A Draining Day

Mom had a draining day today - quite literally! Her tummy has grown large with ascites, the fluid from cancer. She had an uncomfortable night last night and ended up sleeping in her chair. So this morning she called the cancer clinic in London, and they called her back shortly and said, "Come right in!" Thankfully Mom was mostly ready to go, and Dad had stayed around waiting for the call.

By this afternoon,  the doctor had drained about 3 liters of fluid from her abdomen. The staff take an ultrasound of her abdomen to determine the spot to drain. The doctor then applies some freezing before inserting a needle in the right spot. They were pleased to get that amount of fluid. Last time Mom went to get drained, the fluid shifted between the ultrasound and the needle insertion, so they weren't able to drain much. We are thankful they were able to drain so much fluid today - it should relieve the pressure in her abdomen. One of the first times Mom had this procedure done a year or so ago, Dad asked her how she felt as they were driving home. She said, "I feel drained" and they burst out laughing. Mom's tired tonight, but hopefully she will soon feel much better.

Mom and Dad have been enjoying sitting outside in the evenings (the photo below was taken at family camping by Darlene of Jakal photography, but that's about how they look at home too!) One evening, they saw a bluebird, which is still quite rare in this area. Of course, Mom got a photo of it!

The bluebird

The view Mom and Dad have of their garden at home.

Mom loves taking photos of her birds and flowers. Recently, I made a photo book for Mom of the last several months. As I sorted through files of photos from different dates, the thing that made me laugh was that every single file has photos of flowers and birds in it. Doesn't matter if it's "Cohen's birthday" or "Bird Show." There are just flowers in every file! I like that about Mom. Here are some photos she took:

A grosbeak

A wren (rare!)

Mom even took this photo! Just kidding. I'm guessing Aunt Wilma did. Mom's Big Red hibiscus is blooming right now. Every year we take photos with it because the blossoms are about the size of a person's head.

Thanks for your ongoing prayers through this season!

Ups and Downs

Well, it's amazing how things can flip flop so suddenly.

Last week we were basking in the good news from the doctor. Mom is stable and all is well.

Then, the nurse called with the results from the CA125 (the ovarian cancer marker). It had doubled in the last three weeks from 500 to over 1000. Not good. It means the disease is progressing. And Mom is noticing it - she is having more symptoms and more pain. Some of it seems to be a side effect from the antibiotic and some from the cancer - who knows. In the mean time, Mom and Dad were given some options to ponder - one route is chemo and the other is drugs that help control the symptoms.

The chemo options (three different kinds) all have significant side effects, like nausea, tiredness, diarrhea, and hair loss. Chemo is a good option when there is a chance of chasing back the disease. But it seems like too many side effects for too little gain. Chemo would mean times of illness, when Mom is already not feeling well, with little hope of results. So Mom and Dad made the difficult decision to say no to any more chemo.  As a result, they are transitioning into working more with the palliative care team at the hospital instead of the clinical trials team. This means getting used to who to call when for what medical issues. Pray for peace and wisdom for Mom and Dad as they maneuver this transition.  

I was thinking about this on my way home today after visiting, and I was thinking how it's just plain scary.  We don't know what lies ahead. We don't know the timing of anything, and we don't know what Mom's body is going to do. How much worse will it get? Will Mom be able to handle it? Will we be able to love and support her as she needs? I don't want to see Mom get more sick or have pain. 

Today Mom, Aunt Wilma and I were working on a photo album of the last several months. When Mom went into the hospital on May 2, it didn't look good. Mom asked the Lord for her birthday (65!) and to spend time altogether as a family. We had an amazing party for Mom and we enjoyed several weeks with Harmony and her family. Mom got to meet her youngest grandchild. We took great family photos with all of us together. God has been so faithful. Everything Mom asked for - and more - was given!


And as I drove home, worries swirling, I remembered that the Bible says that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I realized that though we have fears for tomorrow, if I look back to yesterday, I see a photo album full of pictures showing the goodness of God. And the same loving God who was with us at Mom's wonderful birthday will also be with us as she gets more sick. He doesn't change. 


