Susie's headed back home

Hi Family and Friends.

Suzanne was released from the hospital today and is finally headed back home. Fortunately, the hospital stay went by quickly and without a doubt the antibiotics and blood transfusion have served her well.

While we are so happy that mom gets to go rest in the comfort of her home now, we are saddened by the tough news Dr. Massey had for us today. He says that mom's CA125 level has continued to increase despite the most recent drug used for chemotherapy. Suzanne will meet with him again next Wednesday to discuss her options going forward.

You can imagine how difficult all this uncertainty is for her, this incredible fighter who just doesn't know how to give up, and her family, wanting to hold on to her forever. This chapter of life is almost incomprehensible for all of us and each second of the day is filled with a rollercoaster of emotions.

Your prayers and messages of encouragement have been extraordinary. Thank you and feel free to keep them coming. (Send them directly to Suzanne at strengthforsuzanne@gmail.com or comment below.) We are always so grateful. Facing the unknown requires true faith in God, and it is a prayer for this that perhaps we need most.


Thanks and love to you all,
Lauren

Hospital - Day 3

It's Wednesday evening and I just got home from a hospital visit with mom.

Yesterday she received 2 units of blood and has been on IV antibiotics since being admitted on Monday.  She got lots of rest last night (finally a peaceful night) and today she sounded so much better and seemed to be building up some strength.

Unfortunately though, during our visit tonight she started experiencing extremely intense abdominal pain. I think there may have been a lapse of too much time since her last dose of pain medication which is never good.

Please pray for Suzanne's body to continue fighting this infection and building strength so she can return home soon.

More tomorrow...
Lauren

The next challenge

Today is Tuesday and our next challenge in this battle has officially arrived. Over the weekend mom had fever and chills (Friday night, Saturday night and all day Sunday) and by yesterday she just couldn't shake it. So despite her pleading with us not to do it, we called Dr. Massey and he had us take her to Methodist. She was admitted last night.

Dr. Massey was not pleased that we had allowed a few days to go by before calling him. But if you know Suzanne, you know that getting her to the doctor, much less a hospital, requires some begging, pleading and not allowing yourself to fall for those tears. We had all fallen for the tears over the weekend and ultimately - we just wanted to let her rest in the peace of her home. Plus, she had a similiar situation with fever and chills happen about a month ago, and she seemed to overcome that on her own while at home.

At any rate, Ray and I took our scolding from Dr. Massey and we won't let it happen again. We promise.

So as of this morning, mom found out that she has an infection in her white blood cells so she's on an IV antibiotic. This seems to be working. Additionally, Suzanne's hemoglobin is low so she will be getting a blood transfusion today (I think, or maybe tomorrow). Those wondeful nurses at Methodist are taking good care of her (as they always do) and hopefully she'll be home by the end of the week. I will post updates as we get them.

Just wanted to also pass along a little happy time from this past weekend. On Saturday, we had a window where mom was feeling okay so my sisters and I decided to take her to Boerne. What a beautiful day it was! We headed over to Peach Cafe and had such a great girls lunch!! The staff was so nice and we honestly felt like we were having a homecooked lunch at someone's house.

Mom had Chicken and Dumplings...

Mandy had a bowl of chili and Becky had shrimp gumbo...

Ashley had Chicken Pot Pie....

and I had an amazing Turkey Caprese Panini of which I forgot to take a picture.

Susie had just enough energy to browse around two shops and back home we went. We were so blessed to have such a beautiful time together.

As updates come in, I will pass them along. Please continue to keep Suzanne in your thoughts and prayers.

Love,

Lauren

Good news this week!

Susie received some very good news this week! After a routine exam with Dr. Massey on Tuesday he found that some of her masses seem to be getting smaller. Hooray, hooray for this wonderful news! While mom is still feeling a little run down from all the chemo she's had over the last few weeks, she was very happy to hear that this latest drug must be working. We'll have more specific results next week when she has her labwork done and her CA125 levels retested.

The other good news is that Susie gets a break from chemo this week (first break in 4 weeks if I'm not mistaken...wow). So, let's hope and pray that by the time this weekend comes, mom is feeling strong enough to head outdoors and enjoy some sunshine. And after all the rain we've had lately, we could all use a little sunshine by now, right?

In the next day or two I'm planning to write a post about my beautiful sisters and what they're doing at home to keep mom comfortable and cared for.... at the ages of 16 and 13 these girls are keeping up with so much in their school and home life and I really want to recognize all that they do. Until then... be well!