(posted by Greg)
The past week was uneventful for the most part and we were in a "regular" routine. I worked from home quite a bit this past week. We have done some reorganization at my firm so I am hoping to be able to do more of that as time passes. As a family we did a lot of our "regular" activities and spent quite a bit of time working on a great jigsaw puzzle of Times Square that the family of Marley's boyfriend had sent.
Yesterday, we visited Monica's mother for the 2nd or third time during the week. I was very much surprised by how well she is doing at the moment (in my view, better than she has in many months). I would never have been able to predict this. I think that they must have got her medications etc in the proper balance when she was in the Langley hospital because she has been improving steadily ever since. Yesterday, she was walking with a lot of pep and with the aid of only a cane. She is a "glass half-full" type of person, she takes advantage of all of the entertainment and activities which are available to her, enjoys the food and, I think, is benefitting from not having to run a house. Ingo took her to Steveston last week for some banking chores etc and she had lunch with some friends in a local restaurant. All in all though her health may be fragile and quickly changeable, she is a "positive" at the moment.
Marley has an interview coming up next week for medical school at UBC. She is getting a bit nervous but, I think, is quite well prepared. The husband of our office manager has a lot of employment-related interview knowledge. He met with her and gave her some good tips. As well, my partner's father (who is an MD and used to be part of the selection committee) spent some time with her as well and gave her some more advice. I am confident that she will do well in the interview.
I realize that I am watching Monica closely (maybe too closely) all the time in an effort to determine how she is doing. In the last two days, she lost her balance a couple of times and generally seemed a bit shakier. I need to be careful because, if it was me, I might attribute the balance issue to old age, stiff muscles or getting up to fast. However, even after allowing for the possibility that I am over-thinking things, I have become more worried that she is getting a bit shakier again. She seems to be having to work hard to keep moving and I am more worried about her having a fall. I think that we will need to be more careful in that regard.
However, Monica is, for the most part, upbeat, uncomplaining and "game" for most family activities (ie. after dinner with Jesse last night, we drove out to Ingo's to watch a movie with him). She had a Bev treatment last Wednesday. Once again, the treatment did not bother her. Her next MRI has been rescheduled from the 31st of January to February 8th.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Sunday, January 21, 2012
(posted by Greg)
We had a nice weekend and week. Monica seems to be stable and the paralysis on the right side doesn't seem to be getting worse. She continues to cope well with the problems created by her right side . She is patient with the little things (buttons, pulling a sweater over her head etc) and coping well with the bigger things ( i.e walking ). Her spirit seems to be good too. If you ask how she is doing she invariably says "fine". [ I think that we are fortunate that she is not in any pain, has no headaches, has no seizures etc.]
The weekend was pretty quiet - we visited Oma a couple of times - had dinner at Ingo's and put the Xmas decorations away.
Monica`s next treatment is on Wednesday.
We had a nice weekend and week. Monica seems to be stable and the paralysis on the right side doesn't seem to be getting worse. She continues to cope well with the problems created by her right side . She is patient with the little things (buttons, pulling a sweater over her head etc) and coping well with the bigger things ( i.e walking ). Her spirit seems to be good too. If you ask how she is doing she invariably says "fine". [ I think that we are fortunate that she is not in any pain, has no headaches, has no seizures etc.]
The weekend was pretty quiet - we visited Oma a couple of times - had dinner at Ingo's and put the Xmas decorations away.
Monica`s next treatment is on Wednesday.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
(posted by Greg)
Monica has had no apparent side effects to the last treatment. While I don't notice any dramatic positive changes and I can't really put a finger on any specific thing that I am noticing, I do have the sense that, if she isn't doing better, she definitely is not getting worse at the moment. Her attitude and spirit are both pretty good.
On Friday, Ingo came over in the evening for a stir-fry. We played "Catch Phrase" and had a few good laughs.
It was Marley's birthday this Saturday. So, we cooked a big roast beef dinner for her birthday dinner and I made my first Yorkshire pudding (Marley's request). The dinner was fun. Ingo brought Oma over and Jesse (together with his girlfriend, Sydney, and her sister
We spent a quiet day around home on Sunday.
Monica and Marley tried to visit Ingo on Monday but turned around when they got caught in a snow storm. They then tried driving to Langley to see Oma and got caught in another. Apparently, Oma gave them a good talking to about travelling in this weather and sent them home after a short visit.
Monica has had no apparent side effects to the last treatment. While I don't notice any dramatic positive changes and I can't really put a finger on any specific thing that I am noticing, I do have the sense that, if she isn't doing better, she definitely is not getting worse at the moment. Her attitude and spirit are both pretty good.
On Friday, Ingo came over in the evening for a stir-fry. We played "Catch Phrase" and had a few good laughs.
