Six weeks

Six weeks ago today was Anna's first diagnosis with brain cancer.  A lot has happened in those six weeks.

It's looking more and more like Anna will have four more weeks at the hospital to finish up her treatments before she can come home for good.  With the kind of rehab Anna needs and the energy required from her to simply get through her XRT and chemo each day, it would be extra draining on her to travel to and from the hospital each day to receive treatments.  In part because of insurance reasons, she can't have an overnight at home without the expectation of moving back home within a few days.  That means Anna will  probably not have an overnight visit until the last weekend before this first phase of her treatment is over.

Tired.  Physically and emotionally drained.  Exhausted.  Missing home life.  That's how I feel right about now.  And in comparison to Anna, I've had it pretty good for the last six weeks.

No wonder she has a hard time feeling happy.  Today I talked with Anna about how the doctors are taking care of her body, doing their absolute best to get rid of the cancer, and working to get her safely through her treatments.  I let her know that our role as her parents right now is to help her find ways to be happy and enjoy life.  If she asks for anything (within reason), we will do whatever we can to make it happen.  One day, our role will change again into that of "normal" parents, but for now, we want to help her smile and feel good about herself.

I think seeing friends has helped.  I think receiving postcards will help.  I think visiting home this Saturday might help (if she's up to it).  But Anna's spirit is sagging, understandably.

We're all doing the best we can, but sometimes it is just a struggle to put one foot in front of the other and keep moving.

Overall Anna is doing better and better each day.  Her therapists were, again, impressed with the improvements Anna made over the weekend.  The rehab coordinator stopped by during therapy today and, after seeing Anna's progress, sounded pretty hopeful about a day pass on Saturday.  However, Saturday is five days away and much can happen in those five days.

Anna continues to tolerate her chemo and radiation every morning.  The daily anesthesia is rough on her, though, especially on Mondays after having had a break from it over the weekend.  Coming out of the drug-induced sleep was frustrating for Anna and me both last Monday and this morning; Anna cried, whined, complained, etc. for over an hour both days.  Officially, she has six (I think?) more days of the targeted radiation during which she must be put under.  For the last ten treatments, she may not need anesthesia if we can coach her to lay still for long enough and be comfortable having "the mask" over her face for that time.

Anna was weighed this afternoon again and it appears that she at least maintained her weight from Friday, and maybe even gained a little.  I didn't get a chance to speak with the nutritionist after Anna's weighing, but I hope our current nutrition plan is enough for her.  The next step would be for her to receive her nutrition directly into her blood, bypassing her digestive system; this kind of step would be the last resort for having Anna get her nutrition and is generally not the preferred method.

Matt is staying at the hospital tonight, but after a somewhat successful experience on Saturday night without either of us there, we don't plan on staying with Anna again tomorrow night.  Anna has had some amazing consistency with one of her night nurses and so we feel comfortable (although a bit guilty) about sometimes leaving after we've put her to bed.

Time for prayers

Thanksgiving
Please give thanks that Anna continues to tolerate her treatments.
Please give thanks that Anna's side effects from her treatments thus far have not been too serious.
Please thank God that Anna was in amazing health before all this began; she has been relying on those healthy reserves for most of her hospital stay.
Please give thanks for the consistency and support our family is receiving at the hospital.
Please thank God for the support that our family is receiving from our church and community.
Please thank God that Anna seems to have maintained her weight over the weekend.
Please give thanks for Melissa and her relationship with our family.

Requests
Please ask God to relieve Anna's muscle pains, especially overnight.
Please pray that Anna sleeps better tonight.
Please pray for strength and wisdom for Melissa as she spends a day with Anna at the hospital tomorrow.
Please pray that Anna's health reserves continue to get her through her treatments.
Please ask God to have the treatments be 100% effective.
Please pray that Anna experiences few side effects to her treatments.
Please pray for Anna's spirit, that she can find reasons to be joyful and thankful.

Let's get those postcards in the mail :)