Before mom started her five days of chemo at the end of May, she was not feeling well at all. She's had some gut issues that have set her back a bit. It came on the tail end of her six week break from the previous treatment when she was actually feeling pretty good. So it's been a major bummer and has left mom feeling weak and woozy. We've had some medication adjustments and talked with the nurses so we have a plan in place. She got through her first round of this wave of chemo. Then we met with her oncology team last week to follow up on the weak and woozy symptoms. Dr. Partin suggested mom go to the infusion center to get an iv drip to give her a boost. She was such a trooper getting that 2-hour bag in. It was definitely worth it as she's been feeling much better the last few days.
As we ended our conversation with Dr. Partin, he asked if we had any more questions so we casually asked him for his expert advice on how much Downton Abbey he recommends we should be watching per day. He replied, "oh, 6-8 hours." Haha.
So what have we been up to? Mostly putzing around the house and getting little projects done here and there. Enjoying the warm weather on the back porch, hanging with the chickens (mostly Alfrieda), trying fresh new salads, hanging and cuddling up with quilts, admiring blooms and watching Downton Abbey has pretty much been the norm around here.
Here's a picture of mom the after she came home from the infusion center. Despite the warm weather, having the iv infusion chilled her to the bone so once again Carolyn's minky quilt has come to her rescue.
Mom and I spotted the Rustic Pines quilt a few years ago and we set a goal to each work on making one. She finished hers last year and had it on her bed at Christmas. She's been wanting to hang it in her staircase. This was the largest quilt she's ever made and a huge accomplishment for her. She loves minky so it's a rather heavy quilt but so cuddly in the winter. I loved working on this project with her. You can really see her personality shine through with her fabric choices. She always likes to add a little fun in there. The few dark background squares have nests with eggs, and then a cute 12 days of Christmas print. She was so proud of how well it turned out.
Mom's thermostat is set to cool the house to 72 but it comes on, it feels so cold to her. She'll ask me why it is so cold and I tell her it's because it's so hot outside. So, she's enjoyed a few naps out on the swing on those warmer days.
You may be thinking...enough about the chickens, isn't this a blog about Patricia? Well, yes, it is. But the thing is, mom is so thoughtful about caring for her chickens and always wanting them to have everything they need. I think they know this because they love to gather close to her when they're out especially Alfrieda. She comes up close and just hangs out with us on the porch. She lets us hold her and stroke her feathers. I find it all so fascinating. Mom said to her the other day, "Alfrieda, has anyone told you you're a chicken?" Animals are truly amazing and definitely a welcome addition to this journey we're on.
We discovered "carpathian bellflowers" at the hospital in the newly planted planters along the front sidewalk. As we were leaving the hospital and another gal was going in, we were both admiring the new plants. She had an app on her phone that when you take a picture, it identifies the plant. We fell in love with these darling blooms. I'd love to find some for mom's backyard. So if anyone local sees them, please let us know.
We got a sweet visit with Trenton and Wyatt this afternoon. David and Hillary spruced up mom's front yard and the boys helped water and mist all the flowers in the backyard. It was so wonderful to see them!
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