Come on 2008, Don't Let Us Down

While up in Vermont, I spoke with Mom at least once daily, and she seemed to suffer from a sleepless weekend, and some new flu-like symptoms as of this morning. She had a little excursion out of the house on New Year's Eve and is worried that perhaps she picked something up, but my guess is that with so many people going in and out of the house, we have no way of knowing what little buggies could have made their way home. She's been running a very mild temperature (99.1), so just to be sure she'll head to the cancer center to meet with Judy tomorrow at 11am. She'll have a stool sample, 24 hour urine collection, and hopefully a nice juicy vein with her so they can do a thorough work up. I'm concerned that this might be a colitis flare up, since the symptoms seem to be similar, so hopefully we will have more answers in a few days.

Vermont was wonderful, but Mom was missed! When I spoke with her Saturday, she was in particularly good spirits, and couldn't say enough about how loved she continues to feel each and every day. She asked me to recognize Tante Didi in particular, who has been at her beck and call, without break, for weeks now. Not until you have the opportunity to care for someone who is battling an illness, can you truly understand the emotional and physical implications. Not only has Didi been taking care of my Mom, but she has managed laundry, meals, tidying, and driving for everyone else in the house as well- above and beyond the call of duty!

Friday we have an appointment with the oncologist, who will give us a better idea of when chemo will start and exactly what it will entail. I assume it will be put off until she is feeling better and eating more, but a huge part of that decision will be based on her team's expertise.

I must admit, despite our snowy drive that took us twice as long as it should have, I have extra pep in my step today. It's day one of a new year, and I have a good feeling about 2008.