A heartfelt tribute to the woman who not only birthed me, but also became the cornerstone of my career path, my dear mother. Recently, we said our last goodbyes to her after a brave battle with the aggressive clear cell uterine cancer. Her journey is a testament to her resilience - from the initial diagnosis in 2012 to the multiple treatments, periods of remission and relapse. It's a journey that took us to the sunny state of Florida, and introduced us to the invaluable medical team at the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville.
With the passing of my mother, I am reminded of the immense gratitude I bear for hospice care, specifically the team at Community Hospice in St Augustine, Florida, who were there for my mother until the very end. They provided the comfort we needed during those challenging times. The treatments she underwent - chemotherapy, radiation, and biologics like Ketruda and Lmvima - were a bittersweet rollercoaster of emotions. I dedicate this episode to her strength, her courage, and the indomitable spirit that inspired me to pursue nursing. So, if you still have the chance, hug your mom for me today and every day.
Speaker 1:
Hey and welcome to nursing with Dr Hobbock. This is going to be a little bit different than what I usually do. I just wanted to take an opportunity to Honor my mother. We lost her on Friday, july 21st 2023. Today is the 23rd. She left us early in the morning and it was a peaceful death. My dad and I were both able to be there with her when she passed and she was at home, and I would definitely encourage everyone to take advantage of hospice as as soon as possible. I know it's hard to say I'm ready for hospice, but hospice is an amazing Organization and I want to shout out to community hospice in St Augustine, florida, who helped my mom. I really loved my mom and If you listen to my podcast long enough, you'll probably hear me talk about her. She was an amazing woman.
Speaker 1:
I think that not a lot of people could go through what she's been through. She was originally diagnosed with clear cell uterine cancer, which is a pretty aggressive type. In 2012, she actually presented with DVTs from her toaster groin and a massive pulmonary embolism. She had a very large tumor that was Subsequently removed. She was treated with Intent to Cure and she was cancer-free, as far as we knew, for four years. In 2016 we found it again in the summertime. She went through several different types of treatments. She had chemotherapy again and radiation. She went through some of the biologics. She had ketruda and lmvima. That seemed to work for a little while. We had multiple times where we thought it was going to be over. She had some protein spillage there for a little while in After some of her medications and we thought that that was going to be the last medicine that they had available. And then the FDA approved the ketruda and lmvima combination, so she did that for a while.
Speaker 1:
It was in there that I moved to Florida so that mom could be in Florida. She always wanted to live in Florida and I thought if I moved that they'd follow and they did. We moved to Florida just in time for the Pandemic, so unfortunately, everything kind of shut down. She continued with the male clinic in Jacksonville, which was amazing and shout out to that team, to Dr Otero, cologne and Schwabna, who was her nurse practitioner and I fortunately I don't know her full name, but she was amazing. She was the best nurse practitioner I think that I've had the pleasure of working with. So I'm trying to hold it together.
Speaker 1:
I've recorded this a couple of times. It's really off the cuff. But anyway, I wanted to honor my mom. I don't think that I would be here without her the way that I am. I don't think that I'd be in nursing and I really. She was a strong lady and, anyway, thanks for listening. My mom was such a strong lady that I started crying the day before she died and she was comforting me. She was telling me it's okay and she was not fully aware of what was going on, as far as I can tell, but she was comforting me. So strong lady. Again, thanks for listening and if you're lucky enough to have your mom, give her a hug from me. That's all I got for you today from nursing with dr Hobbock and I'll see you next time. Hug your mom.