Just a Temporary Visit to Home :(

Shortly after I got to work this morning I got a call from mom telling me they were taking dad back to the hospital by ambulance. It's been one heck of a ride today. I'm not sure who signed us up for this roller coaster but I'd like to return my ticket and get my money back!

Dad's sugar bottomed out at 32 this morning. Efforts to bring it up were unsuccessful so mom and John called the squad. They had difficulty as well but did finally get it back up.

There are a host of problems at this point: low blood sugar, low blood pressure, fever, excruciating pain and they have been unable to keep him awake. He is in ICU and stable right now. Once they got pain meds on board he started to perk up and was more alert. We saw his doctor briefly and he believes we are again dealing with infection. They have taken oodles of blood and cultured anything that can be cultured. The doctor did tell my mom if they can't get this infection under control the prognosis is not good. Now we wait and pray.

We were all there today. John, Darlene, Steve and I are home now. Jamie is there with him for the night and we were able to get mom to go home to rest a short while ago. We'll all be back tomorrow and see how things are going. Today was very frightening, for dad especially. Please pray for peace for all of us and wisdom for his doctors.

Goodnight and God bless.

HOME SWEET HOME!!!

Dad is home resting in his own bed tonight. He is very weak and not feeling nearly as well as he had been but he is home, sweet home and we are glad to have him there. I was banished from the hospital by my siblings a week ago because of the germs and such and look forward to actually getting to see him finally! He went home with a walker because he is so weak and unsteady but hopefully will not need it as his strength improves.

As they decrease his steroids his sugar is becoming a concern. It has 'bottomed out' several times now. This morning the nurses found him confused and with no idea where he was. It was very frightening for him but he was relieved afterward to know it was his sugar and not something else. I told my mom she needs to tie a bell around his neck so she can hear him if he gets up in the night with low blood sugar! Thankfully she is a very light sleeper. He has an appointment on Thursday with the family doctor to adjust his insulin and hopefully it will help. It will be several weeks before we see his oncologist to make any decisions. In the meantime we hope to get him back on his feet and stronger.

Thank you for your prayers!

I have 3 more days of school before a welcomed break. I am looking forward to celebrating our 1st anniversary on Easter Sunday and having a week to rest and take care of so many things I've neglected the last several months. I am also looking forward to being able to hug my dad. Between his staph infection and the germs I potentially could carry to him from school, it's been some time since I have been able to hug him - 10 days to be exact. A week away from school should find me (hopefully) not a carrier of too many nasty germs and able to safely give him a long overdue squeeze!

If I don't have need to update before Easter, may it be blessed for you and your family.

Prayers Answered!

Thank you for your prayers, they helped! Dad's blood pressure is back up to normal and his temperature is normal. He hopes to go home tomorrow if today goes well! He acutally sounded like he wanted to go home when we talked this morning so that's a good sign that he's feeling better than he has been the last few days.

We truly can't tell you how much your prayers mean to us. Steve and I were talking to a friend last night who is going through a difficult time and when we told him to let us know if we could do anything he said our prayers were the best thing we can do. How true that is! We feel the blanket of prayers over us and it means more than you know. Thank you!

Have a very blessed Lord's day.

Prayers Needed

Some days are more like a roller coaster ride than others ...

My mom just called to tell me dad is carrying a fever over 100. And his blood pressure has dropped to 98/55. We are not sure what's going on. Please send up some extra prayers!

Saturday

One of these days I will get to say dad is going home, but not today.

They only re-did the culture of his blood. At day #2 it was still showing negative which is a good sign. They will wait a full 5 days to declare it negative for sure though. Dad is able to go home when he's ready since it was negative so far on Friday, he just has to say the word. The word from him yesterday was "no", he's just not ready. He has felt a little worse each day the last few days. He's very weak and tired. They believe this is due to another step down in his steroids. He was on such a high dose for so long that as he comes off of them his body has to readjust each time. They started him on a vitamin packed IV for 3 days to try to give his system a little boost. His sugar is doing so much better and today was actually too low. As they decrease the steroids his sugar should stay down and hopefully he can be without insulin on a daily basis. He will finish one of his antibiotics next week and they will replace it with one he will stay on indefinitely. Things are coming together for him to be able to go home. We are hoping maybe by Sunday he'll be ready!

Thank you for your continued prayers!
Enjoy this beautiful spring day.

Update

The doctor did new cultures today to check the status of the staph in the blood (maybe lung too, I'm not sure). We will have that back on Friday. If it comes back negative dad should get to go home on Friday. If it comes back positive they will use a scope to go in and check to be sure the infection is not in his heart valves.

