3rd Treatment - Starting 2nd Cycle!

Like the superhero that mom is, she finished up her in-patient rehab therapy for her hip in record time! So I had to scoot on back to Atlanta on Monday afternoon, but I wasn't able to get there in time to help the staff actually move her to the one of the CTCA hotels unfortunately. So, by the time I got to her, she was completely worn out. I also think being down there last week, without anyone she knew took a toll on her as well (as it would anyone)! Before I left, she insisted she didn't need anyone down there while she was working so hard on getting to walk again, but sometimes, there's something to be said for just having someone there, if nothing else, to advocate for you.

Anyway, she made it through regardless, but lesson learned. So on Tuesday we headed to see her oncologist -- good ol' Dr. Ricky. His name is actually Ricardo Alvarez, but mom and I get a kick out of calling him "Dr. Ricky" (not to his face, although we have resigned ourselves to the fact that we will probably slip up and call him that one day). Back to the story - mom was still reeling from the previous week, tired and just overall not feeling well. Something else to note is that mom has been having significant breathing issues. When we saw Dr. Ricky on Tuesday, he noted her weakness, and the fact that she had lost 10 lbs since all of this started 2 weeks ago. So he decided postpone chemo for that day, and to run a CT that night to make sure nothing significant was going on that x-rays weren't picking up. She was too weak for a chemo treatment since it will take you down a notch, which isn't good when you are already down in the pits. But, the CT of her lungs showed well surprisingly, but it did reveal an effusion around her heart. 

He called us after 9pm that night to tell us those results, but didn't seem overly concerned. But hindsight, I think he just didn't want to worry us so we could rest well before the next day began. As soon as we made it to the CTCA the next morning, we get a phone call that she is to report to the cardiology department ASAP, and to push all other appointments to the side. So we rushed to cardiology and they did an echocardiogram immediately with a cardiologist and determined that while there is fluid, it doesn't seem to impacting her heart function. Something to keep an eye on, but it doesn't appear to be the culprit for her breathing issues. A relief but we were frustrated that we still couldn't get to the bottom of the breathing issue. They have scanned her I-don't-know-how-many times to make sure nothing crazy is going on, and there isn't any major issue that they can find (and I am so thankful for their diligence in this). What they THINK is happening, per her pulmonary doctor at CTCA, is that there is inflammation in the lungs occurring, due to her immunotherapy, which we knew was a risk. It was a very low risk, but leave it to mom to defy the odds! 😉 

So, there were a couple options, and they decided (pulmonary and oncology together) to continue with treatment, but with a low-dose steroid to combat the inflammation, while also not offsetting the immunotherapy... which is targeting her cancer directly, via the PD-L1 biomarker. The GOOD news in all of this is that looking at her tumor marker from her labs, as well as the the impromptu CT that she wasn't supposed to get until after 2 more treatments, is that she seems to responding well to treatment! If she could just continue to get stronger with her walking and get her breathing under control, we are hoping it means she will get a treatment break once she is done with this next month's cycle (consists of 2 treatments, with 1 of those completed on Wednesday).

Wednesday and Thursday were significantly better with regard to her demeanor and just overall feeling better, and she was finally eating. So she got her chemo treatment on Wednesday, we had a follow-up visit with ortho, and she got her stitches out of her hip, and we went straight to the airport to GET HER HOME! Y'all I was worried on Monday. I mean, truly scared, because mom just seemed so worn out and defeated. I had no idea how I was going to get her around to these appointments, much less back to Wilmington with her feeling so bad. I am so grateful that she bounced back the way she did. Like I said - superhero! 💪💪💪 #stronglikemama

Where to Start?

So much has happened since I last updated, it's hard to know where to start. If you'll remember in my last update, I mentioned that mom was having a terrible time walking. She couldn't put any weight on her right leg to get around, and was using a walker all of the time, and a wheelchair when we were going through airports and in ATL. Her primary care physician (PCP) in Wilmington had diagnosed her with bursitis several weeks ago, and given her a shot in her hip, and some anti-inflammatory medication to help with the pain, but NOTHING was giving her relief. They also tried to give her a steroid but that would negate the immunotherapy treatment that she's undergoing, so we refused that medication.

