Mom Monday: Update #6

My mom and dad had a great time in Washington D.C. and made it back safely! Here is the latest on my mom in an e-mail update I received from my dad today:

2nd down and 4 to go......Sounds like the kind of 1st down yardage you'd want your football team to have doesn't it ? But No, it's the latest on Anita's treatment. We had infusion number 2 on Thursday March 26 and the follow up shot on Friday. There are 4 more sessions to go - one every three weeks. While we were there Thursday, friends Don and Melanie happened to also be there and stopped by to say hello. Melanie is also an inspiration for sharing her experience and research. After the first treatment Anita experienced a crash on the 3rd post day. After each treatment , she takes steroids to boost her immune system and help ward off infection. The first time she took them for 3 days and then stopped. This time after talking with the nurse, Colleen suggested that tapering off the steroids might make a difference. The Doctor revised the dosage schedule and it worked. We can't say enough about Texas Oncology staff. They really care. They listen and do all they can to help the patient suffer less and get better. Other things that also made a difference were having it on Thursday morning which means less work week to deal with after the treatment. The first one was on a Monday. With the treatment on Thursday morning and the shot Friday, she only worked half a day each day and then had the weekend to rest. We also are blessed with thoughtful friends to provide soup - Cindy we are so lucky to have your Mizo soup, and Cathy, your Momma was right--chicken noodle soup fixes everything. And then there's Wheezy out in Abilene who calls to encourage. There are prayer groups of friends and family all over lifting her up too. Thank you all. We don't tire of calls to ask how things are going. We've also been blessed to have our daughters calling, blogging, e-mailing, and coming to visit.

Last but not least...another characteristic I appreciate about my mom is her ability to make the best of a situation. Whether it's a rainy day or a chemo treatment, she always seems to find a way to look on the bright side of things and go with the flow!

Mom Monday: Update #5

My mom and dad return from Washington D.C. early this week, and my mom has her 2nd of 6 chemo treatments this Thursday, March 26. Last time I talked to my mom she said that her hair (what little she has since having it shaved off!) has officially started to fall out! There are little hairs all over the house....their dog isn't the only one shedding anymore! :)

A special quality I appreciate about my mom is her ability to be true to herself. She is who she is wherever you see her...at work, at home, and at church. You never have to wonder if she's being fake.

Mom Monday: Update #4!

My mom is doing well! Katelyn and I actually rode with my sister Brittany down to Austin for a couple days this past week because Brittany had a business conference to attend! My dad had Wednesday and Thursday off so Katelyn and I got to spend both days with him! The whole trip was such a treat...just getting to hug my parents around the neck was something I've really needed these past few weeks! My mom and dad are leaving next week for a trip to Washington D.C. My mom has a meeting to attend, so they thought they would make a little vacation out of it! Have fun mom and dad! Also, I wish I had some pictures to post, but I completely forgot to take any while I was home! So, in closing, I will just share another characteristic that I appreciate about my mom...I love that she prays for people on the spot. For example, if someone shares with her a situation they would like prayer for, instead of my mom saying, "Sure! I'll be praying about that!" she says, "Sure! Can I pray for you right now?" I love that! And while we're on the subject of appreciating people, can I just say that I really appreciate my dad too? I was reminded (as I am each time I go home) of just how much I LOVE my dad's sense of humor! I also have really enjoyed hearing about and seeing the way he has cared for my mom through these past couple of months. My mom's next chemo treatment is Thursday, March 26, so I'll continue to keep you posted as I have updates.

Dancing Queen!

This is a video of Katelyn (AKA Dancing Queen) getting her groove on! Every time I put in her Bible songs sing-a-long CD, she really gets after it! Her little dancing show is a regular occurrence in our home, and it brings us so much joy! Hope it does the same for you...Enjoy!

Mom Monday: Update #3!

