Monday, April 22, 2013

A Failed Attempt

Valerie Here. I am at SCCA with my mom, on her computer, while she is getting her next round of chemo. No changes to her chemo treatments yet.On Friday the 19th she went in for a lung biopsy to confirm if the growing/multiplying tumors in her lungs were in fact cancer. The rest of her organs have been stable with the current chemo. The procedure was 2 hours long. Her back was numbed in the area they would be putting the needle in. She laid on her stomach and was told to breathe in and out the same amount of breath as they pushed the needle deeper. She was not sedated for this, the local anesthetic did not take away all of the pain. When the needle hit her ribs it hurt her. They had to maneuver around the ribs. When the needle was pushed though the layer that surrounds the lung, that also hurt her. They had just gotten the needle through the lung and were very close to getting the targeted tumor when the lung leaked air and began to collapse. As the lung collapsed the tumor moved farther away from the needle until the needle was no longer poking the lung. It was too risky to poke it again with the air escaping, so they pulled the needle out of her and stopped the biopsy. They did an X-ray to see how much it was shrinking. She was hooked up to oxygen for the following six hours of rest at the hospital. They monitored her to make sure she was getting better not worse. They would not let her eat until two hours before leaving in case they needed to do a chest tube to drain fluids, or anything else in an emergency to fix her lung. She turned out to be ok and was not admitted! We were glad to be home friday night. She was to get lots of rest for a couple days and not go up/down stairs or lift anything heavy. It hurt her to breathe, especially if she sat up. Her back was also sore from the needle.For those of you who don't know this, my mom rarely sleeps more than 4 hours a night (I know, how in the world is she surviving!?). The night of the lung biopsy she slept for 10.5 hours! She felt so good and well rested the next morning. I had to make sure she didn't push herself since she was still healing. Its so frustrating for her to be held back, physically. I don't blame her. I am so grateful for her energy and the times she feels "normal." I hope that continues to be a big part of her life and the moments of pain and sick feelings are kept to a minimum.As for the biopsy, we are thinking there will not be a second try. Which we are completely ok with. Her doctor is going to decide for the next round, if the chemo will change or not. Most likely it will.I have been so impressed with my Mom throughout all of this, but she gains giant boosts of confidence when she hears from all of you in a variety of ways. You are what keeps her fighting strong. Thanks for expressing your love and support. Keep it coming!

9 comments:

  1. What beautiful strong women! Keep up the fight. Love you both!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You two are the best. So glad Val has been able to visit.
    Xoxo
    Robin

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you for the update. Our prayers and thoughts continue to be with you. How blessed you are to have each other!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Well, that didn't sound like much fun. I hope this week is a much better one. You're in our prayers every day. We're so glad you have Valerie there with you. We love you!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dawna, I wish I had the opportunity to know you instead of you. I am friends with Eddie from high school. Please know I am praying for you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dawna, I've never met you but I know Eddie. He's good people so I know you are too. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your entire family and I'm very glad that thoughts of God are comforting. Cancer is an insidious disease; you are why I Relay and volunteer with the American Cancer Society.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ouch! You are all in our prayers:). I am so glad Valerie got to extend her trip; how fun!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. A long time ago I went through a procedure like the one you just went through. The doctors were trying to get a sample of tissue by going through my liver and getting it from the tube which drains the gall bladder. They kept missing the spot and had to start over. After the third attempt, I told them to forget it because the pain was so great. You are a special, special lady, and are forever in our thoughts and prayers. Keep up the good fight. Kathy and I love you!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh, Gramps and Grammy are really Roger and Kathy Chatterton

    ReplyDelete