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I really could use your TOO help on this one

Some of you may already know based on my Facebook posts for the last month and a half that my mom is slowly getting to be in pretty bad shape. I know I'm a stubborn ass and I know I rub people the wrong way but man I could use your help and prayers.

Around the first week of July we had been noticing then that she was getting pale but she had Dr. appointments for it all and she's always been an independent woman, so we didn't push the issue. By the end of that week my mom had to call EMS because she was having a hard time breathing. What happened was her hemoglobin had dropped and she needed a blood transfusion.

Long story short, she has been in and out of the hospital 6 times now and is currently there as I type this. She has received 13 pints of blood over the last month and a half and as time has gone it seems like she is slowly getting worse. She has been diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) which is a condition where her bone marrow makes blood but for some reason the blood does not mature and split to make more blood. If left untreated it will turn into leukemia.

Her treatment is chemotherapy injections 5X for one straight week, then 3 weeks off without it. The process will repeat basically forever. The only hope is a bone marrow transplant, a 50/50 chance it will work. However, she is having difficulty processing oxygen to her blood so she is on oxygen 24/7 and that started about the 3-4th week into this after she had a slight case of pneumonia. So the only thing she can do for now is take the chemo and hope for a remission stage, however we were assured that the MDS will come back as chemo is not a cure.

This most recent visit to the hospital she complained of chest pain while at her Dr's office on Monday. Since then they have not found much, nothing yet that shows heart problems or anything. So here I am thinking I can handle this stuff myself, I've always been that way. However, as each day goes by she seems to get a little worse, at times I feel like I'm in over my head. I will just take another deep breath and say it will all be OK and hopefully the treatment will get her stabilized soon to where she can start to improve.
 
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Beentown

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
15,740
154
Sunbury, OH
Have a need? Ask, seriously. From this group I know the best effort will be made to lend that need.

Prayers sent.
 

aholdren

Senior Member
Supporting Member
5,178
151
South East Ohio
Dang sure hate to hear that. My uncle just went through something that sounds similar to what your moms experiencing. They ended up taking him to Columbus for almost 3 weeks. My thoughts are with you and your family Chuck.
 

finelyshedded

You know what!!!
Supporting Member
31,855
260
SW Ohio
Dang Chuck!!! So very sorry to hear this about your mother! Thoughts and prayers to her and you for the strength to get though this buddy!
 
I knew I could count on you guys! It's just so hard to wrap my brain around how this has happened and how fast my mom has gone from such an independent woman, drive everywhere, do anything, you name it to where she is now with not being able to walk far without getting out of breath and needing help. She can't drive now, just too much at risk there. I really thought by now she would be ok, that I didn't want to make a big deal about it because heck, we can handle this shit. I think what hurts the most is the fact she has always been a steel trap when it came to her mind. She would recall things I had no idea occurred in years past, remember dates and everything. Now it's painful to see her ramble at times and get confused as well as frustrated. Man I hope this is just a bump in the road. You guys mean a lot to me when it comes to getting my Ohio fix, even more with your offers of being helping hands. Hope you don't mind me using this as a way to get things out and off my chest.