Update from Texas!!

I just got this update from my family in Texas. My Nana is visiting there right now, and I had a chance to speak to Nana and my Aunt Uncle (maybe that's what I'll call her!) on Nana's birthday (October 18). Aunt Uncle sounded very good, though she said she is rather tired a lot and her memory isn't what it used to be (chemo and radiation do that to you).

Anyway, here's the update, then I've got to boogie before the girls kill each other up there. (I changed her from B**** to Aunt Uncle, since my actual uncle, her husband, is also a B****.)

Howdy, all.

Where does the time go??? As hard as it is for me to believe, [Aunt Uncle] was discharged from rehab "inpatient" status a month ago. I apologize for not having sent out an update sooner, and this one will itself be brief because I have to pick up the boys from school soon.

She's doing "fine". She's been going to outpatient rehab three times a week, for almost 2 hrs each day. I think her general physical abilities have deteriorated slightly over the past month, probably because you have to keep working not only to get better but also to keep what you have. As a result of chaos and occasional nausea on her part (more on that below), in-house rehab has not matched what she received while she was staying at the rehab center. She/we'll have to do better on that.

Meanwhile, last week was the first week of 'phase 2' of the cancer treatment. She takes chemo for 5 consecutive days every 4 weeks, at twice the dose of her chemo during the radiation treatment. Last week went fine until Saturday, at which point the cumulative chemotreatment made her pretty sick. That carried over to Sunday, but she was finally able to keep food down around 3 PM on Sunday.

Either the radiation or chemo has affected her taste buds to the extent that many foods no longer taste good. Instead, they taste horrible. As a result of this, her food intake has been limited to some soups, yogurt, etc.

She wanted me to thank people for calling to check on her and to talk to her, but she says that she's just too pooped to keep up her end of the conversation. Between some of the antinausea meds she's taking and the physical rehab, she's usually pretty worn out.

More later. Thanks for all your prayers and for the calls, cards, etc.

Love, B****** and the gang

P.S. She LOVES spending time with A*****, our new grandson. Babies are definitely the cure for the blahs.

I can definitely relate to anti-nausea drugs making you tired. When I was on Thorazine for the HG, I was like a zombie, I was so exhausted. When I wasn't actually doing something, I was sleeping. Ugh.

Thank you for your continued prayers for my aunt and our family.