My beautiful, loving, mom passed away from colon cancer on Sunday, March 4, 2012
I love you so much mom....you're in a better place now.
Showing posts with label colon cancer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label colon cancer. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
It's a scary word......CANCER
I never thought it would happen to someone close to me, let alone somone in my immediate family.
But that wretched word has become more than just a word. It has become reality.
I got the phone call on Thursday, February 9, 2012. My mom called to tell me that she had been taken to the emergency room with severe stomach pain.
After doing some tests and a cat scan, the doctor's determined it was colon cancer.
She was immediately transfered to a larger hospital in a nearby city.
The next day, a scope confirmed what the cat scan revealed. It was indeed colon cancer.
I went to see mom on Friday evening and she told my sister and I that they had caught it early......thank God. Her treatment would be surgery to remove the tumor and hopefully have a full recovery.
Mom went into surgery at about 3:00 yesterday afternoon. I was unable to be with her due to work, but my sisters, an Aunt and Uncle and my Grandpa (mom's dad) were all there for her.
I started typing this on Monday evening, about the time her surgery was being completed....and as I was typing, I got a phone call from my youngest sister.....she started with "the surgery went good, they were able to remove 98% of the tumor.....but the prognosis isn't good", and she started crying, trying to tell me what the surgeon had told all of them....and then I was crying....trying to absorb all that she was telling me.
I got off the phone, talked to my husband and explained what he needed to do to get the kids where they needed to go and what time and then I headed out. It's about a 40 minute drive, but I couldn't just stay home. I had to see her.
Turns out the doctor that told mom that they had caught it early was sorely mistaken....she had had the tumor for 3 to 5 years. It was the size of a softball. The reason they weren't able to get all of it was because it had invaded other areas of her lower abdomen. Without removing the actual organs/parts, there was no way to remove the remainder of the tumor.
The tumor and several tissue samples were sent to be tested. Pathology reports won't be back for 4 to 7 days. So we won't know the full scope of things till those tests come back.
She has a colostomy bag....it will most likely be permanent. I, unfortunately, got to see it up close and personal.
Not a pretty sight. Pretty gross actually. Not sure why the nurse pointed out her intestines that were visible through the bag, but she made sure that I saw them. I was slightly nauseated at that point.
They had to keep her intubated after surgery because she was having trouble breathing on her own. They had her arms restrained to keep her from pulling the ventilator tube out. She was so "out of it" that she kept trying to fight the restraints, even though we had told her why they were on and that she needed to just relax and breathe. She'd relax for a few minutes and then open her eyes again and have a look of confusion as to why she couldn't move her arms more than a couple inches. So we'd have to explain it all over again.
It was so difficult to stand there and not be able to help her. She mouthed the words "gagging me". The tube was gagging her and she wanted it out. But there were several steps that had to be taken in order for it to be removed. They were basically trying to ween her off the ventilator. Then they had to take a blood sample and test it for levels of oxygen and CO2. If the numbers were good, then they'd be able to take it out. Unfortunately, all of this takes time and she was being very impatient. Understandably.
My sister and I had to head home so we could get our kids to bed, so we headed out at about 8:45 p.m. My sister called me around 10:00 p.m. and said that the nurse had called her and told her that about an hour after we left, they were able to remove the ventilator tube.
Mom's surgeon was going to be talking with her today to let her know what happened during her surgery and what to expect. I'm sure it didn't go over very well with her. I wished I could've been there for her. Damn work!
I'll be going up again tomorrow morning to visit with her and hopefully get some more information....and to spend as much time with her as I can.....while I can.
But that wretched word has become more than just a word. It has become reality.
I got the phone call on Thursday, February 9, 2012. My mom called to tell me that she had been taken to the emergency room with severe stomach pain.
After doing some tests and a cat scan, the doctor's determined it was colon cancer.
She was immediately transfered to a larger hospital in a nearby city.
The next day, a scope confirmed what the cat scan revealed. It was indeed colon cancer.
I went to see mom on Friday evening and she told my sister and I that they had caught it early......thank God. Her treatment would be surgery to remove the tumor and hopefully have a full recovery.
Mom went into surgery at about 3:00 yesterday afternoon. I was unable to be with her due to work, but my sisters, an Aunt and Uncle and my Grandpa (mom's dad) were all there for her.
I started typing this on Monday evening, about the time her surgery was being completed....and as I was typing, I got a phone call from my youngest sister.....she started with "the surgery went good, they were able to remove 98% of the tumor.....but the prognosis isn't good", and she started crying, trying to tell me what the surgeon had told all of them....and then I was crying....trying to absorb all that she was telling me.
I got off the phone, talked to my husband and explained what he needed to do to get the kids where they needed to go and what time and then I headed out. It's about a 40 minute drive, but I couldn't just stay home. I had to see her.
Turns out the doctor that told mom that they had caught it early was sorely mistaken....she had had the tumor for 3 to 5 years. It was the size of a softball. The reason they weren't able to get all of it was because it had invaded other areas of her lower abdomen. Without removing the actual organs/parts, there was no way to remove the remainder of the tumor.
The tumor and several tissue samples were sent to be tested. Pathology reports won't be back for 4 to 7 days. So we won't know the full scope of things till those tests come back.
She has a colostomy bag....it will most likely be permanent. I, unfortunately, got to see it up close and personal.
Not a pretty sight. Pretty gross actually. Not sure why the nurse pointed out her intestines that were visible through the bag, but she made sure that I saw them. I was slightly nauseated at that point.
They had to keep her intubated after surgery because she was having trouble breathing on her own. They had her arms restrained to keep her from pulling the ventilator tube out. She was so "out of it" that she kept trying to fight the restraints, even though we had told her why they were on and that she needed to just relax and breathe. She'd relax for a few minutes and then open her eyes again and have a look of confusion as to why she couldn't move her arms more than a couple inches. So we'd have to explain it all over again.
It was so difficult to stand there and not be able to help her. She mouthed the words "gagging me". The tube was gagging her and she wanted it out. But there were several steps that had to be taken in order for it to be removed. They were basically trying to ween her off the ventilator. Then they had to take a blood sample and test it for levels of oxygen and CO2. If the numbers were good, then they'd be able to take it out. Unfortunately, all of this takes time and she was being very impatient. Understandably.
My sister and I had to head home so we could get our kids to bed, so we headed out at about 8:45 p.m. My sister called me around 10:00 p.m. and said that the nurse had called her and told her that about an hour after we left, they were able to remove the ventilator tube.
Mom's surgeon was going to be talking with her today to let her know what happened during her surgery and what to expect. I'm sure it didn't go over very well with her. I wished I could've been there for her. Damn work!
I'll be going up again tomorrow morning to visit with her and hopefully get some more information....and to spend as much time with her as I can.....while I can.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)