Life Unafraid - Metastatic Cholangiocarcinoma

Life Unafraid

My mom, Yolanda, initially started a blog during a period of
kidney failure and just prior to having a transplant in 2008, to keep friends
and family up to date as well as sharing her story. In April 2012 at age 47,
she was formally diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic cholangiocarcinoma,
essentially a rapidly growing and rare liver/bile duct cancer. We elected to
create a new blog and still keep all of her writings from her kidney transplant
period on here.

Please use this blog as my mom’s story, as a reference for
your own battles, as proof that you can live life unafraid. Thank you to all in
our family, our friends, the doctors, the nurses and all who have supported us
throughout this cancer battle.

I've decided to rename the blog. It was formally named
"Progress In Healing & Recovery", which my mom chose. That title
really defines her character and how she never gave up hope during her battles.
Her pain and suffering left her as she parted from this world and followed God
to Heaven in October, 2012. Our family is sad to see her go, but her strength,
love and personality will live on through our lives.

With love, Mike.

 

The photo - Yolanda hiking on a remote island in the Sea of
Cortez, taken by her fiancé Chris.

 

If you want to hear more about Yolanda's story, please write
to [email protected]

Proverbs 31:25 NLT

Numbers Looking Good - October 17th, 2012

We got blood results back yesterday. Hemoglobin is at 13 and creatinine is 1.4 which is good. Additionally the other levels are looking great, like white blood cell count and etc...

Moms still resting a lot. Her appetite is small but she's still eating a little here and there. We're loosing a big portion of our daily coverage from nurses, but that's only because my moms condition isn't really declining or at a point where the nurses feel they are needed. We're still all here for her and taking care of mom. I'm praying and hoping for some strength so we can get a good day outside soon.

With love, Mike.

Still Going Strong - October 14th, 2012

Hi all. I apologize for not updating in the past week. We've all been spending lots of much needed family time together. As of lately, my mom is still getting antibiotics for another couple of days. She's lost a bit of weight so we're trying to keep her appetite up as much as possible. She's certainly getting lots of rest. Pain hasn't gone down all that much. Next week my mom has to go get some blood work and others tests to see how things are progressing.

As for reaching mom, please continue to reach out to Chris or myself. She hasn't been focusing on her cell phone lately.

Thank you all for your continued support. Please continue to pray for God's will.

With love, Mike.

Home again! - October 5th, 2012

We're home again. I was mistaken last time when I said the infection was from the portacath. We did not determine the source of the infection. But the plan is to keep my mom on antibiotics for about 10 days. Her white blood cell count is looking normal again, today. This is good.
 
My mom just arrived home moments ago. We've decided to go with the hospice plan at home to have more coverage with my mom. Tonight we have an LVN (Licensed Vocational Nurse) for 24 hour coverage during the transition. Tomorrow we have a visit from an RN (Registered Nurse) who will administer the next round of (daily) antibiotics. Beyond that, we are pretty much taking things one day at a time.
 
There are two nurses here at the moment, setting everything up. My mom looks alive and sounds great right now - although I know she is tired and needs rest. Please continue to keep in touch with Chris or myself if you are planning on a visit.
 
Thank you all for your support.
 
With love,
-Mike

Update - October 3rd, 2012

So my mom is still at Saddleback. It turned out to be an infection caused by the portacath. They have been treating it with antibiotics, and today she had over 3 liters of ascites drained from the stomach. The doctors are telling is that there is not much more they can do to treat her. I don't know the plan for tomorrow.

Some good news, my moms voice is coming back. She can talk quite a bit more. That's all I have to report for now.

-Mike

And we're back - October 1st, 2012

Moms back at Saddleback today. This morning she was feeling lightheaded and nauseous. We're hoping its just because she hasn't been eating much recently and maybe some dehydration.

Initial tests showed that hemoglobin was at 13 and white blood cell count was high. The nurses and doctors are assuming there might be some infection, possibly in the lungs. Hydration is low, although my mom is retaining a lot of water in her legs. So more tests will be coming up. I'll post an update as soon as I find out more.

-Mike