The New Testament has a story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. I was reminded of this story yesterday. Mom had a terrible week with nausea and vomiting, unable to keep anything down. I’d called the infusion center yesterday morning, worried about not only nutrition but more importantly hydration.
She was virtually immobile.
So they asked that we come in and they gave her IV fluids and some nausea medicine. We were there for an hour. The doctor decided to order an MRI to make sure there wasn’t something going on in her head that was causing the untreatable nausea.
When we got home that evening she had already perked up. While she wasn’t ready for too much activity, she was talking and interacting. We were making fun of the local TV news (enough fodder there!) — the breaking news of a fallen tree due to the weather, the lights on the Bay Bridge, the back-up that occurred in the morning commute. Real hard breaking news.
She even managed to hold down some mashed potatoes I made. Do I hear an “amen”? We also have discovered the magic that is Odwalla Protein shakes. She couldn’t take another bottle of Ensure and had lost her taste for strawberry. So I went in search of alternatives that, hopefully, had less artificial crap. Hello, Odwalla. I brought home Mango Protein (20g protein, calcium, vitamins B12, B6, potassium, etc.) and she really liked it. Now the fridge is well stocked. If she can keep one of those down a day, it will be a glorious day.
This morning we went in for the MRI. The staff was amazing, compassionate and caring. Even though I’ve been with her constantly over the last week, it was still a jolt to see her walking out of the back area looking so frail.
Results should be reported to her oncologist on Monday, so we might not hear back until Tuesday. I am praying that it’s nothing beside her stubborn lifelong tendency toward nausea.
Meanwhile today she has shuffled around the house, got herself some cereal and milk for breakfast, and went outside to the garden with me. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s an enormous leap forward from the last few days.