the Saturday evening post

Okay, I know I'm probably a little bit biased, but, seriously, who else thinks this is the cutest my blog has ever looked?? Is it cute enough that everyone would just be happy looking at my festive header and background and I wouldn't have to actually post anything new? No? You really just came here for a Tricia update and you don't care what my blog looks like? Okay, fine then, have it your way.

Well, my mom's had a very up and down week. And, since I didn't really post an update last week, I'll go ahead and tell you that it was pretty rough. Her stomach issues seemed to get worse - she was to the point where she couldn't even leave the house. And she also developed a new pain on the lower right side of her abdomen that would come and go. Needless to say, Dr. T's poor nurse practitioner was bombarded with questions from us on Monday morning (or afternoon, I should say, since our 10:30 appointment didn't actually happen until around 1pm - longest day at West Clinic ever!). And of all days for us not to see Dr. Tauer! But his nurse practitioner was good and helpful. He felt all over Mom's abdomen and felt nothing but scar tissue and also reviewed her last CT scan (from mid-October), which looked fine. He was most worried about an abscess (i.e., infection), but Mom hasn't any symptoms of infection. He said, if it were a pain caused by cancer, it wouldn't go away (this is something Dr. T has told her before, too, because, if you have cancer, you're afraid every headache is a brain tumor and every backache is a spinal tumor). So we'll just keep an eye on it and were instructed to call if it gets worse or she has any new symptoms. By the way, that pain is totally gone this week. It may have been gas pain or some weird chemo side effect; chemo does some strange stuff, like make her shins hurt. Weird. Anyway, the nurse practitioner also suggested we talk to our friend Randy (who's Mom's GI doctor) about her GI issues, which we'd already done at church on Sunday.

Okay, back to this up and down week. Monday Mom felt pretty good but we were stuck at West Clinic all day so she didn't really get to enjoy her good day. Usually we'll go to lunch and maybe run a couple errands after chemo (since she gets a steroid with her chemo, the side effects don't usually hit 'til Wednesday), but she didn't get done until about 4pm. My older brother Jared came to town to surprise Mom and spend the afternoon with her, so he got to hang out at West Clinic with us, too. Fun. But chemo #5 of 8 is done - only three more to go!

Tuesday was a GREAT day! I worked all day, so Mom was by herself. Until now, she's only made quick outings by herself, but she was feeling so good on Tuesday that she went to Target and did a little Christmas shopping. :-) And on Wednesday the steroid wore off and the chemo kicked in. :-( She hasn't felt great since then and has spent most of her time in the recliner. Yesterday was so bad that we were afraid she had a stomach virus, but she seems to be a little better today. I think it was a mix of chemo/Tarceva side effects and some not-so-bland things that she ate. We're really hoping that she feels better by tomorrow because we have a million things going on. Of course we have church in the morning, and Tekia's in the children's Christmas musical at church tomorrow night, and, unfortunately, we have a funeral to attend in between the two. Some of our dear friends' parents, aunt, and uncle were tragically killed in a car accident on Monday afternoon. Please keep their family in your prayers.

And, as always, please keep our family in your prayers. Unfortunately, cancer was not the only thing that made our week hard last week. The enemy hasn't given up on us, that's for sure (really sick of him, by the way). The good news is Jesus hasn't given up on us either - we are so undeserving of that but so thankful for it.

FYI, Mom should have another scan (unsure if it'll be CT or PET) in January when she finishes chemo. We can go ahead and be praying about that!

Also, It might be Christmas on my blog 'til March. That's how much I love my blog makeover. Just warning you.