Here is an e-mail sent from my dad the day after my mom's first chemo treatment (a week ago today):

Monday Mar 2nd was the first of 6 treatments. One down and five to go. This first one was done on a Monday just to get started but all the rest are scheduled for a Thursday every three weeks. While we had the treatment yesterday , we waited until today to update just to make sure nothing came up - like her dinner. The preparation mentally and chemically seemed to do the job. So far, so good. Today is also another big doctor day. Nikki had an appointment with her surgeon, Dr Patricia Morrison (I'm still working on that discount) for the one week check up on having the portacart installed and the 2 month checkup on the initial breast surgery. Both sites were fine. She also goes back to Texas Oncolgy for a shot.

Having a friend ahead in the process and sharing has made a huge difference. Also, the doctors and nurses while being all about comfort for the patient are also all about information. There hasn't been anything happen that we weren't told to expect. The tour of the infusion room, our Chemo 101 class, and Wheezy's support made yesterday an unanxious day. The only thing we messed up on was the initial blood draw before they begin. Although Nikki had the portacart installed and it was ready for business and she was wearing her purple portacath bracelet they still jabbed her arm for the blood draw. They should have gone through the port and left the needle in place for the infusion. She had to have a second needle stick when she got to the infusion room. She also learned that she can have a prescription for a skin numbing crème to be applied to the port area that will take away even the slight prick she felt for that second needle. When she sat down in her chair choice they came to hook up the IV. All the while the nurse is talking and going over information - a whole organized binder of data and information. After about an hour Nurse Ruth said , "Well, let's get this started". We had thought that when the IV was placed and a bag hung we were on the way. Nikki was talking an laughing and watching the fluid drain down. Nope, that was just saline. They then came with the 3 drugs for the study she was randomly assigned. Each goes in separately and over a certain time period. Two are IV Bags that take about 30 minutes and 45 minutes each and the third is an IV push that takes about a minute. Oops, sorry - IV push is a medical term we picked up. It means they give the IV line a shot. She had taken an anti nausea medication when we arrived to visit with the doctor. It caused her cheeks to flush bright red. Nikki looked on it as just another savings - no need to wear any blush for the next 4 days. We arrived about 12:20 and left about 4. This first visit was a little longer because of the introduction. Next time which is Mar 26th it will be shorter. That will be a good thing since they don't validate for parking. Another savings. We had planned soup for supper but got home still feeling fine. We called Wheezy and she said eat anything you fell like so we went to Cheddars. We'll eat soup tonight.

So as you can see, everything went really well and the side effects were kept to a minimum the first couple of days. Thursday was a slight downturn - nothing sounded appetizing and she suddenly became weak and tired. She pretty much slept Thursday night into Saturday morning. Saturday was a better day. She was able to get out with my sister, Jessica, and my dad to shave her head! She has heard from numerous people that it is less traumatic to lose your hair all at once than it is to see it falling out each day. So she took their advice and went to the salon! See below for some great pictures! Her next treatment is on March 26, so I'll keep you posted!

Mom and Dad at the salon

The Haircut!

Yep! It's really gone!

Mom with her "My First Haircut" Certificate!

A closing note....for my quiet times, I have been reading out of a devotional book that my mom gave me for Christmas. It is a book called "Praying God's Word" by Beth Moore. Today's reading, prayer, and commentary was from 2 Cor. 1:3-4, and it made me think of my mom. So I thought I would further personalize this verse as a prayer for her today: Praise be to you, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts my mom in all her troubles, so that she can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort she has received from you. "[God] is the only one who can turn misery into ministry." -Beth Moore

And while I'm quoting other people, I should say that I copied a small portion of this update (the paragraph above the pictures) from my sister Brittany's blog. I feel like I should give her some credit for that. If you ever feel like reading a new blog, visit hers! It is www.getreadyeurope.blogspot.com.

