TELEPHONE NUMBER

Please note that Mom's direct line is changed to 770-5057.

JAN. 29: BOOT CAMP

The hospital was getting tired of Dad's giving the cute nurses a bad time, so we had to move Mom out of Good Sam. She is at a Rehab-nursing facility with a good reputation, handmade quilts on the wall (I thought that was a sign), 3 fish tanks (for the fish-lover, Dad), and pictures of Pappilon dogs (Theresa and Julie have these for pets so Becky thought that was a sign). Dad and John moved her in this afternoon, and Becky and Sammy (already a hit) brought up personal belongings.

She will receive pt/ot 5-6 days per week; lots of hallways for her to use her walker to build up leg strength (and visit other folks). Mom's goal is to be strong enough to be home for their 62nd anniversary on Valentine's Day. She needs to be able to stand on her own, and walk significantly well with her walker.

Visitors are WELCOME. A meal is $4.00 if you wish to join her (you may also bring your own food). Locals, if you wish to share in transportation for dad, or if you would like to take HIM for an outing, just let us know. Becky and John mostly take care of that.

Here is pertinent info:
Rainier Vista Car Center
920 12th Ave. S.E.
Puyallup, WA 98372
facility telephone: 253-841-3422
Mom is in room #322-B
Her direct telephone number: 253-770-5057

As always, your support keeps us putting one foot in front of the other. This is new territory for us, so we've felt a bit lost. Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, visits, cards, meals that show up magically, and phone calls.

JAN. 26 UPDATE

BLESSINGS abound: another 5 star winter day in the Pacific Northwest: blue skies, majestic Mount Rainier draped in layers of snow; Rachel's wedding was beautiful, elegant, fun, and yummy (get me that artichoke chicken recipe!); niece Sara and husband Dusty welcomed their wee one late Sunday afternoon: 8 pound Collin Andrew. New beginnings, new life, and a fresh chance every day to savor God's presence.

Mom is still in the hospital (room 437), feeling tired, but MUCH better. She is on a round of antibiotics for an infection. The doctor thinks the overall ill feeling is due to radiation. Today mom finished her second round of 10 radiation treatments and received a "Completion Certificate" and a sweet pink mug. We appreciate ALL who call, send cards, visit, and pray. In particular we thank the Williams, Tillmans, and Edwards for praying with Mom and family on Saturday afternoon, then staying with her while we all went off to the wedding.

Chemo is discontinued for two more weeks to give mom time to build up strength. She's still not standing much, but is beginning to sit up for short periods of time. Both PT and OT are beginning a daily regime with her: bring on those weights and the large elastic bands! Wrap 'em around the bed railing: up -2 -3. Rope in a nurse - oops: that's Dad's usual shenanigan.

JAN. 22 UPDATE

Mom is back in the hospital this evening, extremely fatigued, and just plain feeling rotten. She's already had a couple tests, but results take 24 hours or more. I'll update when we find out more information.

JAN 20 UPDATE

Well, who would consider living elsewhere when the snow-draped Mount Rainier silhouettes a blue sky? Not I! Today is the third absolutely gorgeous day - a bit cold, lotsa frost, but stunningly beautiful. The weekend was kinda tough as Mom has been pretty weak. So, once again, the doctor is changing meds: actually, cutting down the pain meds to see if she can get by on less. Hopefully that will make her more alert, increase her mobility, and make her well enough to attend the big event of the weekend: Rachel's wedding. Kim and Mark will be staying here at Mom and Dad's, so that will bring some brightness into the house. I'm sure Mom gets tired of seeing our faces everyday: "Drink more water. Now eat this. It's time for more meds. Raise those legs like the therapist taught you." We don't sound very imaginative, do we? Anyway, here's hoping Mom will be back on her feet, literally, very soon.

JAN. 15 UPDATE

Between radiation decreasing the pain, and the doctors' abilities to adjust and readjust the pain meds, Mom has come home late this afternoon. She's pretty tired, has a new list of meds, but is happy to be at home. She is continuing with the chemo, minus the big gun that is such a problem for her (and it interferes with radiation), and with daily radiation. So that means that Sam is relegated to her own bed, so sad. Do come for visits, bringing humor and cheer. It's been a long day for us all, so good night to all our friends and family; your prayers and support are invaluable.

JAN. 12

Mom is feeling better today: eating a little, looks better, has less pain. She went in for her radiation tatoos (too bad she couldn't choose a design!), her special pillow, and her first of about 25 radiation treatments. The tumor is in her left pelvis near the hip bone. She received chemo last night, and will continue that regime but without the nasty stuff. Still waiting for the sun to appear this week. The meteorologist promised!

