Post #8: Mixed Day

Hello all,

Today seemed to start out well. She was nauseous but there were no episodes of vomiting. She apparently has continued to have some jaw/facial bone and armbone pain. John applied one of her morphine patches. But then she told us that earlier, before we were up, she had got up to go to the bathroom, and felt like she was going to pass out because she couldn't catch her breath and her heart was beating excessively rapidly. By the time we talked with her that had subsided. All morning she has been very alert and talkative. The most wonderful thing was that she decided to redesign the bedroom she is currently in (e.g. moving the furniture around or out, putting in a built-in desk and bookshelves) and she actually sat up for the longest time drawing a dimensional sketch - in color - of what she wants the built-ins to look like.

Following that, she got out of bed and walked into the living room to sit and chat briefly. And astonishingly she walked to and sat down at the dining table and told John she wanted rack of lamb! He had purchased some heat-it-up rack of lamb and she ate two small chops. This is the first solid protein food, certainly meat, that she has eaten in weeks. Her other recent food addition has been fresh papaya which thank goodness Jensen's market is carrying and which she is tolerating very well. So far she has kept the lamb down.

The bad news is the effort it took her to get out of bed and walk into the living room, to the dining table, and then back to bed. Again she had to stop and rest frequently in that she couldn't catch her breath and her heart was beating excessively rapidly. This greatly affected her mood this afternoon and spun her into a gloomy and upset mode. However, she has recovered from that, is now back in bed, listening to classical music, and resting. However, just a few minutes ago John has informed me that she has requested her morphine drops and is experiencing again the back and abdominal pains that had previously subsided in the past couple of days.

So it is more of an up and down day day than yesterday was. This shortness of breath and rapid heart beat are very unnerving and we are going to insist that she remain in bed as much as possible. I will keep you posted on further developments this evening. We are watching her closely.

Melissa