Please pray for my dad's roommate, Steve. He has a host of medical problems but does not appear to be an emotionally stable man either. He is in need on many levels.

I hope it's a beautiful day wherever you are. We had a beautiful spring day here!

Blessings. :)

Results

They did the catscan yesterday and saw minimal, if any, improvement. The doctor said there could be improvement but if so, they aren't able to see it. He could be on antibiotics for a VERY long time. They hope to send him home over the weekend with antibiotics to be taken orally and administered through his port. Dad has been more tired and doesn't look as good as he has been. He is still feeling better though and his sugar is still much improved and he was fever-free all day yesterday.

Thank you for the prayers!

Thankful

Mom and dad met with the pulmonologist and oncologist today. The oncologist said again how disturbing this is for him. Dad looks so good right now but his x-ray looks so bad. It was the weekend when we learned dad had a staph infection so today when they came in the plan changed from what we thought. I inquired about the possibility of additional radiation given the cancer has spread to other parts of his lung. The oncologist said he doesn't think so but thought it was a good idea to look into it once dad is out of the hospital. I am thankful to have another option to explore. Any cancer-related discussions are on hold for now and we see the oncologist again in 3-4 weeks and will pick up our discussions at that point. I am thankful mom and dad can let those discussions rest for a short while and concentrate on getting dad healed from the infection.

The staph infection can take 12-14 days to clear up so dad is staying in the hospital for now on IV antibiotics. They are going to involve an infectious disease doctor as well. Mom asked today if we get it cleared up if it will come back and the answer was "probably". The doctors felt that he is improving though based on how he looks and how he feels. I truly can't say how much better he looks and acts from just a week ago, I am so thankful for that. His sugar was so much better today and for the first time today he didn't even need insulin at lunch time. That is a huge praise! He was carrying a low grade fever today which is a concern. Tonight it has broken so we are thankful and praying it does not return. He is swelling more right now and they may start him on lasix (sp?) to get some of that off. The steriods he is taking for the swelling in the brain are causing this. He is weaning off of them and will be off of them in mid April.

They will do his catscan of the lung tomorrow and at some point do additional cultures to see if the staph is gone. We are praying to see improvement in the infection tomorrow!

Steve and I have both been concerned about how the stress of everything will affect the baby. We met with my OB today and left feeling very reassured. He said basically I am a feeding machine and as long as I take care of myself physically, the baby should not be affected by the emotional ups and downs. Not that I needed any reason to be sure I eat these days!! :) We were thankful to know we can protect our little one by taking care of my physical health. We heard a beautiful and strong heartbeat today as well which is always music to this mama's ears.

God lifted some burdens from our shoulders today and we are thankful. There is still much to be concerned about and pray about but we are so thankful for the small steps in a positive direction. God is good and we see that every day in many ways. As a daughter who wants desperately for her dad and child to meet here on earth, I have to pray God will lift another burden for us. My prayer now is that when the infection clears up they find that the lung was full of more infection and less cancer and that some doors will be opened for our next steps. I must prepare for "no, my child" but I believe in God's ability to heal and I am leaning on that promise with all my heart and soul right now.

Thank you for your continued prayers. In many ways they are being answered.

God bless!

Canary Yellow

I thought you would enjoy seeing our new hospital attire. It seemed like the perfect Kodak moment to me (or cell phone camera moment) but mom and Steve weren't quite so sure! Mom says she looks like a canary. :) You notice I was smart enough not to let them get one of me! LOL

Dad is moved to his new room and settled in. He didn't seem to feel as good today but still had a good day and is much improved from last week. One of the doctors covering for his pulmonary doctor for the weekend was in and said they believe there are many bacteria we are dealing with, the staph (MRSA) is just one of them. They are still giving him IV antibiotics. Dad continues to show improvement so we are hopeful the catscan tomorrow will show at least some improvement. We aren't sure how the staph influences his treatment plan. We hope to know more tomorrow once we've seen his pulmonologist and oncologist.

Thank you for your continued prayers.
Have a blessed week!

The Good News Is ...

The good news is dad's on two very strong antibiotics. The bad news is he has a staph infection in his lungs and his blood. His sugar is coming down and he looks and feels SO much better so we believe the antibiotics are doing their job.

Thanks for your prayers!

Tough Day ...

We met with the oncologist, pulmonologist, and surgeon today. The good news is the tumors in the brain are responding to the gamma knife and are getting smaller. The lung, however, was a source of bad news today. There is no way right now to tell definitively what is cancer and what is infection in the lung. The lung is 3/4 full of a mix of fluid, infection and tumor. It has grown out of the lung, through the ribs, and into the soft tissue. This is what is causing the increase in pain. There is also a pocket of fluid outside the lung that they believe is also a mix of fluid, infection and tumor. We met with the surgeon to see if anything could be done with that, even just to drain that pocket. The answer was a firm no, it's too dangerous at this point and could cause more problems. The only course of action is IV antibiotics. The pulmonologist said if we can't get the infection under control with antibiotics, down the road we may want to talk further about that option.

