that I am starting to get a little bored.  I've read so many books, watched a lot of Fox news (certainly not by choice), and cleaned more than I ever have.  Time to find something more productive to do all day while I'm over there. 

This morning I stopped by Wal Mart and picked up a few things for a grand total of ten bucks!

I painted, cut and painted some more.

And this is my final product!  Anybody that teaches elementary school knows what a pain it is to keep up with hall passes and it is even harder to keep them from tearing up.  Clothes pins to the rescue.  A whole pack for .97 should last me the entire year.  So, here is my new hall pass holder!  Now taking orders!  :)  Dad told me not to quit my day job, but I think it's cute!

While at Wal Mart I was excited to discover one subject notebooks on sale for .17!  Yes, that is right 17 cents.  I spent the remainder of the afternoon creating whole class journals.  Each journal has a different topic and the every kid in the class will write once in each book.  An easy and cheap way to help improve those writing scores all while occupying early finishers.  I'm on a roll!

Hard Days

Monday was a hard day for me.  Knowing that my mom doesn't have much time and getting upset that she may not be here for the birth of her second grandchild and that she won't be here to watch he and B grow up is sometimes more than I can take.  Monday was one of those days as I watched her tell the doctor she was done with treatments.

And then I see things like this  . . .

Mike Leonard: Quadriplegic man fulfills dream of biking across country

Update 7/9

Today we took Mom to the doctor.  She was the best this doctor's visit that she has been for any of them.  So much so that the doc even jokingly introduced himself to Mom.  He discussed with her everything from the beginning of her diagnosis and her treatment options.  Mom made the decision to quit chemo and begin Hospice care.  This means that Hospice will now take the place of the at home nursing care that we are receiving now.  The doctor seemed fine with that decision. No blood work or scans were done so we have no idea if the chemo treatments were even working.  Mom has made her decision.
The Hospice nurse should be in touch some time tomorrow and then we will have a better idea of when and how often she will be at Mom and Dad's house.   The plus side is that this will give Mom much more care than she is receiving now and make Dad's job just a little easier for the time being.  Mom will still go to the doctor every few weeks for a check up.  She goes back in three weeks.
A big thank you to all of you who have helped out our family during this difficult time.  You have no idea how much help it has been to have Dad eating every night.  He rarely leaves the house bc he can't leave Mom alone so the delivered meals have been such a blessing.  I've gotten some emails about the delivery tab not working on the mealtrain site.  For some reason that isn't available for Greenville, so if that is something you are interested in, just email or facebook me.

Update 7/4

Mom had a much better day on Tuesday.  She sat in the chair in the living room for a long time and even ate a bowl of chicken soup from Chick Fil A! Dad, Aunt Shay, and I met with the Hospice people yesterday to get more information on their services.  Dad will meet with Mom's doctor on Monday to help determine if we will continue to give her chemo treatments or if we should move to Hospice care.  Obviously that is a very tough decision for Dad.  Mom obviously needs Hospice care, but if we move in that direction she no longer receives the at home nursing that she has now, physical therapy, and most importantly the cancer treatments from her doctor.  Instead, Hospice's goal is to make her more comfortable and provide us with any of the services to help her that we don't have now.  These things can all be done at our home with a nurse and caregivers who will be there much more frequently than the at home nurses we have now.  Hospice kind of feels like giving up, but I guess the discussion with the doctor will help determine if treatment has even helped or is worth it at this point.

Update: 7/ 2

Talk about about a roller coaster.  One week Mom is eating and sitting up and then the next Monday rolls around and we are right back to square one.  Mom went to the doctor today for chemo and an evaluation, and they didn't do either.  She has a couple of problems that they are concerned about and these are things that shouldn't have happened if  the at home nurse was doing her job (so says the doc).   Luckily Mom's doctor has replaced the at home nurse and a new  nurse is supposed to be coming by today.  They could not do the blood work because they couldn't get any blood.  Mom was too dehydrated.  So back home we go with another appointment scheduled for next Monday.  I don't know if they will continue with the chemo due to Mom's physical condition at this point and the fact that Mom just doesn't have the will to fight this it seems.  This post is definitely a downer, but that is where we are at this point.