Progress!!

THE BAR EXAM IS OVER!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, I just had to throw that one out there. I know Pete is the one who has been studying and actually taking the test, but I have been absolutely stressed out over it. But he would always stress over my boards and licensing exams too, so I guess now I know how his side felt. Now, we wait till late October/early November for results.

Mom is doing great!!!

I've been waiting for months to be able to say that!

The treatment she is on at CTRC contains two medications. One is a drug that is known to work with lung cancer to shrink tumors, and one that is an experimental treatment. The first one is a pill that she takes daily, the other is an IV that she recieves every couple of weeks. She started the pills on Monday night, and it was not pretty. She called Dad, crying, saying she just couldn't do it. She was so sick. Dad was really upset, I don't think he slept the whole night. But Tuesday she was fine. Wednesday she was fine. Thursday she was fine. And every day since!!

We have discovered that if she takes the pill at 5:00 am, then goes back to bed for a couple of hours, she does just fine. Yes, she still gets tired easily. Yes, she still has pain. But it is manageable. She just takes naps. But not too long, because then she won't sleep at night. I think the anti-depressants are working for her too.

Dad asked her oncologist a few weeks ago about anti-depressants for Mom because with all the back and forth, yes and no, you're in you're out, it was tearing her up. She simply couldn't handle it. Now, after about a month on them, she is more like her old self.

I have to say, it has been a pleasure talking to Mom this week. She has been more herself this past week than she has in the past 7 months. I'm just enjoying having my Mom back.

Yes, there are some side effects to these medications, which she is concerned about. She will probably get acne again, the deep, cystic kind that you have to have prescriptions for. There is a very high possibility of anorexia, but at this point she is eating more than she has in months! The most serious side effect though, is that her immune system in totally wiped out. In fact, she had to go get her acrylic nails removed because they were growing fungus underneath. She was most unhappy about that one!! There is still the possibility of her losing her hair, but it is farther down on the list of side effects. At least she has a really cute wig! She has been getting her hair cut into that style anyway, just in case it does fall out, so it will be less noticable.

If this is the result we get with Mom on the experimental treatment, I am SOOOOO glad we did it. Even with the craziness we have all gone through over the past few months, I feel like she is where she is supposed to be.

Thank you for all the prayers!!! Please continue them, praying that Mom will continue to do great!

Also, if you do call or text her and she doesn't respond, it's not necessarily that she is sick. She just got a new phone, an iPhone, after how much I have loved mine and Pete has loved his, but she can't figure out how it works. She says she is having "chemo brain." Dad is trying to teach her, but she is having difficulty. So don't take it personally if she doesn't answer or call you back. Right now, she can't figure it out.