in today's news...

A lot has happened since my last post, so it's catch-up time. I have to apologize to those of you who have reached out to me and and to whom I haven't responded; I'm usually at the hospital with mom, and when I'm not there, I'm home sleeping. I lead an exciting life, let me tell you.

First, mom had a great weekend. She was alert, has been in a good mood (for the most part), and has been eating well. That hasn't always been the case these past four weeks (mom's been in the hospital that long already). It's very painful to move and there's been some damage to her heart (from what, they're not sure) so she can no longer do radiation treatments. She was vomiting every time she swallowed pills or ate, so didn't have much of an appetite. Because she wasn't eating, she was swelling up like a balloon from not getting enough protein. The pain meds were making her hallucinate and she was groggy, sleepy, and had a hard time talking most of the time. She had fluid in her lungs, so when she did try to talk, it was hard for her to breathe. Last week, the doctors told her she only has a few weeks to live, and she took this as "two weeks" and has been telling everyone that for the past week.

Things did take a slight turn for the better. She started to get low-dosage chemo treatments, and has had two so far. We won't know if they're helping for another week or so, but so far there have not been any negative side effects. The vomiting has gone down and her appetite has gone up, so the swelling is reduced. They drained her lungs last week, and she feels so much better that she has a hard time (as do we) believing that she's going to die soon. And they've changed her pain medications and given her more control over them, so she's stopped hallucinating (for the most part) and can stay awake most of the day and carry on conversations. She had a good birthday (Saturday) and is trying to decide whether to stay in the hospital or go home. She's in a private room now, making it easier on her and the family, and thinks it might be too hard on us to take her home, but I told her that by the end of October she'll have to come home so I can take care of her and train my puppy at the same time (they'll be born end of this month and I get to bring one home in October!). She agreed. :)

Let's see. I applied for, interviewed, and got a one-year assistant professor job at a research one university two hours away, and turned it down. I was their first choice--unanimous--but mom took a turn for the worse after I interviewed and I couldn't take a job that far away. Besides, I also found out (after I interviewed) that we have a little one coming sometime around March 5, and I couldn't in good conscience take an eight-month gig of which I'd only work six months. (Like how I snuck that in there?) But I am teaching two courses at Eastern this fall, so that'll give me something to do other than sit around, eat, sleep, and worry.

That's about it for today's family news. I'll try for more news soon.