Both roads lead to home..

Mom came home from St. Lukes Hospital last Thursday, June 10th. She passed all of the rehab tests and felt good enough to be released. She is resting at home and trying to slowly regain her strength. She still has a few weeks of recovery before she will be able to return to her "normal" lifestyle.
Dad was doing OK this weekend when I went down to stay with them. He had a little nausea for a couple of mornings. We quickly tried one of the chemo anti nausea pills and that seemed to work fine. Dad took another pill later on and it worked also. A low white blood cell count prevented him from receiving his chemo therapy last Friday. We took extra precautions all week to limit visitors, and try and get his white cell count back up. We will know Friday if he is able to receive this weeks chemo. Dad has been enduring alot, but has done everything that has been asked of him. He always says "thank you" to everybody for all their help.

A Week Of Travel

Dad has been by my moms side every day, and for most of the day. Some of his days are better than others. The pain pills and pain patches can only do do much. The days usually start off pretty good but after a full day of activity dad is usually pretty tired out and sometimes hurting. We take dads meds with us when we travel as he has a noon dose that he has to take. His regiment of medications start in the morning, followed by noon, afternoon, evening and then bedtime. The radiation treatments have made it very hard for dad to swallow. He has a medicine that he gargles with in the morning, evening and before every meal that numbs his throat. This makes it a little less painful to swallow. Dad will be getting his 3rd infusion of chemo-therapy on Friday. He has been given medications to use for the side effects, but hasn't needed them yet. Hopefully dad will rest a little more when my mom returns home.
Again, we thank all of our relatives and friends for their prayers , support and help.

The Road to Recovery

Mom was moved to St. Lukes hospital on Sat. June the 5th. She has a room on 6th floor, which is rehabilitation. One to two weeks of Rehab was the original time line we were given. After the first couple of days some of the nurses and therapists thought mom might be able to go home after just 1 week! She is slowly gaining back her balance, walking, and strength. Her days consist of physical therapy, occupational therapy, recreational therapy and a few more. Mom is doing pretty well at everything but is weak and sore from being the hospital bed in Ia. City for about 10 days. She still has about a month of recovery from her surgery, which means that when she does get to go home she will still have to take it easy and relax. Hopefully mom will be home when I post next week. Things are starting to look up.... Kel

Hills and Valleys...

The week preceding Memorial Day was a rough one for my mom. After being re- admitted to the hospital for a spinal fluid leak from her surgery, her condition started to deteriorate rapidly. She was moved to the intensive care unit. Mom became unresponsive. Her body swelled and her condition worsened. She had a breathing tube and a feeding tube inserted. She was in constant pain, moaning almost every minute. Every test and every scan that was performed came back looking positive. No one could pin point the problem. Mom's condition was getting worse. She could recognise us but that was all she was able to do. The family took turns staying by her bedside, holding her hands and talking to her. We would feed her shaved ice and give her sips of water when she needed them. Mom has been here 1 week.
On Sunday afternoon Pastor Kirk stopped in to visit mom and dad at the hospital. (Pastor Kirk bought mom & dads house in North English when they moved.) He offered help said a prayer for them. As I sat by moms bedside that night, things began to change. I would talk to mom and she would answer in short sentences. For the first time in over a week, when I left the hospital that night I had a good feeling in my heart.
When we arrived the next morning, mom was sitting up in her bed. Her hair had been washed & she had already eaten her liquid breakfast. This took everybody by surprise ! We were finally seeing something good. Later that day mom was moved out of intensive care to a regular recovery room. She is still in pain and unable to walk or feed herself, but she is on the road to recovery.

Staying The Course...

It was 1 month ago that my dad was told he had cancer. 1 month of battling a disease that is trying to destroy him. Dad took 10 sessions of radiation to lessen the pain in his lung and spine. But,the radiation had side effects too. It made swallowing very hard & painful. It seems that for every step that we try to fight this disease, there are many negative side effects. Dad had his first chemo therapy infusion on last Friday,May 28th. We were told of all the possible side effects to expect, but so far dad is doing pretty good. Dad is walking without his walker, sleeping in his own bed,(not the hospital bed), and visiting my mom in the hospital every day. All of this activity does cause him to tire easily.
Many thanks go to our relatives & friends who spend time cooking, cleaning, staying overnight & helping out in every way possible. We wouldn't be able to walk this path by ourselves.