Maria

Here's what is going on with Grandma Maria. 

The small cell cancer went into remission last year, and she had been looking and feeling fine.  She would just get really, really tired.  The doctors thought a large blood clot had formed, so they tried to shrink it with medicine.  Well, that didn't quite work.  A few more exams later, the docs determined that it was either a really stubborn clot or a tumor that had formed.  Either way, she needed to have surgery right away because the mass was in her right artery, slowing blood flow (and thus, tiredness).  Tuesday, they crcked open her chest, and, oh crap.  This is how I understand it.  The tumor is embedded in the heart wall and has spread, connecting with the liver.  And it's cancerous.  And inoperable.

Now, Maria is a tough cookie.  She's beat cancer once before.  But, this time, I don't know.  The prognosis right now is two months without chemo, four with.  She was told something similar last time, but the chemo and radiation worked. 

I went to the hospital today.  On the wall is a white board with pertinent information: date, nurses' names, and a daily goal.  The goal for today: comfortable.  They just want to get her comfortable.  She looks so miserable, and rightfully so.  Her breastplate was opened yesterday and she has giant tubes on either side, draining fluid.  She's in the ICU now, and should be moved a non-ICU room tomorrow.  She'll be in the hospital for at least seven days, and then to a care facility for rehab.

I had to teach class yesterday, a couple hours after hearing all the news.  Right.  The actress in me gave the physical appearence of having it together, but mentally, I was gone.  I could barely string together a coherent sentence.  Ugh.  Luckily, the next several class sessions are conferences.  I just need to catch up on grading.  Maybe grading essays will keep my mind off things for a while.

This is all for now.  I'll post more later.