Darcy J. Busch, children's author

Friday, September 05, 2008 :
I have decided to keep a diary of my mom's struggle with cancer.  She is having surgery on Monday and then on Tuesday will being chemo.  I am going to begin making entries to this journal on Monday and talk about how she is doing daily.  Please say a prayer for her.

Sunday, September 07, 2008 :
I just got in Salina a little while ago and thought I would check in first.  My stomach is so nervous about my mom's surgery tomorrow I can't even eat.  All I've had today is a donut this morning and some coffee.  I hope I will be able to sleep tonight, I really don't think I will be able to.  I am going to sign out for tonight and tomorrow night I will write how the surgery went.  Keep mom in your prayers.

Monday, September 08, 2008:
Well I am back in my room.  Mom's surgery went well.  When she was admitted her blood pressure shot up really high, but the doctors got it under control and did the surgery.  She now has the port inserted in her chest and is ready for chemo tomorrow morning.  She began hurting around 2:00 so I gave her some some medicine and it knocked her out; so I decided to return to my room to get caught up on everything.  We learned at the cancer center this morning that it is almost a cetainty that she will loose her hair.  I keep teasing her that maybe it will come back blonde and she'll be better than ever!  Mom hasn't shed one tear or at least not in front of me.  I almost feel like I need to see her show some emotion, I don't know why?  I pray that isn't selfish of me, if it is then I pray God will forgive me and give me the strength to continue each day with a smile on my face like mom.  Tomorrow will the real test of her strength.  Chemo will last 8 hours and will almost certainly wear her out.  I will sign off for now and will check back in tomorrow.  I want to thank everyone for their prayers.  I really feel they will work.

Tuesday, September 09, 2008:|
I just got back to my room from mom's first round of chemo.  She really took it like a pro.  Every time a nurse asked how she was doing, she simply said that she was doing fine and that's how it was going to be.  She is very vocal about telling everyone that she is tough and will not let the meds get her down.  I think she is one tough cookie and if anyone can beat this she can.  Mom's chemo lasted pretty close to  8 hours and she tried hard not to fall asleep.  I did catch her dozing off a couple of times, but she always snapped out of it.  She has managed to keep her appetite and so far has no side effects.  The nurse said that the first IV bag of meds was the most powerful and if she was going to have a reaction, this would definately be the one.  Fortunately, she had none, at least so far.  I think if tomorrow if she is feeling fine, I am going to head for home.  She has another doctor appointment next week, so I will be returning to Salina then.  Mom has to go daily to get injections to help with her white cell counts, but other than that she won't have another chemo until October 1.  I am so proud of my mom and I know if anyone can beat this cancer it is her.  Again I want to thank everyone for their prayers and I will blog again tomorrow.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008:
Mom had no trouble last night.  One of the side effects was suppose to be sleeplessness, but fortunately she slepted soundly.  Mom was full of energy today, with the exception of a cold, she is doing great.  We went to the senior center and had lunch.  It was great to see mom talking with other people and watch her talk about her cancer and how she is going to beat it.  She finally told me that if she does loose her hair, she doesn't want to wear a hat; she wants a scarf, and maybe a wig.  I still can't believe how much energy she has.  I pray that this will continue and she won't have to face anything horrible.  I am now back in Wichita and plan on returning to Salina on next Wednesday for her next appointment.   Since mom is doing so good, I thought this would be a good chance for me to return to school for a few days so I can catch up on my missed assignments.  My teachers have been simply wonderful.  I guess I will wrap this up and hopefully talk with mom tomorrow and give an update at a later date.

Friday, September 12, 2008:
Mom is still doing really good.  I am almost too scared to write this, but its the truth.  She is suppose to drink 2-3 quarts of water a day, but mom is really not much for drinking water anyway so this is giong to take a lot bugging her to get her to drink all of that water.  She has another doctor appoinment on Wednesday and then we wait until October 1 for her next chemo.  I pray that she continues to feel really good.  I am so worried that one day, she will wake up and that's when it will hit her.  I pray that day doesn't come.  I am so tired, that I am heading off to bed really early tonight. 

These are my most recently entries of my myspace blog.  Mom is continuing to do great and I hope that she continues.

Darcy