It was Marley's birthday this Saturday. So, we cooked a big roast beef dinner for her birthday dinner and I made my first Yorkshire pudding (Marley's request). The dinner was fun. Ingo brought Oma over and Jesse (together with his girlfriend, Sydney, and her sister
We spent a quiet day around home on Sunday.
Monica and Marley tried to visit Ingo on Monday but turned around when they got caught in a snow storm. They then tried driving to Langley to see Oma and got caught in another. Apparently, Oma gave them a good talking to about travelling in this weather and sent them home after a short visit.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
(posted by Greg)
Monica had her 3rd "Bev" treatment yesterday. It went well (Monica has no adverse reactions to the infusion). So far there is no dramatic response by her body to the treatments but we continue to have our fingers crossed.
The Homecare people are sending a physiotherapist to the house this morning. We are hoping that she can show Monica some things to do which will help the muscles that aren't being used so that they don't ache etc. Monica took Tylenol the last 2 nights and has slept better
Marley cajoled Monica in to going for a walk around the neighbourhood yesterday with the wheelchair. Monica walked as much as she could and Marley pushed her in the wheelchair when she needed to rest. I think they both got a bit of a workout.
Monica had her 3rd "Bev" treatment yesterday. It went well (Monica has no adverse reactions to the infusion). So far there is no dramatic response by her body to the treatments but we continue to have our fingers crossed.
The Homecare people are sending a physiotherapist to the house this morning. We are hoping that she can show Monica some things to do which will help the muscles that aren't being used so that they don't ache etc. Monica took Tylenol the last 2 nights and has slept better
Marley cajoled Monica in to going for a walk around the neighbourhood yesterday with the wheelchair. Monica walked as much as she could and Marley pushed her in the wheelchair when she needed to rest. I think they both got a bit of a workout.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
(posted by Greg)
Yesterday was our day at the Cancer Agency. Monica had some lab work done (to make sure that her treatment wasn't affecting her kidneys) and then had an appointment with her nurse-practitioner. In the appointment Monica was checked to see how she is doing physically (blood pressure, strength etc.) and is given some simple neurological tests. She is routinely asked "where are you?", "what day of the week is it?", recite the months of the year backwards etc. In one test she is given 3 words and asked later in the appointment what they were. This test is somewhat disconcerting to Marley and I as occasionally we can't remember the 3rd word.
The nurse-practitioner seemed reasonably satisfied with how Monica is doing and so the treatments will continue. Monica will have her 3rd Bev infusion today and then again in 2 weeks. We expect that another MRI will be done to see what the tumour is doing at the end of January.
To this point, we are not seeing any dramatic results from the Bev treatment. While Monica is very "bright" intellectually, she is quite weak on her right side and is not able to use her right arm much. This presents obvious logistical problems (dressing, cutting food etc.). Unfortunately, the muscles on the right side of her body don't like what is going on and Monica has started to experience some aching in the muscles and, as a result, some trouble sleeping. We have started to give her some tylenol in addition to heating pads etc. The nurse-practitioner was going to try to expedite the physiotherapy which has been ordered. I think that we will arrange ourselves for some physiotherapy and/or massage therapy
Monica has been busy transferring vhs videos to digital. (It really is neat to look back at some of those old tapes. We have visited Oma a couple of times in the last few days. She continues to do really quite well at the moment.
Yesterday was our day at the Cancer Agency. Monica had some lab work done (to make sure that her treatment wasn't affecting her kidneys) and then had an appointment with her nurse-practitioner. In the appointment Monica was checked to see how she is doing physically (blood pressure, strength etc.) and is given some simple neurological tests. She is routinely asked "where are you?", "what day of the week is it?", recite the months of the year backwards etc. In one test she is given 3 words and asked later in the appointment what they were. This test is somewhat disconcerting to Marley and I as occasionally we can't remember the 3rd word.
The nurse-practitioner seemed reasonably satisfied with how Monica is doing and so the treatments will continue. Monica will have her 3rd Bev infusion today and then again in 2 weeks. We expect that another MRI will be done to see what the tumour is doing at the end of January.
To this point, we are not seeing any dramatic results from the Bev treatment. While Monica is very "bright" intellectually, she is quite weak on her right side and is not able to use her right arm much. This presents obvious logistical problems (dressing, cutting food etc.). Unfortunately, the muscles on the right side of her body don't like what is going on and Monica has started to experience some aching in the muscles and, as a result, some trouble sleeping. We have started to give her some tylenol in addition to heating pads etc. The nurse-practitioner was going to try to expedite the physiotherapy which has been ordered. I think that we will arrange ourselves for some physiotherapy and/or massage therapy
Monica has been busy transferring vhs videos to digital. (It really is neat to look back at some of those old tapes. We have visited Oma a couple of times in the last few days. She continues to do really quite well at the moment.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Sunday, January 8 2011
(posted by Greg)
On Friday the Occupational Therapist visited us . I was quite impressed with how she performed her job. She went through our home thoroughly ( I knew that I should have cleaned that bathroom better!) and came up with a lot of useful suggestions on how we could make our home safer for Monica and easier for her to move around. For example: she pointed out potential hazards for Monica such as unnecessary rugs on the floor; she showed us where an extra handrail would make the stairs easier and safer for Monica, she showed us how to best position the shower stool which we just acquired, and she pointed out that it would be easier for Monica to get out of our bed if she slept on the other side of the bed. Marley compiled quite a long list of the things that we will have to do.
