last on Chemo for awhile

Chemo Progress-

Wednesday afternoon- Chemo administered. She was tired and nauseous that evening and went to bed early.

Thursday- very nauseas and tired all day. Felt pretty awful for the majority of the day and had no appetite.

Friday- actually felt pretty good but still a little worn down and tired quickly. Energy level was pretty low and still didn't have an appetite. She is very excited to say that she is getting so strong that she doesn't have to wear her AFO (brace) around the house and is determined to have it off completely this week.

Saturday- all symptoms are completely gone her appetite is back and she has no more nausea. She was stir crazy after spending so many days inside but she's not supposed to be around too many people so no shopping so we went for a drive and got a Chai Latte (her new favorite).

Sunday- Mario and I had our garage sale this weekend and so Amie took mom went for a walk (well she rode) and then they sat and criticized that my prices were too high :) So she is getting her feistiness back and is feeling much better.

She is walking a ton more now and is trying to do a lot more on her own although her stinking protective family isn't letting her do too much on her own which is frustrating for her but we still need to work on balance and her dizziness first.

Thank you for all of the cards and flowers. I have to tell you that one awesome thing about short term memory loss is that not only is she excited when the mail comes and she gets a card but for the rest of the day (and the passing days sometimes) when the card is sitting on the counter she goes rummaging through the mail and gets excited all over again so see that she got a card. She really likes hearing what everyone is doing. We've been pretty busy and haven't had time to print all of her e-mail to read so if you want add a letter and let her know what's new with you- she'd love it. If you do a letter try to make it a larger font and double space it. She's reading better but small fonts all together gets a little difficult.

We do appreciate you all. Please let us know if there is anything that you need. I know that everyone is going through life’s trials and we'd like to help in any way that we can.

not feeling too hot

Mom is pretty weak and nauseous today. She is sticking pretty close to the bed today but it doing pretty well.

chemo day

So mom started Chemo today and was very nervous. She was so afraid to be getting chemo and didn't understand why she needed it. I did find out some more information about it though.
Cyclophosphamide is used to treat various types of cancer. It is a chemotherapy drug that works by slowing or stopping cell growth. Also known as Cytoxan this drug is used in many types of cancer, kidney disease, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, leukemia as well as vasculitis. There are quite a few other conditions that it does treat.

forward progress

Mom is continuing to get stronger every day and is starting to walk better as time passes. She still needs assistance but mostly for balance and occasionally taking too short of a step. She gets exhausted very easy and we are having an interesting time trying to figure out her limits. She is having a great time doing things that used to be so basic such as helping with dinner, playing with the boys and playing games.
Physical Therapy has been coming to the house and are very pleased with how well she is doing. Not that it is any surprise, everyone is really happy with how well she is recovering.
We will be starting another round of Chemo tomorrow, I hope it goes well. We are very nervous but hoping for the best!
I will try to come up with some more interesting reads for everyone. Take care I hope all is well!

home sweet home

WooHoo, we got mom home! Thanks for all of the notes, e-mails, flowers and just for everything really. Mom was very excited to get home! Her first big adventure was that she had her first manicure and pedicure in quite some time- they look great by the way.
A New Challenge:

As we were sitting in the lunch room the other day I saw this elderly couple sitting together sweetly reading a stack, a big stack, of cards and I thought wow, that is really cool. In this day and age it seems like we do everything over the computer. The second part of that is yesterday when mom came home we were sitting in the kitchen and I was browsing mail. She just kept asking what came in the mail and was there anything interesting. She was so excited that she did get a delivery of flowers- thanks so much for that!

So I was thinking that I have read mom pages and pages of notes and e-mails and a few cards but thought how fun it would be to inundate her with cards. So if you have a bit of time pop a note or a card in the mail and send them to the house: 1325 Marian Way, Petaluma, CA 94954

thrive

NO MORE IN-PATIENT REHAB!

GRADUATION SHIRT...!

and on to the next adventure.... Mom is really Thriving!

three days left

So today was really good. Mom was in great spirits here and is really looking forward to her last days here at Kaiser Rehabilitation in Vallejo. Actually, we are hoping this will be her last hospital stay for quite some time! She walked a ton today with a walker and is so much stronger than even yesterday. It's amazing to be able to see day to day progress.