The oncologist said he was very disturbed by the fact that dad had one chemo treatment and the cancer is growing so rapidly. Even just one chemo treatment should have helped. It clearly did not work.

So, the bottom line now is this ... The oncologist is running out of options. Nothing can be done while there is infection. IF they are able to get the infection under control, and they aren't sure if they can, there is only one possible option and it's a very dangerous chemo drug. It has extremely serious side effects. The oncologist is going to take the weekend to "mull it over" and decide if he thinks it's even something talk about it. If they aren't able to get the infection under control, or the chemo isn't an option, we aren't able to do anything and dad will have six months at best.

We will meet with his oncologist and pulmonologist again on Monday. They will do another catscan to determine if the infection is improving. At that point we will discuss our next steps.

Mom and dad have spent the last couple of days making some very difficult decisions about level of care and life support as well as making sure other things are in order. Dad has broken down a couple times but is being strong and staying as positive as he can as it all settles in. He is feeling and looking much better today than he did earlier in the week. His balance and memory have improved and he is talking and joking and being his usual ornery self. We hope this is a sign the antibiotics are helping.

Today was tough and not the news we had expected so soon. The rest of us I think are still in shock to some degree and just taking it all in and processing it at our own pace.

Your continued prayers are what we need most and mean so very much to all of us.

Blessings to you all!

To the Hospital We Go

Dad went straight from the pulmonary doctor to the hospital a short while ago. His lung is 3/4 full of something. There is no way to tell from an x-ray for sure. It's either tumor or infection. They will do a catscan tomorrow to determine what's going on. Please pray it's infection. Dad is in bad shape right now, please keep him covered in prayer.

I'll post updates as I have them. We are headed there soon.

God bless!

Sorry, Larry, Not This Week

Our birthday celebration for my sister-in-law was wonderful over the weekend. It was a good day for dad and he was able to join us for dinner. We were blessed to have Nat, Adam, and Casey all there. Sometimes I look at how grown up they are and it almost takes my breath away. The time has passed so quickly. They have become three beautiful adults, inside and out. I enjoy every second I spend with them! Dad wasn't up to joining us to bowl but had a nice time at dinner and was able to spend some time with the whole family. We were all so thankful to have him with us.

I didn't realize just how blessed we were that dad was able to join us on Saturday. He is having a really tough time right now and it's really amazing he felt up to going on Saturday at all. God is good! I went along for his chemo appointment today and we had a host of things to discuss with his oncologist. Dad is having problems with his memory and balance which could be caused by swelling in the brain from the tumors. His sugar levels have skyrocketed even with insulin. We have no idea what is causing that right now. He is in a great deal of pain which the doctor believes is being caused by the tumor. He is having a hard time with swelling in his legs and feet because of all the steroids he's taking for the swelling in the brain. He was carrying a low grade fever today and was up all night last night with a cough. So you can guess what the answer was regarding chemo today - sorry, Larry, not this week. The oncologist made some medication changes to help with the pain. Our family doctor made some additional medication changes later today to help with the diabetes. The oncologist is scheduling another MRI of his brain and catscan of his chest. He said we need to figure out what's going on and try to get some things under control before we move forward with his chemo. Dad is very weak and very unsteady right now. And overall just not feeling well. John describes him as fragile and that is a good description right now. Tomorrow we see his pulmonary doctor and he will do an x-ray to check to see if there is still pneumonia or possibly a new infection in his lungs. We see his oncologist again next Tuesday. We hope to have the test results then and a plan for how to proceed. Please keep dad in your prayers.

The Irish in me couldn't resist an Irish Prayer for you on this the eve of St. Patrick's Day.

An Irish Prayer
May God give you...
For every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear, a smile,
For every care, a promise,
And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer.


Happy St. Patrick's Day!
May you be blessed each and every day.

A Week in Review

Aunt Marian's services were simply beautiful. It was a wonderful day of celebration of her life and the beautiful woman she was. We spent time with family, we remembered, we laughed, and we cried. Our tears were a mix of sadness and joy. We are sad because we miss her but there is great joy in knowing she is finally where she wants to be - with the Lord. I have to tell something funny the pastor said. He knew my Grandma Lucille quite well and those of you that did, will truly appreciate this. He said Marian and Lucille were together again and that Lucille would talk for the first 10,000 years! All I could do was laugh because I had earlier said I was sure she'd already talked at least one of Aunt Marian's ears off. :) It was wonderful to hear stories of my Grandma through the weekend and remember her. It brings a smile to my face when I picture them together again.

