Update on my Mom

First of all let me say...Happy New Year. I cannot believe it is 2009! I resolve to be healthier, love more, and live more fully, etc...on to the update.

My Mom is out of the hospital. She is at my house right now but will spend time at my brothers in Frisco as well. We go to her oncologist on Wednesday and hopefully she will be starting chemo next week as well(she has an opening in her incision due to infection and we're trying to get it to heal properly before they start chemo). She is very weak but seems to get better each day. Today she ate more food than she has in months and is excited about it.She does have pain in her abdomin that we will ask her oncologist about. She is taking morphine.
We are learning how all this works. Today I have flushed her pic line w/ saline, injected heperin into her pic line, dressed incision and helped her change her iliostomy bag. All of this just to get her healthy enough to start the real fight against cancer.

Here is her Caringbridge site: http://caringbridge.org/visit/lynnlichtenfels

In the world of all boys...

James, Gavin and I were reading Polar Express. There is a picture of the little boy and his sister. Since my kids have no sisters apparently this is what they think:

Gavin: "There's the boy and his brother named Girl"(pointing the picture of the boy and his sister).

Awe...boys:)

My Mom

My Mother has a bowel obstruction from scar tissue that formed around clips from her ovarian cancer surgery(and/ or possibly a reocuurance of ovarian cancer). She has been batttling ovarian cancer since 2004. Her Dr. in Austin has been treating her for another recurrance and has stated several times that the surgery will do nothing but treat the symptoms so she must have chemo before surgery. The symptoms from the obstruction nearly killed her last week(we thought it was the cancer). We'd had enough and I found a Dr in Dallas and moved her up here. She is now in Baylor after collapsing Friday night and becoming increasingly weak. They admitted her Friday and have kept her on IV fluids and potassium since.
My Mother is going to have a major bowel resection surgery this week. I do not know how long she will be in the hospital, but with her current weakened state and the chemo still in her body this will be a very hard surgery to recover from. She was very near death from medical mismanagement in Austin and we do feel hopeful and that this surgery is her best course of action at this point, but are very worried.
They will discontinue chemo until she has recovered from the surgery which could take months. She will not be strong enough to tolerate the chemo. The Dr will know more about the cancer situation when they operate.
Wow! What a rollercoaster. I have been crying bc my Mom was dying and now I'm angry bc she should have been treated and possibly well by now. I am not good with death, don't think there is anything to like about death. I have been immersed in what I thought was a death coming for the last couple months. I have lived and breathed my Mothers death and felt it! I am not sure we needed to do that. It seems this all could have been treated with a surgery(albeit a risky and horrible surgery but not death!). We are now hopeful for the first time in weeks. Every week I have watched my Mother getting worse...now I am hopeful she will get better!
Thank you for any thoughts and prayers you offer. We have been staying at the hospital most days and nights.

Computer

James really likes to play games on the computer. He is very good and can even find them on his own. We are constantly amazed at his computer literacy(he is newly 5).
Today he really wants ot play although he has already played his v smile games and watched TV.
He has been bargaining:

James: Mommy can I please play a game on the computer.
Me: No, James. You've already played games.
James sits quetly for minute the says: If you let me play a game on the computer you can make me eat any vegetable. You can make me eat Broccoli. I don't like Broccoli.
Me: James you are so cute.(laughing)
James: Will you let me play a game because I'm so cute?
Me: No James, but you are very cute and funny.
James:Please. I'll promise to help you clean up. Will you let play a game if I help you clean up. Ugh, I'm trying everything I can think of!~(frustrated now)

The begging did not end here. No game for James tonight but he is very creative.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yesterday James turned 5! My sweet 5 year old requested McDonalds for his birthday meal. Try as I might, he could not be dissauded! Mmmm....nothing like McDonalds for a special meal. WE will have his party in two weeks...bowling.

Today is Thanksgiving. We are home alone as a family minus 1. Michael flew to Alabama to meet his girlfrineds family. It's sad he isn't here because I really miss him lately...he is busy being 21 and making his way through life. He was excited about meeting her family and they will go to the college game today.
Andrew is working until 7 so we are having a late Thanksgiving dinner. I made eggs benedict for brunch(think this might be a fun new family tradition?) and will start cooking at 2.
We had planned to go to my Dad's, then my Mom's. Mom is really ill. She has been hospitalized twice this month. She has a blockage caused by a recurrance of ovarian cancer. She started chemo last week. I went down alone and planned to take everyone down for the holiday. Our plans changed when I came down with a nasty cold:( We are here now, having our own little day.

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the day wherever it may take you. I am thankful for those in my life that teach me, love me, guide me, challenge me and hold me dear. You are all important to me and I hold each of you dear.

That must be hard...

James and I were watching a tv show and there was a pregnant woman. On it. WE've had many discussions about living in Mommies tummy over the year and my boys are quite familiar with he fact that babies grow for many months in their Mommies before coming into the world. This must have been something on James mind for a while...

James: "Mommy, we watched a show and it said babies are dropped off by birds. Isn't that silly? Babies live in Mommies tummies, right?"

Me: "Right, James. That is silly."

James giggles.He is clearly thinking something over. James is very serious about getting all the correct info.

James: "But Mommy... How do babies get out of Mommies tummies?"

Me: Thinking quickly about how I want to handle this... "They come out of Mommies Vagina's." Hoping that he takes it at that without much more info for the time being!

James: After looking perplexed for a few seconds "That must be hard"

Me: "Yes, it is"

That was that:)

Another illness and other cute things

Gavin has a terribly illness today.
Gavin: I am very sick, I need medicine(for some reason both of my children love pills and liquids:(, James loves Flax seed oil and vitamin E)
Mommy: I don't think you're sick. What is wrong with you?
Gavin: A bunny jumped in my tummy.


Later today Gavin brought me one lady bug slipper. James had taken both pair of fuzzy slippers out to the living room last night. Surprisingly(or not) they were left in the living room.
Gavin: Mommy I found one of your ladybug slippers.(he really does have great sentance structure and has since he was under 2)
Mommy: Oh you did? Where is the other one?
Gavin: I ablieve it is lost.
(I just think it's really cute he said "ablieve":))