One round done

Today has been a full day for Mom.
She had started having a reaction to one of the anti-nausea medications. She would get very flushed, shake and tremble and when she would get up, be very unsteady and nearly fall. Fortunately, Dad doesn’t let her walk without him so he was there to catch her.
There was another choice of medications that worked for her but Mom really hated it because it sedates her heavily and she can’t get fully awake. But, since the other medication was having such horrible side effects, the Dr. told her he would much rather she had the sleepiness than the negative side effects, so she is back to the medication that reduces the nausea without the awful side effects and she sleeps through a lot of it.
She will be coming off the chemo around midnight tonight. She will then have an additional 12 hours that they will flush out her system with i.v. fluids.
The latest news is that the screen filter that was placed early on after the initial biopsy must come out tomorrow. They said it is a filter that is no longer needed and there is a small window of time in which it can stay in. If it goes past that window of time then it cannot be removed and will stay in the rest of her life. This could cause complications for her down the road, so they will take her back in to remove it tomorrow. When it was put in they did not have i.v. access, and you may remember they had to access through her jugular vein. Now they have the port so we are praying it will be less complicated and less painful to remove than it was to place.
They will keep her overnight again to observe and monitor her. Hopefully all will go well and she will be discharged Wednesday morning. She will then need to go to the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance for a shot that will boost her immunity. It’s crazy that she can’t get it at the hospital, but I guess the insurance won’t pay for it if she is at the hospital. I know. Crazy. But, that’s the truth. So, she will have another stop to make before she gets to go home. Then, on home. I will be going up in the morning and stay the night at the hospital and help Dad get Mom to get all their belongings loaded up in the car and to get home. (Thank you to those of you who prayed for me to get over this cold. I was told to expect 10 days. It got knocked out in 5! Thank you!) Carmen will be at the house when they get home to help. Troy, Carmen and Maria are over at the house tonight getting the house spruced up and their yard looking pretty. Thank you Carm, TT and Ria! That will be so nice for them when they pull in. (I bet the rug rats are helping too!)
We will keep you posted on how she does over the next 48 hours. Please pray for her as she finishes this first cycle of chemo and gets the filter removed tomorrow. Since everything has had its own set of complications, I would ask that you pray specifically that everything go as planned tomorrow.
I know it sounds crazy to be happy for midnight and the end of chemo, but it is just another giant down. We are so proud of Mom and Daddy as they have faced this unified, and with such bravery and strength. Come Wednesday they have been in the hospital 27 days. A far cry from the “overnight” we thought it would be, but God knew they would be there that long and He has provided for every tangible need they have had. He is faithful.
We as a family, thank you again for your constant prayer, loving cards, calls, words of encouragement and blog postings. We read them to Mom and Dad daily. They are a sweet connection to outside of those four walls.

With love and gratitude,
Kimberly