Janet Buccowich hospitalized again

My mother Janet was hospitalized at UCLA Medical Center on Tuesday and is being treated for pneumonia. She’s been struggling with medications begun in February to treat effects of her benign brain tumor (meningioma). The steroid Decadron has been the biggest culprit in terms of fatigue, muscle loss and weight gain. She had some pulmonary edema or fluid on the lungs several weeks ago when she was hospitalized for testing, but it resolved on its own over several days and required no treatment. Meanwhile, some breathing difficulty persisted recently as Mom began a progressive taper schedule to get off of the steroid. Mom woke up with a fever and increased weakness on Tuesday morning, the day my sister Becky and I were to take her to a follow-up appointment with a UCLA endocrinologist to address her steroid-related side effects. Her fever spiked and she continued to weaken as we met with the doctor, so she was admitted to ER where the pneumonia was discovered. She’s been moved to the UCLA Santa Monica Hospital for continued treatment until she’s well enough to return home. We thank God for the timing of her scheduled doctor visit at UCLA that allowed her to get help when she needed it. She was fading fast, so the event became a bit traumatic for everyone. Since it looks like the pneumonia resulted from her weakened condition on steroids, she’s expected to be free from chronic effects once she recovers and eliminates more meds.

Regarding her brain tumor, UCLA neurosurgeon Dr Bob Shafa has recommended a conservative approach to treatment. Meningioma tumors grow slowly, about 1mm each year. Mom’s tumor was only 2mm when it was discovered 18 years ago, is now under 3cm, and has given her only slight symptoms. Brain swelling and seizures have not been a problem so far. As a result, her treatment plan calls for observation, minimal drugs, and surgical resection only as a last resort. She’ll have an MRI every 6-12 months to monitor the slow tumor progression. We hope she can return home from the hospital soon.

Since Susan has been such a regular patient at UCLA, Mom’s hospitalization is a bit surreal and can lead to some confused encounters. I’m used to focusing my caregiver energy on my wife in that environment, so it’s weird for me to see my mom there instead. I'm a familiar face to some of the staff, so I had some “How’s it going?” and “You again?” greetings this week in the ER. Danny the x-ray tech was faked out when he wheeled his machine into the “Buccowich” room and expected to see Susan for chest pictures but saw Janet instead. Such is life for the Buccowich brain tumor people. We’re still waiting for the multi-family discount.