JAN. 11

The mri showed a tumor in mom's bones, tailbonish area. She will begin radiation tomorrow. The oncologist, the awesome Dr. Blau, will consult with the radiologist tomorrow to determine any changes in the chemo treatment plan, possibly trying a different "recipe." The pain meds seem to be pretty balanced today. Mom is in much less pain, not too drugged up, but still pretty tired. Her prayer shawl has disappeared, but we hope it will turn up in the hospital laundry; it's pretty disappointing to lose that precious item. The next question: is dad sleeping okay because Sammie is in bed with him? (mom would NEVER allow that when she's in bed!). We do pass on your messages of love and support when we go to the hospital. She will most likely be there most of this week, so feel free to visit. Visits are cheering for both Mom and Dad. Also feel free to make Dad take a walk; he's putting on weight!!! Don't tell him I said that. May the sunny skies predicted for this week also warm the spirits of all of us who love Mom.

JAN. 10 UPDATE

Mom is still in the hospital, Room 402. We are awaiting results from the xray and the mri, hopefully on Monday when the doctors are back. Thankfully, Dr. Blau is the on-call doctor this weekend, and has been in phone contact with the head nurse, trying to get a dosage of pain medication somewhere between totally sleeping and reasonable pain relief. Mom is not very responsive to company right now, but dad always needs cheering up (and he loves the Starbuck's cinnamon dolce, fat-free milk and sugar free flavoring). He's also getting tired of the cafeteria's food, (same ol', same ol'), so, hint-hint, taking him OUT of the hospital for lunch or dinner is good for him. So far, Sammie is behaving, although she hid from Brian this afternoon ( bad breath? he doesn't bring enough treats??). We'll keep you all posted. Please continue your prayers and support; they help us immensely.
anna

JAN. 8 UPDATE

Mom is back in the hospital tonight. She began having pain in her pelvis throughout the night. We took her to the doctor's office where she was immediately given morphine - thank the heavens for that good stuff. She had an xray this evening and will have an MRI tomorrow to determine the source of the pain. Mom and Dad are thankful that my school was canceled for today due to flooding in the district, which meant I was available to handle today's episode. AND Becky, Dad, and I got to go the the special needs nursery or whatever that is called, and saw Miss Rain Grace, Jaimie's newborn. Hopefully Brian (the third: my Brian is Brian the first, Rachel's Brian is Brian the second, and Jaimie's Brian is Brian the third) will take her home tomorrow. Baby is absolutely gorgeous, just like a tight, perfectly formed rosebud.
Blessings to all

BACKGROUND

Our talented and generous niece, Melissa Becker, designed this beautiful blog to keep you informed of mom's progress. I, the un-techie Anna, will add posts about once a week. You can find more information about Multiple Myeloma on the websites listed at the right.

Briefly, MM is cancer of the blood which creates tumors in the bone - hence Mom's severe back pain before her radiation. Doctors say there is no connection between the MM and the brain tumor Mom had in summer/fall, and which has shrunk (or totally dissolved?) after the Gamma Knife (an intense, 45 minute radiation treatment pinpointed to the tumor.

Treatment consists of radiation and chemotherapy. Both the ten radiation treatments and the first chemo cycle were started while Mom was still in the hospital. One chemo cycle consists of three weeks: She receives chemo on days 1, 4, 8, and ll, followed by a week of no treatments. In addition, Mom takes one zillion pills, plus gallons of water, every day. The visiting nurses and physical therapists have been helpful. We are trying to get Mom AND Dad onto the Wii Fit! Feel free to come over and challenge them to a game!!

We all appreciate your tremendous support: prayers, phone calls, flowers, food, taxi service, and best of all, VISITS. Since Mom can't read or do crafts, she gets pretty tired of listening to books on tape and watching movies. They are home evenings and weekends. If you come during the day, you may want to call ahead first since doctor appointments and chemo times vary.

We, the sibs, had a pizza party at Mom and Dad's house while Mom was still in the hospital. We assembled and decorated the Christmas tree with the help of grandkids and a variety of beverages. The most prized family possession - the Christmas star - was just about stolen by any number of kids, but Sammie (Mom and Dad's new dog) protected the star for Mom. When Mom finally came home from the hospital, about 6 in the evening, she walked into a dark house lighted only by the Christmas tree, providing a warm welcome for her.

The dog: yes, Mom has a long tradition of disliking pets, especially in the house. Sammie is unique. Rose and Jim opened their Ocean Shores Inn (Collins Inn) and needed to find a new home for the lovable but yappy Sammie. We encouraged Dad to give it a try since he loves dogs. Well, guess who took a liking to Mom? While Mom was in the hospital, Sammie peed and pooped in the house, and wouldn't go into the dining room! Once her mistress came home, Sammie suddenly retrained her incontinent habits, once again joined her owners in the dining room, and resumed sleeping on Mom's lap when they are in the living room. An aside, when Mom was first in the hospital, Dad had trouble sleeping at night UNTIL (don't tell Mom), he allowed Sammie to sleep with him!

till next time - may the snow, beautiful may it be, blow away until next year - anna

New Site!

This site is going to be used for updates on Shirley. This will hopefully keep everyone up to date on how doctor appointments are going and how Shirley is feeling. :)