Motion Sickness

"I haven't had one good SECOND in this hospital--and I don't mean MINUTE, either, I mean SECOND!"

So what did she expect? Vegas? A cruise ship? It's hard to know with Mom sometimes.

She was understandably tired and frustrated by Tuesday afternoon, though. I admitted her to the hospital on Monday morning and by the time she expressed her patent dissatisfaction with every aspect of hospital life, she'd had thirty hours worth of annoying--if not painful--tests.

My one comfort, by that time, was not her endearing personality, but rather that we hadn't spread these tests over a several-week-long period on an outpatient basis. Imagining getting her in and out of my car in snow and ice after the doctors had pronounced both hips at serious risk of pathological fracture (meaning they could break spontaneously without her even falling) was more than I could deal with.

Ten days ago, each of two doctors discussed the results of Mom's alarming bone scan on the phone with me, and afterwards I read the report myself. On one typewritten sheet, these words appeared six or seven times, referring to the corresponding "hot spots" on the scan: "This finding is most consistent with a diagnosis of bony metastasis."

So they poked and prodded and CT'd and MRI'd and mammo'd and xray'd the dear girl till she was blue in the face. They gave her heart a thorough eval, and then checked out her breasts, lungs, liver, kidneys, thyroid, and brain--any one of which they were sure would be housing a fast-spreading primary tumor.

The results? If there's a tumor there, they can't find it!

They still haven't gotten the results of blood tests which are looking for a certain kind of lymphoma or multiple myeloma, both blood cancers which are also famous for mets to the bones. Unfortunately, blood tests won't always reveal these cancers, making a bone marrow aspiration or bone biopsy necessary for definitive diagnosis. And Mom probably can't endure one of those tests, since a needle could easily fracture her bone.

The bottom line is that IF Mom has cancer, we may not know it until her symptoms become much more pronounced. And if she does, it's apparently a blood cancer for which there is no real cure, so--in one way--why agonize over isolating it?

You all have been such a tremendous support these past couple of weeks! Please don't think for a minute that your prayers weren't needed--I, for one, have desperately appreciated them!

We've been on a crazy roller coaster and for a while there, it seemed like the carnie in control of the switches had quit his job. Mom is back in her assisted-living apartment now and doesn't seem much the worse for wear, but I'll tell you what: I'm still just a little bit breathless.

Mom may yet turn out to be okay (not counting the congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Hepatitis C, diabetes, and degenerative arthritis) and I finally learned to spell metastasis...all in all, a pretty good week, wouldn't you agree?

Posted by Katy on 02/13/05 at 03:25 PM

Fallible Comments...

You know what's funny? (not really) After talking to Mom yesterday, it's as if she doesn't even remember me being at the hospital at all. She does, however, remember you being there. Interesting how the brain works, huh? Glad I'm a reasonably patient woman or she might just drive me over the edge....
-----
Posted by Bridget on 02/14/05 at 02:34 PM
Bridgie, Glad you mentioned the "nutty" thing. That reminds me what I needed to do today--call my therapist. That's right...the edge has gotten a bit too close for comfort. Ah...such is life.
Posted by Katy Raymond on 02/14/05 at 03:16 PM
Bridgie--I mis-read your comment. I thought you wrote that she didn't remember herself being in the hosp--which wouldn't surprise me, either.

Believe me, I remember you being there. You saved my life! Three whole days of sharing the Mama stuff--thank you!
Posted by Katy Raymond on 02/14/05 at 03:27 PM
Glad we could share the "love" together! :) I told Baillie that Mom blew the whole primacy/recency effect out of the water. She was supposed to remember her oldest and her youngest being with her...I'll bet she just remembers John! Lol... Keep smiling. Love ya on this Valentine's Day and always.
Posted by Bridget on 02/14/05 at 04:27 PM

