Hospital

It has been a fairly stressful month to say the least. My mum's lungs have slowly been filling with liquid which make it hard for her to breathe. Walking short distances was becoming impossible. Basic tasks became impossible.

The last few days have been filled with good news. The doctors at Royal Melbourne Hospital have been brilliant. On Wednesday, the doctors removed 300ml of fluid from my mum's lungs. This has enabled her to be able to walk greater distances and enjoy a greater quality of life. Using diagnostic techniques have also led to her being prescribed a targeted prescription medicine, thus temporarily allowing her to avoid chemotherapy. I can not stress how wonderful these doctors have been.

Its funny how many hours I have now spent staring at this sign.

Doctors look at an ultrasound to pinpoint the largest pocket of fluid surrounding my mum's lungs. They used this to insert a needle, and subsequently drain the fluid.

Doctors drain the fluid from my mum's lungs. It was done via a 14 gauge needle, a 50ml syringe and a three way valve, where fluid was pumped into a bag. Typically, doctors extract between 500ml -1000ml of fluid, however after a series of complications, they left it at 300. This still made a massive difference.

After the procedure, my mum had a nap. She also tried her first ever macaroons from the hospital cafeteria.