Update and Thoughts

This is just an update, then some personal thoughts.

This has been a good week for my food.  I have not been very hungry after having the stomach flu for a few days, so no cravings and no overstuffing.  But this also means I have not been getting enough veggies.  I just have no taste for them.  I have been trying to eat some fruit, but mostly it has been protein and complex carbs.  No sugar, thankfully.  Probably too much sodium in the soups I have eaten, but until I feel better, that's not important.   Every day is a little better, and I am getting the liquids in, at least.

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This next part is for me, just to get it out of my head, so feel free to look the other way.

I have mentioned before that my best friend is being treated for brain cancer.  I am trying to spend as much time as I can with her, as much as she feels like having me around.  This week I took her out for a little shopping.  She is on a walker, so we put her in the car, then the walker in the back.  Then we then get the walker out, and get her out.  I carry the purse and packages, along with mine.  I let her out at the door and then park and join her.   Being disabled is no picnic, even with the designated parking spaces, ramps, and big bathroom stalls.  When you go to a restaurant, you have to find a place to "park" the walker.  There is no place to hang your shopping bags on the walker.  I can't imagine being disabled and having to shop alone, even for groceries.  And even with a motorized cart, you have to go to your car, unload, then take the cart back inside the store...then what?  How do you get back to your car?  My friend has a few family members and a handful of good friends (who she can count on) to help her with all this, but it is a real effort, just the same. 

While I was with her that day, she found out she needed a blood transfusion - 2 pints of blood and a pint of plasma.  She had that done yesterday.  It took 6 hours.  Her next (and 12th) chemotherapy treatment is next week.  She was scheduled for a stem cell transplant (using her own cells), but during the pre-procedure tests, a new tumor was found in her brain.  So the stem cell procedure is most likely not going to happen.  After this next chemotherapy treatment, it will be radiation.  I don't know how she endures it, except for her strong faith.  She knows her options are running out, and I can see that she is getting tired, physically and mentally.

There is nothing I can do for my friend except to listen and encourage.  I know God has put me here for her to teach me something.  Perhaps it is a lesson in how to help those with terminal illnesses.  Perhaps it is a lesson in how to handle my own terminal illness someday.  I am open to learning, whatever the reason.

She is the person I count on to listen and not repeat.  I can go to her any time of day or night and she will welcome me with open arms.  She does not judge me.  She is very level-headed and is resourceful.  I can see her losing her concentration, short-term memory, balance.   Even her sight is declining.  And the pain!  I know it's all just part of the illness and side effects of the strong medicines.  It's just so sad to see her having to endure this.  And just the little things she can't do any more, that I take for granted.

I will support her in any way I can to make this easier for her.  And we still have some good times to share.