Back Home Again

Mom and Dad are home again!  Mom really wanted to come home.  She is clearer; it seems the combination of medicines are working.  Potassium is stable again.  Antibiotic is clearing up the infection.  Ativan is helping with the anxiety.  And the steroids are keeping the swelling down. 

As for all the recent confusion, my aunt Cindy likened the radiation treatments to a series of waves.  Even after the treatments, they keep building and finally they wash up to the shore.  So that's what this has been.  The breaking of the wave.  Great analogy, huh?

Cindy also sent some very helpful information about these particular side effects, which to us seem extreme, but apparently are still within the realm of normal side-effects.  I wanted to share just a bit of that here:

"Andy is forgetful. Marianne laughs at things that are not funny. John wanders from his front yard and gets lost in the neighborhood he’s lived in for 20 years.  Patients with brain tumors can experience many changes in their usual ways of thinking and behaving. There can be subtle changes — they may just seem "different" somehow. There can also be dramatic changes — outbursts of anger, extreme personality changes, inability to remember important events, or bizarre speech patterns.

"Size and type of tumor 
If a tumor grows very quickly (Mom's is fast-growing), such as with glioblastomas, healthy brain tissue can be more easily destroyed from pressure and swelling associated with the tumor. Patients with these tumors are more at risk for personality and behavioral changes. Slow-growing tumors, such as pilocytic astrocytomas, may not cause as much impairment because their slow growth enables the brain to compensate for the tumor.

"Methods of treatment 
Radiation therapy can produce acute (sudden) changes, usually as a result of the brain swelling from the radiation, much like a sunburn. The patient might experience headaches, irritability, and vomiting. Later, even weeks after radiation therapy has been completed, patients might experience fatigue, loss of energy, and sleepiness. These symptoms can contribute to a patient feeling and acting differently."


Okay, it's me again.  One closing note:  in order to keep everything as low key as possible, Dad is thinking that we should limit visitors at this time.  I may sneak up tomorrow for a short visit, but we probably won't visit as a whole family for at least a couple of days (maybe weeks, depending on how she feels).  So keep your healing rays focused her way, and we'll see you soon.  :)

As my friend Heather says, light and love,
jk