Well where do I begin? First let me tell you about Granny. She fell again about a week ago, at first we didn’t think that she had any major injury’s, except bumps and bruises. Well on Thur. Of last week she still wasn’t feeling any better after two days of bed rest so we called the Orthopedist to make an appointment for her to be check out. We thought after she didn’t feel better maybe she dislocated her hip and should have it looked at. Anyway we told the Dr. what we thought and he said take her to the ER so we did. It turns out the she had cracked her pelvis again and they wanted her admitted to the hospital to make sure she didn’t have any internal bleeding. Which she didn’t thank God. And through all of this mom is being really sick from chemo (more on that in one sec.). So they keep her for three days cause she needs to go to an "extended care facility" for rehab. and needs to be there for 7-10 days which turns out to be a blessing in disguise. And bye the time you get done reading this you all will understand.
Now I remind you this is all happening with Crystal and I having Dr. appointments too. OK, granny goes to the hospital on Thur. Afternoon, Crystal goes to the Dr. for scheduling of her surgery on Fri. and mom is having chemo. Which is making us need to be in three places at once, 1)with granny keeping her company, 2) at Crystal’s Dr. appointment, 3) picking up mom. And then it gets worse, Sat. was OK, but Easter Sunday was a different subject. Granny gets released to go to the "extended care facility" , so Crystal and I go and get her admitted there and settled in which was fine. But, we get home and mom needs to go to the hospital now, she had been vomiting since Thur. And just kept feeling worse as the days went bye. Well she gets to the ER and they tell her that she is dehydrated and needs massive fluids which they gave her. And then after 3 hrs. they decide to keep her so….. Needless to say Easter in the Cooper house was spent at the ER But now mom is OK and feeling a lot better and wants tomorrow to get here so she can come home. Then today (Mon.) Crystal had her surgery and I got to learn first hand what a Ping-Pong ball feels like…granny…mom… Crystal…my Dr. appointment…granny…mom…Crystal. I just thank God that there was only 4 floors between mom and Crystal.
Well I think that sums up the week and in closing I am happy to say that everyone is doing fine now we just need to get a couple of them home and get me some ice for my hand after all of this hunting and pecking.
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While my days have gotten better the periods of feeling good have gone from days to moments. I feel 100% better since getting out of the hospital last Tuesday, yet I don’t feel well. I never have any energy and my appetite is decreasing, breathing is getting s bit more difficult, hence the use of an inhaler daily now. I have been put on antibiotics again because of running a low grade temp for several days now. I see my GP on Monday, post hospital stay checkup, I also begin the radiation again, in it’s new positioning too. Chemo starts again on the 21st, yippie….L Crystal is doing well from her surgery, healing very well and getting around without trouble. Mom will be coming home one day this week, still haven’t worked out all the particulars yet but she will be home soon. I must admit it has been a relief not having her here for awhile but I do miss the Old Gal. I got wig so now maybe she will at least know I am female rather than my brother. LOL. Robert hasn’t been in to update for awhile because he has been so pooped out from running back and forth with me and Crystal and Granny and the hospital and the Rehab Center that he just about collapses at night.
Hi Guys, it’s ME..SMILE. Mom is coming home today, this afternoon. Crystal will be doing all of her care giving from here on out. I realize I am not able to do it any longer, physically or emotionally. It will be nice to have her home again, I really have missed her and have found out just how easy it is for ‘family’ to forget to visit her. Although I do call everyday to check on her I have only seen her once since she has been gone, no reason for it, no excuses for it, I just didn’t go. I would think about visiting and then forget about it. Terrible thing to do. I guess I used her inability to recognize me as a ‘reason/excuse’ not to go but that isn’t the truth. I have a wig now to wear when mom is around, my logic is that she will know me if I have hair, LOL, that was when she started thinking I was my brother so.
I am doing o.k. for now. They started doing my radiation laterally now instead, it sure does make my throat and chest feel somewhat better. Kool-aide really works well. LOL. It has been so hard to swallow that I nearly forgot how it felt. I found out today that I only have 8 radiation treatments left!!!! And the x-ray that was taken at the hospital Shows dramatic decrease in tumor size in comparison. I start my next round of chemo on Wednesday, for joy, but I’ll only have three more after this. I sure hope I don’t get so sick this time. I really want to thank all of you again for all the cards, letters, boxes of goodies, flowers and monetary donations you have made. You have now idea, truly, how hard it has been to accept your generosity and compassion. Believe me, I will never forget what has been done for me. I love you all and continue to keep you in my prayers.
P.S. If you want to send a short Hi to my chemo nurse’s, the addy is….jvanfleet@peacehealth.org
Well, I’m back, still trying to keep this thing updated. Mom made it home Friday without a bit of trouble and she is doing great. She had her doctor’s appointment today and he was impressed with her, although he did order a Doppler study of the circulation in her legs, seems her right leg is a lot colder than the other which could be part of the cause of her falling so much. Also, she came home with a bad bruise on her right great toe which was x-rayed today. Otherwise she is doing just fine, glad to be home.
Today I am doing fine also, I was sick over the weekend but feel better. I went to my doctor today also, I start my chemo Wednesday for three days. This time he gave me a patch as well as pills to use for the nausea so hopefully I can stay ahead of it this time. He also told me that after I was done with all rounds of chemo, then 4-6 weeks later I would have another CTScan done to see how well all of this has worked for me. Seems like a long time to wait but that I can do and will so without fail. Robert and Crystal are doing all right. She is recovering from her surgery just fine, some pain but not too much, he found out he has surgery on the 29th and is anxious about it
I am doing pretty good with the chemo so far, not too much nausea and no vomiting but lots of fatigue. Tomorrow will be the last day for it for three weeks. Joyce told me about all the e-mails you have sent her, she was very surprised, Joyce, Linda and Rita are my nurses and they are all great and very compassionate joksters.
Mom had a bad day today, she had to get woke up early today because the roof is getting done and they make a lot of racket tearing down that old stuff, she sure wasn't happy about that and not being able to take a nap either, oh boy, it has been a day. Otherwise she is feeling great, using her walker as she always has, toileting herself during the day with only moderate assist and really picked up on her appetite. Hopefully she will get enough good sleep tonight that she won't get so mad tomorrow.
Well everyone this is the one armed bandit (Robert). I had my surgery yesterday and I think I’m doing pretty good. Granny is doing great, the PT and the Occupational PT all gave her a good bill of health. So there isn’t really too much to tell about granny.
Mom on the other hand, she had to go back into the hospital. She got dehydrated again and they did blood work on her. Her blood work showed that her white cell count was .28 and any of you nurses out there, if you could just tell me how low that actually is I would greatly appreciate it just e-mail me and let me know. Also she has NO bone marrow so she has to have a blood transfusion.
Well everyone I need to go I’m in some pain but I will try my hardest to update again tomorrow. I will probably be on this same page cause I don’t know how mom wants her May page background to look so check back here tomorrow.
March 1999 May 1999