Family dinner

We decided to have a nice Sunday dinner tonight at Mom's house. The kids ran around and made lots of noise, which I am sure must drive Mom nuts, but she takes it all in good stride. I wanted to share some pictures of Mom with Abby. Abby was all over Mom tonight, cuddling her and giving her kisses - just wanting to be near her. It was so cute, I had to take pictures.

Now for some updates... I have received a lot of questions about Mom's arm. It is healing well, but still has a ways to go before it is completely healed. She is no longer on the antibiotics, and gets regular dressing changes. Its pretty nasty looking, but the nurses say that it is looking better and better.

For Christmas, my dad installed a wheel chair ramp outside the house so that Mom can get in and out much easier. She has taken advantage of that over the last few days by going out for lunch yesterday, and today, her and my dad traveled to Tacoma to meet with an Indian spiritual leader to have a prayer ceremony for her.

Mom has an appointment with her oncologist, Dr. Goldberg, on Wednesday. It has been about a month and a half since he has seen her, and we're guessing he is going to reevaluate her to determine our next step, particularly if her arm has healed enough to allow her to continue with her chemo treatment. I will update the blog when we have more information about what is coming up next for Mom.

Christmas!

Merry Christmas! We had a wonderful Christmas with Mom. Dan and Mario spent the morning cooking for us and then cleaning up so that we could all enjoy spending Christmas with Mom. We cooked a brunch, just like Mom always used to do. Mom really loved sitting and watching the kids play with their new Christmas toys. The house was full of toys, music, and chaos; just the way Mom loves it. And to our great surprise, we actually had a white Christmas, which NEVER happens in Seattle! I thought I would share a video and some pictures of Mom and our family.

Getting Ready for Christmas

Mom has been really enjoying having Ashley, Mario, Ryan, and Abby around. Having grandkids in the house all day is one of the things she loves the most. They have a Christmas tree in the front room, and it is decorated and ready to go. Here is a picture of Ryan and Tyler hanging out with Grandma the other night.

Mom was able to go to church today for the first time in several months. She really enjoyed being there for the Christmas program, even though it wasn't the same without her in charge. She enjoyed seeing all of her friends that she hasn't seen in so long.

We look forward to spending another wonderful Christmas with Mom on Tuesday and she wishes all of her friends and family a Merry Christmas!

I just wanted to share a picture of Mom and Tyler sitting together watching "The Land Before Time." We have had fun spending a lot of time with her over the last few days.

Mom has been doing well lately and is really excited for the Prudentes to visit and for Christmas. She is having a hard time walking lately, as her right foot is becoming weaker. Because of that, she is sleeping downstairs now so that she doesn't have to go up and down every night, which has actually worked out really well for her. She is still able to get around the house with her walker.

We're thankful every day for our mom and for the example of courage and faith that she is for all who know her. Through all of this, she has never lost who she is and her joy and spunk for life. She is very appreciative of all the cards, visits, and phone calls that she receives every day.

Great News!

Mom went down to meet with the doctors at the wound center today. They said that her arm is healing nicely. She has two days left of the antibiotic, and after that, she can be done. We are thrilled that her body was able to fight off the infection so effectively, and relieved that things are looking good.

Mom was able to come out to my house for Tyler's 4th birthday today. She has been having some trouble walking, which was made worse because she was so tired from an early appointment at the wound center. After realizing they had forgotten her wheelchair at home, she decided it would be best to give Tyler his gift while in her car. It didn't turn out the way she wanted it to, but Tyler was so happy to get to see his grandma on her birthday. Even after all that she is going through, the grandkids adore her.

video and update

For anyone interested, Mom's video is officially completed and I am getting ready to make copies of it to mail off in time for Christmas. I have had some reports that my email has not been receiving some of your messages. If you sent me an email asking for a copy of the video and did not receive a reply from me, that probably means I didn't get the email. If you want a copy of Mom's video, please email me at dmtne@hotmail.com.

As for an update, Mom's arm is doing GREAT! With the daily dressings, special ointment, and antibiotics, it seems to be healing nicely. She is now anxiously awaiting Christmas and a visit from Ashley and the rest of the Prudente's from Colorado.

Christmas Shopping!

Mom finally got out to go Christmas shopping today. She came out to my house to hang out, and then after Dan got home from work, we all went to Target and took over the toy section. Mom got to ride in her wheel chair, which Tyler thought was pretty awesome. I think we must have looked pretty interesting with me pushing Mom, Dan pushing a cart so full of toys that he couldn't see over the top, Tyler on his shoulders, and Noah crying in the seat of the cart. We sure had a good time, though, and Mom was so happy that she got to do her own Christmas shopping this year, which has always been a big deal for her.

Mom's arm is also doing a lot better. The nurse has been changing the dressing and it seems the antibiotics are doing the trick. Mom has appreciated hearing the comments and also the phone calls and visits over the last few days!

arm update

Mom went to the Providence Wound Center that is tied in with Swedish Hospital. They looked at her wound and found that there are actually two sores, but that the underlying tissue is all connected, and therefore is the same infection. They drained the wound for her (which unfortunately was pretty painful for her) and dressed it. There will be a nurse coming in every day over the next few days to dress it and put a special ointment on it. They are also going to keep her on the antibiotic an extra week to give the wound some more time to heal. We're hoping this does the trick, and so far it seems like it is. Her arm looked a lot better today, there was not near as much redness. Hopefully, things will get back on track soon so that she can start her chemo again!

Mom's arm

Mom went back to the walk-in-clinic yesterday as she was told to do to make sure that her arm was healing as it should. The doctor looked at it and told her that it was not healing correctly and she would need to get in touch with a surgeon to place a drain. Dad and Mom went down to meet with Mom's oncologist, Dr. Goldberg this morning. He took another culture of it (the original culture came back as a heavy staph infection), and has recommended she be in touch with a plastic surgeon to place a drain on the wound. It is still draining quite a bit. Because of the infection, Mom's chemo needs to be put off indefinitely, which is a bit frustrating, but also understandable. On top of all of this, she also has come down with a bit of a cold. We are hoping that the infection clears up and Mom can get back to life as normal. She is obviously worried about what is going to happen, but joked with me tonight that there isn't anything she can do, so why stress out about it?! That seems to have been her attitude through this entire process.

Please keep our mom in your thoughts and prayers and make sure to post a nice message to her or give her a call to let her know you're thinking about her!