Latest Update

The swelling in mom's let has gone down.

Moms orthopedic surgeon helped mom to sit upright today. Her legs were hanging over the side of the bed. She did well. We will have mom sit upright one more time tonight. Tomorrow we might have mom take a ride on the wheelchair tomorrow. He would like to discharge her within the next one to two days but he is only one of ten doctors to give a clearance for discharge. 

Moms endocrinologist said her infection has cleared up. She would like to prescribe one more round of antibiotics to be safe. 

Dr Benitez would like to keep mom in the hospital to build up her strength before chemotherapy. He is prescribing a feeding tube but mom refuses to have one inserted. We have all persuaded her to allow it but so far we've had no luck. She would recover more quickly with this but mom would no longer be able to eat by mouth. Mom hates feeling like a helpless specimen. She wants to eat like a human. She just ate very well on her own. And she has promised to take her oral meds. She has been keeping her promise so far. 

Auntie Ne is very devoted to serving mom. She stays with mom 24 hours a day. 

The EEG (brain wave) test showed an abnormality and Dr Alvarez has ordered a CT scan to explore whether or not there is a tumor in moms brain. We are awaiting the test results. 

Here is the back of mom's head.  She is balding from laying down all day.

We are also awaiting the bone biopsy results to see whether or not there is cancer in moms broken femur. 

Although mom is recovering from her surgery and her infection is cleared up, Dr Benitez would like to make her strong enough to withstand her next chemotherapy session. She will stay at Makati for another two to three weeks. She will not be able to go home with me. 

I will be leaving in one week. Josep can come here and take over care for mom. Dad needs a lot of support in making medical decisions for mom and we need a family member liaison to inform those of us in the states on what is happening. 

Currently, mom drifts in and out of sleep

But when she is awake she is alert and able to conversate.