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Just for a little update on her since most of you know how painful this has been for me.
She's still alive........ and the specialist in Portland said she has a change to somewhat recover. She'll never be fully OK again, and the very, very extensive physical therapy will keep her in the nursing home until she can use a walker.
When she went to Portland to see that doctor all of them, Martha, her husband Bob and her daughter and son all went and they were fully prepared to have the doctor say he was sorry, and tell her approximately how long. They did extensive blood work, MRI and several other tests. They were there either being tested or meeting with the doctor for almost four hours. Finally, after 4:30 PM they went back up for a family meeting with the physician. The entire family was there and they were all tearful and very frightened.... so was Martha. The doctor asked her if she preferred a private moment to get the results and she said no, her family knows everything.
So he told her, She has a chance to live and recover partially from this. She can never have another drink and her food and medications will have to be monitored very carefully for the rest of her life. Her liver cannot stand any extra load and there's always a chance it will still fail. The liver, apparently, to a point ..... can repair itself. But, her liver was pushed beyond that point. But he did say that her blood work looked good. Her kidneys had started to function again....... and he hoped that the huge water retention problem would hopefully start to recede. He put her on medication to help get the fluid out of her body. She lost 16 lbs in one week. Her abdomen was huge, she looked like she was nine months pregnant..... and that virtually disappeared in one week. She was peeing so much she wet the bed in her sleep..........
Her bright yellow color lingered for almost a week and then started to fade. It's not gone entirely, but it's so much better. She's on physical therapy every single day and her therapist says he notices an improvement in her muscle tone. She still can't stand up but she is hopefully going to be home by Christmas or the first of the year. She's determined to recover.
Interestingly.......... she said she doesn't even feel an urge for alcohol.......she went through the DTs without any medication at all. It must have been awful. She had no idea how much serious trouble she was in...........Her husband helped her through them at home. Her doctor told her as severely ill as she was, she could have easily died just from the shock of going through the DT's without any monitoring or assistance. They could have helped her in the hospital while she was withdrawing from the alcohol. She swears that the experience taught her that she never wants to even taste alcohol again but she will be going to AA meetings as soon as she can. As a matter of fact, some of the AA people have been visiting her in the nursing home.
She also told me that when she first went to the nursing home, both her husband and her thought she was dying. The hospital wanted to send her to hospice but they wouldn't take her until she got a diagnosis of terminal. Then she could go in and out as she needed until she got so bad she needed to stay.
So, when she first went in, she was convinced that she was dying.........and we all believed that to. But, one day an old, she said very old, man in a wheel chair stopped in to see her and told her, out of a clear blue sky.... that she was going to get past this and live, but she should never forget the lesson she learned.
She told him thank you and the CNA came and got him out of her room and told him not to bother her. She, of course didn't believe him. She asked the CNA if he knew what her problem is and the lady told her no, he had no way of knowing, but that me might have guessed looking at her skin tone.
So, now..........when the doctor told her that.........she looked back on that visit and wonders how he could possibly have known that. She said before she gets out, one day she wants to stop by his room and talk to him for a few minutes.
That was the good news........... the very same day we got the news about Martha, my son in laws father was told he has advanced throat, liver and pancreatic cancer.
He had prostate cancer and went through chemo about three years ago....and now he's lost down to less than 90 lbs. He's 93 years old but he's decided to try chemo one more time. Because he can't eat, they have to put a feeding tube in him. He's gong back Friday..... My daughter said the doctor actually told him it's pretty advanced but they can try chemo if he wants........ so it didn't sound very hopeful.
Life is so strange. Life is like the tides it comes in and it goes out...... it ebbs and flows. It's a continuous cycle and our new little great grandson is that the cycle of life goes on.
love,
jane
_________________ Scott Matthew HIll - 2 years old
To lose a child teaches one what the word bereavement really means. There is no loss equal to the loss of a child.
“We are each of us angels with only one wing. And we can only fly embracing each other."
~Luciano De Crescenzo
www.scottmatthew-hill.last-memories.com
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