Hello All!
Sorry it has been so long since our last update. Honestly, mom has been doing well and there has been little information to update outside of mom's forward progress. (At that is all very good!)
It's hard to believe that tomorrow marks four weeks post surgery! What a long road mom has traveled!
Today, we had our follow up visit with her surgeon, Dr. Ahmad. He is more than pleased with her progress! In his words, "you are doing better than most of my patients that are half your age".
We were really hoping to have mom's feeding tube removed today, however, Dr. Ahmad wants to keep in it until her next appointment (in three weeks). He prefers to keep the feeding tubes in a little longer to be assured that there are no side effects. Mom was a little disappointed but certainly understands the significance of its placement. It's easy to understand her disappointment as she has had a tube "sticking out of her" for three months now! (Especially since she's not using it!)
She did get to have her staples removed today. The nurse let me do that. If I ever had a chance to get even with her for anything she ever did to me as a child, THAT was my opportunity!! HAHA!! I did make it a point to remind her how gentle I was though! She was thankful!
She stills has a small portion of the incision that is draining. That means nothing more than a dressing change twice a day. It is healing very well!
The other point of the follow up today was to begin the discussion of her next course of treatment. This is of course the chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Dr. Ahmad still believes mom to be a little too week to begin that therapy, so we will discuss that in more detail in three weeks. However, we do know that if we decide to take this phase of the treatment that she will receive the chemo agent Gemcitabine. She will receive the treatment once a week for about 12 weeks. She will also receive radiation therapy five days a week for five weeks. More information will follow in the coming weeks as to our next course of action.
In the meantime, mom is focusing her attention on gaining more strength, increasing her caloric intake to assist in her recovery, and increasing her mobility. All of which she is doing VERY well with! She continues to be a true amazement to her medical team. (Not to mention a significant source of motivation for me!)
Please pray for our continued clarity in decision making and moms continued success in her recovery!
Thank you!
Will
Monday, February 21, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Mom's Recovery Continues At Home
Hello all! Mom has been home for two days now and is glad to be able to recover in comfort. He recovery continues to go well. This is a slow process, but mom is one of the MOST patient people I know! She continues to take things slow while waiting for a follow up with her cardiologist next Tuesday. Prayerfully, mom will be able to come off of some of the new cardiac meds that she was prescribed due to her arrythmias in the hospital.
Home health care has been arranged to visit a couple of times a week to help with anything that needs to be done (dressing changes, flushing of the feeding tube etc.) Physical Therapy will also be visiting her a couple of times a week to assist her in gaining some of her strength back.
Unfortunately, mom has developed a little bit of a cold which has been making her a little more tired than usual. This too shall pass. We pray that it does not develop into anything beyond that of the common cold.
Mom is scheduled to follow up with the surgeon on February 21st. If at that time he is pleased with her progress and eating, he will remove the feeding tube!
As always, thanks for the prayers, thoughts, and well wishes!!! We will keep you posted!!
Will
Home health care has been arranged to visit a couple of times a week to help with anything that needs to be done (dressing changes, flushing of the feeding tube etc.) Physical Therapy will also be visiting her a couple of times a week to assist her in gaining some of her strength back.
Unfortunately, mom has developed a little bit of a cold which has been making her a little more tired than usual. This too shall pass. We pray that it does not develop into anything beyond that of the common cold.
Mom is scheduled to follow up with the surgeon on February 21st. If at that time he is pleased with her progress and eating, he will remove the feeding tube!
As always, thanks for the prayers, thoughts, and well wishes!!! We will keep you posted!!
Will
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
MOM IS DISCHARGED!
Just received confirmation that mom was given her "walking papers" this morning! She will be discharged from the SICU. The process is underway and should take a few hours. God has been good and timely! We are so blessed! Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers. Her recovery will now continue at home where she will be so much more comfortable!
Updates on her recovery and future doctor's appointments will continue to be posted on this blog. There is still quite a journey ahead, however, it looks very bright!
Thank you all so much!
Will
Updates on her recovery and future doctor's appointments will continue to be posted on this blog. There is still quite a journey ahead, however, it looks very bright!
Thank you all so much!
Will
Tuesday, February 8th Update
Wow, what an exhausting couple of days. Mom as of this morning is STILL in the SICU. She is there for two reasons: 1. They are still waiting for an available room on the step down floor. 2. They can monitor her heart more closely and treat any arrhythmias in the SICU.
They have been watching her heart very closely for the past 48 hours trying to determine if her heart rhythm was going to stabilize itself. She was taken off of the intravenous Amiodarone and placed on an oral form. It appears that this has worked. Mom has sustained a sinus (normal) rhythm since! All other aspects of recovery are still coming along great! With this, the Chief Surgery Resident is going to evaluate her first thing this morning on rounds. If there were no changes over night, then she will be released today!!
Please pray that this is the case! Mom is really looking forward to coming home! God remains in control and we know that mom has been well taken care of through all of this. Although she is anxious to get home, she knows that what happens is ultimately God's plan. This has given her patience and strength during these long periods of waiting.
