Iron Infusions, Chemo and CT Scans

November 19th, 2021 – Post #23

Hi there –

Thank you for all the care and kindness you have shown. I just thought I’d give you an update:

My mom had a two week break from chemo and got another bag of iron, which seemed to help her energy some – and perhaps increase her already magnetic personality. 🤓

Beth Purcell with a blanket given to her during her cancer treatments
Grateful for All the Cozy Blankets from Friends

Before her infusion yesterday, we met with her nurse practitioner, who decided she should skip next week’s chemo treatment due to increased neuropathy. Her final infusion is scheduled for December 2nd.

After that, the doctor plans to order another CTScan to decide whether surgery is an option, or if he thinks she ought to have radiation to try and keep the tumor at bay, while she recovers some from chemo.

To qualify for a Whipple surgery, the tumor needs to be significantly reduced from where it is on the portal vein. She will also need increased stamina to withstand such a major operation.

For now, she’s been keeping herself busy by going through paperwork between naps and phone calls. She has been wanting to post something on this site, but has a hard time remembering what her second-rate tech support (me) has said about how to do it – so one of these days we’ll hopefully get that down.

Beth Purcell - still cute, even with her hair cut off for chemo
No Matter How Many Nice Clothes She Has – She Still Prefers Her Painting Clothes Above All Else

We sure appreciate all the love and support you all have shown to our family.

Love, Jody

By the way – if anyone happens to have an incredible need for envelopes, please let me know. My job today was to sort and organize her unused stationery. I felt like I’d been enrolled in a dementia-induced game of Memory, trying to match up stray cards with their envelopes. Some have unused Forever stamps stuck to them from forever ago. So, if anybody needs extra envelopes, just say the word! 🤓

In the meantime, I’m still not doing too well at taking up the baton and being the one to keep tabs on the weather…

Click here, if you want to read a message from my mom.

*To read more on my mom’s cancer journey from the beginning, or share it, please click below:

Jody

I'm not sure what to say here: I once got second place in a dog-look-alike-contest? I know how to fold a fitted sheet? I'm pretty much a poster child for social backwardness - at least as far as social media is concerned; but I have some stories I think I'm supposed to share and am attempting to do that here, in this space.

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