Mom's visit

Mom came out to my house for a visit today. Dad dropped her off about noon and she stayed through dinner. We loved having her here, and the kids adore her. She is having increasing difficulty walking, so she sat for most of the day in our living room watching the kids play. The big entertainment of the day was the kids going on rides on Mom's walker around the house. Mom continues to stay in good spirits and is a lot of fun to be around. Even with all of her cognitive difficulties, she is still her same old sassy self. We feel very blessed that she is still able to get out of the house and come over to visit, and we really cherish the time that we get to spend with her.

We have the next MRI scheduled, and it will happen on Monday. She will meet with her doctor to go over the results on Wednesday.

Here's the kids taking turns riding on the walker.

I love this picture of Mom with Noah. I think you can tell how much she loves her grandkids and how much they love her, too.

another MRI coming up

Mom went in for another round of chemo treatment yesterday. It went well, though she is really very tired after it. After the treatment, she met with her doctor who suggested that Mom have another MRI next week as he is unsure if the treatment is working. After the MRI results, it appears that with her doctor, she will decide whether or not to continue pursuing treatment. We are not sure yet what day the MRI will be, but probably some time next week.

Mom is in good spirits, especially after just having had a great visit with Charlie. She got all of her Christmas quilts tied and they look great. She is looking forward to Ashley coming next week. We are all anxious for the new MRI results and will keep everyone update.

Party at Mom's!

Charlie is in town and yesterday my family and I and Kris, Brian, and their kids, Jack and Grayson, all went to Mom's house for pizza and visiting. Mom had a great time visiting with everyone. She loves having visitors. We had a good time talking about big butts and dead people (don't ask) and we even got to film some interviews for Mom's Christmas video.

post from Mom and Dad

My parents posted this as a comment on an earlier blog, and I thought I would post in on the main page...

Hi everybody; Gail and Jim here, on Thursday night, anticipating "Charlie's" arrival from Utah tomorrow. With a free couple of hours we have spent time looking at the harbour lights (Everett) and reading and rereading your recent blog postings. Gail is touched profoundly by your love and your expressions of conceren for her. I don't know how in words to adequately express the gratitude she and our family have for your continuing expressions of caring.
Best wishes,
Jim and Gail

new picture

Here is a picture that Tyler took this afternoon. I realized all of the recent pictures I have of Mom were of her sitting down, so I wanted to get one of her up and around.

You can tell Tyler's been up to his photo taking antics again. Maria is becoming a part of our family. Today, she was talking to Tyler and said "You are so smart." and he came back with "Yeah, and I'm a genius, too." Mom got a really good laugh out of that one.

more updates

It has been too long since I have updated the blog, so I thought I would write a little something tonight. The boys and I went down to visit with Mom tonight and have dinner. Her caregiver, Maria, was there and she is an excellent fit for Mom and for our family. They get along like they're old friends. Mom had had a hard couple of days with her verbal skills and she gets frustrated not being able to say what she wants to. She has also been having a hard time coordinating her hands to eat and hold the phone. Maria has suggested we get special utinsels for her so that she can continue feeding herself. She is busy working on tying quilts for her grandkids and she loves visitors. Maria commented today how strong and brave Mom is and I couldn't agree more. Even with all of her new difficulties, Mom continues to smile and laugh and joke. She loves seeing her grandkids and they love spending time with her. She keeps taking each new day as it comes and is looking forward to many visits over the upcoming months.

dinner with Mom

My family and I had a great dinner with Mom tonight. We spent some time working on a Christmas video she is making for her family and we dropped of the quilts that she will be tying for each of her grandkids for Christmas, so now she will be very busy. Swedish Home Health Services switched caregiver companies and so she now has a new caretaker named Maria, who was wonderful. She seemed very caring and considerate of Mom and our family.

Here's a picture of Mom with Tyler. She adores her grandchildren and loves spending time with them. The next two pictures were done by Tyler. He is quite a photographer these days, and instructed us all who was to be in each picture and where we were all supposed to stand. Mom's new caregiver, Maria, is in the second one.

4th round of chemo done

Mom completed her fourth round of chemo today and it went well. She slept through a lot of it and has not felt sick or had any other negative side effects, although we anticipate she'll be really tired tomorrow, which is normal the day after her treatment. She has another treatment scheduled in two weeks, and we are continuing to take each new situation as it comes.

Mom was reinstated into the Swedish Hospice system today, which is a great benefit, although it means having to switch her home care company. Starting tomorrow, she'll have different home care people than she has in the past. Her sciatica is still bothering her quite a bit, so with different medications, we are really hoping to get it under control for her.

Mom had a nice weekend watching conference on BYU TV. I was able to go down and watch Sunday afternoon session with her, which was really nice for both of us. She is excited to be tying quilts for all her grandkids for Christmas and is excited for all the family and friend visits she has coming up soon.

Gettin' Around!

Dan, the kids, and I all went down to see Mom tonight. We brought her dinner and had a good time being together. She was in a good mood. Her caregiver, Margaret, was there today since my dad has to teach late. The best news is that Mom got a walker that is a HUGE help to her. She is now able to walk well around her house without worrying about grabbing on from one object to the next or falling.

We enjoyed a nice dinner and some time to sit and talk. Here's Mom and the kids eating together with Mom's caretaker, Margaret, who is great.

Mom and I are having a great time planning for Christmas already. She is going to be making some really special gifts for all of us (her daughters), and her grandchildren.

another MRI

Mom got the results back of her latest MRI yesterday. They told her that there was actually no second tumor and therefore there is no need for more radiation. The doctors will continue to try to manage her sciatica with medications and physical therapy. She is doing well and continues to be thankful for everyone's support.