One day to go!

Mom again went the whole day without throwing up. She will call Dr Ott tomorrow and see if she can get the OK to start taking some clear liquids. I'm sure, like last time, they will start her off slowly; she can only have a small amount at a time. Like 1/2 - 3/4 cup every hour. This way she doesn't overload her stomach.
Also, just a reminder, we would love for anyone who feels they can, to join us in prayer and fasting this Sunday. Especially at this critical time in her healing, she will need the Lord's extra help and blessings. Her stomach will need to start functioning as it was designed to do so she can live the rest of her life normally. We so much appreciate your continued support and prayers in her behalf.

Two days down, two to go

Another full day without throwing up! Mom's energy is still down, but she seems to continually improve. If all goes well today and tomorrow, mom hopes to be able to start on some clear liquids by the weekend. We still haven't heard what they plan to do about mom's low iron count. perhaps we'll hear more today.

A better day

Mom went all of yesterday without throwing up! Her appointment with Dr Whisenant gave us a clue as to why she has been so tired. She is anemic; even more so than when she was on Chemo and Radiation! They are going to do additional tests on the blood draws from yesterday and decide what to do about it. She will probably need iron and B12 but they both have to get into her stomach as opposed to going thru her feeding tube and into her intestines. So, this means she may have to have them injected. He will tell us more later as the other results come in.
Today, dad is going in to start his physical with Dr. Potter. The office made an appointment for mom too because Dr. Potter hasn't seen her since she started all this. He has kept up all along the way and called once in a while to make sure she was doing ok. He is a great doctor who sincerely cares about his patients and wants to make sure they have the best care.
All in all, mom is feeling pretty good and is confident about her day today as well.

Another week begins

Mom has seemed to be a little perkier the past couple of days. She just doesn't seem to be so exhausted. Still, she struggles with throwing up, but it's not quite as much as other days have been. She spoke with Dr. Ott today. He said to be patient. Still, he feels it is in her best interest not to eat or drink anything. If she can go four days without throwing up, he will let her start on some liquids. He really doesn't think he'll have to go in and do another surgery. That will be a last resort. He is in great hopes that mom's body will heal on it's own.
This Sunday is "Fast Sunday". If any of you would like to join us in a fast in mom's behalf, we would so much appreciate it. She just needs her body to heal as it should, especially her stomach, so it can function properly.
Dad is doing well. His left leg has been hurting for some reason; we have him scheduled for a full physical next week, but because of his leg, we're going to try and get him in sooner. He's been kind of avoiding going in because he doesn't want to know if something is wrong amidst all that's been going on with mom. All in all, things are looking good for this week. Thanks to all of you for your continued prayers in their behalf.

Emotional ups and downs

I think the best word to describe mom at this point is exhaustion. After a fairly good day yesterday, she had a rough day today starting with a big vomiting session. This has been a roller coaster ride of emotions. Dr. Ott has told her she will not be able to eat until she goes a week without vomiting. So when every she throws up, it's like she has to start over again. It seems like a never ending battle at this point. She tries her best to keep a smile on her face, but the thought of having surgery again is just too overwhelming. She wants to "will" her body to work, but it just doesn't seem to be listening. She is going to bed early tonight. Hopefully she will get some good healing rest tonight.

Small Improvements

Not a lot has happened over the past day or so, but mom just looks better. She's still achey and low on energy, but we can see a little more of her sparkle back. She didn't throw up as much today. Dad is doing a good job of making sure she gets her meds and her food. This whole ordeal has been rough on him but all in all, he's holding up fairly well.
We expect the weekend to bring on more healing and more energy.

Wait and See

Not much has happened over the past couple of days. Mom continues to throw up but now she's feeling nausea as well. In order for her new medication to be effective, it needs to go into her stomach. This means she has to take it orally instead of through the feeding tube. It's the only thing that is entering her stomach at this point so we figure that is what makes her feel nauseous. Her energy seems depleted as well.
Dr. Ott called today to see how she was doing. He told her just to hang in there for now and see if we get any more improvement. She will talk to him again next week. Mom and dad have been blessed to have wonderful doctors here who go the extra mile in making sure they are taken care of.

