Mom is still hospitalized, waiting for the effects of the 5-FU to wear off. The mucositis, an ulceration of her mucosal tissues, has been the most painful, creating sores throughout Mom's mouth and, most painfully, down her throat. Her lips were blistered and turned briefly black, but these superficial scabs quickly fell off to reveal soft, lovely, slightly swollen pink lips that Mom has dubbed her "L.A. lips."
But the most dangerous by far has been the bone marrow suppression. This round, the 5-FU affected this critical blood creator, the fountain of all blood cells. Her platelets fell first, then the red blood cells. Transfusions of both platelets and red cells are relatively easy, but there is no transfusion for white blood cells. We are now in a waiting game, her white count falling dangerously low, triggering a host of antibiotics that hung from the IV stand like so many crazy Christmas ornaments, or a German Easter Egg tree. Her stent is also narrowed, which partially obstructed and caused her to vomit so much that she created a small tear in her stomach mucosa.
We now have her in the PCU (Progressive Care Unit), where the nurses only have three patients to attend to rather than six. She is being extremely carefully watched by what Todd called a "loaded boat," including a gastroenterologist, a surgeon, an oncologist, a hemotologist, an internal medicine doctor, and an infectious diseases specialist. Her white count is slowly but steadily rising, she is as comfortable as we can make her, she has one of us by her side from early morning throughout the day and late into the night, and through it all she maintains her sense of humor, just about always. I am so proud to be her daughter.
Suzi, Simone and I have learned the basics of Reiki, a Japanese meditation/energy practice. It gives my mom a lot of comfort, and it's a lovely way for us to help ourselves handle the stresses. As always, we are so grateful for all the messages, prayers, and energy that is being sent our way. Thank you.
love, Steph
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| The four of us, circa 1994 |
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