Catching Up

Post by Andrea

Hello. At this precise moment, I don't know where my Mom is, but I'm sure she's enjoying the lovely weather with Bob, and checking out some auction, somewhere in our general vicinity.

I believe it was on Wednesday that we visited a couple that Mom used to visit and clean for. They were very nice and extremely happy to see her. They live in a nice area in Cambridge. From there, we tried to visit another one of Mom's clients. On the way we passed the Cambridge location of Hope Spring which is a free cancer support centre. The client wasn't at home, so we went into Hope Spring and met a nice woman who works there. She gave us a tour of the lower floor and told us about some of the programs. We also saw the wig area. There are many to choose from and they're free! It would be nice if Mom didn't need a wig, but it's so great that they are there just in case.

The centre also had a collection of books for loan. Mom picked up "The Power of Now". We will definitely continue to take advantage of the location in Cambridge. It is a beautiful, HUGE, old house and they offer free counselling, Reiki, Gentle Yoga, etc.

On Thursday, Mom and I spent a lot of time on our front porch. I am reading a book called "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" to her. I started reading it to her during chemo, but we actually read quite a lot on the porch that day. It's a great book about German Occupation during the war. The whole book is created by letters to and from many different characters and we're enjoying it, although it is very sad.

I actually left Mom on Thursday night to start moving out of my apartment in Peterborough. But, Bob took her to her first Gentle Yoga class, which she participated in at the Waterloo location of Hope Spring. She enjoyed some of the postures especially, and found that she was actually very good at it! The class was a full hour and a half long! Luckily, a good portion was focused on breathing and relaxing.

On Friday, Mom had a couple of appointments at the hospital, including a talk with a nurse regarding having a community care nurse visit our house once a week. However, they seemed surprised at how well Mom is feeling and getting around. A doctor told Mom that her cough is due to the cancer and that it won't go away. However, he told her that she can double up on the medication and that she can take it more frequently. This morning she told me that she thinks it is really effective.

She still has a rash on her chest, and she now has one on her arms, which she attributes to having exposed them to the sun. We were warned about that possibility, so she'll have to be more careful about protecting herself from direct sunlight.

Mom tried sleeping in the front bedroom this weekend while I was away and I think she slept much better, so she may be moving in and I'll relocate. Also in the good news department: Bob told a nurse about how much trouble Mom has been having giving herself the injections. They realized that the needle is becoming dull by being pushed through the rubber to fill it with medication. So, now she changes the tip after filling the syringe and barely even feels the needle at all! What a relief!

I will write again soon if I come across relevant information that I missed while I was away. Take care and please continue to pray because we are coming up on our second round of chemo this Wednesday.

Thanks everyone