Yesterday morning the house was on pins and needles as Mom prepared to go to the infusion center to get the medicine to fight her cancer. Dad packed a cooler with waters and yogurt since the treatment takes almost all day. Mom also took some crackers (which Lou and I love) to help her with the nausea caused by the Bendamustine. Off they went at 9:15 AM for Mom's 10 AM appointment. Mom was nervous about the treatment which made her want Dad to do stuff for her. He is still struggling with his sprained hand, though, which makes it hard for him to lift stuff. After Dad's pitiful wincing and one-handed manipulation of doors and various items with his big balloon-looking hand, they got off leaving Lou and me to do some barking here. Lou and I did alot of barking to let the germs and the cancer know we are on the job with able bodies to help Mom any way we can, unlike that old duffer she is married to.
Mom and Dad came home about 3 PM. Mom was weary from the ordeal, so she went to bed for a nap while Dad ran some errands to ready the pantry and fridge so Mom would have stuff she can eat during this week. Dad got back home about 4:45 with stuff from Costco and the grocery store. It took him a half hour of more wincing and one-handed sick tricks to put everything away by which time Mom had gotten up from her nap feeling pretty good considering. She and Dad went into the back yard to sit and talk about the day and to update Dad's list of things to get done this season. It's a long list which took them about 45 minutes to compile. Mom loves to put the list together and mark off stuff Dad gets done, which he does focus on, so I give him credit for that. After feeding Lou and me our rations of kibble, Mom ate the green salad Dad made that included pasta, tomatoes from our garden, fresh mozzarella cheese, orange bell pepper, and avocado with some bread on the side. Mom ate almost all of it, which made me so proud of her.
This morning we got up at the normal time for more kibble, followed by our usual 2-mile walk up and down the hill we live on. Then Mom got ready for work while Dad cooked her some fresh blue lake green beans for her lunch. He also took out the garbage. Mom went off to work in good spirits.
The doctors and scientists who figure out ways to fight cancer are my heroes. They are keeping my Mom alive and several of her friends too. Mom's friend Jacquie had an infusion of Bendamustine and Rituxant yesterday too. While at the same time, Mark, who is Sandee's boyfriend, is getting chemo and radiation to fight his cancer. All of these people are so brave and strong to fight their cancers with the drugs and therapies developed by my heroes. Today I am one hopeful dog. Thank-you God for giving all of these gifts to my Mom, our friends, and our family. Now if Dad would heal up it would be almost normal around here.
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