Yesterday Dad took Mom to see her neurologist for an MS checkup and as a follow up for the seizures they believe she has been having due to the "old" MS lesions on her brain which are apparently not uncommon.  Everything went pretty well, I read the note and although Mom's coordination tests have showed some significant changes since the last one in Jan 2020, 9 months before Mom's cancer diagnosis, she did really well with her neuro and gait test with walker assistance.  The neurologist was wondering if her MS med was causing some issues with her lymphocyte numbers and reached out to her oncologist since chemo can impact those as well, and should that med be stopped.  A blood test was ordered for her to have her seizure med levels checked today during chemo to make sure that they we at a therapeutic level.  Neuro didn't want to stick her when she knew that they could just draw the blood from her port along with her other labs during chemo.  

Picked up Mom for chemo this morning at 9am and let me tell you..... that woman was all dressed cute, had fixed her hair up, put her headband on which covers her odd bald area from her radiation in Feb, shoes were on, she filled her water bottle, had her tablet in her walker bag......I have never ONCE picked her up for chemo and had her have taken care of all of this!!!!  I usually get there a little early to give me time to help take care of some of this!  I have no clue what came over her but I LOVED IT!  I loved seeing her take care of business and me not having to rush to take care of it all.  AMAZING!!!  You go Mom!!!!!  For those of you who don't know what a chemo day looks like for us... I drive about 30 min or so north east to get her, put her lidocaine cream on her port, cover it, make sure she's dressed and presentable, pills are taken, fill water bottle, grab her purse, tablet, cell phone, pack them in walker, get her down the stairs, get shoes on, coat if needed, etc.  Then it's 45 min south to chemo, about 3 hours or so there, then 45 min back north to take her home while calling Dad at work to fill him in on everything and getting Mom lunch,  get her inside, unpack everything, make sure she's all set until Dad gets home a few hours after, then 30 or so min south west to get back home.  It's an all day adventure...but I'm helping my Mom and that's what matters....just wanted to give you a picture of the driving and chemo time. 

Chemo went like clockwork today.  The extra lab was drawn, Mom's other labs came back ok and her hematocrit was still fairly stable and no need for a blood transfusion.  Mom has needed 2 transfusions in past sessions due to a low hematocrit.  She seems to do well as long as it is closer to 10... she's 9.4.  When her hematocrit is lower, she shows signs of extreme fatigue.  Dr. Campbell, Mom's oncologist ( he's so amazing by the way), stated that he did notice that Mom's lymphocytes have slightly gone up and down over the years with a big noted decline back in 2008, but that was when she was on chemo for the anal cancer.  Since he was aware of that was the cause of the huge decline back then,  he was not too concerned and believed that stopping her MS medication now would only cause her to have MS issues which would then be exacerbated by the current cancer and the stress of that.  It would do more harm than good.  At this point, he will monitor her lymphocytes and she is to continue her MS medication.  At this time, her lab to find out if her seizure med is at a therapeutic dose is not back yet.

Mom broke her right hip/femoral head a few years ago and has been complaining of more pain in her leg and although the rod goes from the head to her knee, her pain seems to be more in the lower leg.  Dr. Campbell explained that the pain can cause issues above and below the joint and that is probably why she feels pain in her lower leg.  We're working with Mom to be more active throughout the day by using her walker and even if it's just walking in circles through the kitchen, dining room, and living room, movement is key.  Movement lubricates the joints.  The neurologist did put in a referral for physical therapy, but at this time Dad and I are working hard to call and remind Mom throughout the day to just keep moving!!  Dad had purchased Mom this foot pedal thing that actually moves on it's own, all she has to do is sit down in a chair and put her feet in the pedals, and watch whatever trash show she wants!  Whatever works...right!!!  So, once Mom gets moving more on her own, we can then entertain getting her to PT. 

We've had some NASTY storms the last couple days and one lasted a few hours while we were in chemo, but thankfully it was over by the time we were done.  I offered Mom a few places for a late lunch and she picked Cracker Barrel....in normal Mom style...she stuffed her face!!!  One thing this cancer hasn't taken is her appetite.  I actually think she eats a lot more now than she did before the cancer!!!