Miss me???

I have just been taking a 'break' from blogging for a while since we had visitors and then the catch up game for the last few weeks. It has been a crazy month, and I will post some more about it soon.
All that has really changed is that my mother is half way through her treatments and is doing well. (yeah!) She will be finished with the first (and hopefully only) round of chemo and so far hasn't been vomit-trocious, but just achy and tired.
My inlaws visited and we had a great time, but now we have no visitors on the docket so it might be a REALLY lonely summer. (especially since my mother can't travel up here until Fall.) Pictures of all the festivities while the Soder's were up here to follow.....

Welcome Back!

I made it. I went a whole week (plus some) without blogging. I survived. And now I can't think of anything to blog about. GREAT! I hope this means that I have made the creative part of my brain lazy. Now it has no inspiration.
Let's see what happened last week...
Soder's computer hard drive died. (spending money is always fun, right?)

I got paid in Starbucks to make cookies for one of Soder's co-workers. (Making 'money' is always fun, right?)

We bought Baby a new 'toy' for his birthday. It is a baby hiking backpack for him to ride in. While I don't know how much hiking we will be doing, it is great for when I want to take both dogs on a walk at the same time. (Taking a baby in a stroller with two dogs in tow is a tricky feat, one, that I will not partake in.) So this is actually a 'toy' for me. (also a great workout accessory, carrying around an extra 30 wiggly pounds has to be great weight training, right?)

My mom had her first chemo treatment and so far not a ton of horrible side effects. (she has had some, but not every one imaginable.) But a positive note, if you are looking for beanies (for when she loses her hair) if you buy them in the springtime, you can get some really great deals.

I guess it is good to be back blogging. I am sure this next few weeks will be easy to blog about, we have my first Mother's day, Soder's Bday, some very dear friends visiting, Baby's First Birthday and our Seventh anniversary. Busy, busy, busy, but in a good way.

Long over due post

This last week has been the most exhausting week of my life (long 8+ hours at the hospital, with one 11 month old and only one parent, TIRING!). It has been filled with drama, family time, and hospital rooms. My mother is still in the hospital, however she was moved out of the ICU last Friday. (thank heavens!) She has been working super hard on physical therapy and has had only a few minor setbacks (not eating enough, and a possible blood clot (that wasn't). Who knew that having your guts mushed around in your belly would make it hard to walk again? (or eat again, or have a clear head again....) I am so proud of her and how far she has come. She is coherent and able to carry on a normal conversation with you now (those drugs took a long time to work out of her system and she was gorked for much of the week.). I am very thankful that I was able to talk with her before I left to the airport today. (also another phone call tonight to her, as well, that made me realize that I need her because she is my go to person.) And while I was down in the 'Tah, I missed my home in the Northwest so much, but now that I am here all I can think about is my mother again. This time my thoughts are selfish ones like, when will she call me to chat again and when will she feel like her old self and we can talk about the unimportant things like celebrity gossip. Thankfully, my thoughts aren't like the ones last week when they were when will she be off the breathing tube or when will dialysis end. I am glad my mother's health is on the up and up and hopefully she keeps moving in a positive direction. Keep up the hard work and I will come down to visit again soon!

Happy Birthday!

Today is my mothers birthday. She should be at home partying and having a great time but things don't always end up the way you plan. Instead today, my mother will hopefully get her breathing tube out and be able to talk to us. For us, that is a better birthday present than anything we bought her. Also instead of harassing her about getting older today, we are trying to talk to her and tell her she has to calm down and listen to the nurses. All her numbers are getting better and is all moving in a positive direction. Her kidneys are working and she got off dialysis yesterday. The last big hurdle for now is just the breathing tube. So, happy birthday, Mom. I hope that even though it isnt the way you had hoped to celebrate that you will revel in the small victories.