Results from the visit with Dr. Ott

The past couple of days have seemed to be going back instead of forward. Mom has been throwing up every day and her energy seems to be depleted more quickly. Doctor Ott said this has never happened to any of his patients. He has not been able to pinpoint the reason for the swelling and her stomach not draining. When they scope it, it looks fine, but the x-rays show some tightness. He said it is not cancer related, it is healing related. Her body is just healing weird. Mom told him how her body reacts differently to things; she can't wear watches because her body throws off the timing mechanism and they won't keep time after a couple of weeks. Dr Ott asked if she was part alien. :)
There aren't a lot of options left, At first he thought he could put a stint in for a couple of months to keep it open. But after consulting with the doctor who did the last scope, they decided it would be more dangerous because if it slipped, it would turn into an emergency surgery to get it out. Finally, he decided the best course of action would be to try another medication to help the bile stay where it should, He will give it three weeks, if there isn't significant improvement she will need to have another surgery to open it up permanently. We are really hoping that won't need to happen. He hopes within the next two days she will see some improvement. If she can go a week without throwing up, she will be able to start "eating" some fluids.
Dr Ott put a tube into her nose and down into her stomach and drained about 500 ML of fluid. It was a horrible process but necessary to help her feel better. The fluid color was good and there wasn't as much as he anticipated. He did acknowledge this recovery process has been pretty horrible, but assured her, she would eventually be a normal person again.

Getting through the weekend

Mom seems to be doing a little better. She is still really tired, but her pain level has dropped. She hasn't had to take any pain medication since yesterday morning. She felt like her stomach was draining better. But, alas, today she threw up again. This time it was a lot rather than just a little in her kleenex when she coughs. Episodes like this totally zap her strength. She called the doctor and he said he'd let her stick it out at home, but she has to call right away if it happens again. She has an appointment with him on Tuesday afternoon. I don't know if they will be doing additional tests at that time, we'll just have to wait and see.

Resting at home

The past few days have been spent resting and recuperating. Mom is still experiencing a lot of discomfort in her back from the procedure done on Wednesday. She's staying as upright as possible to keep her stomach fluids from coming up. She did throw up a little again this morning, so, Doctor Ott nixed the idea of starting her on liquid foods over the weekend. He will look into it again on Monday depending on how the weekend goes. It's hard to keep positive thoughts when her body just doesn't seem to be healing as fast as she thinks it should. She will, over time, become whole again. but it will take time. She took advantage of the nice spring weather and went on three walks and spent some time on the swing outside. Once again we appreciate your continued thoughts and prayers in her behalf.

Home again

Today was not the most pleasant of hospital stays. Dr. Ott agreed to let mom go home but did require her to have a procedure to remove some of the fluid around her lungs. A needle was inserted into her back and into her lungs. They drew out over a liter of fluid from the sack around her lung. This was not only painful during the procedure, but she will have pain for the next few days because of it. It also totally zapped her strength. No word on when she will be able to start eating again. She will be checking in with her doctor every couple of days to monitor her progress. As long as she is throwing up, she will not be able to eat anything by mouth. We are happy to have her home and she is happy to be back in her own bed again.

Another night

No luck in convincing the doc to let her go home tonight. He said maybe tomorrow. Dr Ott is a little perplexed as to why the stomach keeps swelling and thus not draining. He may have to put a needle in and drain it that way. Another option is to send her home with the NG tube (the tube/drain that goes in her nose and down into her stomach). She did throw up a couple more times today so the doc doesn't want to take the chance that she could aspirate. Perhaps we can all focus our prayers to the healing of her stomach so it will drain properly and start to function as it should. Until it does, she will not be allowed to eat or drink anything and they will continue to do those uncomfortable procedures to help her stomach drain. Of course, her feeding tube keeps her nourished, but it would be nice for mom to be able to eat food again.

Wait and see

Mom had a good night last night with few interruptions (other than the phlebotomist from hell). She's had to sit at a 70 - 90 degree angle even when she sleeps. Laying down at a 30 degree incline last night made her cough and throw up again. As far as the x-rays and tests from yesterday, everything looks good. Dr Ott wants her to stay today so they can keep a close eye on her. He may let her go home as soon as tonight depending on how she does. Her job today is to be up and active as if she were home. So, she'll be walking more laps around the 10th floor to help her regain her strength.

