Hi! This is Vicki’s daughter, Elyse, updating for my momma.

She’s back at UCLA getting treated inpatient for her pain.

She’s had a very difficult time since she was in the hospital for the brachytherapy almost 2 weeks ago. Brachytherapy is extremely agressive. She is very grateful to have access to this treatment, but all that radiation comes at a cost. Ever since she came home on April 9th, she’s been really swollen and her pain has gotten worse and worse. It got to the point where she could barely move. Wednesday night she had a low grade fever. We called 911 and she went to our local ER. They ruled out anything life threatening and sent her home.

She was home all day Thursday, but nothing was getting better. I spoke with her pain management doctor. We upped her pain meds, and she let me know that it’s not uncommon for cancer patients to come in to the hospital to have their pain managed.

After a very painful, awful morning for her Friday morning, we decided to get the ball rolling on getting her admitted to UCLA. With everything going on with covid, this was not easy, but I spoke with her OBGYN oncologist and the pain management doctor and they made it happen.

It was extremely difficult to coordinate getting her to UCLA as it’s about 30 miles away from home, and her mobility was close to 0, but I know in my heart we made the right call. I’ve spoken to her several times today and she’s doing ok. She’s on strong pain meds. She’s got compression wear on, she’s eating, and she worked with a physical therapist. They ran all sorts of blood work to try and figure out why she’s having so much pain and if there’s an infection. So far, everything has come back negative.

When I spoke to the doctors, they seem to feel this is her body responding to all the treatment she’s had. Everyone responds differently. The oncologist said there was a lot of cancer in there and her body has worked so hard to shrink the tumor. She was diagnosed barely 2 months ago and started treatment less than 2 months ago. Less than 60 days. It’s hard to believe. She’s been through so much in such a short amount of time.

My mom is my best friend. She’s so strong and sassy and fun. I miss her so much right now, and I can’t wait until she’s better. This has been hell for all of us. My boyfriend (she likes to call him her son in law. We’ve been together for 16 years.), Wade, and I have been with her round the clock, except when she’s in the hospital. My brother, Preston, lives in Oregon and is unable to be with us because of the pandemic and my mom’s compromised immune system. This truly is awful timing. Not like there’s any good time for cancer. I can’t be with her in the hospital, and it’s really hard and scary. I mean it when I say your comments and kind words about my momma mean so much to her and to all of us.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for loving my momma and for reading her blog. Cancer sucks, but I don’t think she truly understood how loved she is until all of this began. She sees all your comments, and she’s often moved to tears. She has all the cards you’ve all sent hanging on the mirror in the entryway. You’ve all helped more than you know. Please keep sending your love and prayers and positivity. We all need it now more than ever. Thank you.

Elyse