Whoa, there…back in the boat, Molly Brown

The neurologic team just came in to do their assessment.  After a few more “Mary, what’s this?,” they turned to D and me for a little question-and-answer session.  I told them that we’ve yet to have a “where mom stands” conversation, and wondered if they had consulted with the oncology team to get an idea of what (in the way of acute symptoms) may be going on.  The answer?  Well, brain cancer is a nasty disease and people do die from this.  REALLY?  Jesus, why come someone ain’t said somethin’ before?  No kidding, a-hole, we’re well aware of the dangers of brain tumors (and again with the "family hasn’t got it" routine). 

Another doctor chimed in and said they are still determining what acute problems may be impacting her overall ability to respond.  When she finished, I said that’s exactly the kind of conversation I was referring to, and that we’re more than aware of the long-term prognosis for mom.  What we’re wondering is what this means, or if they have an idea as to where this could be going.  They also said mom’s been off her Ritalin and Welbutrin, in addition to food and her other meds.  Well, no wonder she’s not wanting to engage.  We find it puzzling that they don’t seem to be worried about her nutrition, or yanking her off her meds when the meds specifically say to taper slowly.  But they are worried about her ‘lack of motivation.’  I'm just thinking out loud here, but perhaps taking her off an anti-depressant and an upper could negatively impact her motivation. Hmmm.  Why they’re so adamant about associating her current (and I imagine temporary) state with brain damage is strange. 

Hey Flash Gordon, how ‘bout we slow things down a tick.  After all, she had electrolyte problems in August which made her nearly catatonic; yet, she recovered.  There’s no reason why she can’t recover again.  A more important question is why things seem to be spiraling for her.  Could it be the brain swelling, or the lack of nutrition -- which also preceded mom’s electrolyte problems back in August -- or the UTI?   Ain’t nobody gonna be throwing mom under the bus...not on our watch! – J

[Just as an interesting tidbit, the Unsinkable Margaret Brown passed away from a brain tumor.]