A place to get news and updates on Nan, and leave messages and well wishes.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Transfer to skilled nursing facility

Today Nan was moved from Stanford to a skilled nursing facility in Monterey.  The transfer went smoothly, and the new facility is close to home and work, and lovely. There is a bed in her room where Tom can rest, and a small patio attached to every room. It is anticipated that she will be there for a few weeks.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

At Stanford

Nan was transferred to Stanford yesterday.  We went to see her yesterday evening, she had been up all day due to move, and was very fatigued. Due to the fatigue she was somewhat disoriented, though she definitely recognized us and held Fritz's hand and knew that her mother was there.

Today my sister and I went to visit with the Doodlebug in tow.  When we arrived she was receiving some physical therapy. She was much more alert today, able to speak a bit more clearly, and delighted to see her grandbaby. Words largely fail her, but her face and eyes remain very expressive. Tom was able to go over to a good friend's house nearby for a proper lunch and a shower. Her doctors are collecting data and figuring out what to do next treatment-wise. She was able to articulate very clearly to her neuro-oncologist that she is ready to go home.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Still inpatient, still comfortable

Nan is still inpatient at her local hospital.  She seems to be comfortable, still sleeping most of the time. She has not suffered any further seizures, however they are still keeping a close eye on her. We are looking into getting her transferred to Stanford, so that she will be close to her team of oncologists and the more sophisticated diagnostics that they can provide.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Update

Super quick catch up paragraph:
Nan completed her course of radiation and chemotherapy.
A follow up MRI at the end of January determined that the treatment has arrested growth, but did not shrink the existing tumors. This was considered a pretty good outcome.

She began IV infusions of the drug Avastin the first week of February. This is to help control cerebral edema, in lieu of steroids (which have very serious side effects themselves). She seemed to respond well to the Avastin; after the first infusion there was a marked improvement in her ability to speak and her energy levels.

Current Update: 
 Yesterday Nan began vomiting, and very early yesterday morning she had several seizures.
She is now inpatient at her local hospital; she was given a large dose of a benzodiazepine, which has stopped the seizure activity. She is now resting comfortably, she is very tired- of course she is, it is normal to feel deep fatigue after a seizure, and she was given a large quantity of drugs- when we popped in to see her she smiled at the baby and squeezed my hand. While this development is frightening, it is worth noting that vomiting and seizures are often symptom that leads to the diagnosis of Glioblastoma. The fact that Nan has not had experienced these symptoms previously is somewhat remarkable.

I will continue to update at least every other day for the time being, so please check back to hear the latest. If you have specific questions, please feel free to email or text me.

- Sue Ann

Friday, November 19, 2010

Hurry up and Wait

We spent last Friday with Nan, and she looked so well- beautiful and quite healthy, decked head to toe in purple (which Amanda says is a powerful and healing color, so purple it is!).

 It was a gorgeous sunny day in Monterey, we just hung out in the apartment and were entertained by the baby.  Nan seemed to have little trouble making conversation, and moves about very confidently, albeit slowly and with a healthy dose of caution.

This last week was spent preparing for treatment to begin.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Appointment at Stanford

On Friday Nan, Tom and Fritz met with the specialists at Stanford.  
Everyone was very impressed with the demeanor and bedside manner of the lead Neuro Oncologist, and feel like she is in good hands. 

The tumor is a glioma, and Nan will begin treatment immediately (chemo- just one pill a day- and radiation) in Monterey, with the treatment protocol designed by and overseen by the the Stanford team.

She is in great spirits, and navigated the very steep steps in front of her mothers' condo with nary a second thought, which Fritz found very impressive.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Welcome! And Nan is home

Welcome to Friend and Fans of Nan, the place to be for updates and information on Nan's medical condition.

This is Sue Ann typing right now (daughter in law, mother of beloved only grandbaby).
I will do my best to keep this blog up to date with the latest- I know that everyone is in shock and very concerned, and wants to know what is going on. This is a centralized site where you can visit at any time from your computer, Iphone, Blackberry, etctera.

The address is www.nanwilliams.blogspot.com

For those of you new to the blogging format, the newest post appears at the very top of the page.

At the very bottom of every post, it says " Post a Comment"- please leave a comment for Nan, it's easy, we will make sure that she knows that you are thinking of her. If you don't have a Google account, that's no problem; just choose "Name/URL" and you can just type in your name. Don't worry about the URL box, just leave it blank.

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Nan was discharged from Stanford on Monday, and is now back home in Monterey.
Tom reports that she had a good night's sleep (everyone knows how impossible it is to rest properly in a hospital) and woke and ate a proper breakfast. Her spirits are good, though her energy is still low and she is resting quite a bit. She is still struggling to retrieve the words that she wants to say, but to be frank a person on the street meeting her would not have any clue that she was having difficulty- it's just that she has always had such facility with words that it is really frustrating to her.  The weakness in her right side persists, so she is being careful about the risk of a fall.

She returns to Stanford on Friday to meet with the uber big cheese Neuro Oncologist Tumor Guy. He is the director of Neuro Oncology, his research focuses exclusively on brain tumors, and is the very cutting edge of treatment protocols for glioblastoma multiforme (one of the possible diagnoses) so she could not possibly be in better hands. She should receive the results of the biopsy at that visit, and hopefully a clearer idea of treatment options and protocols.

So for now we continue to wait and pray.