More of the Dog and Pony Show

When I think back about all that has happened over the last week, my head begins to spin. We've had a lot going on. On Tuesday, we received the Enercel, the homeopathic that will supercharge mom's immune system. We gave her the first dose Tuesday evening. At lunch Wednesday, mom called out to me. I was working on a very important report for work and was "in the zone." You know, one of those rare times where you find your groove and the juices are really flowing. I hated to set down my computer because I was worried that once the spell was broken I wouldn't be able to get back into it. But I raced upstairs because she rarely calls out. "What?" I asked with more than a little concern. "I'm famished!" I've not heard her utter these words in years! I took her lunch order and prepared it as quickly as I could. She decimated everything that was on her plate. Through the week, the appetite has remained quite good. This being one of the "side effects" of the Enercel. She also says she is starting to feel a little better; stronger. But we haven't yet seen any boost in energy, but she just looks better.

On Wednesday, Sandra (her best friend for over 50 years) arrived from Texas to help take care of her (and me and Gary, too.) I was a little worried at first because any time that Sandra has come in the past, all they do is lay around, tell old stories and howl and cackle with laughter. I knew that with mom's diminished lung capacity, any lengthy conversation or laughter would completely exhaust her. But Sandra is a wise, caring soul. She has know exactly when to curtail any activity to give mom her rest. I think the visit is doing mom a world of good. And never mind all that she has done for Gary and me. She got to cleaning on Friday; something that we've just not had time for. The house is now sparkling clean. I've promised everyone that if I need help in anyway, I'll ask. But asking anyone to clean my house is just something I'm not capable of. I can never express the depths of my gratitude to her for doing this!

Thursday morning I was doing the daily dressing change for mom. When I removed the old dressing, I could barely believe my eyes. Mom's wound seemed to make a drastic improvement over night. The wound didn't look as "angry" as it had before. It seemed as though the tumors had slightly shrunk (one at her armpit was nearly completely gone!) The skin looked as though it was healing. The Femera is supposed to shrink the tumors, but we'd seen no improvement whatsoever until we started the Enercel. The thing that struck me the most was that her skin around her torso, once very rough and hard, was soft, supple and not discolored anymore. I am completely amazed!

I took Friday off from work. Three girlfriends from across the country came to North Beach to "love and support me." Our little group is called the "Loser's." We've come to know each other over the last 15 years through singing and touring. Diva's everyone, the name is derived from the fact that everyone is an amazingly talented singer, yet not one has a recording contract. So when we get together we have every bit the diva attitude with names to match. Several years ago, on one of our yearly gatherings, we came up with pseudonyms. We are: Bebe Barbosa, Foxy McMahon, Trouble Papanopolis, and me, KiKi del Fuego. Believe me, the names fit!!

Last night, we had a birthday party for mom. Her birthday is Tuesday. Gary made a wonderful Caribbean feast, we had presents, cake and ice cream. She loved it! She was beaming as we all sang 'Happy Birthday.' We blew out her candles for her as a group. Thank God someone had the foresight to not let her do it. Oxygen and fire don't make the best combination...