We visited Monica's mother yesterday and today and had good visits with her. She is doing better right now than she has for a while. Watching Oma with Monica it is easy to tell that she is (quite naturally) concerned and worried about Monica.
After visiting Oma on Saturday, we met Ingo for supper in White Rock.
Monica got a device for transcribing VHS tapes to digital at Xmas. She has been having quite a bit of fun playing with some of our old videos. I may have to get another computer so that I can get on the computer a bit.
On Friday the Occupational Therapist visited us . I was quite impressed with how she performed her job. She went through our home thoroughly ( I knew that I should have cleaned that bathroom better!) and came up with a lot of useful suggestions on how we could make our home safer for Monica and easier for her to move around. For example: she pointed out potential hazards for Monica such as unnecessary rugs on the floor; she showed us where an extra handrail would make the stairs easier and safer for Monica, she showed us how to best position the shower stool which we just acquired, and she pointed out that it would be easier for Monica to get out of our bed if she slept on the other side of the bed. Marley compiled quite a long list of the things that we will have to do.
We visited Monica's mother yesterday and today and had good visits with her. She is doing better right now than she has for a while. Watching Oma with Monica it is easy to tell that she is (quite naturally) concerned and worried about Monica.
After visiting Oma on Saturday, we met Ingo for supper in White Rock.
Monica got a device for transcribing VHS tapes to digital at Xmas. She has been having quite a bit of fun playing with some of our old videos. I may have to get another computer so that I can get on the computer a bit.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2011
(posted by Greg)
On the 2nd, we (myself, Jesse, Ingo and my brother, Pat) moved Opa's furniture from his room in the care home back to his home in Steveston. We also moved some things to our house to help Monica cope if she gets worse ( a spare hospital bed which we set up in our dining room and a stool for the shower). Our home has lots of stairs but with some of these things and a wheelchair, if needed, Monica could stay on the main level of our house and avoid the stairs.
The holidays are over for Jesse who returned to his basement suite in Vancouver on Monday night. With Daniel already back in Boise and Marley visiting her boyfriend in Purdue, our house is pretty quiet. This week I am going to work less and try to work mainly from home so that Monica is not left alone for any significant amounts of time.
On the 2nd, we (myself, Jesse, Ingo and my brother, Pat) moved Opa's furniture from his room in the care home back to his home in Steveston. We also moved some things to our house to help Monica cope if she gets worse ( a spare hospital bed which we set up in our dining room and a stool for the shower). Our home has lots of stairs but with some of these things and a wheelchair, if needed, Monica could stay on the main level of our house and avoid the stairs.
The holidays are over for Jesse who returned to his basement suite in Vancouver on Monday night. With Daniel already back in Boise and Marley visiting her boyfriend in Purdue, our house is pretty quiet. This week I am going to work less and try to work mainly from home so that Monica is not left alone for any significant amounts of time.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Sunday, January 1, 2012
(posted by Greg)
Monica and I have spent a quiet couple of days since her father passed. Our home has been quiet without the noise and energy which Mollie generates. Only Jesse has been at home and he went skiing yesterday.
During the day, Monica and I attended to some chores. I like having her accompany me and she likes to come along but the required walking and the getting in and out of the car is hard for her. I am going to apply for a handicap parking decal so that it is easier to park closer to our destinations. Yesterday, we brought Opa's wheelchair to our house so that we will have it available as required.
Monica, Jesse and I had a long visit with Oma last evening and then went to Ingo's to get fed. We got home just before midnight and saw the New Year nicely in before going to bed. No New Year's resolutions were made but we are all hoping for better in 2012.
Monica and I have spent a quiet couple of days since her father passed. Our home has been quiet without the noise and energy which Mollie generates. Only Jesse has been at home and he went skiing yesterday.
During the day, Monica and I attended to some chores. I like having her accompany me and she likes to come along but the required walking and the getting in and out of the car is hard for her. I am going to apply for a handicap parking decal so that it is easier to park closer to our destinations. Yesterday, we brought Opa's wheelchair to our house so that we will have it available as required.
Monica, Jesse and I had a long visit with Oma last evening and then went to Ingo's to get fed. We got home just before midnight and saw the New Year nicely in before going to bed. No New Year's resolutions were made but we are all hoping for better in 2012.
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