busy week

Its been an exciting week for Mom. She has really enjoyed having Melissa and the girls in the house. We had great intentions this week to get Mom out Christmas shopping, but it never happened, hopefully next week. Mom has had a sore on her arm for a couple of months that just started showing signs of infections this week. The redness and swelling were developing pretty quickly, so Melissa took her to the walk in clinic to get it looked at yesterday. They gave her some antibiotics, and her body seems to be fighting off the infection well.

Melissa took Mom back to the doctor today again just to make sure everything was OK, and while they were gone, I stayed with the kids. They decided that they wanted to do something nice for Grandma while she was gone, so they each took a baby wipe and started cleaning. By the time they were done, I think every single surface of Mom's house had been wiped down with a wipe. When she got home, they popped out and yelled "surprise" and were very proud of themselves.




And finally, more proof that you should never leave two three year olds alone in a room for more than two seconds... here's what Tyler and Anna did to poor Jigsaw when I was making lunch.

Thanksgiving!

Mom had a great Thanksgiving this year. Melissa and I did the cooking. It was not easy for Mom to not help in the kitchen since cooking is one of her many passions, but we enjoyed spending the day together and laughing together. We had a house full of people at dinner. Mom's sister, Patsy, and her husband, Mom's brother, Michael, and Patsy's daughter, Kris and her husband and kids came to join us. We spent the night telling old stories and just enjoying the time together.

Patsy, Mom, and Michael

Patsy decorated Mom's walker for the holidays.

We collected all of Mom's hats that she wears to cover her missing hair and put them on for a picture.

Mom enjoying the company.

Mom and Melissa

more chemo

Mom had another round of chemo today. I got to take Mom down to the clinic for her infusion. The office was running slow, so we started at 10:30 and didn't get done until 4:45, but Mom was laughing and upbeat the whole time. We met with her oncologist, Dr. Goldberg, and Mom handled her treatment like a pro. Now we can move on to more fun things, like the holidays. Melissa and her girls come to town this evening, so we look forward to a great holiday together!

Christmas video

Many of you know that Mom's Christmas gift to her children this year is a video of her talking about her life, along with pictures, and interviews with her children. If anyone would like a copy of the video, we would be happy to make copies. Please email me at dmtne@hotmail.com if you are interested.

time with Mom

We had fun having Mom at our house today. She stayed with us through dinner and the kids loved having her here. The walker races were a big hit again, and Tyler was thrilled to show off his new video game to Grandma. We are so blessed to be able to spend so much time with our wonderful Mom and Grandma.

Here's the kids sitting on the walker next to Mom ready for another ride. She loved cheering them on as they raced around the room.

Mom and Noah enjoying snack time together.

This picture was taken yesterday at Mom's house. I thought she looked so pretty in her pink sweater that I wanted to share the picture.

another update

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated the blog. The kids and I have all been sick and have been unable to visit Mom (since the chemo makes her body unable to fight off any germs, we have to stay away when we're sick). She had a great weekend, though, and has Maria back caregiving this week. Maria had to go home to Mexico last week to be with her family, so we are happy to have her back. Mom has also had someone from hospice come in in the mornings this week to help her with showering. Mom was really reluctant to have this done at first, but says she is glad she tried it because the lady is really nice and helps her quite a bit.

We are all looking forward to another great Thanksgiving with Mom. She has chemo on Tuesday the 20th, and Melissa and the girls come to town that same night for the holiday. Thanksgiving has always been a special holiday for Mom. She loves to cook and catch up with family. This year will be a little different, since Melissa and I will be doing the cooking, but we are going to enjoy doing the important stuff, which is spending time together.

chemo

Just a quick update to let everyone know that Mom had another round of chemo today. She tolerated it well (as always) and is just a bit tired today. She'll have another round on November 20th. She is also now on some medications to help with the fluid buildup around the tumors. Hopefully this will help her regain a small portion of the balance and verbal skills that she has lost recently. She has enjoyed Ashley's company this weekend and is now looking forward to Melissa visiting for Thanksgiving.

Ashley's visit

Mom is really enjoying having Ashley here this weekend. She came up for a quick visit while her kids stayed in Colorado with Mario so she could have more time to spend visiting with Mom. We had a nice dinner tonight and Mom spent the evening laughing, which is so great to hear!

photos

Here are some wonderful pictures I was sent from Patsy of Mom growing up, and her with young children. I loved them so much, I had to share them.

MRI results

We finally have some GOOD MRI results to share. Mom's tumors have SHRUNK! This is obviously terrific news. Dr. Goldberg said, though, that there is some fluid that has shown up around the tumors, which are causing Mom's problem with walking and balance. With that good news, Mom is going to have another treatment next Monday.