Dad's moving around with his new knee much better than he was doing back in early July. It still needs to be babied sometimes - he had to put it up and ice it this afternoon - but he's doing well. What's better, at least for him, is that last week the doc OKed him to start driving again. After 6 weeks of neither Mom nor Dad being able to drive, this is a huge freedom regained!
Mom's doing better than I'd expected, and apparently better than she was even a week or two ago. Her energy had been so low she couldn't walk from the kitchen to the living room unaided, and from what my sister had told me about how little she was eating, I'd braced myself to find Mom looking rather gaunt. She's lost weight since I saw her last, but her appetite's better now, so she's regained much of what she lost and her energy is better.
Her attitude is certainly good: Saturday morning I was sitting on their bed while she brushed her hair. She started laughing, as her hair was coming out in small clumps as she brushed. She just kept on, brushing and laughing, and showed me her brush and her other hand when she finished - both were fairly full of hair. She already has her "cranial prosthesis" and at this rate, she won't be the least surprised if she needs to start wearing it by this weekend.
Today was the 1st day of her 2nd round of chemo. This was the long day - Dad & I left her at the cancer center at 10 and picked her up around 2. She'd eaten most of the lunch she packed and finished the rest of it in the car on the way home. Once we got back, she had some fruit with her tea, and ate most of her dinner. She's not sure how much she'll feel like eating over the next few days, once the chemo starts kicking in. Last time she felt a bit nauseated the day after the 2nd chemo day, but the doc told her today how to adjust her anti-nausea med to prepare for that. She also said that she felt much less tired and had a better appetite today than she did after Day 1 of her first chemo round. We're hoping that's a good sign.
The doc also said that, while she's in stage 3, that's because there's "involvement" both above & below her diaphragm. However, because the tumor is localized, he seemed optimistic about Mom's prognosis. I like this doctor!
Tomorrow I take Mom back for Day 2, which is much shorter; only 2 hours last time.
I'm glad I came out - it's very reassuring to see how well Dad is doing, and it's been good for my peace of mind to be able to do things for Mom, to see how she's eating, and so on. I think it helps my siblings to know that I'm here too, to keep an eye on things, try to keep either Mom or Dad from doing too much (we're such worrywarts), run errands, and just keep them company.
In other news: my youngest sister is scheduled for a C-section on the 18th, our dad's birthday. (He likes to tease her, asking how "my birthday present" is doing.) However, she was having some contractions today while she was in the grocery store. This little one might not wait for Dad's birthday; Baby might come on my birthday on the 14th, or perhaps earlier. And if Little Bit should decide to arrive before I leave town Friday morning, well, I wouldn't mind in the least if I were "forced" to meet my new nephew or niece in the neonate unit. ;)
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