day 27... did you think I forgot?

How could I forget!  we have been so busy today, and we had so many uncertainties that I figured i'd just update once the dust settled. 

the most important news of the day is.. mom is feeling great right now!

I already told you that mom has been fainting.. that's what we were working on today.. I would have let you know this very early this morning, except i woke up to the nurses aide trying to get mom to stand for her orthostatic pressure tests (they take blood pressure lying down, then sitting up, then standing to see how much the pressure has changed.)  Well.. yesterday when they did this mom passed out and had a pretty scary episode.. she was shaking a bit, she was unresponsive.. dad wondered if she had a little seizure..... today I asked if they had to do this again, knowing the outcome, and the nurses aide said yes, we have the orders.  OK.... well then go get a bunch more people because I want my mom to be safe.. I said.. so just as we suspected, they made her stand and she passed out.. eyes fluttered and she wouldn't respond.  This only lasted 1 minute (try watching something simple for a minute.. it feels like an eternity).. as soon as she gets laying back down and the blood returns to her head she comes out of it.. needless to say this scared the you know what out of dad and I.  so that was at about 6:30 or 7 am.  The rest of the day went similar..

Sheila and Dr. Wetzler came in and wanted some tests done.. he ordered an ultrasound of her liver (so see why one of her liver enzymes is elevated.. probably a result of chemo), a CT scan of her brain (to rule out seizures and her double vision.. keep reading), an EEG and a visit from a neurologist.  Dr. Wetzler said she doesn't look like a sick person, she's doing a great job.. that made mom happy. 

The liver scan went fine.. everything is clear, so it is just a side effect from chemo..   whew..

The neurologist, a very nice middle eastern doctor, came in to learn about the seizures and double vision.. (like everyone on her right side had two lips.. not two whole faces, just two lips.. and sheila had three!)  He had mom do a bunch of tests, push on my hand, lift your legs, touch your nose, then my finger.. all sorts of stuff to rule out any neurological issues.. and he was asking lots of questions at the same time (a little dose of her own medicine?)  So he said, who are you, where are you, how old are you, what's the date... she got those right... who is the president?  she said immediately, osama bin laden.  he said... hmm.. think that one over and answer again.. she looked at him with her chin down, eyebrows raised and said very matter of factly.. I know what the answer is.. it's osama bin laden.. he said.. sounds like that.. but not quite.. well she started laughing when she realized what she said and appologized and finally got it right.. and kept appologizing. it was very funny, everyone laughed and it certainly lightened the mood.  Nothing wrong neurologically.. that's another good sign. 
The neurologist also had mom do the standing blood pressure (made me very nervous) and mom did great!!  her pressure still dropped a bit, but so much better than the last two days..  whew..

While the neurologists were here, someone changed the CT scan to an MRI.  mom already made Dr Wetzler clarify this morning saying ... it's a CT scan, not an MRI right?  she kept asking..   Dr. Wetzler said.. well first we'll do a CT scan, then if we need more information, we'll do an MRI.  Well it figures.. one of the doctors said just skip the CT scan, go straight to MRI.. mom panicked a bit.. Sheila cam in to tell us and gave mom a couple valium. That eased her mind and her body!!  We went to the MRI, it took 40 minutes but the tech giving the MRI was so good, comforted mom, answered all her questions and even put a wash cloth over her eyes so she wouldn't feel claustrophobic.  when it was all done, mom told the tech, that wasn't bad at all!  That was one of her biggest fears and she will never be afraid of it again!  even better, the MRI came back normal.  They will read the films tomorrow with a special screen to look at the very fine details, but the prelims were normal!!    whew..

we got back to a cold dinner, so i made some shrimp pasta for mom (thank god for wegmans!!) and she ate every last bite.. she's feeling so good, energetic, happy, chatty.. like normal..or as normal as she could be! 

We will have the EEG tommorrow.. they came up a few times but we were either gone or busy!!

so what started out to be a pretty scary day, turned into a bunch of good news.. we guess this is just how mom responds to these chemo drugs... and as long as she's safe, we can get over these little speed bumps and keep on chugging along! We're hoping not as many people come to "visit" us tomorrow.. mom says there had to be 35 people here today... enough already!!  :)   We know they are doing the best job they can and are closely watching mom. 

we've got one more project to tackle this evening.. the 9 oclock round of meds.. she can't wait to get cuddled into her blanket and watch the season finale of The Real Housewives of New Jersey.. so thank you all for being so patient.... I will try not to keep you waiting for so long tomorrow! 

good night.

love.