Sunday dinner together

We were able to enjoy a nice Sunday dinner with the Becks before they leave back for Utah tomorrow. Dad was even able to come out and be with us. He is still struggling to get back on his feet. The doctor changed his gout medicine and we are hoping that it will get him better.

Mom continues to get raving reviews from the in home health care nurses. She will start radiation in two weeks.

We will miss a lot Becky and can't say enough about what she has done for mom and dad.

Some other news. Mom and Dad have now got an Ipad that they are starting to use. You can see it in the picture. Dad's holding it. They had an Ipod touch for a couple of years but always struggled with the smallness of the screen and buttons. They are excited to try it again with the Ipad.

We signed them up with a new email address as well. It is:

bobandalicejo@gmail.com

They welcome emails and are hoping that in time to be able to write back.

New Blog Name & Mom's Post Surgery Appt. - 03/18/11

I have decided to change the name of the blog to Alice Jo & Buddy's Status. Mom continues to recover from her surgery, surprising all her nurses and physicians. In fact today with Dr. Summers her pathology report finally was received and was reviewed. Dr. Summers was excited to share the results with us. One of the amazing results was that the final size of the tumor was .9 cm. Let that sink in. Only .9 cm! What began as the size of a tennis ball had been reduced with the chemo to not even a centimeter. She also told us that the tumor was shown to still have chemo treatment in it. She said that is impressive and exciting for them to see, because it shows that the chemo was doing exactly what it was suppose to, attack the cancer. One other thing she shared with us was that beside the lymph nodes she knew were cancerous, she had removed 7 other ducts to see, two of which she knew were already infected. The others were a preventative measure to just make sure other areas were good. And sure enough, the 5 other ducts were proved to not be infected. Great News. Dr. Summers agrees that Mom should be a poster child for breast cancer survivors. Mom only needs to come back for a check up in 6 months. That is two doctors down and only one to go. Dr. Spalding is up next with radiation.

Dad on the other hand has had some difficult twists and setbacks. Many of you know his constant battle with gout. Well with the last round we were noticing that he just wasn't getting better and this was concerning. Becky, who has been a big blessing for all of us, suggested that we prick Dad's finger and get a glucose number. His feet were really swollen and discolored which is evidence of poor circulation possibly caused by diabetes. So we did take his number and it was 238, which is extremely high. We waited two hours, he had just drank some orange juice, and yet it was over 230. We quickly made an appointment to see the doctor. There after some tests Dr. Murray diagnosed dad as being diabetic. He prescribed him some medication that he hopes that will aid in bringing things around. He wants to see Dad back in 3 weeks to do some more tests, but till then has put Dad on a strict, strict diet program. He hopes that it was a result stress, and the gout and so forth.

So from now on this blog will be about both Mom and Dad and will hopefully be about not just diseases and illnesses, but good reports about them and their experiences as well.

Back Home - 3/4/2011

Well it is hard to believe, but we are back home! Dad was able to make the trip to get mom from the hospital, which was a joyful surprise for her. They sat together holding hands on the way home, like two lovebirds.

Mom got a clean bill of health from Dr Summers along with her personal cell phone number to call in case of any concern over the weekend. She has been amazing and truly as Felicia said, "a healer."

Post Surgery - Dr. Summers consult

2:55 pm - Dr. Summers came out of the operating room and talked to us. She said everything went according to plans. There was no surprise. Mom is still in recovery but had come out of the anesthesia with a "smile." Dr. Summers said that she knew right then that she was going to be ok! Mom's blood pressure rose a little but it as no concern.

4:45 pm - Mom was brought into her room. she is in room #477. She is alert and awake and in good spirits. They had her get up and go into the bathroom. that help get her more conscious. We have been truly blessed by the Lord.

Mom's pre-surgery - morning of 3/3/2011

i just wanted to let all know about mom and her surgery. It is now 12:30 pm and they just wheeled mom into the operation room. I am including some pictures of her and those that came to wish her well. We are so excited that Becky was able to arrive safely from Utah. Felicia and Doc also added some special moments to the wait time as Mom met with doctors and nurses. I'll keep all up to date as we can. Dr. Summers said that it should last about 2 hours.

6th Chemo & Dr. Summers' visit - surgery scheduled for the 3rd of March

Mom's last round of chemo went really well, it was on the 7th. Paul came to accompany us. She continues to be an inspiration to us all. She had an appointment this past Monday, the 21st, with Dr. Summers the surgeon. Dr. Summers was really pleased with how everything had gone with chemo and the way the tumor had reacted to the treatments. It is all shrunk to only a little mass that they struggle to find when examining her. Dr. Summers has scheduled Mom's surgery for the 3rd of March sometime in the afternoon. Even though the tumor has shrunk it will be a mastectomy and not jut a lumpectomy. Dr.Summers insisted that with the nature of this kind of cancer and with the lymph nodes that were infected, it is what is best to ensure the possibility of getting it all and not to have the likelihood of returning. She did say that they would be able to be very precise and exact and would only remove the tumor and the ducts of the lymph nodes infected without harming or touching any muscle or other tissue. We all felt that it was right to continue following the advice of these wonderful physicians. Mom will spend a night in the hospital after the surgery and if all goes well she will be able to return home the next day. Becky is flying into Charlottesville on the 2nd and will be a big help for the weeks she is planning on staying. Once again we would like to thank all for your prayers and concern. we'll keep everyone posted.

5th Chemo Treatment - 1/17/2011

The 5th treatment has come and gone and so far it has been uneventful. Paul was able to accompany Mom to this treatment and they met with Dr. Pritchard before the treatment and he was happy about how things were progressing. He said that after the first blood draw after the 6th chemo Mom would meet with Dr. Sumers the surgeon to set the date for her surgery. He said that it would most likely be some time in late March.

We keep plodding along slowly but steady. Mom still has had no problems with the new chemo drug.