Search for the Perfect Chair

So I've been looking for a little T.V. chair for Katelyn to sit in when she watches her favorite video "Miss Patty Cake's Sing-A-Long Songs!" Up until this point, she sat on the couch (worked fine, just not very fun!) or the area rug in front of the T.V. (she had to tilt her head back to look up at the T.V.--again, not very fun!). I searched high and low with the following chair criteria:

1) Not too expensive (under $30)--I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a chair that she may or may not use and eventually out grow!

2) Not too big/bulky, not too small/dinky--I didn't want something that was so big and bulky that it looked like another piece of furniture, but I didn't want something so small that it fell apart when she sat in it (the girl loves to eat!).

3) Comfy--I want my little girl to be comfy when she watches her favorite video or PBS cartoons (Clifford and Curious George are her two favorites!). I promise my daughter doesn't watch T.V. all day...but when she does have that need to sit back and relax, I want her to enjoy it!

4) Not gender specific--When Katelyn outgrows this sucker, I want to be able to use it again when we have another bambino (not planning on that anytime soon!)...and if that bambino is a boy, I don't want him to have to sit in a girly T.V. chair!

5) Color that matched our living room decor--I know you're thinking this is stupid, but whatever! The colors to match are turquoise and brown.

6) Versatile--It would be nice to be able to use the chair outside too!

And the winning chair is......the $10 planet chair from Big Lots! It was originally $15, but it was on sale!! I added some cute ribbon that I bought at Wal-Mart for $.80 to make the chair a little more fun and girly, and of course, the ribbon colors also match our living room decor!

Chai Time!

Last week when Dave was in Atlanta, my sister Brittany came over for dinner and a slumber party with me and Katelyn! It was such a fun girl's night filled with homemade pizza rolls, drama on the Biggest Loser (including a rude interruption for some "Presidential Address to Congress"), and homeade chai tea lattes with cinnamon dolce syrup! Katelyn was only able to participate in eating the pizza rolls, but she looooooved every bite, and when bedtime rolled around, she was ready to snooze! I mean, she can only handle so much of me and Brittany when we get together!

So, let me elaborate on the chai tea latte part of our evening....my sister's favorite drink at Starbuck's is a Chai Tea Latte, and recently it's turned into a Chai Tea Latte with two pumps of cinnamon dolce syrup. She normally makes the drink herself because it's cheaper than buying one every morning from Starbucks and its easy to share that way! So I asked her to bring the ingredients so we could make one when she came over! It's important to keep in mind that there are only two ingredients Brittany had to remember: tazo chai tea concentrate and cinammon dolce syrup. I supplied the milk. Well, unfortunately, she forgot the cinammon dolce syrup...crucial to the drink! So....the only catch to me having the drink I had been looking forward to all day was that I had to drive up to Starbuck's (super close to our house!), not to get the drink, but to get the four pumps of cinammon dolce syrup to go in our drinks we made at home! My trip to Starbucks was a success and $.32 well spent!

Here are some pictures from our evening as well as the recipe for the drinks (you'll definitely have to enlarge the picture to read the recipe!).

Mom Monday: Update #2!

Here is today's update! My mom is actually going through her first chemo treatment today (probably right now as I type this)! Her chemo--which was supposed to start last Wed. or Thurs--was postponed because her insurance didn't give her authorization for treatment as part of the chemo study she is in. Below is an e-mail I received from my mom last Wednesday:

Chemo is postponed, so won't happen tomorrow. Everything is fine healthwise, but my insurance hasn't given authorization for treatment as a part of the study.

So, once they tell me everything is a go then I'll look at my calendar and their availability to determine a start date and will let you know.

I really believe that it is a good thing that it won't happen this week, because I'm just now feeling good after the last drain was removed a couple of weeks ago and the port was put in last week. Had kind of felt like I had been run over by a truck until today. So, I maintain that God's timing is perfect timing--He's never late, He's always right on time. He's arranging everything so I'll get just the right nurse and the right people will be put in my path who He wants me to meet.

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers. I have really felt them and my spirits have been lifted high.

Anita (Nikki)

And instead of a picture today, I'll just tell you a favorite characteristic of my mom....I love her positive attitude!