So I'm curious to see what this will look like in the days to come. I'd like to say I have faith that God will be with us through everything that lies ahead. I do believe that, but Lord, help me in my unbelief. You can pray that we as a family are aware of God with us every step of the way. Especially Mom and Dad.
Jeanette

Quiet times

Well, the parties are all done and the company's gone home. It has been a quiet time lately.

Harmony and Marco returned to New Zealand last Thursday (June 28). Harmony and Kelsey were throwing up the night before, but after the first flight they felt a bit better, though weak. After 37 hours of travelling, they arrived home! Though they are far from Canada, we can still skype with them. It certainly wasn't like that in the old days when Grandma and Grandpa first came to Canada in 1953. Then the minister prayed for them in church on Sunday, and they said goodbye to their family, not expecting to see them again. Though we miss Harmony and her family, we can skype them and talk face to face on our computers. It's not the same as being with them, but we are pretty blessed.

Mom got a cold on the Father's Day weekend, and has been fighting it since then. She has been coughing a lot, and the doctor has given her puffers and cough medicine. The coughing has left her tired, and she hasn't been up to doing much, mostly staying inside and resting.

Yesterday, I went to visit with my girls. It is summer holidays now, so we started out with a baking project the night before. I want to teach my girls some baking skills (whether they want to or not!). Marika made banana chocolate chip muffins ("Are you proud of me, Mom?") and Natalie and I tackled a lemon loaf, made with a yeast dough. We finished the lemon loaf and baked it at Mom's so we could eat it hot and fresh.

         

When we arrived yesterday, we first had coffee with banana muffins (thanks Marika!). Then Dad took the girls for a ride in the trailer behind the four-wheeler. Some whispering went on in the kitchen and then they were off. I just asked for no broken limbs. Well, anyone who knows my dad knows that he doesn't do anything half way. And life is always an adventure with him. They came back just before lunch and he sheepishly told us to come on the back deck. There were my girls, covered in clumps of thick sticky clay from head to toe. They had mud in their hair, on their faces, on their arms, legs, and their clothes were filthy. He'd taken them to the broccoli field nearby (how can he stay away from his farm!). They got an inch of rain that morning, and there happened to be some significant mud puddles, which he happened to drive through.

The dirt didn't show up too well on the photo, but it's there!       

After Dad hosed them off, the girls had showers and they put on bathing suits while we washed their clothes. Grandpa took them to the beach while their clothes were washed. And they learned that everything is an adventure with Grandpa. 

While Grandpa did that, Mom and I and Aunt Wilma worked on ordering photos from our photo shoot. Mom is eager to get the new family photos up on the wall. They were beautiful photos. We are thankful for Darlene from Jakal Photography who did the photos for Smiling Eyes. You can see Darlene's blog post about it here. Thank you so much, Darlene.

Mom went to the doctor today (her oncologist in London). He was very surprised at how well Mom is doing! She is very stable right now, being very careful what she eats to avoid bowel obstruction. He made a slight adjustment in her medications, but basically, all is stable. Her CA125 even came down three weeks ago from the time before! We don't know today's result yet, but the doctor was pleased. He approved a new antibiotic for Mom as her sinuses now seem to be infected with this cold. She is very tired and has been resting lots. But we are pleased. Mom has another appointment with the doctor in 4 weeks.

It is difficult facing the uncertainty sometimes. A friend at church just lost her mother, only five weeks after her cancer diagnosis. She barely had time to prepare for her final journey home. Yet we as a family have had lots of time to process Mom's illness and to cherish her. I was thinking about how death is so different for each person. None of us knows when we will die. For some of us, it comes suddenly and without warning. Others have more of an inkling how or when they will die. Yet for each of us, we should be prepared for our final journey home, whenever or however it may come. How do you prepare for death? You keep short accounts, and cherish your loved ones. Live each day to the full. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength. Do what matters.

Speaking of cherishing life, when we came home last night from Mom's, my hubbie had supper ready. I left a little late and traffic was heavy, and so it was 6:30 before we walked in the door. Paul surprised us with a beautiful candlelit supper. It's the little things like this that make all the difference. We know that the prayers and many gifts people have given Mom have made a world of difference, and we are thankful. Thanks for your support and your love.

Who can pass up Whopper Wednesday? The candles made me laugh and it was fun.

A squirrel at Mom's feeder. Hanging on!