Day 48 at Cancer Treatment Centers of America

Monday, July 7th 2014

Jeannene, Michelle and her boys came to stay the day with mom at Cancer Treatment Centers of America.   Mom is still in isolation due to her blood levels and platelets being so low.  As long as no one has any symptoms of any kind of illness, it is fine to visit her.  When we arrived, mom's mouth was crusted shut from the scabs sticking together.  I spoke with one of mom's nurses about getting her lips apart and she explained to me that they have to leave her lips alone because her platelets are so low if the scabs were to be picked at or pulled off she would bleed badly.  I asked if this would get better soon and she stated that it would.  

After we visited mom for a while we all went to lunch at the cafeteria together and then took everyone on a tour of the property.  I believe the campus really amazed Jeannene and Michelle as they were quite surprised at all of the amenities here at CTCA!

Once we got back to mom's room, Ms. Summer Baptist, 

Naturopathic Oncology Provider & Acupuncturist, came in to go over mom's supplements and to discuss which supplements will be added back to her daily regiment.  It was a pleasure meeting with Ms. Baptist and she was very thorough in discussing mom's needs and condition.

"I joined Cancer Treatment Centers of America because I wanted to be part of a pioneering company that focuses on integrative, innovative and patient-centered care. I wanted to join a team that works together to provide our patients and their families with high-quality cancer care and support."
                        - Summer Baptist, MS, ND, LAc

As Ms. Baptist was leaving, Mr. Stephen Jackson, Chaplain, stopped by to check on mom as he often does.  Mr. Jackson read a few verses from the Bible and Jeannene asked if he would have a group prayer over mom and the family.  It was touching to stand in a circle holding hands around mom as he prayed.  Of course many were in tears afterwards but his prayer lifted every one's spirits.

Even though mom was tired and not feeling great, she was very excited to see everyone.  Jeannene, Michelle and the kids put a smile on her face and that's very important through her inpatient stay here at CTCA.

It's always hard to leave

We headed home later in the day and Toni came up to see mom after work.  We have no idea how long mom will be staying here but as long as she is here we know she is in the best possible care!

The Charm of the Day
Praying Hands

Day 44 at Cancer Treatment Centers of America

Thursday, July 3rd 2014

Front entrance bouquet for Independence Day

Today is the second morning for mom to wake up at CTCA. We all met up early this morning and mom seemed to be doing about the same.  Her mouth looked a lot better from the nurses applying Medihoney.  Medihoney is an amazing thing!  Today she is talking a little better and has actually gained 10 pounds over the past week.  As she rested on and off, we went shopping for her some clean linens and had lunch.  She has slept more today than she has since she was admitted.  She has woke up once to a serious nose bleed where the nurses had to come in and assist.  Later on she woke up with bleeding from the mouth again and coughing really bad . Today she says she feels awful and seems to be more lethargic.  Mom hasn't had any more pain medication since last night.  Her team added an antibiotic due to her white blood cell counts being so low it is believed that she is possibly fighting an infection.  Mom has also been plugged into the feeding pump which continuously feeds her Isosource throughout the day. Kayleigh and I stayed the night with her.

We went to the Art Expressions class down stairs and painted an American Flag for MeeMaw and we also made Patriotic Mason Jar candle holders and lanterns later that evening.  After we were settled in, around midnight mom's nurse woke me up to put on a mask.  She started to explain to me that as of right now mom is going to be under isolation due to her white blood cell counts dropping.  As she told me this I started to hurt and worry if I was doing mom any harm by staying with her.  The nurse assured me that Kayleigh and I were fine next to her, that we would just have to wear a mask and gloves if we were going to be around her.  Any visitors needed to wear the same until her blood counts came back up.  Mom seemed to sleep a little more than the night before.

Day 18 at Cancer Treatment Centers of America

Monday, June 2nd 2014

Today was mom's eighth radiation treatment at 1:45 at Cancer Treatment Centers of America and so far everything seems to be going well. We have been informed that around the fourteenth radiation treatment mom's neck, mouth and throat will begin to get very sore.

Directly following radiation was mom's nurse assessment.  Everything went well!  We had to meet with Olivia Burks in Gastro to evaluate how mom is doing with the PEG Tube.  Ms. Burks directed mom to start drinking five cartons a day of ISOSOURCE.  So far mom has been maintaining her weight pretty well but in order to maintain her strength and nutrition levels she needs more of the formula each day.

Another great day at CTCA!

The Charm of the Day