tomorrow! tomorrow!

Carmen's procedure is tomorrow....

So after doing an extensive ultrasound of her legs (to map the veins for the procedure etc.) and a CT scan of her head (to ensure that she doesn't have any lesions that could bleed out during the procedure) there was no time to actually do the procedure, so it has been pushed back to tomorrow morning. Which is actually better because the ICU's night staff is a lot smaller (more people=more attention on Carmen) and Carmen had this afternoon to relax after her sleepless night.

She was very tired and weak today, and because of it was feeling a little overly nervous about the risky procedure tomorrow. Her doctor assured her that the team was one of the best and that she had nothing to worry about, which made her feel a lot better. She also got some pain meds which made her feel a lot more comfortable and able to rest more, as she put it, "my body... is like nirvana." Carmen had a special visitor today! Anna stopped by her stomping grounds to see me and Carmen. It was really sweet, Carmen got emotional, but was so happy to see the young Dr. Sick. Carmen was tired of hospital food, so we got her some Panera, which she enjoyed. Tom and I left early so Carmen and Jose could get some rest.

Sweet dreams Carmencita, you have a big day tomorrow, but everything will be just fine!

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Carmen Mateo

My mother was first diagnosed with retroperitoneal liposarcoma in October of 2005. I had come home to see her in the hospital—during the removal of a cyst on her breast the doctors accidentally punctured her lung. It was during her stay at the hospital that they completed an MRI of her core (to verify the lung’s status) and found a large mysterious mass—a tumor. Though frightened by this news she was thankful for the discovery. Weeks went by as my parents spoke with other doctors and centers trying to figure out what this tumor was and what to do. Eventually she was diagnosed—liposarcoma, a rare type of cancerous tumor that manifests itself as a mass of fat. The irony of it—my mother the skinniest petite woman in the world, had a fat tumor. Right before Thanksgiving she went to Sloan Kettering to have surgery to remove the almost 8lb tumor. Being the strong woman that she is, she recovered quickly from the surgery and began her healing journey. It was years before

Nature's course

Tuesday August 9, 2011 Daniel, Tom and I spent most of the day cleaning the house up and waiting for Carmen's hospice gear to arrive. Late that night she came home in an ambulance from Hopkins. She was extremely tired, but still mentally there and able to talk though it was through quite whispers. We set her up in the living room so that she could be in the midst of all the action downstairs. She had made the brave decision to enjoy the rest of her time here at home with her family. Though she was in pain, she was happy to finally be resting at home. Jose slept beside her on the sofa, attending to her throughout the night. I was surprised that her condition had deteriorated since we last saw her on Sunday night-- that night she had walked around, sat at upright at a table to have dinner, fed herself easily, willingly ate, and was a bit chatty, but not extremely chatty for Carmen standards. By Tuesday night, it seemed her ability to move was limited, and she was subdued by the pa

recovery day

Today Carmen spent most of the day laying in bed. She was still tired from yesterday and the procedure. Her fluid retention is slowly dissipating, but of course it takes time. She had put on almost 10 pounds of weight during this, so you can only imagine. Her liver and kidney enzymes are stable, which is good news as always. Her potassium levels were a bit high in the morning and a little less high in the afternoon, but still high enough to cause some concern preventing her from being released. Because she wanted to rest, we didn't stop by to see her today. Hopefully tomorrow we will know what is the deal with her potassium and maybe get released from the hospital. Fingers crossed!

Nectar of Life

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