Nothing New

Two weeks on the new medication. Alk phos levels in blood drawn last week were at 615 (normal is below 150). We test her in another seven weeks to give the medication some time to work and see if that number comes down to a normal range.

Her temperament is generally mild and calm. She has a tendency (as most of us do) to be louder and angrier when she is in significant pain, but that seems to be under control lately. She had her survivor's club luncheon (all persons retired from the county and most of them on disability) and was able to be out of the house for a few hours for that and enjoy herself. She has a bit more energy, which is a good sign. However, it seems to be coming out as boredom. I suggested getting out of the house more often and maybe seeing her grandchildren, but she opted for a cable TV upgrade. We will have FIOS at the end of the month. She has been eating fairly well in amount, but has been throwing up bile frequently (and once, actual food, which hasn't happened but twice since her 1995 operation and isn't supposed to be able to happen at all, so it's worrisome). Appointments are made for the primary doc and liver specialist for next month after the second blood test.

The contractor is scheduled to come out Thursday of this week to repair the roof from the tree damage.

Post-vacation Update

Mom was as well as she could be while I was on vacation. Between her confusion and her stubborn nature, she refused to wait for me to call her to make sure she took the right meds. I called every morning and night at the same time, but much of the time, she had taken her meds early. She did not eat any of the food I left for her that she asked me to make, but it appears that my brother came for a few days and gave her food. Her latest obsession is cherry slurpies. The doctor told her that the liver failure can cause a change in taste buds and food she use to like might not taste the same or be appealing to her anymore. She misunderstood this and thinks the doctor told her to cater to her cravings and eat everything that is bad for her. I am not sure when my brother was actually here. She has forbidden my brother from contacting me.

She is in one of her angry modes right now. She is hostile and very confused. I can't keep her from calling the insurance company about the tree incident or our car insurance and if she keeps this up, she will void the policies. I am doing the best I can to handle this correctly and get access to the front half of our house (it is still banned because our neighbor has not removed the remaining portion of uprooted tree that hangs over our front yard/portion of the house), but it is difficult when she is refusing help right now.

I'm hoping for a blood draw tomorrow and she is asking to be tapped, but she doesn't have enough fluid to do so anymore.