I will post another update this morning on the results of that evaluation!
Thanks all!
Will
They have been watching her heart very closely for the past 48 hours trying to determine if her heart rhythm was going to stabilize itself. She was taken off of the intravenous Amiodarone and placed on an oral form. It appears that this has worked. Mom has sustained a sinus (normal) rhythm since! All other aspects of recovery are still coming along great! With this, the Chief Surgery Resident is going to evaluate her first thing this morning on rounds. If there were no changes over night, then she will be released today!!
Please pray that this is the case! Mom is really looking forward to coming home! God remains in control and we know that mom has been well taken care of through all of this. Although she is anxious to get home, she knows that what happens is ultimately God's plan. This has given her patience and strength during these long periods of waiting.
I will post another update this morning on the results of that evaluation!
Thanks all!
Will
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Saturday Update
Well, today marks the 11th day mom has been in the hospital. Whew! What a long haul for her. She's still in the SICU. There are no beds available on the step-down floor. We still have plans for discharge tomorrow, however there is still a little concern for her heart that seems to be a little irritated. She's developing some premature ventricular contractions ( PVC's) which isn't a major concern for the normal person. But, if you combine that with mom's history of heart failure, it's something that needs to be watched a little more closely. She was placed back on an Amiodarone drip to help knock the PVCs out. She'll stay on that tonight until she's re-evaluated tomorrow morning. At that point, we're hoping her docs are content enough to release her!
Other than that....she continues to improve on the surgical aspect of things. Her self-mobility is becoming better every day. She's certainly looking forward to going home where she can maneuver more comfortably.
Hopefully, this will be the last update while in the hospital. We pray for stability in mom's heart rhythm, comfort and discharge tomorrow!
Thanks all!!
Will
Other than that....she continues to improve on the surgical aspect of things. Her self-mobility is becoming better every day. She's certainly looking forward to going home where she can maneuver more comfortably.
Hopefully, this will be the last update while in the hospital. We pray for stability in mom's heart rhythm, comfort and discharge tomorrow!
Thanks all!!
Will
Friday, February 4, 2011
Friday Update
Mom got her transfer papers to get out of the SICU today! She converted back into a normal sinus rhythm last night. She was monitored through out the day today with no issues. Dr. Ahmad visited her today and was very pleased. She will be transferred back up to the 9th floor tonight sometime. If nothing changes, she will be sent home Sunday! (Just in time for the Super Bowl!)
All of her medications have been discontinued. She's not even on any pain medication. She says that the discomfort she does have is tolerable enough not to need any more medication. We feel very blessed to have her discharged from the hospital after such a surgery and have no prescribed medication!
Mom got back up and walked a great deal today. I guess she was making up for yesterday when the staff wouldn't let her walk so much because of her heart rhythm.
We will be scheduling a follow up visit with Dr. Ahmad for two weeks from now. If her eating continues the way it has been, then they will remove her feeding tube at that visit. She is not receiving any feeds through it now. Her going home with the feeding tube is merely a precaution should any issues arise with her eating.
We passed this little bump in the road. Mom says she can now see the light at the end of the tunnel! So can I!!!!
We now pray for no further complications!!! Thanks all!!
Will
All of her medications have been discontinued. She's not even on any pain medication. She says that the discomfort she does have is tolerable enough not to need any more medication. We feel very blessed to have her discharged from the hospital after such a surgery and have no prescribed medication!
Mom got back up and walked a great deal today. I guess she was making up for yesterday when the staff wouldn't let her walk so much because of her heart rhythm.
We will be scheduling a follow up visit with Dr. Ahmad for two weeks from now. If her eating continues the way it has been, then they will remove her feeding tube at that visit. She is not receiving any feeds through it now. Her going home with the feeding tube is merely a precaution should any issues arise with her eating.
We passed this little bump in the road. Mom says she can now see the light at the end of the tunnel! So can I!!!!
We now pray for no further complications!!! Thanks all!!
Will
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Thursday Update
Good Evening All!
Mom's had a couple of rough nights these past two nights. Her heart (when the rate went up the other night) went into Atrial Fibrillation (A-Fib). The cardiology team continues to try to convert her back into a normal rhythm with medication. So far, no luck. Due to mom's history of heart failure, her medical staff decided to move her back to the SICU at about midnight last night as a precaution. Obviously, this caused some unrest for mom as she proceeded through the early morning. This is not the first time she has been in A-Fib, so she is very familiar with how it works. What brought this irregualr ryhthm on is uncertain.
Even through this, she continues to progress through the surgical part of her receovery well. This is merely a hiccup in the process. She is having no real ill-effect of the irregular heart rhythm (other than just being tired from the lack of sleep). We're not sure how this will impact her discharge. We will have to see how she progresses through this tonight and tomorrow morning.
In the mean time, we did receive word that the mass that was removed from moms pancreas was malignant. I must say, that we weren't completely surprised. The good news is that all the surrounding tissue came back with negative margins indicating no spread of the cancer!! Long term treatment will involve some chemo and radiation. However, right now the focus is the short term goal of discharge and complete recovery from the surgery.
