Good News... and Sad News

Mom slept "the sleep of the just" last night and woke up well rested and feeling better, better, better!!

And, best of all... NO MORE ITCHING! Mom has been itchy for almost a month b/c of the bilirubin salt that built up in her skin. So, the itching gone- and a good night's sleep- is a wonderful gift!

Mom has had some tremendous support. Her sister Susan came and spent almost everyday of Mom's hospital stay at her bedside. She was the best advocate and cheerleader! We are forever indebted to her for that.

Now, Mom's sister-in-law Joan has come to stay and help. Unfortunatly, Joanie learned that her brother-in-law Reg passed away this afternoon. Reg is survived by his wife, Suzanne and their daughter Elizabeth. Please take just a moment and offer prayers and kind thoughts to all of Reg's family as they cope with this loss.

Thank God Almighty!

We are HOME AT LAST!
It was a little disappointing yesterday when we found out that Mom would not be discharged in time for Anna's birthday party, Mom wasn't sure she could handle another day in room 453. But she made it. And everything looked so good this morning that they discharged her! She is home here and settling in nicely, wrapped in a blanket and curled up next to the fire.

We really need to thank the remarkably generous and thoughtful staff at Jewish Hospital. They found small and large ways every day to make all of us- especially Mom- comfortable and welcome.

Thank you, Thank you for the prayers and support that have seen her through thus far!

Hangin' Out

Mom and I had a great afternoon yesterday! We dozed (nothing like a nap to make you feel better) we goofed off, we laughed... She is in a great mood and really recovering nicely. We're still pretty confident that she'll be released on Saturday. Then she'll meet with her oncologist the week after that to firm up her treatment plans.

Mmmmm... applesauce!

Well! After a couple of rough days I am thrilled to tell you that Mom has had a great day! She started with 1/2 a roll, some applesauce and milk. Solid food!!!

We are still on target for Mom to come home this weekend- and we can't wait!

Thanks for all your prayers and positive energy, keep 'em coming!

Improving...

Slowly but surely Mom is improving. In fact, depending on who you are, it may seem faster or slower. For example, Mom's doctor just kept saying, "Wonderful! Wonderful! You're doing great!" To which Mom replied, "If this is great, I'd hate to see what 'bad' is like!" But she's hanging in there.

We limited visitors to family only for Sunday and Monday because she just needs to rest. Sunday she was very tired. She spent most of the day dozing, although she did get up and walk some. It was really funny because Dad and I went to sit with her yesterday afternoon and all three of us ended up napping! I thought I was reading, until I opened my eyes and my sister, Molly, was standing in the room ready to take over for the night shift.

Your Support

I have to tell you that your support has been wonderful. Every time I talk to Mom, I share with her your comments, and she is overwhelmed. A number of people have emailed or called asking for Mom's contact information at the hospital because you want to send something a little more personal.

She can be reached at the address below, although I will add that Mom is in a tiny little room and said that she was afraid that flowers or other gifts would end up shoved aside. She'd love to get your cards or notes, though. For those of you that have mailed them to the house, we've been taking the cards down to the hospital daily, so she's already getting them.

Today has been another great day, she's been up and walking and she is rediscovering the joys of clear liquids. She told me this morning that the grape juice tasted amazing! Anna, Emme, David and Alli all stopped by for a visit (one at a time b/c there are too many buttons in a hospital room for little kids!) and provided much needed sunshine and general kid-wonderfulness.

All in all, a good day.

Address for Mom:

Peggy Wade
Jewish Hospital
217 East Chesnut Street
Room 453
Louisville, KY 40202

Getting better...

I'm sorry it's taken me a couple of days to get back to you, but I wanted to see her before I said anything else to you, and I got to see her yesterday evening. She's really improving quickly. Her NG tube is out and she's been up. Yesterday she walked down the hall a little!

Her doctor called her "The Yellow Rose of Texas" b/c she's a little jaundiced, but I told her I thought she had the whitest teeth I'd ever seen!

The pathology report came back with the clinical staging and it's a 2. This means she will definitely have to have chemotherapy and radiation once she heals from surgery. It's going to be a little more of a fight than we thought.

But, as Mom says all the time, she's "in great shape for the shape I'm in."

Note...

If you are trying to post a comment, I have somehow set up the blog so that they are emailed to me first. Sorry for the delay, but we are getting messages!

Thanks!

Good News!

At 11:50 this morning, I called and talked to Mom just before she was sedated. I told her about the overwhelming support she has been receiving and told her that you all were sending her prayers and positive energy. She told me, "I can feel it!"

And I guess she could. Things could not have gone better. They started surgery just before 1pm and finished right around 4:30. The doctor came out and told us that everything went really well and "there was no evidence of metastasis." YAY!

We also found out that she was off the ventilator by 5:45. She'll spend 12-24 hours in ICU- just as a precaution. Then she'll be moved to a step-down unit. The doctor said we can expect her to spend about 10 days in the hospital.

Molly, Jim and Mom's sister Sue are going to hang around this evening until Mom's out of recovery- or they get kicked out- whichever comes first; but I wanted to get home to the blog and let you know the good news...

We are so blessed!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Well, today was all about pre-op testing, magnesium citrate (boo!) and jello (green in honor of St. Pat!)

After a big family dinner and a quiet anointing of the sick last evening with the priest from Jim & Faith's parish, Mom's in good shape for tomorrow. She goes in at 10 and surgery starts, as she put it, "at high noon." We expect that surgery will last about 5 hours, and an hour or two of recovery, then its off to ICU for a couple of days of extra special care.

All of the family will be downtown at the hospital off-and-on tomorrow, so we'll also be celebrating Anna's 11th birthday!

I will keep you posted!

Background Info

Mom was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the head of the pancreas last Friday after a CT scan, an ERCP with stents, and an EUS with biopsies. (And that was just for diagnosis! Whew!)

Well, she went with my dad, Richard, this morning to meet with her surgeon and everything is set for surgery at noon on this Wednesday, March 18. This surgery, called a Whipple is a pretty big deal, and will take approximately 5 hours. Then she'll be in the hospital for a week to 10 days if there are no complications.

We're all confident, and Mom is in great spirits.

Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers- especially Wednesday at noon!

Well, Here We Are

Hello! If you've been invited to read this, you are following Peggy Wade's cancer treatment. Some of you know me, but for those of you that don't, Peggy is my Mom. I am her middle daughter, Jennifer, the teacher. Just after she was diagnosed, Mom and I talked about the best way to keep everyone informed about her progress and we decided that- since so many people are scattered all over- and because we don't want people waiting around for phone calls and emails, this blog might be the best way to keep you in the loop. Feel free to post any questions you have, or email me at jenniferwade.mat@gmail.com. I will do my best to post every couple of days.