Thanx for the info. I was in her room when Madeleine received a large
package from the [elided] list. Or was that the [elided] list ? She was as
thrilled as her condition enabled her to be and insisted on opening it
herself in spite of feeling weak and nauseated. Struggling with tape and
boxes kept her vertical for several minutes; a position that the oncologist
encourages as much as possible. She was still working at it in between
examinations, procedures and short periods of rest when I left last night.
Good job !
She also reads email whenever she has enough strength and ability to focus.
The support she is getting from everyone is critical to keep her morale up,
especially now that she will be entering a very important (and absolutely
nasty) phase of the treatment. She is currently in the dumpster and
struggling to find any joy at all in life. Having spent the last 5 days in
Philadelphia and 12 hours straight with her yesterday, I can attest to the
fact that she is getting superb care and that the disease as well as the
cure are absolutely horrible. Her life is hell. Hell, she has no life!
She has no privacy, her body is assaulted in violated in ways that are
unimaginable, the cure is pure poison, every shred of autonomy and dignity
is gone and almost everything that gave her pleasure is no longer possible.
You can imagine how much she hates this. It gets worse as she has nothing
to look forward to for months to come. Keep up the email, the jabber, the
cheerfulness and the caring. Even if she doesn't respond, nay, especially
if she doesn't respond! I think it will be vital to her; in the end, the
state of her morale may be what will make the difference. If you wish, you
can share this with all the Maddy supporters and please tell them that
Madeleine is very, very touched by the outporing of love and support she
has gotten. It makes a true difference; after all her friends are about
the only good thing in her life at the moment. Luce