Day -2, and what you can send!

Day -2 here and things are similar to yesterday, though slightly worse.  Mom has been very exhausted and nauseas - she's spent most of the day resting and sleeping.  She hasn't had much of an appetite, so far only eating a popsicle and drinking a few sips of an Ensure-type drink.  But we just had a gourmet meal of steamed rice and applesauce delivered, so we'll see!  They gave her a new drug - Compazine - for nausea earlier, which actually made her feel worse.  That's now on the "don't ever give me that again" list.  Despite all this, she was at least able to shower and put on lipstick earlier (the nurse was VERY impressed when she came in and saw the lipstick).

Between dozes, she sits up and we chat for a few minutes or she looks at her iPad and reads messages.  A few people have asked me what they can send - at this point, the best thing would be short emails or texts, especially with photos.  Do understand that she almost certainly won't write back, but each little note brings a smile to her face (I showed her a video of my room at the Marriott this morning and she enjoyed even that, so Ansel Adams quality is certainly not needed!).  If you want to send a physical card that we'll hang in the room, the address is below.  She can't get flowers, baked goods, stuffed animals seem like bacteria sponges, etc. - so cards/photos are probably the best.

And finally, tomorrow is the big day for Brother Frank (not in the Friar sense) aka Uncle Frank aka Donor Convery.  He has been getting red-cell boosting shots every morning, and tomorrow he'll report at 7:30a for his "harvest."  This will be a 4 - 6 hour process, so we may not see him until the late afternoon.  He hasn't gotten a straight answer about how knackered he'll be after, but it's hard to imagine he'll walk out feeling 100%.  We are very grateful that Frank has been willing and able to donate for my mom.  This has not been an insignificant process for him either, so a big and hearty thank you to him.

Mailing address:
Sile Convery
City of Hope
Helford Hospital 6th Floor
1500 E. Duarte Road
Duarte, CA 91010