Thanks, guys. You've made me laugh! A good work out for my mom is doing yoga, walking with one pounds weights, or swimming. I'm not worried about her getting exhausted during any weight training sessions. ;-) I do worry about nutrition because she is at the bottom of the healthy weight range for her height. I don't think that she can afford to lose even 8 pounds (and clearly the rad oncologist thought so too at the visit on Thursday), and I worry about the blood sticks not because of a fear of needles, but because she has lymphadema in one arm and limited access in the other. She's afraid of reduced vein access.
She's been resistant to both the PEG and the port, but I think she now accepts (as of this morning) that both will be necessary tools during treatment. Or at the very least, lesser evils than dehydration or high anxiety during blood draws or IVs. It's a huge weight off my shoulders. She was extremely angry/stressed/unhappy when the IV took 3 attempts last week.
On Monday, she has exploratory surgery - endoscopy to look at vocal cords, etc., plus a biopsy in the tumor to test for
HPV. I'm off the get groceries including ice cream, popsicles and soft foods for the week. Is there anything that I should bring for the car ride back home (which will take about 2 hours due to the red sox season opener)? Or anything that I should have here in the house?
