8/24: Symptoms Getting Worse

Even with the recent increase in decadron, Leo's symptoms seem to be getting worse. He has more difficulty swallowing thin liquids and isn't opening his mouth as wide. Although he did yawn a few times -- something we haven't seen in a very long time. So we want to move-up his MRI, which is currently scheduled for September 2, to earlier in the week. I asked Dr. Szymkowski again today what all this means. She repeated that if the decadron increase helps, it's "just" swelling. If the decadron increase doesn't help that much, something is going on with the tumor. Would the MRI give them an idea of what specifically may be going on with the tumor? She said it should -- they will be able to tell whether the tumor is growing and becoming more active or whether it's breaking-up and dying. It's obvious for which option we're praying.

OptionCare claims to be coming through. Both the home health nursing supervisor and the home health nurse said that on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Friday, when Leo has blood drawn (and the Monday needle change), the nurse will show-up at 9am. I told them this is the last time we were having such a discussion. In the mean time, I've started getting a list of independent home health nurses who live around us, just in case.