Update on my Mother

[Janet]

My Mom is doing okay. Last weekend she was feeling weak and shaky again, a sign that she is low on blood. When they checked it a couple of weeks ago, the count was at 8, when we took her in last weekend it was up to 10. That means the shots she is taking once a month is working. Since her kidneys are functioning at 27% the shots tell the bone marrow to make more red blood cells.

The bad news is her heart will not get better. The attachment on the valve inside her heart is broken, caused by a heart attack that she nor anyone else knew she had. The Dr. said most people would not have survived that heart attack or be able to continue as she is.

She saw Dr. Oz on Oprah last week and he said you needed to exercise your heart. Soooo what does my 84 year old Mother with a bad heart do.....she hops on her exercise bike and rides half a mile....what am I going to do with her...lol My Mom's Dr. said that Dr Oz meant for those with healthier hearts not my Mother. Mom told her that she feels better after she rides her bike and is quite stubborn, so her Dr said that if she continues to ride it, just take it nice and slow, not to get her heart rate up too much.

The last bit of detail is that Mom can have her heart fixed, but at her age and the low function of her kidneys, she would have a long, long, recovery period and would most likely have to be on dialysis the rest of her life IF she survived surgery with a 50/50 percent chance. She has decided against the surgery for now, which the Dr. agrees would probably be best at her age.

So that's pretty much it with Mom. We'll just continue to keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't overdo it.