19 November 2009

Another week zooms by - warning this is a shitty post

I get by with a little help from my friends (and my wonderful family)


Another week has just zoomed by -

On Saturday the 14th
my Mum ended up back in the hospital. It was another problem on top of all the cancer problems. My Mum has been relatively healthy most of her life, apart from a couple of small problems that were fixable years ago. The one thing that has caused her some woe is 'diverticulitis' which had her in hospital 4 years ago. It's a really shitty thing (Literally!!) So we took Mum back into hospital because she was totally blocked up.

I can't explain here on my blog how bad things were, or what we tried to do to help on the Friday night - until 3.30am.

Several over the counter relief tablets and liquids had not helped. Suppositories did not help, enemas did not help.

The emergency Dr's at the hospital actually tried to 'manually evacuate' - not nice, in fact I can't imagine what it was like for her and no family was allowed to stay with her while they did it.
It didn't work!!

Mum was put into a ward and given 3 daily doses of different 'liquids' to help clear her bowel, she was also given tablets 2 x daily. 2 more days and still no movement!

Tuesday: The Drs then decided it was time to try another 'manually evacuation' - sigh.........
This time they managed to clear something - positive, yet extremely painful for Mum. They did this while Mum was in the ward (with 3 other patients)
The ladies in the ward advised me when I went in, that Mum had been through a horrible time. They told me she was screaming in pain, then crying and sobbing afterwards!!!
My gut turned :(
Mum was quite out of it, very dopey (without medication for that) probably total exhaustion as she is not sleeping well with the pain. I found out that the Dr's had ordered her pain medication to be cut in half - as they were worried the meds were creating or exacerbating the bowel problem. So Mum is now having to deal with the cancer pain - which wasn't completely being kept at bay in the first place!

Mum is beside herself, fed up, completely exhausted and it is horrible to see that. We are all trying to keep her spirits up - but with what she is going through, we understand how difficult it is.

Wednesday: I visited Mum and spent most of the day with her, some good news - In the early hours of the morning Mum finally managed to clear some of her bowels on her own after 17 days!!!!!!

This was a cause for celebration. Woo Hoo.

We now have to wait and see if Mum will continue to empty herself, as there is some concern over whether her body is working properly now. Her bladder wasn't, so that's a concern too.
Along with all this Mums legs are now BOTH affected by the cancer/nerves or whatever.... nobody seems to know exactly what is causing it.

Thursday: Today Mum was supposed to be seeing the Oncologist for a regular appointment, apparantly he will visit Mum in hospital seeing as she is there already.
Also, today is the first day for the radiation treatments to begin - if Mum is still in hospital, they will wheel her bed down for the radiation treatment.

I'm about to get ready and go visit her - please continue to send Mum your love and prayers.

Also,

The art card I chose to commence this post describes how I feel - and I would like to say a big thank you to those that have sent well wishes, cards for mum and the positive caring comments here on my blog.

xoxo

11 comments:

  1. Lorri, I'm sending prayers for you and your Mom. Try to keep your own strength up so you can be there for your Mom. Sending love, soft hugs and prayers across the waves from Mississippi!

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  2. Ah, Lorri... my heart hurts to think of the challenges your mum - and all who love her - are facing. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.

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  3. Lorri this was heart breaking to read, I can't even imagine what you are going through, and your poor mother! I am praying for her, I wish everything will go well.
    ((hugs))
    betty

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  4. Be strong, honey, for your mum and for yourself as well! Feel the warmth of your friends and family as they wrap their arms and thoughts and prayers around you.

    Peace to you,
    XOXO
    eileen

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  5. Oh my gosh! Your poor Mum - and you! NO ONE deserves to have that happen to them, and I'm kinda mad at the doctors for not giving your Mum adequate pain relief. Sending all good thoughts to you and yours.

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  6. I carried a glass heart in my pocket for my niece all year, and now I carry it for your mom and family, as a reminder to send spontaneous wishes for peace and comfort.

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  7. Oh my, I know exactly what you are going through my dad went through all this just over 12 months ago and my mum had passed away a few months before that. My dad ended up in surgery and had a lot of his bowel removed then on the road of recovery and it did it all again, so more surgery, and it took months to recover. The pain to see them in is so horrible and you can't do anything except be there and hold their hand when you can. My dad ended up so thin and frail that I thought he would never recover. I nursed him back on a high protein diet, loads of raw eggs and hospital strength sustagen and other stuff, he is now 100%. My thoughts are with you and your mum and my heart really goes out to you all. If you need to talk, email me and I will listen and help where I can. The diet & love is the key to full recovery.

    Hugs Elizabeth

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  8. huge hugggggs coming your way.

    take care of yourself


    chriss x

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  9. Lorri, I hope things are better for your Mom and you as well. Just checking in to see how everything is going. Know that I am thinking of all of you.

    I'll be having a giveaway for my 100th blog post within the next few days so check in with me from time to time to join in on that. The prize isn't totally set yet but it will be a mixture of many different doodads and thingamajigs. I'll be posting my 100th post with my next post and all the details will be revealed then. This is just my way of giving back to the blog community who I have learned so much from. I've made some great friends through blogging and just want to say 'thank you' in blog lingo; best way to do that is have a giveaway! I'll also have new blog bling as I'm having a custom blog design installed and I'm totally excited about that!

    Have a great day!!

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  10. I hope there has been a little bit of improvement with everything by now.

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