My sister

I've been ignoring an issue in my life and it feels right to write about it now.  Last year, I noted some health problems with my family.  Since then, I have not mentioned them and it is time to touch upon them again.

My big (and only) sister, Maureen, has been in acute rehab for three weeks.  She just came home on Friday.  From what you might ask?  She fell in her bedroom.

Since the removal of that GBT type of Brain Tumor I mentioned in the post last year, she had radiation therapy and has been on monthly chemotherapy to keep it from recurring.  This particular cancer almost always comes back and the median survival rate is 15 months.  It has been almost 15 months now.

The removal of part of her brain and the effects of the chemotherapy have affected her decision making, short term memory and balance.  Her motor skills are not what they used to be and that is why she fell.  While she is home now, she has a Life Alert bracelet, needs 24/7 monitoring and has been instructed to keep out of the kitchen for fear of burning herself.  The condo had undergone a transformation to make it safer for her.  The activities going on now remind me very much of certain hospice activities at the end of my wife's life.  But, nobody on the health care team is saying that the end is near.

She still holds up her end of a conversation, but her short term memory is uncertain.  My nieces (her daughters) have worked hard to get her the care that she needs.  The one who lives the closest has been there three days a week to assist and hire people to help out.

The doctors and nursing team are doing their part.  All we can do now is pray.