Update 23 April 2013

I thought I would post a new update as there are so many people who care about Mum and would be interested in how she's going.

Late last week Mum broke her left arm and quite high up on the arm. Not wanting to go to hospital, she lived through the pain until Friday. She did not know at the time it was broken but that was confirmed by a Dr at the PA hospital.

On Saturday she was advised it was a myeloma tumor which had been the cause of the break as mum has an oval shaped hole in her bone where the cancer has eaten it away.

She's going into surgery this morning where they will clean out the tumor and fill the hole with a medical bone cement (they did not mention it was a medical cement but she was just an intern and I just assumed it was not Ready Mix cement). They will then splint her bone with two plates which will be screwed either side of the break. They will be quite long so they can be screwed into healthy bone and provide maximum support.

She'll be a little sore for a few days and likely in a half (backstrap) cast for 6 weeks. In the days following they will make multiple assessments about her ability to go home and live safely. This will involve physiotherapists and occupational therapists. She's being stubborn at the moment about her capabilities post surgery but time will tell.

Mum doesn't have email access but can be reached on her mobile. I'll post an update later today when she's out of surgery.