Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Right now I am having a crisis in my family. My younger sister has stage four bone cancer. She was diagnosed 4 years ago and had one of her breasts removed which is where the cancer was initially found. She has been through 6 sessions of chemo therapy and is currently in the middle of her 7th treatment. She went through radiation once and was burnt so bad that she refused to participate again. The doctors give her approximately 3 years to live. On Tuesday, she was admitted into the hospital and has been there ever since. She has pneumonia which resulted with fluids settling in her lungs. The doctors sedated her in order to put a scope in her lungs to see why she is having difficulty breathing and learned her lungs have cancer in them. The doctor has left her sedated in order for her to try and heal herself from the pneumonia. Their plan is to take the breathing tubes out on Friday and see if she can recover. My sister has relayed that she does not want to live her last days hooked up to machines. The family will respect her wishes and will not keep her connected to machines. We all hope that she recovers and is able to breath on her own. If she does recover, she will no longer go to her scheduled chemo therapy as it is not helping, according to her doctor. Out goal will be to try and provide her with the best quality of life until her time comes. This is what she wants. I accept what she wants and respect her decision. I feel powerless. As a social worker, I want to help but instead have decided not to cross those boundaries because this is what she wants. Even with the education and trainings that I have attended, it is difficult just sitting back and watching.

2 comments:

  1. Sheila, I'm sorry to hear about your sister. Know we are all here thinking about you and your family. Take care of yourself and if there is anything I can do, please call.

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  2. Sheila, your sister is a remarkable lady. It is hard because you want to be that social worker but the emotions take over. Sheila we are all here for you and please do not be afraid to ask for help. =)

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