Penny
Member since February 27, 2008I am the youngest of five children, our father died of bladder cancer in 1981. My mother is an alcholoic and so was my father. My brother Jim is an alcholoic and my oldest sister Pam is a drug user and alcholoic as well. I lost my husband to head and neck cancer 6 years ago, he was a heavy smoker and drinker, but my savior. My first husband and father of my three daughters was an addict of alchol and drugs and an abuser.
So now that you know my childhood and early adulthood, we will go to current. I work at a bank as a service manager, a very demanding job. I have 5 beautiful grandsons and 2 step twin grandaughters. I have a signifigant other, who was my first love in high school. My sister Paula Kaye and I are the primary care givers for my mother, she is a teacher. Mother was diagnosed in November. Has biopsies the first week of December, she stayed with me a week, went home and started drinking again. The day after Christmas she went to the cancer center and they sent her to the hospital she had lost 13lbs. Wasn't able to eat or swallow, the tumor had grown. Had a trach, port and stomache tube all put in within a few days. This was very stressful on all of the family. Tempers were short. I stayed at the hospital everynight because she was going through the DT's and didn't want to be alone. We had to put Mother in a nursing rehab home. I t was horrible for her and for me I cried everytime I left. She was finally put in a private room, was doing so much better, until this past week. The radiation burnt her neck severly, she is sad because we were planning on her coming home, now she is so sad and confused and we are not sure why. The cancer center does not call or e-mail when changes in treatments are made, and Mother is so confused, which makes it very frustrating for us. I know there are others out there like me, it just feels so good to write this down.