Day 27

For the last few days, Mom has been feeling discomfort at her incision site and feeling shortness of breath. She continues to take her pain medication every 12 hours. Most of the day she is praying or watching mass on television. Since surgery, she has no interest in watching t.v. or reading. She struggles with having an appetite because she prefers eating just carbohydrates and not a lot of protein. So we've been trying to feed her a variety of meals, hoping to satisfy her cravings. Taking her medications with meals, especially the ones in the morning (about 17-19), make it difficult to swallow and making the eating experience a chore. 

With that said, she is moving a little faster and awake most hours. I have been staying over the house since Saturday and have seen subtle improvements, like she's able to dry her own hair, talk on the phone for short periods, and has been walking a few yards more up and down the block. Last night, we watched Dancing with the Stars together, a favorite show my dad and her enjoyed watching, and stayed up for nearly the whole 2-hour episode. I pray that Mom keeps finding the strength to move forward and keep her spirits up. 

Popo, our Chihuahua, is still adjusting to Mom's condition. He stares at her when she's sitting on the couch and longs to sit on her lap. He still comes around when I'm feeding her, especially when he sees his favorites, like bagel or toast. He is a good distraction to the quiet house. I'm glad he's here with me.

Today, Mom meets with the oncologist. In fact, we're leaving now. I will update you on our visit. 

Thank you, always, for your continued support and prayers.

Update: 12:49pm


We just got home from Mom's oncologist appointment. The doctor reported that she was happy with Mom's pathology results and that when they did the liver transplant, there was no evidence of the cancer spreading to other parts of her body. So our next steps is to continue to have regular scans at Kaiser, her regular hospital, to monitor her health.