Tapering the Pills

Mom has been working on tapering her pain medication. It's been going okay, but she's had to take more Tylenol. That's not a bad thing necessarily. Actually, it's a great thing if Tylenol rather than the strong stuff can take care of the pain. She does have 2 extended release meds she's on. One of them is a patch that releases narcotics for 72 hours. The other is a pill she takes every 8-12 hours. Considering how much she was on in the past, it's really good that she only takes the Tylenol in between.

Yesterday we found out that on the 24th of this month, they'll be doing the procedure to insert the port through which she'll have the chemo. The next day the doctor will evaluate her, and her treatments will begin Friday, June 27 as long as he clears everything.

It's funny, I mean, it's really not, but that's the term people use. Um, so we've been all over MD Anderson and have pretty much figured our way through almost the entire facility. It's a huge place with departments here, there, and everywhere on this that and all 12 floors. Getting from elevator A to elevator G then to another clinic through the sky bridge feels like an accomplishment. In fact, the staff have a name for the walk (from one elevator at one end of the building to the other). So anyway, there are places we walk past that always bring this thought, "Hmmm...I wonder what ___ (some cancer department terminology) means. I wonder what that department does." I quit asking that question. It seemed as if every time I asked that, my mom would end up there for some reason or another, and those reasons not having anything to do with her scheduled treatment. It was always due to some setback or whatever. That's why I don't like walking new-to-us floors; my curiosity always asks, "I wonder..."

When we were there last week, Mom was the one who asked the, "I wonder..." question. Well, now we know one of the mysterious places is where she'll be receiving the chemo infusions every other week. Our crazy curiosity. At least this is part of the game plan.

I know, I know, I shouldn't live with that fear of, "Oh my goodness, if I say anything she could end up in this place or that." I know that. I know that I don't dictate what happens with my mom's treatment, her life, or anyone else's for that matter (including my own). Sometimes those thoughts just come.

Our prayer request remain the same: please pray for continued healing, strength, energy, appetite, and the house. Yes, my mom's house is still up for sale, and we would soooo like for it to sell today! Being in Lake Jackson would make this journey a little more comfortable. Family does that. They make everything better.