Pain, Pain... Go AWAY!

I got a call from Mom this morning telling me that the pain in her side was, "The worst pain I have ever had!" By the time she called me she had already contacted her Oncologist in Seattle by email and was waiting for a response about whether or not to come down for a visit. I called the Cancer Care Alliance too and  they told me to pack Mom an over-night bag and get her to Seattle. Our favorite caregiver (Kelly) got to Mom's house and had her bags packed and ready to go in minutes. The entire trip to Seattle Mom was a "10 out of 10" on the pain scale. I felt like I couldn't drive fast enough. After a wheelchair ride and a few doctors trying to get to the bottom of why her pain was so extreme Mom was introduced to her new friend the "pain killing lollipop". Within minutes she told us she was a "6 out of 10" and showed us how she could do side-bends without pain. It was crazy how fast her pain was eased. The final conclusion for the day was that she has not taken enough pain meds on a regular basis to stay on top of her pain. Therefore, she has had a poor quality of life lately and has gradually felt her pain increase. Her  new treatment plan for pain is a pain patch that distributes the medication for three straight days. This, along with her lollipop pain killers are supposed to keep her more comfortable. She will be having bloodwork and a CT scan next Tuesday afternoon (with results coming on Wednesday morning) to check on the cancer progression or lack there of. Unfortunatly we were reminded of the news that we are "At the bottom of the barrel for treatment options" so if the scan shows cancer progression then we will be talking about the possibility of starting with Hospice. As much as we loved and appreciated Dad's Hospice caregivers we don't eagerly await their return. As of now, let's pray that these new pain meds will do their job and get Mom's quality of life back. Then we can start the prayers for good scan results next week! Thank you for the numerous phone calls, cards and emails from friends and family. We greatly appreciate your support, even if we don't get back to you right away.

Dreaming of Painless nights (and days for that matter)-
Angie