12/16/2021
Hello everyone.. I hope this message finds you all well.. I just wanted to take time update you all on the reason for my "lack of posts" and I will be posting stuff soon and going forward .. thanks for sticking around!!
I also want to thank everyone who has been sending Love, Light, Healing, and Prayers to me and my family the last few months and I ask for your continued support in this way... blessings and love to all... thank you truly 💖🙏💖
For those who don't know what has gone down over the last few months, in late March and through April we received a confirmed diagnosis for my dad of "Lewy-body Disease", this is a combination condition Parkinson's and Dementia/Alzhimer's. This effects both cognitive and cellular memory, so there are periods where the body, motor skills, and body functions etc "forget" to respond. It effects gait, and co-ordination, memory, and systems like bladder and bowl, sensory, etc. and ability to function freely and easily on a good day and when it is in a bad spell it is bad. Dad needs help bathing, dressing etc and waves where he can not feed himself, can't get food on the utensil or can't find his mouth, trouble swallowing at times along with memory issues and hallucinations. It is truly heartbreaking to see this once quick witted, outgoing, physically fit, business owner, strong and reliable husband, father and friend disappearing over a matter of months before our eyes. April May and June was jam packed with appointments and much to learn on his care and finding support and different things and methods to help us, of course this was alot for my mum who I worried about for her own health.
My mum is a strong, fierce, independent and determined woman, at 70yrs of age she did the 2 day bike ride for cancer from downtown Toronto to Niagara Falls, she attends spin class twice weekly, walks the treadmill daily, swims regularly, volunteers at church and attends her Bible study weekly and calls this all her downtime, doing what she enjoys. This you can imagine has been hard her and of course I had to step up in ways I wasn't needed before. We were finally finding good routine and balance with everything, appointments, therapies, devices etc over the summer.
In late July, early August mum was complaining of a persistent cough and ocassional dizzy spells and of course she was told to go the dr herself.. so finally in September she had a chest xray which reveled a mass 😔... Stage 2 lung cancer, a large over 6cm tumor in the upper left lobe of the lung. Further scans didn't reveal any other effected area and the recommended approach was to remove, cut it out, they said this was going to be about 5 days in hospital,it was a stand alone tumor but the easier route was to take the whole lung. If they could leave her with the lower half that was most favorable for her prognosis and future but their concern was proximity to the heart as it was close to the heart wall and main artery and they may have to take the whole lung regardless. They would also be doing a surrounding lymph biopsy while on the table to confirm all was still clear. Mum went in and they did manage to save the lower lung however the tumor was either fast growing or just larger than the scans revealed and was interfering with the pericardial wall of the heart, so they had to substantially scrap this over and over until results showed it clean. Due to this the surgery was bigger and longer than anticipated an this extended her hospital time. Further complications with her blood pressure, and swelling throughout her body post-op kept her in just beyond 3 weeks. We will receive confirmation in about a week and a half if chemo and radiation is advised, what form and intensity based off the final pathology result of what they removed and scrapped. Due to the pericardial wall issue and the heart not really being an organ they can remove or cut I feel this is most likely going to be a next step.
During this time I had to move in to be the caregiver of dad, take care of his needs, appointments, medications, the house, shopping, laundry, and running back and forth the hospital daily, while also dealing with my own personal stuff, house and son who lives with me. In the couple months between these two events my basement flooded and so I had that on my plate also, tons of stuff to remove and clean out which I'm down to the last few things and the carpet to remove.
To say the least it has been a hard and trying time for me and family. My mum has been home a week now and so I have 2 under my care at the moment but no daily running back and forth the hospital which took a whole afternoon between lunch and dinner each day helps a bit.
My mum is struggling, she still has substantial pain, her blood pressure needs to be taken a few times a day and has been showing low which was part of the issue post-op, last night she showed a fever of 102. We have since manged to bring it down to low grade but this is not good. I am praying right now it is not this virus, as I'm not sure what that will mean for her so close to having half a lung removed. I have been on and off the phone with the Dr's and they are giving antibiotics in case there is a chance qn infection is attempting to start, fingers crossed she feels better in a couple of days and this os not anything more.
I ask with much gratitude for your prayers, your light, your healing energy, thoughts, considerations, love and grace at this time for my mum, Georgina Mary Payne Maher and my dad Joseph Stephen Maher. Along with continued and highened strength, wisdom, insight and foresight for myself in regards to caring for them. AMEN, SO IT IS, IT IS DONE... Please and Thank you, my cup is starting to feel a little low, drained, tired, and I can feel my body and mind slowing down.
I am trying to work out some posts and I am thinking maybe a live chat, not sure yet... hopefully I will have some stuff up soon.
Blessings of love and light,
Niki
💖🙏💖
