God gave us a precious gift of more time with Mom this Thanksgiving. She has astounded the doctors and nurses at the hospice center with a bit of a comeback. I posted some precious photos on my family blog. When I posted the previous post, the nurse thought that Mom wouldn't make it through that day. My sister and I were spending the night with her in her hospice room and she woke up at 4am and within a few minutes was asking for food. She gained more and more strength as the days went on.
We had many reasons to give thanks to God this past week.
Currently loosely using the Flat Belly Diet plan. A healthy way of eating for LIFE!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Mom
We are enjoying our last few days with Mom. I wanted to post this photo of her and me from when I was in Arkansas in July of this year. We love you, Mom. God has blessed our family greatly through you.
If you would like to read updates about Mom's journey, my sister has set up a Caring Bridge site for Mom.
Thank you to all of you who are praying for our family. We can constantly feel the loving arms of God around us.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Family updates
Mom went home from the hospital for a couple days, but had a lump grow overnight on her neck and it began to restrict her breathing. So she was moved to a room at the hospice center since they had an opening. There's been some rough days, today sounded like a good day. I'll be going back early next week with my son. His performance as Aslan in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe was this weekend and he did an AMAZING job and we're all very proud, but it was heart-wrenching, too, because Mom & Dad were supposed to be here to see it with us. We weren't allowed to videotape because of copyright restrictions, but we got some good photos. Some are posted on my family blog. No flash was allowed, so lots of the photos were blurred. Check them out!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Back home
My daughter and I got home last night. It was so hard to leave. The news got worse as the week went on. The surgery failed, so the lung started filling up again. Mom stated her wish for a Do Not Resuscitate order, so that was placed in her record. They pulled the chest tube today and the family is meeting with hospice tomorrow. My brother and his wife arrived the night before we left and my older sister arrived tonight. I am so glad I was able to be there all week long. I'll probably be going back next week after my son's performances this weekend.
Lifestyle Change
From Denise Austin:
Motivational Monday
Call It a Lifestyle Change!
The word diet can have negative associations. It might make you think of that friend of yours who was desperately trying to lose weight last year for an upcoming class reunion. She was so obsessive about what she ate that it made you anxious! And when the pounds didn't drop quickly enough, she resorted to skipping meals (a definite no-no!) and working out until she reached the point of complete exhaustion. Not so appealing — or healthy, for that matter!
But you can relax, because that's not what my program is about! For one thing, it's about simply tweaking your eating habits so you're consuming less junk (processed foods, refined sugars, and anything loaded with saturated fat and/or sodium) and more fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and low-fat dairy products. Basically, I want you to eat consciously by really thinking through what you're feeding your body!
The other huge part of my program is about incorporating exercise into your weekly routine. Following my Fitness Plan, which I've designed to match your fitness level, is just one way to do this. There are so many other things you can do to get moving! Exercise doesn't have to be a drag. You can make it fun! Bike around the park! Go swimming! Play softball in the backyard with the family! You name it!
Together, nutrition and fitness will help you feel great and stay strong — for the long term! That's the difference between my program and a short-lived diet plan. The healthy habits you're learning from me are meant to last a lifetime!
Motivational Monday
Call It a Lifestyle Change!
The word diet can have negative associations. It might make you think of that friend of yours who was desperately trying to lose weight last year for an upcoming class reunion. She was so obsessive about what she ate that it made you anxious! And when the pounds didn't drop quickly enough, she resorted to skipping meals (a definite no-no!) and working out until she reached the point of complete exhaustion. Not so appealing — or healthy, for that matter!
But you can relax, because that's not what my program is about! For one thing, it's about simply tweaking your eating habits so you're consuming less junk (processed foods, refined sugars, and anything loaded with saturated fat and/or sodium) and more fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and low-fat dairy products. Basically, I want you to eat consciously by really thinking through what you're feeding your body!
The other huge part of my program is about incorporating exercise into your weekly routine. Following my Fitness Plan, which I've designed to match your fitness level, is just one way to do this. There are so many other things you can do to get moving! Exercise doesn't have to be a drag. You can make it fun! Bike around the park! Go swimming! Play softball in the backyard with the family! You name it!
Together, nutrition and fitness will help you feel great and stay strong — for the long term! That's the difference between my program and a short-lived diet plan. The healthy habits you're learning from me are meant to last a lifetime!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Life Happens
Once again, life has precluded everything else.
I'm in Arkansas with my mom, who's in the hospital. She had surgery on Monday and they discovered cancer. I'm very glad I'm here. She has a chest tube in and with our experience with those, I'm the perfect one to be by her side. CT scans showed no masses, but after they drained 2.5 liters of fluid from her lung, they discovered the pleura was "tumor studded." Doctor just came in and said the path report says it's adenocarcinoma of a papillary nature. They think it's ovarian, not breast. This morning's xray showed a small pneumothorax, so he said they'll need to keep the chest tube on suction for another day or so.
Here's what one website says:
"What is Adenocarcinoma?
Although commonly associated with lung cancer, adenocarcinoma is a type of cancer that develops in cells lining glandular types of internal organs, such as the lungs, breasts, colon, prostate, stomach, pancreas, and cervix. Another type of adenocarcinoma, mucinous adenocarcinoma, accounts for only 10-15% of all adenocarcinomas and is particular to aggressive carcinomas that are comprised of at least sixty percent mucus.'"
Papillary has to do with the thyroid and glandular stuff.
I'm in Arkansas with my mom, who's in the hospital. She had surgery on Monday and they discovered cancer. I'm very glad I'm here. She has a chest tube in and with our experience with those, I'm the perfect one to be by her side. CT scans showed no masses, but after they drained 2.5 liters of fluid from her lung, they discovered the pleura was "tumor studded." Doctor just came in and said the path report says it's adenocarcinoma of a papillary nature. They think it's ovarian, not breast. This morning's xray showed a small pneumothorax, so he said they'll need to keep the chest tube on suction for another day or so.
Here's what one website says:
"What is Adenocarcinoma?
Although commonly associated with lung cancer, adenocarcinoma is a type of cancer that develops in cells lining glandular types of internal organs, such as the lungs, breasts, colon, prostate, stomach, pancreas, and cervix. Another type of adenocarcinoma, mucinous adenocarcinoma, accounts for only 10-15% of all adenocarcinomas and is particular to aggressive carcinomas that are comprised of at least sixty percent mucus.'"
Papillary has to do with the thyroid and glandular stuff.
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