Where we are at now

Everyday is different around here. More specifically with mom's health status. Earlier this week I hired "Visiting Angels" companion/aide to sit with mom and make sure she ate and took her meds. I did this so that I could continue working. Monday was the first day of the companion and I decided to stay home and see how mom and the companion got along. I also wanted to make sure that the companion felt comfortable taking care of mom.

Mom pretty much wanted to sleep and we have a baby monitor in her room so we can here if she needs anything or is in distress. The companion did get along with mom and mom did not seem to mind the companion helping her out.

Tuesday I was off and I needed to take mom to two doctor appointments. One was her oncologist and the other was her primary doctor. Both appointments were important but seeing her primary was my priority. Her primary has been taking care of mom for over 14 years and is very familiar with her and her history. Mom was not physically strong enough to see both docs so we opted for her primary. It took about an hour to get mom up, dressed and into the car. When we got to the doctor's office I had. To use a wheelchair to transport her in the office as walking leaves her short of breath.

Dr. D was very surprised at mom's physical condition and how it has deteriorated. He asked me what was her prognosis? I told him that her MD Anderson docs have not given us a prognosis as far how much time she has. Dr. D called her oncologist to try to get more information and told him how weak mom was. Dr. B(oncologist) wanted to re- admit mom and do more testing to see what is going on. She just got out of the hospital a few days ago,and they could not figure out what was going on then.

I told Dr.D ( primary doc) that mom does not want anymore invasive procedures. She is so weak that anything invasive would be more detrimental than helpful. Our next step to help mom is Hospice. Hospice provides in home care and equipment that can assist mom. Our hope is that with lots of rest that mom will be able to get back to feeling better and perhaps continue her radiation treatments.

A hospital bed with side rails and the ability to elevate the head and or feet is also a great help. At least when she ges up at night I can hear her ( baby monitor) And get to her to assist her. We want to prevent falls.

Mom does not have any pain, she is just tired and weak.