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Hello and welcome to the page. We are glad you found us. Hope your doing well. If you have questions post them in the questions page. There are lots of great people here on the site that have a wealth of knowledge that can help.
I can't come up with enough words to thank you for this site. I need to talk but the things I need help with I don't want anyone I know to know. I have a twin brother and no other siblings. For what ever reasons I have never had a relationship with my mother. My brother and I are now 52 years old. I have lived in SC for the past 31 years and have a picket fence family of a 28 year husband and two beautiful adult children. My brother has lived with my mother for the past 19 years and is an alcoholic. When she was diagnosed she called on me to come and take care of her. My first instinct after arriving in GA was because she needed me for transport of my brother to and from work and her to and from treatments. It has been three months now since she has been in treatment. I have lost my job, my brother is intoxicated every, every night after work, BUT my relationship with my mother has strengthened. It has made my faith even stronger than it has ever been and has given me memories that I can now hold on to and smile about when it come to my mom.
We are happy to have you here. It is a place you can be annonymous if you need or want to be. Lots of great people to help. If you have questions please post them in the questions tab and lots of great peope here will give you help.
Let me know if you need help with anything around the site.
Greg P
Team WhatNext
Other Care (Hospitalization): My mom's chemo went as scheduled on November 27, 28, and 29. She was tired as always Friday through Monday. Then on Tuesday and Wednesday something just didn't seem right. At this point we are normally on the way back up hill. She was sleeping 18 to 20 hours a day. I woke her up around 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday and she was extremely confused and could not stand alone. I immediately took her to ER. She was given 3 pints of blood. By the time Thursday afternoon came she was ready to leave the hospital and go home. Of course being a cancer patient her liver panels and all blood test were very abnormal and the doctors wanted to run upper and lower GI test and she did not want to be there. BUT they did do a CT of the brain because of the confusion and discovered that the tumor in the brain has increased in size. This is so disappointing. We have our next chemo appointment scheduled for December 18, 19 and 20. We always see the doctor the first day. I am not sure how or what he will do now because of the blood loss and the tumor growth.
Oh No (Work problems): I mentioned in the beginning that I ran a law firm in Charleston SC for 9 years when I received the news of my mom. My twin brother works and does not have any drivers license. My mom has for many years transported him to and from work and since the diagnoses this has been a problem. She no longer drives and hasn't since the beginning of September. I took a leave of absence from my job in order to take care of my mom. I was told by my employer on September 30, 2012 that I no longer have a job because I made a choice between my job and my mother. I did not see that I had any other choice to make. I filed for unemployment through my state and was denied. They said with me leaving it was a voluntary quit. It is sad that an employer can dismiss you without any compassion. My mind and heart are so full right now with my mom I can't even process this.
Drug or Chemo Therapy (Chemotherapy): My mom has a very aggressive form of cancer, so the treatment has to be as aggressive. She gets chemo three days in a row. This leaves her very tired. She sleeps more than half the day away the first week. The second week, we call it her well week. She laughs and wants to get out of the house, which we certainly do. Then it's chemo week again and we start over. When we started my mom's weight was 181. This was due to fluid retention. She now weighs 129 and seems to be losing each week. Her appetite was enormous in the beginning. If it wasn't tied down she ate it, especially anything sweet. Now, I am lucky if I can get her to eat a bowl of cereal or oat meal.
Drug or Chemo Therapy (Nausea medicine): My mom's radiation treatments were from September 12, 2012 through September 25, 2012. We stated chemotherapy on September 26, 2012. I was preparing myself for the sickness that I was sure she would have due to the chemo medicine. The first thing they gave her through her IV was a bag a nausea. Then her chemo medicine. My mom never ever got sick as far as an upset stomach. I am so thankful for the nausea medicine that was given first. Please ask your doctor about it if you are not already receiving it. It is amazing.
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