AprilH

I spent the day yesterday with my mom, she was comfortable and content thanks to good meds, we even got a really good hug/cuddle in, -- we haven't been able to do that in awhile because of the pain. Then, last night after I had come home dad called me and said that mom had spiked a fever and he had taken her to the er. They are keeping her again tonight... my laptop baatery is about to die...more later.

What does NED mean? I see it on a lot of posts and I'm not familiar with a lot of the terminology. Thank you.

Mom had a better day yesterday (Saturday). I went to see her by myself without the kids and spent the better part of the day with her. She wasn't as irritable as she was Tuesday, I even had her laughing a little bit because I was talking about painting her toes yellow with smiley faces so everytime she looked at her toes she would smile. Of course I was being dorky, but she thought it was funny. It has been aggravating her that everyone constantly asks what they can get her to eat, what sounds good, what about this? this? this? etc... I totally understand, that would bug me, too, in fact it did when I had morning sickness and that wasn't nearly as bad... So I made her a menu, called "mom's menu" that is a list of everything she can eat (pudding, jello, baby food, yogurt) that's in the house so all she has to do is look at her menu and pick something that sounds good. She liked it and that made me feel good like I did something, anything that made it a little easier. She starts week two tomorrow. Can I ask someone, when will she start losing her hair? Her hair is so long and thick... I tried to take her to get it cut shorter a few weeks ago because I read that it helps with the transition, so it's not so dramatic... but she got so much worse so fast that we never did get to. She wanted to donate her hair to locks of love. I'd still like to do that for her... maybe she'll let me cut it myself. I think the donation would make her feel better about it. I have so much love for all of you that have taken the time to read my posts and reply. You don't know how meaningful it is to have people to listen and respond... but then again, yes, you do know, don't you. God bless you all.

I am so thankful for all the posts, it made me so happy to see that all of you care and replied to my post. I don't fully understand why, but it means so much that you are there and care. God bless all of you who take the time. I will pray for all of you, too. My baby boy learned to crawl this week! I wish my mom could play with him. Both of my kids adore their "mama." She is the one who always plays silly with them, really plays with them. Now she can't even have them in the room even though she wants them near they are too "high speed" for her pain level right now. I can't imagine how sad she is about that, she doesn't talk about any of it. She is very inside with her feelings. Will she feel better after the treatments are over? Thank you to the person who told me it's okay to sit and just "be" with her. That's helpful advice.

Not sure if I'm doing this right or posting in the right place but here goes anyway... my name is April I am 26 and have two children, ages 3 and 7 mos. My mom was diagnosed in August with NSCLC Stage 3B. She is just now on her fourth day of chemo/radiation and is not tolerating it well. She doesn't get out of bed, sleeps most of the time, and can barely speak or swallow. I am reeling from how fast this has come upon us and how much worse she gets by the day. Her 50th birthday was September 10. She has a very large growth in the area of her neck/shoulder that is the source of most of her pain as it is pressing on nerves in her neck. I really don't know what to say or how to act... I usually just sit there and watch TV with her... but inside I am screaming at myself for not saying something to her... but I feel like everything I say is wrong or sounds trite... please help. She is in so much pain that she is easily irritated. I'm here just looking for people that care and can offer any kind of comfort.