June 28th

Hospice came in today to do admission for mom. Apparently, they will provide everything mom needs, including doctor and nurse visits to the house. Even her meds will be delivered to the door. Tammy says mom is sort of "out of it" today, like she's not sure what's going on. We're not sure if it's because of the bad news, or if the cancer is really fatiguing her. But she ate a half a piece of toast, which is good!

June 27th

Hello everyone. I'll let Tammy explain in more detail later, but we've had very bad news about mom today. She's got one or two months left. Hospice is coming in tomorrow. Please keep mom in your thoughts and prayers.

Nancy,

I assume the Harry and Davids was from you, as you mentioned in a prior email. Thanks so much--the package came today. When I got home from work, Mom did not want to wake up or get up at all. Abbey brought her the package and she perked right up. Abbey crawled in bed with Nana (she even asked Nana to move her arm so she could snuggle closer) and shared some snacks. Mom ate many caramels, and then asked if I could give Abbey a little ice cream for them to share in bed. Mom loved being close to Abbey and stroked her hair the entire time. She even asked for a brush to comb it as it was quite a mess from being in the pool. Thanks so much for your warm thoughts. You really cannot understand how much of a difference it makes. Have fun in Europe and I look forward to hearing from you when you return!

Latest from Tammy

Hi--Mom is still weak, not getting much better. She slept all day yesterday. When I got home, she didn't want to get up to eat or eat anything, but I managed to get her to eat a banana and some ice cream. She reluctantly agreed to take a shower last night. At the end, she told me her back had been hurting her. She is really weak. I had a really hard time getting her up from the shower chair. I think it is safe to say that it wasn't the chemo that was making her weak and sleep all the time, as she is still getting worse. She can barely stand up now. This morning she reluctantly sat up so I could get her breakfast. She ate good, but had her eyes closed the whole time. I asked her if she was still seeing double and she said no. I asked her if she was in any pain and she said no as well. She seemed a little confused. Nancy and Donna--thanks so much for the cards. Mom really enjoys receiving cards and hearing about what is going on in Michigan. PT comes today, and we have doctor appt with Dr. Kim tomorrow.

Another post from Tammy:

Hi--no change today or yesterday. Mom slept all day yesterday, but did manage to get up for a few minutes while Martha was there and changing her bed. Martha brought her a McDonalds ice cream cone and a salad. She slept last night, and didn't feel like eating, although I did manage to get her to eat half a bagle with peanut butter and some yogurt and boost. Same this morning. She talked a lot last night about everyone. She said she couldn't wait to see Nancy's pictures from Europe, and talked about the places she wanted to go if Nancy is able to visit. She also talked about Jenny and what great friends they were. She asked about Donna, and I told her that Donna writes everyday to ask about her. She actually got a little teary when I said that--I think it really touched her. She ended the conversation with telling me she was going to try her best to get better. I told her that I knew she would be feeling better any day now. This morning Drew came in and gave her smiles and Abbey gave her lots of kisses. We talked about how she finished chemo!!!! Yeah!!!!!!

Latest Post from Tammy

Hi--good and bad the last couple of days. Mom's spirits are still hopeful, so that is great. She had a fall yesterday, trying to get to the bathroom herself at 6:30 am. She fell pretty hard, but luckily was not hurt. The good news in that is that she was up trying to do it herself. That is an improvement over the past few days. It really upset Mom when she fell, I think she was just really frustrated not being able to do things. She was up sitting in the chair for an hour last night, watching me feed and play with Drew. She seems to be getting weaker and weaker. This morning she didn't feel like eating, but I managed to get a half a bagle and half a Boost in her before she went back to sleep. She wants to get up today and sew, and Martha is coming by to help her get up and change her bed, etc. It remains to be seen if she will actually be able to get up. Minerva said that she didn't get up at all yesterday during the day. Her last chemo pill is tonight!!!!! That was the first thing she said to me this morning. Drew continues to bring a smile to her face every morning. Mom and I have figured out he likes her more than anyone else because they understand each other. You should have seen him fascinated with her walker last night. I could just see the ideas spinning around in his head--the places he could go if he could just get a hold of one of those walkers!!! Keep Mom in your prayers.

Mom finishes her first round of chemo on Thursday. Tammy says she is forcing herself to get up out of bed and to do small things, like cutting quilt squares. She even ate a real supper last night, instead of asking for ice cream. We want her to try things, but not overdo it. We are all hoping that her weakness and fogginess is just "chemo brain" and that she'll be feeling better next week.

More pictures - earlier in the week

I added some pix of Mom earlier in the week, before the chemo kicked in.

Mom's page

Tammy and I got mom out of the house a few times with the aid of a wheelchair. Hobby Lobby, etc., the usual Joanne stuff. She had a lot of fun with the scooters at Target and Sam's. We went to Pappasito's twice and she had a virgin mango margarita. Abbey loves having Nana around and sharing cookies.