I am a big Seinfeld fan, and sometimes my mind works in odd ways….when we talked through today’s update, my thought went to ‘No Food For You’! So I think you know where I am going with this.

Cynde’s tum is fighting a big fight. It seems like that is where her cancer cells have set up camp, making eating or drinking impossible. I started to type nearly impossible, but really, it is impossible right now for her to get the nutrition she needs through traditional means, i.e., eating and drinking.

And if you take eating and drinking (or the lack thereof) out of the equation, she looks really good. Cynde is committed to walking, standing, sitting up, and moving her body as much as she can. Side note, she pooped yesterday!!! YAY POOP!

But this tummy issue is a big one. And the doctors have decided to give her belly a rest while it fights this assy cancer.

You know what is really cool? Science and the time we live in. For the time being, Cynde will receive nutrition through a process called TPN (Total Parenteral Nutrition). TPN is nutrition delivered directly into the bloodstream through a central IV line; it completely bypasses the digestive tract. Although your tummy may rumble, saying it’s hungry, it is really your cells that need to be fed. TPN is the McDonald’s milkshake of intravenous nutrition. It contains:

• Calories (dextrose)
• Protein (amino acids)
• Fats (lipids)
• Vitamins and minerals
• Electrolytes and fluids

The good thing is that she can go home on TPN. She will have a backpack that will deliver this complex nutrition to her hungry cells, which are eager to fatten up so they can get back out there and fight this assy cancer.

We want this fix to be temporary- the tummy likes to feel useful, and we don’t want it to get the impression that it’s not needed, but it might take a while. Instead of taking her to lunch, maybe go to a fabulous garden….ironically, flowers don’t have tummies either 🙂

Cynde moved out of the ICU today, and that was a win. Poop is a win. And having a team that acknowledges the best treatment protocol is also a win.

She also said she has been craving a big, icy Coca-Cola. This is funny because she is not a soda girl. I told her this will be her celebratory drink once she can have a sip or two.

Pops is good. After doing a tour of the hotels in Aurora, Hampton Inn, Comfort Inn, La Quinta, he has decided that the Hampton Inn is the winner, but there is no place like home.

To Home! For Cynde and Pops, let’s try to picture them back in Arvada, TPN backpack and all, watching the sunset on their beautiful patio.

Tomorrow, my friends.

PS- I’ve gotten a couple of questions about my WordPress site. Right now, you have to click on the comments section to see the comments. You can also follow my updates here. I am working on making the comments available under the post. Hold tight!