Treatment is continuing.
Brenda finished a round of Chemo last Sunday night. They decreased the dose as the round before was the maximum dose but she wasn’t well right up until she had to start again.
This time she is making progress and I hope she will get some time when she feels quite well. We have arranged for the Palliative care service to get involved. This is a great service and it puts us in contact with the nursing service 24 hours a day. You just ring a number and a nurse will ring back within 15 minutes. She can contact a doctor if required as well.
The nurse comes to the house twice a week, they ask a set of questions each time so they can gauge how Brenda is going. They are very good and help make Brenda as pain free as possible. It also takes the pressure off me as I don’t have to try and work out what is the best medication Brenda should be taking. When we go to the Chemo Oncologist he will tell me what to do with the medications but if things don’t go to plan then it takes a bit longer to get help from him but the nursing service are right there.
Next weekend I hope Brenda will be well enough to go down to Collie. It is her Great Nephew’s 5th birthday. He will have a Cake with Brenda’s Mum and Dad so we would like to be there. It is a 200 km drive down there takes just under 2 1/2 hours. We will not stop the night as Brenda wants to get back home. I have taken this week off work to sort a few things out here before my Mum arrives on the 10th Dec. She will be here for Christmas which we will have here at home then on Boxing day we will all go to Collie for the Day as Brenda’s Mum wants everybody there for the day. It is starting to get warm here. I think most of this week will be around 30 degrees centigrade. We got the air conditioner ready last weekend but so far the days have been lovely with an afternoon sea breeze.
A friend of Brenda’s came to visit yesterday dressed up as a sun flower. She looked fantastic. Brenda was on the phone to her Goddaughter in Adelaide at the time and she said to her.
“There is the sunflower walking up my front steps.”
Her goddaughter didn’t believe her and I can say I don’t blame her. Delyn had yellow petals around her face a green leaves spouting from her hips and arms. There were ladybirds on her legs and butterflies on her body. She walked from her house around the corner to our house which is about 200 yards all dressed up.
Isn’t it great to have such wonerful zany friends.
Monday 21st Nov.
I wrote the update last night and put it up this morning but so much has happened this morning that the update needs an update.
When the Care Nurse was here last Friday Brenda answered the door for her. This was the first time the nurse had seen her walk and after a week mostly in bed Brenda was a little wobbly on her feet. The Nurse asked if we thought a walking frame might be useful. We both thought yeah wouldn’t do any harm to have something like that available.
Well this morning a big truck pulls up and delivers a walking frame complete with seat and basket. They also delivered a frame for the toilet. It was here you are, just sign here and off they went.
Brenda gave the walker a trial run up and down the hallway. Brenda went back to the bedroom and I went to make a cuppa when the phone rang. It was the Care Doctor. He wanted to come and see Brenda as when he first saw her she told him of a pain in her right leg. The doctor ordered an x-ray but it came back normal so he wanted to see her again and try to find out what was causing the pain. The doctor arrived about 15 minutes later.
The doctor examined Brenda again and diagnosed a possible nerve being trapped by muscles in the lower abdomen. The doctor gave Brenda a range of options from doing nothing to having it surgical corrected. Brenda chose to try a drug that may help. While we were discussing the option the Care Nurse arrived so we could then discuss how to continue treatment.
WOW I’m just blown away by the support of this service. Over the months since the operation, the radiotherapy and now chemo I thought once we left the doctor’s surgery we were on our own. Now I’m part of a team helping to care for Brenda. Also they are there to help me and the kids as well. A large weight has lifted from me. I can now try and give Brenda more quality.
Love to everyone
Steve
Steve Blackstock 