Mother's health problems

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crcook84

crcook84

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My mom is in the hospital with severe back pain, a growth over her right lung, and pneumonia. We think the growth (we don't think it's cancer) is the cause of her back pain. As for the pneumonia, I think my mom got it from my grandfather who was in the hospital a short time ago with a number of problems (I didn't get told about it until the tail end of his hospital stay).
 
My mother will, hopefully, be coming back from the hospital this week. Whatever it was that she had, it appears to have died inside of her body when they got it out. We know it wasn't cancer because she wasn't losing weight and it wasn't invading healthy cells. That leaves either a tumor or a growth. Either way, they got it out. So, thanks to everyone for the prayers.
 
I just got some new information. Apparently, she does have lung cancer. It was assumed that she doesn't because no one could recognize it. After the surgery last week, they gave it to a cancer expert who, after researching it for a few days, determined it was a rare type of cancer. They told her on Monday. So, she'll be going in for chemo treatment. The good news is that they think it's the type that doesn't need aggressive chemo treatment.

On another note, my grandfather has lymphoma. I haven't brought it up only because we didn't know about it until my mother had really bad back pain and by then my focus was on her. So, they'll both be getting chemo.

Edit: By the way, as for how she got it: No, she does not smoke. Furthermore, I am not surprised that she got it because cancer is indifferent.
 
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Between December 7th and 8th (this happened in the evening and went past midnight), we had an incident. It didn't start out bad. But, it ended up that way. We bought a commode for her to use. But, she fell off of it. As we were trying to get her back on the sofa, every time we moved her, she ended up in, what looked like, excruciating pain. Apparently, they had to cut some nerves in surgery just to get to the cancer and her body is re-calibrating. This was compounded by the fact that both her legs ended up as dead wait and the winter storm didn't help much. We tried using a harness they gave us to pick her up. But, it didn't help that we were trying to be super careful with her. Eventually, when she was in a particular position in which she was in pain constantly, we called an ambulance. There wasn't much they could do. What she was going through was what all the doctors predicted. And, it would take them forever to get to the hospital because of the storm anyways. Instead, they used the harness we were given, strapped it into it's proper position, and managed to hoist her back onto the sofa. She's doing much better this morning. Plus, we now know how to use the harness.
 
We had my mother taken back to the hospital today. We're thinking we should have had her taken in last week. Then the storm came and we had to wait. Anyways, her legs were so unusable that they became dead weight. We thought it was because her body was trying to get used to the fact that they had to cut some nerves to get to the cancer. Apparently the cancer has spread to her spine. Her legs are, basically, paralyzed. She has been moved to another hospital where they will handle her treatment, recovery, and amenities. I think there was talk about putting her into a nursing home so that it would be easier for her to recover.

In the meantime, there might be some serendipity that comes with this. One of the individuals involved in my mother's recovery was asking about how the rest of us were coping. My dad told her about me looking for a job and she asked for my resume for, i guess, a computer position at one of the medical companies. Although, as much as I like the idea, a part of me is wondering if there's something significant to me possibly getting a job at the same time my mom is sick.
 
My mother had her surgery today. The doctor originally had someone else scheduled. But, he decided that she was important enough to be put first. Now, as good as that is, there is only one reason why you’re surgery would get top priority.

The PNET they found on her lung was on her spine. In fact, it had itself wrapped around the spine bulging it. Fortunately, it was on one of the vertebra that controlled her legs and not higher up. However, in trying to remove some of the tumor, it might affect the ability for her to use her arms. In particular, the doctor was concerned about bleeding, spinal fluid, and bone weakness. However, we do know, from some time back, that another doctor commented that my mother had the bones of a 35 year old. We waited for 3½ hours. Halfway through, they said that she was doing fine. Then, around 9:00, my dad got a message saying that the surgery was successful. As we were going up to see her, we ran into the doctor who was very positive about the surgery. He said that, when they removed the tumor, the spinal cord bounced back into place. He then applied pressure and there was no bleeding. When they checked her neuron activity, they could find signals going from her brain to her legs. Supposedly, there might be another surgery that will be even longer, I think, to deal with the tumor possibly being in the bone. Also, he said that the tumor had the potential to spread up the spine. But, as far as I’m concerned, we’re winning so far.
 
