Good evening, all.
Alice had her third radiation treatment this morning. Joyce met here there and all went well. Alice is not enjoying the ambulance ride to London--says it is noisy and bumpy. Her hair has not fallen out yet, so that's good.
Today was not a great day. She slipped getting out of bed this morning and the nurse found her on the floor. She says that she was not down long. Left shoulder was sore, but no bruising evident. Also had a (confusing?) moment in the night. Had gotten up to use the washroom and bumped the paper towel holder. It fell open and a number of paper towels fell into the sink. She tried to put them back into the holder but it wouldn't stay shut. The nurse found her trying to slam the paper towel holder shut. Helped her with that and then helped her back into bed. She has now been 'alarmed.' Has a motion alarm pinned to her shirt to alert the nurses if she tries to get out of bed on her own.
Both of these things might be due to her poor balance today. She was leaning very heavily on both of us today and seemed largely unaware of it. At one point, Jo and she and I got stuck in the bathroom--we were supporting much of her weight, trying to keep her iv pole and tubes (just in for a medication) out of the way and then her feet quit working. We were all staring at them, in that little tiny room (the pole and I were half in the shower), trying to will them into action with our collective consciousness. Didn't work. Thank goodness the nurse poked her head in and asked if we needed help? YES! Got her tucked into bed and reminded her not to get up without ringing first for the nurse.
Still herself, still able to laugh. Speech was slow again today and processing needed extra time. Very tired--napped a lot. I hear radiation will do that to you.
Got the results of her CT scan of the other day (chin to crotch, basically). Nothing much has changed. Liver nodules the same size (3 of them, 1 cm or so). Extensive bone metasteses (cancer spots that have spread from somewhere else). Kidneys clear, lungs clear, pelvis clear. There was a lot more detail but I haven't finished looking it all up and so don't fully understand it. So, not good news, but not bad news, either.
She has the weekend off radiation and will need it, to rest. I think the travelling to London and back is a lot harder on her than she anticipated. Still asking to go home, although Dianne, the Care Coordinator has been quite straight with her that she is not well enough right now. It is within the realm of possibility that she will go home, but not until she is much stronger. She has to be safe and Dianne is quite clear that Alice has been the main care-giver in their home. We feel better that someone else is reminding Alice of these things too.
I may not go in tomorrow--I have developed a sore throat. Will try to shake it off with warm salt water and a dirty sock. (I'm an old wife now, so I get to try all the old wives' remedies, right?)
Looking for volunteers in the London area for the next week or so. She gets transported to Vic Hospital each day (usually morning) for radiation. The treatment itself takes about 5 minutes, but I don't know how efficient the transportation is. She has asked for someone to meet her there, just to have a friendly face and a helping hand, should she need it. You may be there for 15 minutes (if her rides are running well) or a couple of hours if they are not.
Alice had her third radiation treatment this morning. Joyce met here there and all went well. Alice is not enjoying the ambulance ride to London--says it is noisy and bumpy. Her hair has not fallen out yet, so that's good.
Today was not a great day. She slipped getting out of bed this morning and the nurse found her on the floor. She says that she was not down long. Left shoulder was sore, but no bruising evident. Also had a (confusing?) moment in the night. Had gotten up to use the washroom and bumped the paper towel holder. It fell open and a number of paper towels fell into the sink. She tried to put them back into the holder but it wouldn't stay shut. The nurse found her trying to slam the paper towel holder shut. Helped her with that and then helped her back into bed. She has now been 'alarmed.' Has a motion alarm pinned to her shirt to alert the nurses if she tries to get out of bed on her own.
Both of these things might be due to her poor balance today. She was leaning very heavily on both of us today and seemed largely unaware of it. At one point, Jo and she and I got stuck in the bathroom--we were supporting much of her weight, trying to keep her iv pole and tubes (just in for a medication) out of the way and then her feet quit working. We were all staring at them, in that little tiny room (the pole and I were half in the shower), trying to will them into action with our collective consciousness. Didn't work. Thank goodness the nurse poked her head in and asked if we needed help? YES! Got her tucked into bed and reminded her not to get up without ringing first for the nurse.
Still herself, still able to laugh. Speech was slow again today and processing needed extra time. Very tired--napped a lot. I hear radiation will do that to you.
Got the results of her CT scan of the other day (chin to crotch, basically). Nothing much has changed. Liver nodules the same size (3 of them, 1 cm or so). Extensive bone metasteses (cancer spots that have spread from somewhere else). Kidneys clear, lungs clear, pelvis clear. There was a lot more detail but I haven't finished looking it all up and so don't fully understand it. So, not good news, but not bad news, either.
She has the weekend off radiation and will need it, to rest. I think the travelling to London and back is a lot harder on her than she anticipated. Still asking to go home, although Dianne, the Care Coordinator has been quite straight with her that she is not well enough right now. It is within the realm of possibility that she will go home, but not until she is much stronger. She has to be safe and Dianne is quite clear that Alice has been the main care-giver in their home. We feel better that someone else is reminding Alice of these things too.
I may not go in tomorrow--I have developed a sore throat. Will try to shake it off with warm salt water and a dirty sock. (I'm an old wife now, so I get to try all the old wives' remedies, right?)
Looking for volunteers in the London area for the next week or so. She gets transported to Vic Hospital each day (usually morning) for radiation. The treatment itself takes about 5 minutes, but I don't know how efficient the transportation is. She has asked for someone to meet her there, just to have a friendly face and a helping hand, should she need it. You may be there for 15 minutes (if her rides are running well) or a couple of hours if they are not.
Sept 17. 10:45 am
Sept 18. 8:45 am
Sept 19. 9:00 am
Sept 19. 9:00 am
Sept 21. 2:15 pm
Sept 24. 11:45 am
Sept 25. 11:30 am
Sept 25. 11:30 am
These are her appt times. We would ask that you be able to be there at least 20 minutes ahead of the noted time. Just to sit with her and get her a cup of green tea or notify the nurse if she needs help. There's a Tim Horton's right in the waiting area, fish tanks, a library, and really friendly fellow-waiters. It's a pretty neat facility.
If you are interested, please let us know this weekend. Write back to me here, or call Jo's cell 416 882 6266 or Nan's house 519 475 4201. Thank you thank you for helping out--it saves us a lot of driving and back and forth-ness. And you get to have a short, helpful visit with Alice. See? Win-win!
Okay. There's a cup of tea and honey calling me. And a dirty sock!
Good night. Sleep tight.
love, Robin.
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