The second cycle of six

I spent the weekend with Mom and Peg in Spokane. Just felt like I wanted to be there with her and get a firsthand sense of how she is doing. So here is another update.

Mom continues to be in pretty good spirits. She is definitely moving more slowly than normal and doesn’t have a lot of physical pep. But she is alert and interactive—still fun company. Mom, Peg and I went to a movie on Saturday (Al Pacino’s 88 Minutes, a riveting thriller: thumbs up!) and then had a restaurant meal. So Mom is able to get around well enough to enjoy her normal Saturday activities.

On Sunday, Peg had arranged to take some well-earned “me” time with her scrapbooking buddies, so Mom and I had a nice time together—reading the newspaper, making fruit salad, pedicures--stuff like that.

The weather was sunny, although cool, so we enjoyed a slow Sunday drive through Riverside State Park. It’s a wonderful forested area along the Spokane River, an oasis of nature at the edge of sprawling Spokane suburbs. There, she was able to get out for a short walk on level ground. It turned out to be a nice little excursion to the woods.

Mom and I had also gone on a walk around the block earlier in the day. Mom thinks she may have overdone it with the exercise, according to Peg, but I know Mom would rather push the envelope than to be a couch potato.

Yesterday, Peg went with Mom to the second appointment of her second cycle of chemo. I hope Peggets a chance to update this blog with more medical details, but until she does, here’s what I have learned so far.

Mom’s red blood cell count has returned to acceptable levels, thanks to that shot they had given her last week. Mom asked for another one, evidently. "I like those," she told the staff.

So they told her that shot costs $3,000!

Evidently, because of the expense, Medicare is considering refusing to cover it. That would leave someone in Mom’s condition with the recourse of transfusions. Peg thinks, and I agree, that seems counterproductive, since transfusions involve risk. We think of one of Mom’s dear nieces whose hepatitis-C was acquired in the hospital. So it looks like one of us siblings will need to step up and bleed for Mom. I myself am very willing if the meds I’m on don’t disqualify me. Peg's meds disqualify her. So she and I have decided that Bill will be the bleeder, if I can’t. Right, Bill?

Well, we’re looking forward to the arrival of Uncle Adrian and Aunt Rose. Rose and Adrian are taking a leisurely drive from San Jose with several stopovers along the way. They will be in the L-C Valley sometime toward the end of the month. We’re hoping that Mom is able to be in Asotin that week of April 27 and maybe the following week so we can all visit together. We’ll see how it goes. It will be a brother-sister reunion squared, with Aunt Rose united with brothers Bud and Blue and Adrian united with sister Rita. Maybe we'll look at slides of our time in Hawaii.

It’s always so much fun to have loved ones around. About two weeks ago, while Mom was in Asotin before this current second round of chemo, she enjoyed a several-day visit with her son-in-law Ron (Jim’s son) and grandson Davy. I’m not sure that I have all the details right, but I understand that Ron and Davy were on a father-son road trip that included a visit with Grandma.

They lent her a hand with shopping and took care of many, many other little details. She returned the favor by teaching them how to poach eggs. Evidently, they had never heard of that way of preparing eggs before, which tickled Mom no end. She, Peg and I are still giggling about it. Imagine going to sleepy little Asotin to acquire culinary skills! At any rate, she--and we kids--are very grateful for Ron and Davy’s company and love, and we hope their journey has been wonderful.