A day of testing

Mom survived the day of testing. She started by drinking the barium solution; then over a three or four hour period, several x-rays were taken. They wanted to watch the path the solution took from her mouth all the way down into her bowels. This way they could find any problem areas where things might be getting stuck. As far as we know, everything looked like it was working properly. There is still some swelling in the stomach which keeps some of the fluids from draining all the way. The doctor did another scope and used a small balloon to stretch things out again. We're hoping this will do the trick. This morning, Dr Ott said mom may be able to go home as soon as tomorrow or Wednesday. We'll see what the reports say tomorrow.
She is in good spirits and seems to have her energy back. She is walking laps around the 10th floor and even doing a little dancing along the way. :)

Back on the 10th floor

Mom is back on the 10th floor with with the NG tube in her nose, an IV in her hand and of course the feeding tube in her tummy. The nurses really struggled to find a vein for the IV; both arms are still bruised from her last visit here. They finally got a small vein near her knuckle which is somewhat uncomfortable, needless to say, the NG tube placement was no picnic either. She's pretty exhausted. They will be doing additional tests tomorrow, probably another swallow test and x-rays to see what's going on. The main thing is she is well looked after and they are taking care of these things before they causes any real problems like pneumonia! Hopefully they'll be able to coordinate her overnight treatments so she can get some solid rest tonight.

Back to the Hospital

Mom woke up this morning looking really tired. She said she had been throwing up a little again. I called and left a message for Doctor Ott. When he called back, he said throwing up is not good because she can so easily aspirate. It's most likely happening because her stomach still isn't draining like it should. Since the procedure on Friday, nothing has gone into her stomach (the feeding tube goes directly to her intestines). Only the natural fluids from her stomach are there, but instead of draining and replenishing, they are staying there and coming up when she coughs. Consequently, he is admitting her back to the hospital so they can insert another NG tube. This is the one she hates; it is inserted into her nose, down her throat and into her stomach. It will be used as a drain to pump out the excess fluid until her body can do it on it's own. We're hoping it won't be more than a couple of days. The news was disappointing, but mom is willing to do what every the doctor advises so she can get well again.

A good night

After all the procedures yesterday, mom was worn out and still a bit uncomfortable. She was having a hard time finding a position that she could sleep in and not have her stomach upset. Yesterday mom's pillow wedge arrived. This is a large memory foam pillow that goes on her bed to keep her at a 30 degree angle or it can be flipped so she can sit up. This way we don't have to have a bunch of pillows folded shoved together to try and keep her at an angle. We weren't sure it would be what she needed at first because it didn't seem to make a difference, but she was eventually able to get some solid rest last night. She looks much better this morning. I think this wedge pillow will make a big difference just because it stays in place. She is probably going to spend most of the day resting to make up for the last 2 days.

Small setbacks

Mom has been doing fairly well the past couple of days. She has noticed, however, when she sleeps, she wakes up a little short of breath. She sleeps at a 30 degree angle all the time, but it didn't seem to keep her from wheezing. Last night, she was wheezing and coughing so much, she started throwing up. We finally got her settled and breathing better by having her sleep in an upright position. Of course, this was not comfortable and she didn't get a lot of rest. By morning she was absolutely miserable. We called Dr. Ott and he asked her to come in right away. He did some x-rays and blood tests and discovered she has been aspirating some of her food. Her stomach is not doing everything it should and was full of fluid. Dr. Ott was able to get her in to have her stomach scoped this afternoon. A German Doctor, described as the best in the country if not the world at this procedure happened to be here today and Dr Ott asked him if he would preform the scope on mom. They sucked out the excess fluids and were able to open things up more to help her stomach work better. For the next few days, she has to be on the feeding tube only - 16 hours a day. Monday she will most likely be able to add some fluids back into her diet. Right now she is pretty wiped out. I think she'll be able to get a lot more rest over the next few days.

