Shame on me

Many appologies for lagging so bad on this monster I created. Just when I think I'm full (stick a fork in me) I find a little tiny bit of room on my plate to cram something else into. I've been so busy (who isn't these days) that this has been the last thing on my mind. Work has been busy with a bit of overtime, weddings, trips out of town, and trying with all I have to get a photography business going (which is so much more work than I ever anticipated, although I am enjoying the process). Once in a while I even find a few hours to sleep. So, its 12:17 am and we just returned from a call (I'm at work) so I figured why sleep now?

Enough complaining from me.
There has been so much going on since the last post. Standford has come and gone, albeit not without a hitch or 10. In fact, what was supposed to be the easiest part of the whole treatment in reality became the most challenging for mom to get through. Rashes, back pain, neck pain, shots, blood clots, an over crowded teaching hospital and a ton of waiting were just some of the problems. On a side note (and I can't wait for the comments) I'm sure the whole socialized medicine idea will do a lot to hurry up the hospital thing. I sat in the ER one night, thinking how someday under that plan we'll be waiting months instead of hours. That will be just peachy.
As I headed to LA for a conference on Monday, mom and auntie headed to Stanford for the first of five radiation treatments over five days. The first three days went very well. Mom was tired and a bit worn out but they went well and overall there were no bad side effects. This is where it all went down hill. Wednesday night her neck swelled up badly to the point where it was difficult to swallow and talk. The next morning she was in the ER. I was able to finally catch up with them there, after returning from LA hours earlier. They had pulled the port she had in as an access point for the chemo. They suspected that it was causing the issues. Using an ultrasound it was discovered mom has a clot in her internal jugular vein, the main vein retuning to the heart from the head. The diagnosis wasn't bad but it was causing much discomfort. This coupled with a sustained elevated heart rate bought her a stay overnight to be monitored. The next day (Friday) she checked out and went home for the weekend. Now she is giving herself two shots a day of Lovenox, an anti-coagulant, to help the clot dissipate. The shots are for three months.
On Monday she was able to continue with the remaining two radiation treatments.

So, now radiation and trips to Stanford are over. Mom is home and generally feeling pretty crappy. Some days are ok. She is a bit run down, but I am optimistic it will improve over the next week or so. She will have two weeks off then back on the chemo for another three weeks. Sometime when that is over she will have more scans and see what kind of progress has been made. Dr. Koong, the radiation oncologist at Stanford, told mom that remission is a good possibility. I take this with very guarded optimism but optimism nonetheless.

The family has been going through some challenges on a more personal level lately, as we all continue to process and live with cancer. The stress level is up and emotions are high sometimes. I feel for Lexi, as I know she has such a big workload at school and her singing, and of course dealing with this. The stress is bearing down a bit. It's a lot for anyone to handle and I know that mom is all consuming to her. Collectively as a family we have all decided a little help in the psych area might be a good healthy idea. I think it will really help on many levels. I don't think this is something anyone in this situation should deal with alone. I know I look forward to it for the whole family.

It has been great having my aunt out here. She's been a big help to mom and a great guinea pig for me to test out new lenses and flash equipment on. I think I have single handedly knocked her vision down a couple rungs. She'll have to get a new prescription when she gets home. I think she heads back on Tuesday.

My cousin Nancy is planning a house on La Selva beach for the whole family over Christmas time. This should be awesome. It has been a huge amount of work and I know, many hours on the computer researching from Boston. Thank you Nancy.

Well that's all for now, I'll try to get better with updates in the future. Thank you everyone for your continued support, it is very appreciated by us all.