We're changing it up!

Since Monica has been an energizer bunny/star daughter for a few straight weeks now, she has taken the weekend to go camping on our Vermont property to ponder what will become of it in the future (some might call it staking out the driveway...). The nerve. Ergo, I (Gwennie, the younger daughter) have been given the honor of updating the notorious blog! Though I'm pretty sure I could win a spelling contest against Monica, the field of medicine is definitely her domain. So bare with me.

Mom found out today that she's stuck in the hospital for (at the very least) the weekend. As you've already read, her people at St. Francis were concerned upon hearing about Mom's swallowing troubles. So, since being admitted, she's been bombarded with mini cameras being shoved down her nose (no lie) and Barium swallows. Barium swallows are tests in which mom has to swallow this nasty, chalky liquid that shows up on x-rays. In this case, it was a speech pathologist who took pictures of Mom swallowing to follow the path the liquid takes and where it's getting held up. The results: mom's tumor on the left side of her throat is starting to inhibit the nerves that control her left vocal chord, hence the reason her voice has changed. What they also found out is that her epiglottis, a flap of cartilage that essentially prevents food from going into her lungs (thank you, Wikipedia), is not fully covering her trachea (i.e. her breathing tube) when she swallows. This causes food and liquid to actually go into mom's lungs (also known as "aspiration"). That, as you can probably guess, is bad.

So for now, Mom is on a full liquid diet. And it doesn't end there. Everything that goes down her throat must be a certain viscosity (dubbed "nectar-thick") and swallowing is now an intricate 4-step process. Talk about strict diets. (Sidenote: all of you Helping Hands volunteers who have so eagerly volunteered their culinary delights, never fear! Mom will hopefully be eating solids again soon and, frankly, Monica and I welcome the idea of not having to cook, even when it's just for us!)

Mom is still receiving chemotherapy through multiple venues, and her doctors are now entertaining the idea of radiation to her neck, and maybe to her head and spine as well. The idea is that it will significantly lessen the pressure that the tumor in her neck is applying to her vocal chords and therefore allow everything to function normally once again. You'll know when we know.

Finally, since my 15 minutes are, well, only 15 minutes, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has been so caring and thoughtful and HELPFUL to me, my sister, and my mom. I can't even believe how many people I had never met or met maybe once before have said "call me, day or night, if you need ANYTHING". And, of course, the friends and family that I have known and trusted for years who have also offered endless support have been no less than godly. So thank you everyone.

And FINALLY finally (I'm almost done, I promise), I have to thank my sister. There is no telling what my mom would do without her, and the same goes for me. She has probably had it the hardest in the past couple of years and yet has had no choice but to be the strongest. Even still, she's handled it beautifully. She's my personal hero and the rock in my family. So Monica, thank you a million, and if karma exists, there is a yacht coming your way.