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Personal blog of christian writer & fallible mom Katy McKenna Raymond in Kansas City, Missouri Katy is represented by Greg Johnson at WordServe Literary Read more Katy at LateBoomer.net Follow Katy on Twitter Follow Katy on Facebook 123 Recent Posts Try Becoming Brenda Starr Off Beat Scattered That’s It So I’ve Finally Signed With An Agent. Now What? The Spoon Sciatica Sweetheart A Woman’s Train of Thought Has No Caboose However much we own, we are all still living on borrowed time After all, when restaurants shrink portions, they don’t shrink prices. As with everything in life, balance is key. Slow down, you move too fast… Yeah, I know. I have issues. Search Advanced Search Syndicate Login E me at katy @ ngenius.com	Motion Sickness "I haven't had one good SECOND in this hospital--and I don't mean MINUTE, either, I mean SECOND!" So what did she expect? Vegas? A cruise ship? It's hard to know with Mom sometimes. She was understandably tired and frustrated by Tuesday afternoon, though. I admitted her to the hospital on Monday morning and by the time she expressed her patent dissatisfaction with every aspect of hospital life, she'd had thirty hours worth of annoying--if not painful--tests. My one comfort, by that time, was not her endearing personality, but rather that we hadn't spread these tests over a several-week-long period on an outpatient basis. Imagining getting her in and out of my car in snow and ice after the doctors had pronounced both hips at serious risk of pathological fracture (meaning they could break spontaneously without her even falling) was more than I could deal with. Ten days ago, each of two doctors discussed the results of Mom's alarming bone scan on the phone with me, and afterwards I read the report myself. On one typewritten sheet, these words appeared six or seven times, referring to the corresponding "hot spots" on the scan: "This finding is most consistent with a diagnosis of bony metastasis." So they poked and prodded and CT'd and MRI'd and mammo'd and xray'd the dear girl till she was blue in the face. They gave her heart a thorough eval, and then checked out her breasts, lungs, liver, kidneys, thyroid, and brain--any one of which they were sure would be housing a fast-spreading primary tumor. The results? If there's a tumor there, they can't find it! They still haven't gotten the results of blood tests which are looking for a certain kind of lymphoma or multiple myeloma, both blood cancers which are also famous for mets to the bones. Unfortunately, blood tests won't always reveal these cancers, making a bone marrow aspiration or bone biopsy necessary for definitive diagnosis. And Mom probably can't endure one of those tests, since a needle could easily fracture her bone. The bottom line is that IF Mom has cancer, we may not know it until her symptoms become much more pronounced. And if she does, it's apparently a blood cancer for which there is no real cure, so--in one way--why agonize over isolating it? You all have been such a tremendous support these past couple of weeks! Please don't think for a minute that your prayers weren't needed--I, for one, have desperately appreciated them! We've been on a crazy roller coaster and for a while there, it seemed like the carnie in control of the switches had quit his job. Mom is back in her assisted-living apartment now and doesn't seem much the worse for wear, but I'll tell you what: I'm still just a little bit breathless. Mom may yet turn out to be okay (not counting the congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Hepatitis C, diabetes, and degenerative arthritis) and I finally learned to spell metastasis...all in all, a pretty good week, wouldn't you agree? Posted by Katy on 02/13/05 at 03:25 PM Fallible Comments... You know what's funny? (not really) After talking to Mom yesterday, it's as if she doesn't even remember me being at the hospital at all. She does, however, remember you being there. Interesting how the brain works, huh? Glad I'm a reasonably patient woman or she might just drive me over the edge.... ----- Posted by Bridget on 02/14/05 at 02:34 PM Bridgie, Glad you mentioned the "nutty" thing. That reminds me what I needed to do today--call my therapist. That's right...the edge has gotten a bit too close for comfort. Ah...such is life. Posted by Katy Raymond on 02/14/05 at 03:16 PM Bridgie--I mis-read your comment. I thought you wrote that she didn't remember herself being in the hosp--which wouldn't surprise me, either. Believe me, I remember you being there. You saved my life! Three whole days of sharing the Mama stuff--thank you! Posted by Katy Raymond on 02/14/05 at 03:27 PM Glad we could share the "love" together! :) I told Baillie that Mom blew the whole primacy/recency effect out of the water. She was supposed to remember her oldest and her youngest being with her...I'll bet she just remembers John! Lol... Keep smiling. Love ya on this Valentine's Day and always. Posted by Bridget on 02/14/05 at 04:27 PM Page 1 of 1 pages Commenting is not available in this weblog entry. Next entry: The Love Chapter Previous entry: "If I Die Today, There's Not Enough Make-Up In The World To Make Me Look Good In My Casket." << Back to main


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Personal blog of christianwriter & fallible momKaty McKenna Raymondin Kansas City, Missouri

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Motion Sickness

Personal blog of christian
writer & fallible mom
Katy McKenna Raymond
in Kansas City, Missouri