Can this kid catch a break?

I was hoping to at least give you a few quotes from Theresa in this post....maybe tomorrow. I had all of my "trick bag" packed for Theresa and called her to ask if there was anything she wanted. This very faint munchkin voice said no. She told me she was having muscle problems. I asked where and she said in her mouth. I told her I'd be right over. Driving in the car I began imagining all kinds of things. The Joker from Batman, Jim Carey in The Mask, John Travolta in Old Dogs...odd no women have had frozen faces! Much to my relief, Theresa looked pretty good when I walked in her room; not scary. I quickly realized how tightly her jaw was clenched. The nurse told me her feet had curled and her shoulders pulled up before the Benedryl. They believe she had a reaction to the Compazine they gave her for nausea. This is apparently a possible side effect, but one Doctor told us although they studied this in med school, she had never seen anything like this. So, I unpacked my trick bag itemizing each item. We agreed that today was not the day to attempt the shampoo. I finally gave her that big hug and began her head, jaw, ear, face massages. Since my armpits were right in her space, I felt bad that today was the day to try the new powder fresh antiperspirant...it's strong and a little obnoxious. She said the massage felt really good so I just kept it coming. I had stopped at Starbucks to give her iced green tea yet another try. Today she bit on the bait. Although the Benedryl worked from the neck down, she really seemed uncomfortable and stressed from the neck up. Many doctors and nurses came to see her. Probably wanted to see the reaction they only read about in textbooks. One of Dr. Muldoon's associates came in with some optimistic thoughts for tomorrow. Foley out, better food, more moving around...all sounded good, but let's fix this girl's face. They had several calls out to see what ideas other departments had. Being inspired, I asked Tree if she wanted to go walking. We did. She may think she's slow, but she was moving right along in that corridor. Unfortunately, as we got to the nurse's station, the smell of cooked food started her tummy rolling. We managed to get to the door of her room before she vomited. I got her in her chair, cleaned up what missed her basin and wiped her face with a warm cloth. I could feel the tightness was back big time in her jaw. We were still hours away from her next dose of Benedryl. We went back to massage. Tree was eventually helped back into bed. The IV nurse came in to move her IV. Nice, gentle...Tree didn't flinch, but then again, maybe when your jaw is locked, you can't flinch. She told Tree that she was hoping she wouldn't have to come back...aren't we all? Shifts changed, new nurses came on deck, and the massage continued. Rob brought the kids up after Ellie finished her first day of "Girls on the Run" at school. Thanks to everyone who helped it all go smoothly for Ellie, and Rob. Rob took the car in to get the brakes worked on today, and good friend, Cindy, carted him around to get groceries and supplies. There was mention of Nick getting a good look over by Morton Grove paramedics in the produce market, something about them being in the right place as the cart tipped over on Nick, but in light of Theresa's already tense situation, I thought it best we didn't elaborate too much. The nurse came in and told us that instead of Benadryl, neurology had recommended Cogentin. It's commonly used for Parkinson's Disease, but it is used off label in situations like this. BRING IT ON! About 5:45 Theresa got the med through her new IV. The nurse said if it was going to work it would happen fairly quickly. IT DID. In roughly 5 minutes, Theresa told us she could feel it working. In her words....Woohoo! She started smiling. Her smile, her beautiful smile. The frozen face was gone. The original Dr. who told us she had never seen anything like this stopped back in to see Tree. Like us, she was greatly relieved. She said with Theresa's sensitivity to so many drugs she had been hesitant, but was so happy it worked. On her way out, she reminded Theresa to never try Compazine again...no problem! There were kisses all around and we left Tree at about 6:30, her face still beautiful! The kids wanted me to drive them home; I complied. Gary beat me home. He told me Theresa called and sounded like her old self. I called her back, yes she was still fine. Dr. Muldoon had stopped in to see her. She wanted me to add this to our post for today. (For those of you who actually read this through, you do get a quote from Theresa.) "Dr. Muldoon removed 42 lymph nodes, 7 appeared questionable. The radiation did indeed shrink the tumor." Tree said he told her he just took all of the nodes because there was no reason to leave them there to just cause problems in the future. A good friend, Adie, had stopped by for a visit, so I wished her a good night and sweet dreams. Hopefully tomorrow will be a problem free day for good healing and recovery. It's about time she got a break!

I ask you to join me in visualizing Theresa's healthy, relaxed body, a smooth recovery, and a new happy, normal Theresa, whoever that might be. Thanks! Paula