When we last saw the oncologist a couple weeks ago, I begged him to look further, because the PCP's diagnosis of bursitis just didn't make sense anymore. He agreed, but they couldn't fit her in for an MRI until we returned for her next treatment. I tried to get her into a local clinic in Wilmington, but couldn't get it worked out since you can't just walk in somewhere and ask for an MRI and the hoops to jump through were never-ending and by the time, I could've got it worked out - it was time to go to ATL. Long story, but she decided to wait until we went back to ATL last week and an MRI revealed that her hip was actually FRACTURED -- completely in half from what they said the x-ray revealed. It was at the neck of the femur where it meets the socket. It was no wonder, at that point, why she was experiencing so much pain without any relief whatsoever.

So, chemo/immunotherapy was postponed and she was admitted to the hospital that night (Tuesday night), and we waited for 3 days for them to finally get surgery lined up on Friday afternoon. They completely replaced her right hip. She was extremely foggy coming out of that surgery/the anesthesia and we had to recap for her what was going on -- it scared the daylights out of me when she saw us and just started crying! She was so confused, but we got her straightened out. Jeremy was able to come down for a couple days and be with us while we waited for surgery, and it was nice to have someone to eat with and talk to, since mom was resting pretty well with the pain meds they were giving her during those days (hence the humorous Facebook post that prompted a lot of discussion about an unbelievable pimple popping trend that apparently warrants a TV show -- GROSS🙅🙅). Nonetheless, I know she was exhausted after not having any pain relief over the last month. 

I finally came home on Sunday, and her cousin Chris decided to drop in and take my place, to help keep her company while she waited for discharge. I would've stayed longer but Millie started Kindergarten on Monday, and I was quite teary at the thoughts of missing it. I would like to think that all of this going on was a big contributing factor to my being a ball of tears as I walked out of Millie's classroom on Monday... and at drop off the next day, and the next day, but I know for a fact that I was going to be a mess regardless. No sense in blaming it on mom. 😉

Mom was finally discharged yesterday, and sent to a rehab facility close to the Cancer Treatment Center. She will have 3 hrs of rehab a day, and just stay there at the facility to make sure that she is getting all of the help she needs. Especially since I can't be there this week, with Craig traveling for work. I think they have her scheduled to be in the rehab facility for almost 2 weeks, but we're hoping she'll heal quickly and be released sooner so she can continue to get her chemo/immunotherapy treatment. We don't know how this break in treatment will affect things, but we can't control it so there's no need in worrying, I suppose. (But honestly, who are we kidding... I worry over everything. #ownit) 

Mom is also trying to get her strength and energy back, since she hasn't been able to do anything since the pain started on her birthday June 14, of all days. So she's building up her breathing/lung strength again (she gets very winded when she does any sort of activity). We are hoping for a full recovery on all fronts, so that we can get treatment, and life in general, back on track.  Thank you to everyone who caught wind of what's going on and checked in on us and my sanity as we navigated a VERY long week. She's doing well so far in this recovery stage and I hope to get back down there soon to get her to chemo, and back home again. 

We need to get the show on the road because she has a busy agenda that includes grandbabies to play with, who are very eager to see their AnnaAnna (or NanaAnna, to the older grandbabies). My kids are very jealous when they hear I'm with Anna, and constantly ask when they get to come with me. Every.Time. When I FaceTimed with them while I was gone last week, they'd say "MOMMY!! HEY! .... WHERE'S ANNA?!" Well, dang. 😭 But all kidding aside, although that really is exactly what happens and I'm not exaggerating at all, we will be making arrangements very soon to make that reunion happen! Every time I go to her house without the kids, it's so sad to just see their toys put away, and their beds empty. I feel like I'm betraying them by being with the great ANNA without them. Oh well - she was MY Anna first! 😂 #stilllearningtoshare 

**Also, if you plan to leave a comment on THIS blog, please make sure you sign your name with the comments because we can't tell who it's from if you don't! I'd love to relay your well wishes to her and it definitely lifts her spirits! 💞