Hi All! Elyse here.

My mom got the CT nerve blocker done on Thursday and it seems to be very helpful for her. We talked with her for several hours over Zoom yesterday, and she seemed like herself. Her confusion and delerium seems pretty much gone. She was engaged and smiling and talkative. We haven’t spoken for more than a few minutes a day in the last month or so, so this was great news!

We had a Zoom meeting with her doctors and her yesterday. There were at least 12 people on the call. It was wonderful to feel the support and commitment of a team dedicated to helping my mom.

We decided that her cancer is stable enough to postpone continued cancer treatment and focus on physical therapy and quality of life. At this moment, continued chemo would make her sicker and weaker and her gynonc just doesn’t feel that’s a useful path. Hopefully, with the nerve blocker and physical therapy, she will be strong enough in a few months to continue chemotherapy. We will revisit cancer treatment in a month or two.

The team believes she should return to an acute rehab facility for a few weeks and really focus on agressive physical therapy and occupational therapy. Hopefully, with her infections treated, and her pain better managed, she’ll be able to get much more out of this stay in an acute rehab. We learned a lot last time, so we’re better prepared this time around.

The pain blocker is temporary, but it can be done again. So far, it seems like a game changer. Her outlook and overall demeanor were so much better yesterday than they’ve been in months. She feels hopeful. She got into a special chair known as a cardiac chair twice yesterday, which is a big deal for her. She even called me last night, which she hasn’t done in at least a month. I usually have to call the nurses station directly and ask them to have her call me or let me speak to her on their phone. It felt good that she felt up to calling me on her own. She also ate! Again, that might sound small, but she’s had zero appetite for the last month or so. She loves the chicken salad sandwich at UCLA hospital (lol only she would have a favorite hospital sandwich), and she had 1/4 of it. Again, that sounds silly if you’re not familiar with this healing journey, but it’s really great news to be excited about! Yaaayyy 1/4th of a chicken salad sandwich! 🎉 She was joking about never imagine ever needing any sort of appetite stimulant in her life, but life is crazy that way.

She’s not walking yet, but she feels that’s an attainable goal now that the pain is being managed with the nerve block. She was so emotional at the difference she feels now with the pain managed. She said it’s almost strange. She could barely remember what it’s like to not have pain. She said she can move her legs for the first time since April 15th. She still has a long way to go, and there will for sure be bumps in the road, but it feels like we’re in a good place right now and we’re moving forward.

She has a stent in her ureter that needs to be replaced. Originally, her pelvic tumor was pressing on her kidney and ureter and causing problems. The stent has been really helpful and relieved pressure on her kidney. Even though her numbers are good and her kidneys are strong now that the tumor has shrunk, the doctors want to replace it instead of remove it. That procedure is very quick (last time she was under for maybe 20 minutes) and should be done sometime early next week. Please send prayers for a quick, smooth procedure.

Thank you for your continued love and support. I love the phone calls and the stories about my mom when you all met her. I’ve filled her in on all the love, and she’s so so touched. Feel free to call or text me anytime. We are all so grateful for your kind words, prayers, and positivity. They are so helpful. It takes a village to deal with cancer, and she’s got a great village. Thank you.

Sending you love,

Elyse