Another Update...

Hi everyone,

Well, we made it back from Vegas safely. Mom was in the hospital there until Saturday afternoon then we flew out of Vegas at 6 am yesterday. By the time we got off the plane, she had very minimal energy left and Chad had to lift her into the wheelchair and then into the car. While she was in the hospital from Wednesday to Saturday in Vegas, none of us really feel like they did a whole lot for her.

This morning she had an appointment scheduled to see her oncologist in Plainfield at 11:45 but had to come to the Cancer Center in Naperville to have some blood drawn. Once the nurse took her in to take the blood, she went to see if Dr. Baweja had left yet for her Plainfield office. She hadn't, so they took the blood and then had us see both Dr. Baweja and her nurse, Kim. Dr. Baweja said she has thrush in her mouth and in addition to all the other symptoms - weakness, low sodium, confusion - she decided to have Mom admitted right away.

So, now she is back in the hospital and has been getting some IV fluids with dextrose - her glucose was also low this morning - and the nurse just started another IV to help regulate the amount of calcium in her blood - her calcium was increased as well. Earlier she got an IV antibiotic for the thrush. A nephrologist - or kidney doctor for those of us not in the medical field - came by earlier saying that her kidney functioning is actually pretty good. Her regular doctor, Dr. Long, also came by to see her and will be back tomorrow morning. I have to tell you all how comforting it is to be back home with Mom's own doctors -- it was such a relief to get her home yesterday if only for the night.

At this point, time is of the essence. I'm not sure how much longer we'll have with her - so keep her in your prayers, keep her in your thoughts, visit her if you can. I will do my best to keep the blog updated more...I know what you're thinking...I said that before and didn't do it. I will try to keep it updated as new information comes in. If you want to call and you're able to text message, please do that first. Phone calls have been very difficult lately for Sally, Chad and I -- so please bear with us.

I think that's it for now -- not sure how long Mom will be in the hospital yet. We are also still waiting on an MRI of her brain -- see? I actually remembered something before signing off...

As usual, if I remember anything else, I'll do my best to add it.

Abby

Another update...

Hi everyone,

Sorry it's been awhile since I was last on -- been a bit hectic and my internet still isn't working right.

I'm sorry to say that I have some not so great news. Many of you may already know that Mom and Sally are out in Las Vegas right now and that Chad, Nikki, JT and I are heading out there tomorrow for the weekend. Today Mom was admitted to a hospital there due to increased weakness and some confusion that Sally was concerned about. She called Dr. Baweja who told Sally to take Mom to the hospital to get checked out. Turns out she is slightly dehydrated and her hemoglobin count had decreased - for those of you who know what it means, it went from 9.2 on June 11 to 8.7 today. Her appetite has also decreased lately which could also be contributing to the problem.

They are giving her 2 units of blood - she had a transfusion back in April that seemed to help quite a bit. They are also giving her IV fluids, taking a chest x-ray to see if she has pneumonia, starting antibiotics in case she does have pneumonia, and starting on a medication to stimulate her appetite. As of right now, that's all I know. As I said, the four of us are flying out there tomorrow and will be going from the airport to the hospital unless she has been released. Sally said she is expecting they will keep her at least overnight. I will do my best to keep the blog more updated in the future -- especially this weekend as we find out more about what's going on right now.

Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers -- they are much appreciated and mean so much to us.

Abby

Another Update...

Hi everyone,

First off, sorry about the delay since my last posting. My internet at home has not been working and I haven't had much opportunity to get online elsewhere. Hopefully we'll be getting new internet service soon so we won't have to worry about that.

Mom is starting her 3rd week of the 2nd cycle of Sutent and she's doing pretty well. The lowered dosage has decreased some of the side effects she had last time but she says she feels more tired this time around. She will be going back to Dr. Baweja this Thursday for another round of blood tests and check up.

We have planned a trip to Las Vegas coming up at the end of the month. Mom wanted to go there for "one last trip" so she and Sally will be going out there on June 21st and staying until the 28th. Chad, Nikki (his wife), JT and I will be joining them on the 25th. We've gone out there before as a family and had a great time, so we're hoping we'll be able to enjoy it again...and winning some money wouldn't be bad either.

We're also planning a big bash for 4th of July at Mom and Sally's -- I know many of you will be joining us so it should be a lot of fun. Sally was talking yesterday about getting some good fireworks to shoot off. Since their house is in the middle of nowhere I think we should be pretty safe and not having to worry about getting in trouble.

Well, I think that's about it for now...as usual, if I forgot anything I'll add it later.

Abby