Clinical Trial - Fail: The clinical trial did not go well. It made Carolyn so sick that she couldn't eat for a week. She lost a lot of weight and to this day hasn't fully recovered from how monstrous the trial affected her. The only option to continue the trial was to cut the dosage in half - we felt cutting it in half was still going to make her too sick that we exited the clinical trial.
She's Moved In: Carolyn has officially moved into my house where I can help take care of her - prepare food, wash her clothes, and provide a warm, clean environment that is worry free for her! I like to think she is living like a queen. :) Melissa and her girls come to stay on the weekends where she helps take care of our mom's needs as well. Truly she is better at things like that than I am.
Current Health: She is starting to sleep a lot more, but is still awake for most of the day. Her body is starting to slowly shut down and her metabolism has slowed significantly that she now needs very little to eat. She snacks throughout the day on popsicles, flatbreads, and (her favorite) Tomato Potato Soup (a family recipe). She has low energy and is for the most part pretty weak. She hates getting ready in the mornings because it takes up so much of her energy.
Severe Cough: She started to develop a cough in August and as we moved into the Holidays it only got worse. By Christmas it was so bad she almost went to the ER. But because that would mean she would have been there overnight during Christmas, she decided to wait until her next doctor visit. The doctor took some scans and couldn't identify why she was having such a strong dry cough. She has not developed any water on the lungs or anything like that - so he is puzzled as to what the cause could be. He prescribed her some medication that has done WONDERS for her. It's like she is a new woman! She can now have longer conversations and has a lot more energy!
Jaundice: As her liver starts to fail and shut down, her body will move into Jaundice. Her skin and eyes will start to turn yellow and at that point has anywhere between 6-10 weeks left to live. In December the doctor said that she has started to Jaundice which starts the process of the 6-10 weeks left ... but then her most recent visit he said her coloring looked a lot better. We're not really sure what to think since Carolyn's skin has always had an olive complexion and she doesn't look any different to us. At this point we know she doesnt have a lot of time left and whether its 4 more weeks or 2 months, we are just trying to enjoy our time with her as much as we can.
Hospice: Hospice came to visit for the first time. They gave us a run down of what the end days will look like. I guess I didnt realize that Hospice is not in-home nurse care. Instead, they are there to enable ME to be her nurse. So as Carolyn's days come to an end, I will be administering her meds, morphine, etc. As such, I will have to take medical leave from work to help take care of her. That was a little unexpected, but Melissa and I would do anything for our mom so it doesn't bother us too much. As of now, Hospice will be coming once a week to take her vitals and to get her any new medications she might need.
Social Life: She has the most active social life I've ever seen right now! Her family has been taking her out to dinners to spend some 1:1 time with her and this weekend we'll be getting together as a larger family to look at old photos, etc. Last weekend Melissa and I took her out to get a pedicure and then I took her to St. Elmo's as she had never been before! It's the little things...
Her new address: If you would like to send her cards, flowers, etc at her new address (my place) - please message me on Facebook and I will provide you with the address.