weekend fun

Okay, so mom's day out started at noon on Friday when she left the hospital. She then came to watch Kobe play soccer and score 3 goals. Working out the kinks of getting her into the house was interesting but actually went very well. She is super exhausted from all the wheeling, walking and transfers. After a yummy Jack in the Box meal she is finally taking a break and relaxing in her own bed.
We mostly spent the weekend relaxing and playing the the boys. We tried to do as little as possible and just enjoy being HOME! Today was very sad because mom was worried about having to come back to the hospital. When we drove away she was so bummed but now that we are here she is relaxing and realizing the she is exhausted. So all in all it was a really fun weekend, we have a few things to work on at the house to make everything easier but everything went really smooth.
Thanks for everything, The count down is on until she goes home. 4 days (we leave early Friday so it doesn't count).

weekend

Wow, I am really excited to write that this weekend they are allowing mom to go home for one day. She will have classes on Saturday and then will head home, we have to get her back on Sunday evening. This is a very important step in her road to recovery. This will not only help her to get reorientated with home but will also help us as a family figure out what barriers and obstacles we encounter so we can come back with a whole new set of questions. We are going to learn what works and what doesn't and try to figure out what we need to do for her to come home.
So, if you were planning on visiting her this weekend she won't be here. As this trip home is going to be so short and she is going to be so exhausted we'll have to postpone visitors again. Thanks for everything, she is going to be home soon and hopefully life will start being "normal" soon. We'll keep you posted as to how everything goes.
We appreciate you all. Take care and we'll talk to you soon.

slacking

Sorry, I have been slacking on my blog posting duties. I am at rehab with mom learning as much as possible so I can help her when she comes home. She is actually going to be home soon. Our projected discharge date is the 19th of September- we can hardly believe it! She is so excited to be coming home. We are busy with plans for getting the house ready and installing a ramp and some railing so it will be safer for her there. She is walking really well with a walker and we are planning on her being pretty mobile that way. For outings and excessive walking we will still use the wheelchair but she is not going to be wheelchair bound. Some great news is that she is meeting all of her goals and is actually exceeding them. She is doing so much better than the doctors ever thought possible in this short amount of time (although we knew better than that!). The great part is that her progress from day to day is very noticeable to everyone (except her but we are hardest on ourselves aren't we).
We really want to thank you for everything. The cards, flowers, donations, love and support have really been such a wonderful blessing and we are so grateful for each one of you! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Now, I have a job for you. Please e-mail me at christienoelle@yahoo.com with your name so I can make a list of everyone who is reading this blog. My mom asks daily and I really don't want to miss anyone. So if you e-mail me with BLOG VISITOR in the subject line so it doesn't go into my junk folder. I would love to make this list for mom so I can read it and put it in her book.
Thanks again, we will write more soon.
Christie

rehab

We have just about completed our first week of mom's rehab. So far the training has been very good for mom. Her short-term memory and shaky eyes are certainly not getting better but most everything else is. She is getting so much stronger every day and is starting to walk with a walker during one of her classes. She is really exhausted every day after completing all of her workouts and it is all really hard work but she is improving every day. She is so excited to come home and we are only anticipating her hospital stay to be for two more weeks. That does not mean that her treatment process will be over but it would mean that she is more ready to come home and continue the process from home and frequent trips to outpatient rehab.
We have had a couple of mishaps at this hospital and are really pissed off but over all her care there has been very nice. Yesterday a nurse pulled out her feeding tube accidentally and then today a stupid nurse left her in the bathroom in her wheelchair (I was right outside the door but didn't know the nurse left) and all of a sudden poor mom came flying out the door. She had fallen out of her wheelchair. She hit her face and head, it was really awful. We were both crying and I felt terrible!!!! They have taken some more measures to make sure this doesn't happen again but it was really a stupid thing for this lady to have done. Today was basically just one crappy event after another. You know those days that you should just not even get out of bed type of days. She is fine but also is very timid and nervous again- which I think is definitely reasonable!
On the other hand though she is continually improving and doing very well. I will give more details later.

transport

Well I am glad to finally post that mom is IN Vallejo Rehabilitation. She was transferred early this morning (Monday, September 1). Today she didn't get to do too much but tomorrow will be her first big day. I toured the facility a little today and it seems like its going to be a great place for her. This facility has some great ratings and outcomes from what I have heard.

More to come later, I am very tired after a long weekend of moving and a long day of dealing with Blake at the hospital- that is a chore trying to keep a toddler quiet in a hospital! This week I am hoping to spend with mom so I hope to have a lot of new and exciting information to post.

Oh, I am looking for a new mostly part time (2 to 3 days/week) sitter with some occasional extra days while I am at the hospital, if there are any applicants please send me an e-mail with your days/times available, possible start date and what you charge per day. It will just be for Blake as I will most likely send Kobe to the YMCA.