Mom Update: Pink Ribbons and Butterflies

My mom's breast cancer diagnosis has definitely sent our family on a little detour.  This isn't the path we had mapped out for the summer, for sure!  We are learning all sorts of things about breast cancer, surgery, surgical drains, chemo, radiation, hormone replacement therapy, lymph nodes, pathology reports, scarves, wigs, and the list goes on.   It's a long list, really, and it's a lot to take in all at once.   We are also learning that there is a whole other world out there, with pink ribbons and butterflies everywhere you look.  We knew this place was out there, but it always seemed far away, and was somewhere we hoped we would never have to go.  We are finding, though, that this is a place filled with lots of other women too.  It's pretty crowded actually, and I'm pretty sure none of them want to be there either!   There are also some great doctors, and nurses who are so nice that they answer every question we have, even if we ask the same ones two or three times.  (Again, it's a lot to take in!)  So, while my mom takes this journey, this little detour she has been sent on, she will be in good company with everybody else in this "pink" world who is trying to get back on track.  We know there will probably be some bumps along the way, but we hope her road to recovery will not be too long or too hard.  No matter where it takes us, we will be with her through it all, and we will all just hang on for the ride!

(By the way, this is another song I've liked for a long time, and it seemed appropriate for this post, with the butterflies, and all.  It made me think of my mom and all of the other "butterflies" trying to fly through hard times right now.)

She has had a busy week this week and continues to recover from her surgery.  On Tuesday she met with her surgeon, who said she is healing well.  He took out the four drains she has had in since the surgery three weeks ago.  That was cause for celebration!  No more dang drain pain! Yay!!!  Those drains were really bothering her.  They were painful and were just plain cramping her style.  But, on the bright side, now all of us girls and my dad, too, know how to empty surgical drains.  She will see the surgeon again in the second week of September to have another small surgery to insert the port into her chest where she will receive her chemo.

Wednesday, we met with the oncologist.  We were a little worried about the news he might give us.  We know the cancer has not spread on one side, thankfully, but has spread to lymph nodes on the other side.  He explained her chemotherapy schedule to us,  and she will start mid September, if all goes well.  She will have chemo treatments every other week for 16 weeks, then radiation for 5-6 weeks, five days a week. So, that will keep her pretty busy.  They warned her that she will be really tired and won't feel too great, and to plan on giving herself about a year to start feeling like herself again.  That's OK...it's worth it!  It was a long appointment, we were there about three hours and we learned a lot about what the next few months will hold.  It goes without saying that after that marathon appointment, we just had to take ourselves to Olive Garden.  Melanie and I went with my mom that day, and we had lots of laughs at the restaurant.  Sometimes a Cherry Coke, breadsticks, and (of course) alfredo dipping sauce can just make your day! 

She was scheduled for an echo cardiogram today to make sure her heart is nice and healthy and ready to handle the chemo, but she decided to reschedule that for next week to give her incisions a little more time to heal.  She had a nice visit with Aunt Mary today, (her sister) and she is so thankful for all of the love and support from her family and friends.  She has so many people who love her and have been worried about her, and we all appreciate the help and the prayers! 

I will try to keep everybody updated on her progress on the "road to recovery".  We know she'll do great!  We all love her and are thankful for our blessings.  We know some days will be really hard, but most days, life will be good!

......and if it's not, we'll just take ourselves back to Olive Garden or somewhere equally yummy.  A hot fudge sundae from McDonalds always seems to do the trick!