Our prayers were answered with her tube feedings! They have completely removed her from the tube feeding as she appears to be eating just well enough on her own!! There was an indication from Dr. Ahmad that if mom continued to eat well, they may remove the feeding tube altogether prior to her going home!This would be great!!
We remain focused on all the positive (as these is a great deal of positive) aspects of mom's recovery. We have 100% complete faith that God will guide us through this bump in the road. God is good and faithful!!
We continue to pray for mom's strength in the ongoing recovery process, her conversion back into a normal cardiac rhythm, and therefore a quick discharge home!!!
Thanks all!!!
Will
Mom's had a couple of rough nights these past two nights. Her heart (when the rate went up the other night) went into Atrial Fibrillation (A-Fib). The cardiology team continues to try to convert her back into a normal rhythm with medication. So far, no luck. Due to mom's history of heart failure, her medical staff decided to move her back to the SICU at about midnight last night as a precaution. Obviously, this caused some unrest for mom as she proceeded through the early morning. This is not the first time she has been in A-Fib, so she is very familiar with how it works. What brought this irregualr ryhthm on is uncertain.
Even through this, she continues to progress through the surgical part of her receovery well. This is merely a hiccup in the process. She is having no real ill-effect of the irregular heart rhythm (other than just being tired from the lack of sleep). We're not sure how this will impact her discharge. We will have to see how she progresses through this tonight and tomorrow morning.
In the mean time, we did receive word that the mass that was removed from moms pancreas was malignant. I must say, that we weren't completely surprised. The good news is that all the surrounding tissue came back with negative margins indicating no spread of the cancer!! Long term treatment will involve some chemo and radiation. However, right now the focus is the short term goal of discharge and complete recovery from the surgery.
Our prayers were answered with her tube feedings! They have completely removed her from the tube feeding as she appears to be eating just well enough on her own!! There was an indication from Dr. Ahmad that if mom continued to eat well, they may remove the feeding tube altogether prior to her going home!This would be great!!
We remain focused on all the positive (as these is a great deal of positive) aspects of mom's recovery. We have 100% complete faith that God will guide us through this bump in the road. God is good and faithful!!
We continue to pray for mom's strength in the ongoing recovery process, her conversion back into a normal cardiac rhythm, and therefore a quick discharge home!!!
Thanks all!!!
Will
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Wednesday, February 2nd Update
Sorry it's been a while since the last update. Over the course of the last two days, mom has adjusted to being on the step down floor (9th floor, room 9012). She has gained a considerable amount of strength, now getting in and out of bed/chair by herself. There was some initial talk about her being discharged yesterday. Apparently, there was some miscommunication between doctors. This was not the case. Mom was looking forward to going home, so there was a short period of time where she was a little discouraged. This is certainly understandable, but she does realize that this recovery process is very complex and takes time. Right now, we're on track for discharge on Thursday or Friday.
The staff seems to be having somewhat of a hard time balancing her tube feeds along with her oral intake. Mom has been receiving a considerable amount of tube feeding and therefore doesn't have much of an appetite to eat regular food. I am hoping that as time progresses, they allow for smaller amounts of tube feed to allow here to east more by mouth.
Around 3AM this morning, mom's heart rate jumped up. It appears that this was medication induced. It was placed under control relatively quickly without ill-effect. Mom has always been and will always be very sensitive to medication. Certain medications really seem to have a potentiated effect on her. This was the case last night. There was some slight talk about moving her back to the SICU this morning, however, they realized that the likely cause was the medication she was receiving and therefore they kept her on the floor.
Today she has been getting up on her own and walking well. Although she was a little more sleepy today (due to her lack of sleep overnight), she still feels pretty well over all.
Still no word on on the results of the biopsy. Any news on that front will certainly be posted!
With all that being said, she is still doing very well and we continue to pray for her continued progress and increased strength. We also pray for her medical staff to find a balance with her feeding!
Thank you all!!!
Will
The staff seems to be having somewhat of a hard time balancing her tube feeds along with her oral intake. Mom has been receiving a considerable amount of tube feeding and therefore doesn't have much of an appetite to eat regular food. I am hoping that as time progresses, they allow for smaller amounts of tube feed to allow here to east more by mouth.
Around 3AM this morning, mom's heart rate jumped up. It appears that this was medication induced. It was placed under control relatively quickly without ill-effect. Mom has always been and will always be very sensitive to medication. Certain medications really seem to have a potentiated effect on her. This was the case last night. There was some slight talk about moving her back to the SICU this morning, however, they realized that the likely cause was the medication she was receiving and therefore they kept her on the floor.
Today she has been getting up on her own and walking well. Although she was a little more sleepy today (due to her lack of sleep overnight), she still feels pretty well over all.
Still no word on on the results of the biopsy. Any news on that front will certainly be posted!
With all that being said, she is still doing very well and we continue to pray for her continued progress and increased strength. We also pray for her medical staff to find a balance with her feeding!
Thank you all!!!
Will
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