Mom is back in the Hospital

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Lisa13Q
Lisa13Q Member Posts: 677
edited March 2014 in Ovarian Cancer #1
Well, the cisplatin did it again, and Mom was admitted again tonight. Her counts and electrolytes are dangerously low all around. My sister spoke with the oncologist who said, "no more cisplatin". She just can't tolerate it. I'm on a 6:30am flight to NY tomorrow and hopefully will get out through the snowstorm. I am a college prof. and tonight was my last night so....I can spend the next few weeks helping my mother recuperate and give my sister some time off without worrying about work. My boss has been very supportive. His wife's father has stage 4 lung cancer and his wife goes back to N. Dakota every three weeks to be with him so he's used to this . I find that I am not scared tonight. Brittany's strength has helped me to be strong as well. I am not projecting what any of this means. I am just getting on the plane to go see Mom and spend time with her. God Bless you all. Lisa

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  • Barbara53
    Barbara53 Member Posts: 652
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    ships in the night
    Lisa,

    We are ships passing in the night. One of my flights home got cancelled last night because of wind, and now my house has no power from a little ice storm. Maybe I should have stayed down at Mom's!

    Every time my mother has "failed" at some treatment milestone, she has beat herself up really bad. But things like CA125s or fitness for chemo are not within our control. I've had to coach and coach on this, because she's kind of a martyr by nature. Your mom deserves a truckload of rah-rah support because she stepped right up and gave it her best shot, even if it didn't work out.

    Mom's oncologist has the policy that once you finish chemo and come back for a 3-month check, you get to ring the big bell in the chemo lounge, with everyone clapping, assuming you're NED. When we went in for a lymphedema-related infection at about that time and Mom had an elevated CA125, they were not going to let her ring the bell. I spoke up and pointed out that Mom had done everything -- everything -- that was within her control, and that she deserved to ring the bell. The doctor changed his mind and she rung that bell so hard it almost fell off the wall.

    I hope you ring your mama's bell long and loud. She knew how hard that chemo was going to be for her, and she showed up anyway. That's courage.

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