First day home

Mom is enjoying her freedom from the hospital. She arrived home yesterday but all the rigamarole to get her checked out left her exhausted. At least at home she can get solid rest. No interruptions from medical staff, no noisy machines surrounding her, and she gets a room that can be darkened during the day with shades. I did have to wake her up for lunch, but at least she had a couple of hours of undisturbed sleep. She can only eat a little at a time, but she does eat and it doesn't come back up like it did before. It's still important not to have a lot of interruptions during meals.
The home care nurse came over last night to help set up the feeding tube and give us instructions on how it all works. Of course, we've done it all before, it's pretty much the same as her other feeding tube but this one is much more comfortable for her because it doesn't go thru her nose. The feeding tube runs all night long (12 hours) and then she eats regular food (still liquids only right now) during the day.
She's still experiencing some pain now and then. We know it's just the healing process working, but when you think of all the parts of her body that trying to heal, there's a lot of areas that are in pain. She's a tough woman, so there's not a lot that will keep her down.
She went on a walk this afternoon with dad her granddaughter. Just around the block, but it's a great start.

Getting ready for discharge

The nursing staff was again fairly accommodating in getting her overnight care condensed into just a few visits. Doctor Ott came in early this morning and told us everything looks good. Mom is ready to go home. After breakfast she'll be able to bath and then dress in her regular clothes. Of course, she's more than ready. The feeding tube solutions and supplies will be delivered to the house tonight so she'll be able to get started on her overnight nutrition. She is supposed to wait until Friday to start soft food. So, for now liquids only. All in all, things are looking good. She won't have another doctor visit for about two weeks when she goes in to get some stitches out. Of course we have the contact information of all her care givers just in case we run into any trouble.

Almost ready to go home

The last tube (a drain in her chest) came out tonight. That means there's only one left, the feeding tube in her belly (I would say stomach but technically her stomach is up in her chest now so the belly is a better description). This tube will stay in for a few months to help supplement calories while her body is getting used to her new stomach set up. The doctor has ordered the tube feeding be done only at night now, so she gets at least 12 hours tube free every day. She used this to her advantage today and walked a total of two and a half miles (25 times around the 10th floor)! Her diet consisted of cream of wheat, potato soup, tomato soup, custard, apple juice, grape juice, and puddings today. She has been experiencing some discomfort all over but she has tolerated it well. Some pain is to be expected during this healing process but the body can heal better and faster if it is not stressed with pain. The pain meds at night help her relax and get the rest she needs to help her body heal. She is very excited about going home tomorrow. The doc said it's not totally for sure, but she is ready for her own bed and less interruptions at night!

She's practically tubeless!

The nurse last night did an excellent job of coordinating mom's care. She organized it so everyone came in at the same time to do their stuff and then left her alone to sleep for a couple hours. Mom was able to get some solid sleep! Doctor Ott came in early this morning and said the x-rays from yesterday looked good; he took out the chest tube and the telemetry (a bunch of wires monitoring her heart). . She now has only one small drain left to come out. He is starting her on some regular fluids today (not just clear fluids) and maybe have her try some solid foods tomorrow. She is still on track for going home tomorrow. All in all, it's already been a good day !

First meal in a week!

Mom's been doing well today but still trying to catch up on some sleep. She watched both sessions of conference, walked a mile around the halls so far and got her first taste of "real food". Her first meal consisted of chicken broth, apple juice and some sherbet. She's only allowed to eat 100 ml of food/liquids per hour which means it took 3 hours to eat her lunch. Chrissy and the kids came for a visit. They aren't allowed on the floor so we met them in the 10th floor lobby. She was pretty tuckered out by about 5:30 pm and she's been experiencing some pain again. This time she got some pain medication before it got too bad. She'll be having another chest and stomach x-ray this evening and we'll get the results in the morning.

The NG tube is out!

Mom had a bit of a rough night. I thought they wouldn't be coming in till midnight so she could sleep at least a couple of hours, but someone seemed to come in and do something with her every 1/2 hour until midnight. Just as she would doze off, someone would come in and wake her up again. One of the nurses came in to give her the heparin shot in her belly; apparently it's one that hurts really bad. The nurse asked her where she wanted it and mom said "in your belly". They were both started laughing and she had to wait till moms belly stopped shaking before she could give it to her. The nurse finally said, "ok, just concentrate on the pain" to help mom stop laughing.
Once she was left alone to sleep, her incision (She has an incision in her neck from surgery about four inches long) started to hurt to the point it kept her awake for hours. Finally she asked for some pain medication and she was able to sleep a bit.
Doctor Ott came in this morning and went over some of the tests from yesterday. She had done well enough he was able to take the NG tube out of her nose. She celebrated by eating some ice chips. (She really can't have much else yet) He also took her oxygen out. He said he hopes to take the chest tube and maybe the drain out tomorrow. That will leave only the NG tube in her stomach which will stay for a few months. If all goes really well, he said they may let her go home on Tuesday.

