Since the last message below, Susan continued to have a real battle with pain during the past week. It culminated on Thursday and Friday nights. On Thursday the pain was sufficient to wake her up twice and she had to take two of her powerful pain killers to get through the night. Friday was even worse. Although she felt good enough to go out to dinner with our friend Terrie, by bedtime she was really hurting. This time it took four of her pills to ease the pain, and even that didn't seem to do it. I was all set to take her to the ER, but she hung on a little longer, took some ibuprofen (which is on her "no no" list because of its interaction with doxil), and began to feel better. The ibuprofen seemed to be the magic bullet. She took that all day Saturday and felt substantially better. Today she was fine to go to church (she missed it last week) and had a good afternoon with visits from an assortment of family members (including our much sought after granddaughters). Tomorrow we will consult with the doctor's office to see if ibuprofen carries any risks, given that it seems to be the key to quenching her pain. We appreciate all of you who have been praying for her during this time.
On another positive note, I'm glad to report that my mother got an encouraging input from her doctor on Thursday. She is much improved from the previous week, with the fluid in her lungs diminishing greatly. The last two days she has reported: "I feel like my old self." At the same time, given her age, the doctor agreed that she needed more help to live alone, and so authorized (via Medicare) the Visiting Nurses to provide assistance. They will set up a new telemonitoring system this coming week that will allow them to monitor mom's vitals, including blood oxygen levels, remotely. She'll receive weekly visits from an RN, as well as an occupational therapist that will assist her in minimizing exertion in doing daily tasks like getting dressed. We are pleased with this development.
It appears that the new chemo treatment--doxil--is producing pretty severe side effects for Susan. Saturday was a very tough night: she was up during the night with severe abdominal pain. Also, she's had some nausea. Today, Monday, finds her somewhat improved, but still suffering from a pain that never goes away. We will appreciate your prayers for pain moderation and the effectiveness of the new treatment.
On a more positive note, my mother had her doctor's checkup today, and she was sufficiently improved that she's back at her house tonight. Most of the fluid that the doctor was concerned about seems to be removed, and she's no longer coughing. She was glad to be back in her own digs today and is getting caught up on all her mail. Please pray for continued improvement in her strength and heart function.
Susan started her first round of the new agent doxil today at Baylor hospital in downtown Dallas. The infusion was uneventful, and so far nausea and other side effects are minimal. When I asked her how she was feeling she said: "I don't feel that great most of the time, and this is only a little worse than that." Poor baby! The nurse told us the main side effects are hand and mouth syndrome, in which she can get blisters and redness on her hands and feet. To prevent that she is supposed to refrain from washing with or handling any hot fluids for 24 hours before treatment, the day of treatment, and 72 hours after treatment. Also, she can no longer take aspirin or ibuprofen, but has to limit herself to Tylenol for the duration of treatment.
In the meantime my mother has had a bit of a setback. Over the Thanksgiving holidays she came down with bronchitis and borderline pnemonia. She's back with us at least until next Monday when she see's the doctor again. She's gradually gaining strength and her breathing is improving.
Finally, Susan's sister Shari is suffering along with a million others in NC where she is without power after the big ice storm there yesterday and today. We will appreciate your prayers for all the above.