Update of Karen's current condition

If you were to point to yourself, that is where the tattoo dot for radiation is on my Mom. A little black pen mark to keep the radiation spot focused on the right area. It went through the front of her and to the spine to begin trying to shrink the largest tumor on her vertebrae. She won't let me post pictures of her current look, and I understand-and won't, but I think she's adorable in every way. She looks like a cute squirrel with nuts in her cheeks. (...and her favorite nuts are cashews, almonds and pecans) The more to kiss her on. She's always been lovable. Sadly, she had caught a virus from a grandkid(s) 4 weeks ago and she still has it. The immune system just doesn't fight like it should with cancer. So she has a lingering tickle-cough and dry throat and nose. Antibiotics haven't seemed to do much for it. Sorry, Mom.

She still takes about 2 naps a day. Around 11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm. She tries to go to bed around 8pm. She is really tired. You can tell in her voice and by watching her walk. If you ever get to hear her tell of what she sounds like when she snores (a side-effect of the medicine) at night and keeps my dad up it's funny because I love the way her face looks as she shows us the way she sounds.  Earplugs? For once my Dad isn't the loudest? ha ha  But she moves to the basement which is cooler and the couch is a lot more comfortable than the bed anyway.

This is from my Mom:
"My 10th and last radiation was yesterday. I got to take home my mask and they gave me a pink fleece blanket for graduation. I have cut the steroids in half and next week I'll take half of that amount. I'm hoping the pain doesn't come back and that I'll be able to get completely off of them. The doctor said I will probably have a sore, tight throat for several weeks, sunburned skin on my neck and back and fatigue for up to 6 months because of the radiation. I hope my voice goes back to normal sooner than 6 months. I can't swallow more than one pill at a time and can only sip, not swallow water now. They won't test the thyroid for 6 months to a year to see if it is still working or not, because of the radiation effects."

No matter the outcome of this, she has Faith in Every Footstep and says, "Whatever the Lord's will for me, I'm alright with it".

He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.  ~Friedrich Nietzsche
We love you, Mom and wish we could do more for you. I know there are many people who would take your pain for a night to help you sleep, if they could.

Physical strength is measured by what we can carry; spiritual by what we can bear.  ~Author Unknown

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.  ~Herm Albright, quoted in Reader's Digest, June 1995