Sunny Saturday

Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand. -- Mark Twain

Saturday at the ICU...the morning began with another great breakfast and pill regimen. It's a good thing the nurses have a database of all Mom's medications, because she takes 7 pills at breakfast alone and more throughout the day. It's amazing she can get them all down. Some are harder than others. I'll put my plug in now for you smart NRMS students, please go into the pharmaceutics field after college. Please make it mandatory that all pills be coated, slippery, and preferably no bigger than a baby aspirin size. No one should have to swallow pills the size of rolled up quarters, especially when the pill is full of chemotherapy drugs that you are not allowed to chew or to sprinkle into applesauce.

We have discovered a few tricks in this pill-taking business. Applesauce helps sometimes, yogurt was a big help, putting your chin to your chest helps (it raises your epiglottis out of the way - who knew?)The nurses here are so supportive, helpful, and patient with us as we learn to do this together.

While Mom enjoyed her breakfast in the ICU, some wonderful teachers from her school brought a breakfast buffet up to the waiting room, where the Worrell-Probasco clan completely stuffed their piggy faces. Thank you, friends, for your love and support! Mom is very lucky to have friends like you.

No radiation therapy on weekends, unless it's "an emergency." It's hard to think of a glioblastoma as not being an emergency, but we're not doctors. So just chemotherapy pills for the weekend. Mom asks a few times a day when she can get more radiation, she is ready to get this show on the road! She knows the treatment she had Friday, in addition to the chemo, is helping her make small baby step progress. She's eking out a few more words here and there, proof positive that treatment is helping reduce the swelling and pressure in her brain.

During non-visiting hours, our family (minus Mom and never-leaves-her-side Dad) enjoyed a very special event at Richland High School. Mom's been an English teacher at North Richland Middle School for around 23 years, and she is well-loved by her students. (Check out the videos on her Facebook page or the comments in this blog!) All of her kids move up to Richland High School after NRMS, and several have joined a group called the Johnny Rebs. I don't know the exact way to describe this group...but let's say they are energetic actors, dancers, lip synchers, performers and friends. The event last night was billed as the "Johnny Reb Lip Sync", and it was a variety of acts that ranged from hysterical (a take on Toddlers and Tiaras) to amazing (Beyonce!).

The Johnny Rebs on stage

It was thoroughly entertaining - thank you to Annie Bentz and your awesome mom for inviting us to the show! The most special thing about the show was that the kids dedicated it to our Mom. What an honor to her.

When the emcee made that announcement at the beginning of the show, she got applause. And it grew, and then there were cat calls and whistles and "Go Mrs. Worrell!" Mom would have been so happy to hear that! We have a lot of it on video, and we will load it up for her to see as soon as we can. It's impossible to count the number of students Mom has taught through her time not only at NRMS but before...at York High School in Yorktown, Virginia, and at Clovis High School in Clovis, New Mexico...and probably some others that I can't remember right now. Every student that had the luck to be in her classroom has been treasured and fussed over. It's awesome to see that love come back in many different ways. Thank you, Johnny Rebs! It was a special night for us.

When we came back to the hospital after the show, I showed Mom the program of the show and told her all about it. She was so excited to read the program and see all the students' names. She asked for pictures of them all, so if you don't mind, flood my email alicia.probasco@gmail.com with headshots! Individual pictures are easier for Mom to see than videos because she can focus on them and let her eyes absorb all the details slowly.

Mrs. Worrell says, "Awesome!"

A few more things...Mom enjoyed kisses from her grandchildren and us girls of course. Lots of hand holding, lots of hugs, lots of reading cards and Facebook posts and blog comments. Keep those coming, please! She even had a comment from her son-in-law that made her giggle...he said the Tar Heel we drew on her whiteboard looked more like a steak than a Tar Heel. She laughed! Mom's sense of humor is kicking well. It's hard to make a joke, but it's easy to laugh at one.

Today let's be thankful for laughter. It's the best medicine!