October 21st Update

Written by Alyssa.


Today Mom had her blood work done and an appointment with her Hematologist/Oncologist, Dr A. The results he was looking at were the ones we shared a couple weeks ago where the graphs showed incredibly positive results to treatments. The doctor was impressed with her response to the last two rounds of treatments and said that it is very important now that they “stay the course” to allow the treatments to continue to do their job. 


Mom has noticed that while the treatments have been difficult they haven’t left her feeling as terrible as they did when she went through treatment in 2021/2022. She discussed this with Dr. A, and he stated that because she is healthier now that is likely why she is feeling this way. He also said this is one of the advantages of starting treatment before negative symptoms have begun to appear since it eliminates some of the risks from secondary issues arising. 


The beautiful view while walking to the hospital.
The doctor also sent Mom for an x-ray today due to some bouts of breathlessness she has been experiencing lately. Mom had experienced fluid in her lungs when she was in treatment in 2021/2022, so the doctor wanted her to have the scan done to ensure that isn’t what is causing her current breathlessness. We are still awaiting these results.


Mom will begin her third round of treatment Tuesday.


Prayer Requests:

  1. Mom’s low blood pressure continues to be an issue as well as some vertigo. Please pray that her blood pressure will stabilize and that the vertigo will stop.

  2. Pray that Mom’s shortness of breath will go away and for a clear x-ray result.

  3. Praise God for Mom’s positive reaction to the treatment.

  4. That God will bless the treatments so they may be successful.

  5. That Mom won’t feel too discouraged when experiencing moments of weakness and anxiety.

  6. That the side effects mom has been experiencing will be as minimal as possible

  7. Pray that she will be able to sleep well.

  8. That she will be able to share the gospel and encourage those around her who are also receiving treatment.  



“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things unseen are eternal.”

 2 Corinthians 4:16-18


Psalm 19:1


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Here We Go Again

Hello everyone, this is Dawn's youngest daughter, Alyssa, writing.  As some of you know, Mom found out recently that she will have to undergo more chemotherapy treatments over the next eight to nine months. After hearing this news, we decided that creating a blog would be the most efficient way to pass along information to friends and family. For some history on Mom’s journey, in August 2021 our Mom, Dawn, was diagnosed with AL Amyloidosis. This disease is rare, and it is therefore difficult to diagnose.  When mom was diagnosed she already had several complications from the build up of the disease.  She was in heart failure, she had fluid on her lungs which required draining procedures, her gastro tract was damaged, and she was overall very run down.  Her treatment for Amyloidosis was chemotherapy, and so she began treatment. Amyloidosis can cause blood to become “sticky”, and Mom suffered a major stroke shortly after her first chemotherapy treatment.  Damage fr...
Read more

First Chemotherapy

Image
The long-awaited day has arrived: chemotherapy day. Those words have a surreal feeling because we had known this day was coming and had been expecting it from the beginning of the summer. Until now it has been a date marked as “later”, and it is in some ways difficult to believe that the day has arrived. The past couple days have been full of appointments and labs. Monday’s appointment with Mom’s Hematologist/Oncologist, Dr. A, went well. The doctor assured Mom and Dad that he feels confident that beginning chemotherapy now is the best course of action. Mom's most recent labs, taken Monday morning, indicate another rise in her bloodwork. He says this further confirms the decision that beginning chemo treatments now is a good idea. This morning, Mom arrived for her first treatment, and thankfully Dad was able to go along and support her. Being able to go in together was a welcome change from last time in the 2021/2022 Covid era. The cancer centre itself has a few other changes such ...
Read more

Simple Moments

Image
Written by Alyssa. Life is full of simple moments that bring joy to our lives. I was contemplating this a bit today. The weekend was a good one with Mom resting a lot on Saturday which helped her to make it to church on Sunday morning. (another thing to be thankful for!) On Monday our family got together to celebrate Thanksgiving together. As is Moms Thanksgiving tradition, she insisted we take some family photos while we were all together. Mom felt up to walking to our neighborhood park and we got some really nice photos together before heading back home. (again, a simple moment that led us to gratitude!)  We had our Thanksgiving meal at our house since this allows Mom to leave and rest for a bit if she feels like she needs it and she can join the rest of us again once she’s feeling better. This worked out well because at one point Mom began to feel nauseated and she did leave to rest for a bit before rejoining us. Often times Mom’s weeks follow a cycle of Monday being “normal”, n...
Read more