Progress!

Some days are just so much better than others -- today was one of those days.  Mom had a follow-up visit with her neuro-oncologist.  What huge strides she has made in the last month!

She passed all her doctor's tests with flying colors, and both doctors she met with confirmed that, despite the temporary halt of chemo, she has made great progress with her tumor.  She is stronger physically, and her speech has tremendously improved.  She is starting to make unconscious movements which those of us without brain tumors do without even thinking, like when getting up from a chair, moving her feet a little backwards to get the momentum up.  That is a skill we have been reminder her of every single time she stands up, and Dad noticed yesterday she was moving them back without the reminder.  That's great progress!

Dr. Maher said something that made Mom very, very happy. She said something like whatever you are doing that is great is not a fluke. It's because your brain has healed enough to let you do that. So when Mom naturally lifts her leg up to put her foot in the wheelchair footrest, that's her brain working!  When Dad has to lift her foot to get it up there, it's not her brain "not" working, because she already proved it does. It just means she's fatigued and she needs to rest, take a breath, and try again.  She can do it.

Interesting thing about the brain. Dr. Battiste compared the brain to a muscle.  When it's fatigued, i.e. under any sort of stress or anxiety, it doesn't work as well. So if Mom says "I can't find my legs" it means really, she can't feel them, because her brain is too tired to let that pathway through.  She knows her legs are there, and she can see them, but she can't feel them, literally. But a few minutes of rest, deep breaths, get the stress under control, and the feeling will come back. Just like a muscle that works better after it's allowed to rest.

Other interesting facts from today's:

• Mom can reduce her steroids!  We'll be watching carefully for new symptoms that may come from swelling, but we expect this will be a good reduction in medicine. This will cause her swelling to go down, blood sugar to naturally regulate, and her wound to heal more quickly.  It will allow her skin to heal faster and not be so paper thin.
• Mom had her picc-line removed today!  This was put in while she was at St. Paul's, and it was intended for easy IV medicine administration and blood draws.  It was very helpful there, but not so much now, since she's not on any IV medicines. So the nurses did one last draw from it today for lab work, and then removed it! YEAH! No more daily flushing of the lines, no more having to cover it for showers, and no more having dangling tubes from under her right arm.  Super happy about this!
• Mom had her first restaurant meal since before February 10, 2012.  After her appointment, with plenty of energy from such a good visit, we went to Cafe Istanbul for a wonderful Turkish lunch.   The restaurant was empty, it was an odd time of day for lunch, but the waitress was typically wonderful, the manager sat and visited with us, and we all enjoyed some true down time and talked about Mom and Dad's adventures in Turkey.  It was lovely and we will go back on August 29th, after Mom's next doctor's visit.

Many thanks to all of you who have joined the Meal Train to help Mom and Dad with dinners.  You are such a blessing to us, thank you for your friendship and for the healthy and delicious meals you're bringing over.