I didn’t do an update yesterday because I decided to take that day to decompress. (I’m thinking that, even though I’m a rather emotionally strong individual, seeing my mom in the hospital room and the doctors and nurses coming in and out got to me.) In fact, I gave my sister control of the house so that I didn’t have to think. I would be involved in important decisions. But, overall, I left things up to her.

We have confirmed that it is the PNET. It moved from her lung to her spine. What scared everyone was that it moved so quickly. Also, even thought a lot of the cancer was removed from her spine, there is still cancer in the T2 vertebrae. As such, she will need another surgery. Right now, she is undergoing lots of tests and physical therapy. On that note, she has full motor control of both her legs.

One good thing that’s happening is that all her doctors are talking to each other. There is her lung doctor, her chemo doctor, and her spine doctor. Although, there was one doctor who stood out stating that, because her case was rare (he only saw it one or two other times), he was going to work on her case in his spare time. He already has in mind that she could have treatment in Dallas, TX or be moved to Houston, where the MD Anderson Cancer Center is located. Either way, treatment options are coming along rapidly.

In that case, my dad’s boss went over a number of heads to talk directly to the CEO and gave my dad permission to miss any days he needs. The other engineers have offered to take off vacation days so that my dad can be at the hospital. Also, my dad has been given permission to work at the Houston station.

If she does move, the oldest sibling moved down there because that’s where her husband found a job and can be of support. Plus, because I’ve gotten some VoIP technology worked out (from her previous hospital visit), we can skype between here and Houston so that we can get any legal and money issues worked out.
 
I think my parents have decided to start treatment here. Reason being my mother nearly lost her legs and she'd rather get the treatments going than to have to wait however long it will take to be transfered to Houston. However, considering the power of the internet, I can't help but wonder if her doctors here wouldn't just consult the Anderson doctors for how best to tackle the situation anyways. Every test, x-ray, and mri can easily be emailed to Anderson and they can advise on the best plan of attack.
 
Nothing new has really happened with my mom. She's still working on getting full use of her legs. She's getting physical therapy, medication, and tests done. They are continuing to make a plan of attack insofar as the chemo treatments are concerned. She is currently being moved to a local rehab center so that she can continue to regain the use of her legs (I think I heard something about atrophy).
 
With everything that's been going on with my mom, I forgot to mention my grandfather. I went by my grandmother to trop some things off and she told me what was going on. They don't know what is going on with his cholesterol, he's not coherent all that much, his cancer is not responding to chemo, and, according to her, we wouldn't recognize him because he's gotten that thin. Considering that he's over 80, I am not expecting him to come back from this.
 
My grandfather has died tonight. As I said in a previous message, I didn't expect him to survive whatever he had. He was still an important person at the nearby Wycliffe center because he was helping the elderly with their computer problems. He had to retire so that he could do it in an unofficial matter. But, he continued to do it until he couldn't. One thing I thought I should do for him was to make sure the recipe for his special pancake/waffle syrup was handed down. (It wasn't until now that I discovered it was a Mennonite recipe he got from a friend. So, not exactly unique.) I've started to learn how to cook more elaborately. So, I feel confident that I can do it.

We weren't exactly close. But, I came to him for technical help as he came to me for advice. I doubt there will be an open casket funeral. He decided to have his body donated to science. My grandmother will get his ashes. I suspect our local Wycliffe center may give a memorial service. They did that for another neighbor who died some years before and I helped with the DVD transfer.
 
I'm very sorry for your loss. Please keep us posted on how things are going with you and your mom. I pray for the very best.
 
What is CGA's rules about me using this post to, eventually, post a memoriam message? I figure I should make sure it's okay before doing it. And, by the time I have something, I'll, hopefully, get a yay or nay.
 
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