The weekend was so hard on my dad. He did so well and was able to be there and spend time with family but it really took a lot out of him. He wasn't well enough on Tuesday to have his second chemo as scheduled. We learned at that appointment that when we were in the ER with him the week before he had pneumonia. We're not sure how the doctor in the ER missed that but thankfully the oncologist on call put him on an antibiotic anyway. He is still having a tough time, he's not feeling well and is so weak. He could use an extra measure of prayer right now. We hope he will be well enough for chemo this coming week. My dad desperately wants to attend Adam's (his youngest grandson) college graduation in Washington DC in May. Every setback in his schedule discourages him in his chances of making that trip for Adam's big day.

Last week when I had my ultrasound and blood work they did a screening for Down Syndrome and two other chromosomal abnormalities (Trisomy 13 and 18). The joys of being pregnant over 35! We got our screening results back this week. Before the screening the baby had 1 in 874 chance of having Down Syndrome. After the screening it’s 1 in 3,461. The risk of a 20 year old mom – not bad for a 37 year old mom! Before the screening the baby had 1 in 331 chance of having Trisomy 13 or 18. After the screening it’s 1 in 6,601. Again, the risk of a 20 year old mom. Now, if I just had the body of a 20 year old mom I’d be set. LOL If I hadn’t been strapped into my seat belt I think I would have just floated right out of my seat I was so happy. After the CF screening results this was pretty awesome news. One challenge of that magnitude is more than enough!

Tonight we are spending time with family for my sister-in-law's birthday. Adam and Casey are both home from college and I hope Nat will be off work and able to join us. It's great when we can all be together, they have all grown up too fast!

Have a blessed weekend!

Home At Last

Aunt Marian is home with her Lord and Savior tonight. I can only imagine the rejoicing! I have many times over the last weeks thought of her reunion with my Grandma. They spent more than 90 years on this earth together and now have an eternity together in Heaven. I smile when I picture their embrace.

His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. - Matthew 25:21

Until we meet again ... You are loved and will be missed Aunt Marian.

It's a ...

It's a very stubborn baby!

Ultrasounds are very hard for me and I go with anxiety each time and flashbacks of losing our first one. I went that day with not a thought of a problem and now can't help but go with anxiety. The techs are awesome and quickly find and show us that beautiful beating heart. It is always such a tremendous relief to see this one doing well. We should have been able to sneak a peek between the legs today but our little one was napping and not letting anyone peek at a thing! LOL The tech tried everything to get the baby to turn or roll over so she could see what she wanted and s/he wasn't having it. The plus to that was a very long ultrasound! I could watch all day. :) A little pee pee is visible by now and we hoped today to see if there was one. I guess we'll wait a few more weeks! Everything looked good today. Praises!

We had a wonderful meeting with our genetic counselor today as well. She has already contacted the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in Dayton and Children's Hospital for us. They are making sure we have all the information and resources we need and we are so thankful. We now have a contact at Children's that can assist us in finding a pediatrician and answering any questions we have. She shared with us that we both have the most common gene that is affected and if the baby has CF this particular gene carries with it the most severe of symptoms associated with CF. Tough to hear but we are holding on to the 75% chance our little one will be just fine and will be preparing for all possibilities. We also learned today they can spot a couple things on later ultrasounds that could indicate CF in the baby. We will have a third trimester ultrasound with our high risk doctor to look for those things. Our genetic counselor, Rachel, has been a blessing!

We had planned to have all four grandparents with us today for the ultrasound. Steve's parents are both sick and weren't able to come. Dad is so sick so he missed it as well. Bless my mom's heart, she made it and I know was hurting with every step she took.

Dad is one sick pup right now. Shortly after mom got him home from the hospital on Sunday he started to feel really bad. He is still fighting a fever and weakness. They gave him another antibiotic today and we hope tomorrow will bring some relief. He's had a really rough few days. Mom is still in extreme pain and has been miserable for days as well. She got into the doctor today and he said in a day or two she should start to experience some relief.

Our sweet Aunt Marian will be going home to Heaven soon. Hospice expects only a couple more days. I feel sadness for our loss but joy for her as she meets her Lord and Savior and has a wonderful reunion with loved ones gone before her. I know my Grandma will be just giddy with excitement to be with her again! Dad is to be a pall bearer. Please pray he is well enough, it will break his heart not to be able to do that.

Thank you all for your continued prayers.

Blessings to you all!