Update with no update

On Sunday I decided that I would come down to Utah to support my mom and help support my family. I wasn't sure if I would be coming down by driving or flying. My sister A offered to have her husband and family help out with Thing One and Two so I would be able to fly down. It was crazy to call the airlines and get a flight the same day. Now I know why in all the movies when they have to make a quick getaway they don't have kids because it was a frantic packing session to get everything ready in four hours. But before you knew it we were on the airplane eating our complimentary cookies and drinking our cranberry juice.
Today was the first day I got to see my mom. It is hard to see her all connected to all the machines, but I am glad that they are able to help her so much. She is still sedated pretty heavily but she did stir her feet when she heard my sisters and me (shhhh, don't tell them all three of us went back at once.) She is still on dialysis to help her kidneys and on a ventilator (but she is breathing on the lowest setting of the ventilator so it isn't really breathing for her). Her condition is still the same, which I will take if it means she isn't getting worse.
It is slow going here because of all the restrictions on the Icu, and I can see how you can lose track of time in the hospital.
I will keep everyone posted and thanks for all the love and support everyone has shown my family.

UPDATE about my Mother

As I have said, her surgery to for her hysterectomy was on Friday morning. While they hoped the cancer was only on her ovaries, it ended up being a bit more extreme (It is stage 3c). They ended up scraping off some tumors on her bowel, bladder and intestines. It was a very intense surgery that lasted almost 5 hours. The doctor was still very positive about her condition, but warned that she was going to be in a lot of pain because of how raw the organs had become.

On Saturday morning, we were informed that she had been moved to intensive care unit over night because her blood pressure was really low. After a few more tests and some more waiting, they determined that her organs had become very swollen from all the trauma from the previous surgery. They were so swollen that they had started to restrict the blood flow to her kidneys, which in turn had reduced the kidney function. They decided that they would sedate my mom (and put a breathing tube in) and hope it would promote her body to start healing and reduce the swelling. Also tonight they decided to put her on dialysis to help her kidney a bit. Tomorrow, everyone is hoping that her condition heads into a positive direction. I know she is a strong woman and will be making a comeback soon. Then we can focus on fighting the cancer instead of all these other problems. (chemo will start in 3 weeks)


Please feel free to leave a comment for my MOM because I know that she would love to hear them in a few days when she is doing better. And since I am not there to hold her hand, it is the least I can do for her! Thanks!


*All this information is from what I have heard from my father and 2 sisters, since I am 800 miles away from the situation. I have tried to get the facts correct as best as I can, but I am sure some of it might be incorrect. (trust me when I say that the BIG stuff is correct.)Also as a separate note, some of my family members don't really talk about these things on the internet (or facebook), but I know that my mom understands that I use my blogging as a therapy and would be fine with me putting this information on such a public forum. So I am trusting my instincts and publishing this post.

Talk of the day

I don't think I have said (or typed) the word hysterectomy as much as I have today. Today was the big day for the dr. visit and it sounded very promising. My mother goes in for a complete hysterectomy (see, there I go again) on Friday and will recoup for the next three weeks. In April, she will start chemo (one time every 3 weeks for the next 5-6 months). I feel better knowing what is going on, but it still is sucky that I am not going to be there while she undergoes her surgery. I am still waiting for some millionaire to discover my blog and offer to fly my baby, two dogs and myself down to Utah in his private jet. They will be knocking on my door any moment now....

While I wait for the knock, let me just say to all my friends thanks for all the support. All the well wishes have meant the world to me and my mother. (she is my loyal reader after all.) Thanks to you all!

Tomorrow knows

On 3/11 we found out about the cancer.
The 12 days between the diagnosis and the first oncology visit have been excruciatingly long and emotional for everyone in our family (with the exception of Thing one and Thing two and Baby... I don't this it will really sink in that something is going on until we are all trapped in a Malibu driving the 798.7 mile back to Utah to see my mom)
On 3/23 in the morning, my mom will find out how we can kick cancer's butt!

And the news...

Is not the best news. It is ovarian cancer. And apparently, the next step is to send her to a Gynecological Oncologist. (her appointment is in a week and a half. An ENTIRE week and a half. I get that doctors have to go to conferences to learn stuff, but don't they realize that this patient is not some nobody, but MY mother?!)

And it is funny but I don't really WANT to talk about it, but I NEED to put it out there SOMEPLACE (thank God for Blogs). It is kinda like how you have to write something down so you can move on. So let put a pin in it for now and try to move on to a happier place for a while. At least until I can wrap my brain around it.