Less tubes and wires

Mom was able to get the port out that was in her corroded artery. It was not a pleasant task, but it was nice to have it out. We have less and less stuff to take with us as she walks the hallways. She was able to walk a mile and a half today (four trips totaling 15 laps around the floor). She still is not able to eat regular food. She did do another swallow test but we haven't gotten the results back from that one yet. I sometimes wonder what the hospital staff is thinking. She's been awake for hours and finally at 10:30 she starts to fall asleep. They have her scheduled to come in @ midnight and give her meds, do a suction and probably a breathing treatment. I must say, the hospital is not the most restful place to recuperate. :) I suppose they do it this way so they won't have to wake her up till 6 am to do it all again.
Her pain level is fairly low at the moment so she's not really needing a lot of pain meds, mostly just stuff to keep the swelling down.
Hopefully she'll be able to get a good night's rest tonight. It always seems to make a big difference in how she does the next day.

Working Hard

Day by day we continue to see improvement. Yesterday morning mom was able to get her catheter out. (family members refer to it as a "Lamp" but that's a story for another time). She also took (and passed) her swallow test. This test is kind of like a video x-ray that's taken as she swallows a barium solution. It enables the doctor to watch where the solution goes to make sure it all ends up in the right place. Once she passed, she was hoping to start on regular food (or at least some jello) but her doctor wants to wait for a day or two. She still has some fluid in the lower part of her stomach which needs to drain out before she can eat. The drain is a tube that's in her nose, down her throat and into her stomach. It's kind of like the feeding tube she had before. Until she's ready to have that out she won't be able to eat regular food or even have ice chips. He said it's better to take things slow because jumping ahead too quickly can mean extra days in the hospital.
Mom also continues to take her walks regularly. She walks around the 10th floor, three laps at a time, at a pretty quick place. Her doctor said walking will help her heal and get stronger. It's a bit of a pain to unhook everything, detangle wires and tubes, get it on the portable cart and make sure nothing is dragging or in her way for a 15 minute walk, and then to do this several times a day, but she does it.
Another thing she has to do every day (10 times every hour) is a breath test/exercise. She has a little apparatus that measures her breath intake. Her goal is to get it over 2000. The first day she could barely get it to 500. The second day she got it to 750. Now she is over 1200. Slowly but surely she is getting stronger.
We know she really wants to go home, but we also know, it takes time for her body to heal. The surgery she just had is very complicated, making her body have to work on healing several areas all at the same time. We want to avoid rushing to get results and just let her body take it's time to heal itself. Our bodies are marvelous things. It's amazing how they can heal given the right circumstances. But, it can be very detrimental to push too hard and not allow the body to do it's job. She is a strong woman and willing to do whatever it takes to make herself whole again, even if that means being patient.
She is looking forward to watching conference today and tomorrow and listening to the words of our prophet and other church leaders. It's always so encouraging to hear the talks and sermons from these inspired men and women. I'm sure it will help lift her spirits and give her the added strength she needs to get through this trial.

Improvement

Mom has been able to sleep much better in her new room. It is much more quiet and peaceful. Her surgeon said she should take charge of her physical therapy, so instead of waiting for the physical therapist to come in and take her on walks, she has been going on walks on her own. She has to call an aide in to help her get everything hooked up but she goes out and around the halls of her floor. So far she's been on three walks today and the last two were 3 laps!. She has been able to go without morphine all day. (She has a little button she can push if she wants some extra pain meds). They also started her on her feeding tube. The surgeon placed a feeding tube in her stomach but they hadn't started to feed her until today. I'm sure she will feel some improvement just because she'll have some food. The doctors will be doing some tests in the next few days to see if she's ready for regular food. She's really working hard so she can come home soon. Every day we can see improvement in her energy, the strength of her voice and in her appearance.