Wellness

[ford1224_2]

I never have. But you tell me what to call this . . .

My sister has stage 4 lung cancer in both lungs, colon cancer, severe physical contortion due to osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, pancreatitis, congestive heart failure, failure to thrive (she is 80 lbs., and has lost 8" in height), and a host of other diseases. She has been extremely ill for several years now. Three weeks ago, she had an emergency . . . acute pancreatitis . . . and was taken to the hospital. She had many tests (which is how we learned of the lung cancer). Two days later she entered into what the oncologist called a "pre-comatose state." I personally asked the doctor what her chances were of coming out of this and he said "2%."

The family gathered, there were 15 to 20 of us at the hospital within hours. The hospital staff brought in a lunch buffet for us, her roommate had already been removed from the room.

Approximately two and a half hours later, my sister opened one eye. I went over to her, kissed her and gently tried to close her eye. It remained open. Then she opened the other eye and began to say things, she was pretty much hallucinating, but within the hour, she was sitting up and wolfing down a ham and cheese sandwich! She started joking around and had most of us in stitches the remainder of the day. She wasn't making that much sense, but she was more active (not that much physically, but mentally) than she had been in a very long time.

The hospital kept her a few more days and then sent her on to a nursing home. She is getting hospice care in the nursing home, and is still in considerable pain. However, her TV is there, her laptop is there, her favorite chair is there, they are allowing her to smoke outside on the veranda, and she is calling me (she hadn't been calling me for several months).

Medicare will pay for 100 days of hospice care and I'm actually starting to think she will outlive that! Her prognosis is poor . . . but talk about a fighter!!! We are all so grateful she is getting this extra time, but we are absolutely stunned.

Has anyone experienced something like this? If so, what would you call it?