Hello, everyone! It has been far too long since I've posted an update about my beautiful mom!
We've received the second set of scans back and the results show that her cancer has reduced by 20% ... what??? In case you didn't catch that, this is amazing news! Mom is still often tired and having a hard time finding food appetizing, but the pain in her side has lessened and we now know this is due to the cancer shrinking back from the chemo. It's so good to know that the chemo is working given how hard it is on her body.
So what does this mean? It means that she may be around with us a little longer than we at first thought. It has been almost 6 months since her diagnosis ... which at that time we were told 3-6 months if chemo doesn't work and 11-12 months is the average survival rate if the chemo does work. Because the cancer is actually shrinking the doctor thinks she could be a good candidate for longer than the average 12 months. However, three months could go by and suddenly the cancer could retaliate with a vengence and start to take over her liver again. Or a year could go by and the cancer would no longer regress and begin spreading again. You just never can be sure (seeing a pattern here??). He did however remind us that when the time comes, Mom's health will decline slowly as opposed to a drastic change that leads to a quick passing. So we will have plenty of heads up that the end is drawing near.
I have bittersweet news that my Grandma ... my mom's mom ... passed away Sunday, October 13th. She had advanced Alzheimer's for several years leading up to her passing, so we'd all been praying for awhile that Jesus would take her home with him. She was a wonderful wonderful Mom and Grandma to our family ... we are so blessed to have so many wonderful memories of her. The interesting perspective in all of this is that my mom will get to see her Mom soon ... restored to her perfect self. My mom is SO excited to be able to join her in the arms of Jesus.
In memory of my Grandma, I posted the below video of her favorite hymn.
