Sorry everybody I did not post last night. I did not get off work until really late and after driving to Salt Lake to be with Jessica the night got away from me. Jess was not feeling well at all last night. She was having abdominal pain and hip pain. About 2:00 this morning she was able to settle down and sleep. I had to leave at 7:00 Am to make work.
Well today Jessica was able to come home from the hospital. We had a lot of help today. The plan was Lynn would watch Charlie while Alisa went and sat with Jess. I had to work. The plans changed when Charlie woke up looked at his Momma and urped. This did not set the stage for a great day. Robert agreed to stay home and be with sick little Charlie who continued to urp all during the day until about 3:00 pm. This left Robert a lot of clean up. Alisa went to Huntsman. The Doctors came in and went over Jessica's case carefully. The time before they released her too soon which landed her in the ER and back in the hospital as you know. Well today they covered all their bases. This included calling me at work and asking if I thought Jessica was ready to come home. I really did but thanked them for being so thorough. At 7:30 AM they told Jessica they thought she could be released. She was excited. Then they came back in and said her potassium and magnesium was too low. They ended up giving her IV fluids all day and she was not released until 4:30 pm. We have decided that for some reason we need to be in rush hour traffic because it never fails we are, as was Alisa and Jessica this evening.
Well Charlie was still home ill and we worried Jessica going into a germy house would make her ill again. I called to see if we could take her to Mom's house then remembered we would need her hospital bed and oxygen. That would not work. I called Lynn and she offered to come sterilize out little apartment in the basement. So she and mom came and cleaned and disinfected every surface. Jessica came home to a germ free home. We shut the upstairs door and she entered through the back gate and down stairs door. I got off work about 6:30 tonight and came home to Jessica all comfortable in her bed and she and Alisa home safe. Because of the late discharge Robert had ended up being home all day. He said his boss was understanding. I appreciated his cheerful helping attitude. I can say that about everyone. Lynn brought dinner too which was delish. So for everyone a big thank you so much!!! We sure needed the help.
A final note Jessica has to be back up at the Huntsman Hospital at 8:00 tomorrow morning to meet with a pain specialist, Dr. Weinstein. Alisa is going to drive her with Charlie. I have to WORK!! Work is getting hard as Jessica has been so sick. But I appreciate the job. And I appreciate Alisa and Robert rearranging their lives to help every single day. SO.....to all I say goodnight. Thank you for your prayers and love. PS I am needing to solve a mystery. Goodnight!!!!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Description of blog colors
We made a color change on the Blog. I thought I would let you know its significance. I picked the green yesterday as it reflects new beginnings. The peach color Jessica picked. You see peach is the color for ribbons and such for uterine cancer. Jessica wears a bracelet with the different colors of cancer on it at all times. It is the only jewelry type item I have seen Jessica wear for any length of time. So when you see these odd colors you know the significance of the choices. Also you can add comments to us and we love that. We check them and they warm our hearts. Thanks so much. We want to thank our sweet Robert Boulter, Alisa's husband, for creating the Blog and always helping us stay tech savvy. He is very sweet about it, not to mention brilliant. Coming soon will be pictures of Jessica. Robert will edit it and add some soon. For those who don't have web access we will print and mail copies to you about once a month or so.
Another day at Huntsman.
Another day at Huntsman. I awoke this morning to Dr. Chad Kowa standing over my air mattress asking to talk to me. I felt so put together to have a handsome young Dr. Sitting on the side of my bed. Truth be he is a true advocate for Jessica and a very knowledgeable physician. Because Huntsman is associated with University of Utah Hospitals it is a teaching facility. So we see a lot of resident physicians. Sometimes this can get frustrating. Other times it is great. As for Dr. Kowa he has been terrific to follow her care. When you are sick your health care team is a true life line.
The plan Dr. Kowa explained is to taper her off of all the IV fluids and medication. Give her oral doses comparable to the IV meds and see how she tolerates them. If all goes well, and adequate time passes to see how she does on the oral medication, she will be released as soon as tomorrow. However the pain control team disagrees with the regular medical team. They feel she is not stable to go off her patient controlled analgesic pump. Cancer pain in the bone is very hard to treat. For those of you that may not know Jessica's cancer started as squamous endometrial uterine cancer. The cancer has spread into her lymphatic system, her lungs and her hip bones. Pain has been a suffering endurance for our sweet Jessica. It has been unbearable for her loved ones and friends to observe. In your prayers please pray that Jessica's pain will be relieved.
Last night Jessica smiled and even teased. That was fun to see. Charlie came to visit and came into the room when it was dark and the lights were on and blinds open. He saw Jessica's reflection in the window squealed and ran to the window's reflection. "Jessica..Jessica" he said. He had his arms out reaching. He was so frustrated when he could not go to her. We told him look Charlie Jessica is over here. He looked at her and then back at the reflection and ran to Jessica. He likes to get in bed with her and just lay. She loves time with him as her heart beats with that of children. Charlie is a daily blessing and joy to Jessica.
Jessica has eaten a small amount of food today. She did good so far keeping it down. She has been able to watch the movie Chocolat. She has slept without interruption for about an hour at a time. We see improvements and are thankful for them. Her hearts desire is to be well enough to be accompanied to Croatia by her Aunt Shirley and Uncle Dennis. She will be with her Grandma Annie in her homeland. This is to occur the end of August. If it is the Lords will, she will be able to go. This will be in spite of all her physicians doubt. Jessica has always been and will continue to be a very determined person. We hope she is able to complete the trip. I was just informed that we have to move rooms, one room down to 4514 as they need to make repairs to this room. So we shall pack up and move. Enough for today. Thank you for your prayers and concern. We love you.
The plan Dr. Kowa explained is to taper her off of all the IV fluids and medication. Give her oral doses comparable to the IV meds and see how she tolerates them. If all goes well, and adequate time passes to see how she does on the oral medication, she will be released as soon as tomorrow. However the pain control team disagrees with the regular medical team. They feel she is not stable to go off her patient controlled analgesic pump. Cancer pain in the bone is very hard to treat. For those of you that may not know Jessica's cancer started as squamous endometrial uterine cancer. The cancer has spread into her lymphatic system, her lungs and her hip bones. Pain has been a suffering endurance for our sweet Jessica. It has been unbearable for her loved ones and friends to observe. In your prayers please pray that Jessica's pain will be relieved.
Last night Jessica smiled and even teased. That was fun to see. Charlie came to visit and came into the room when it was dark and the lights were on and blinds open. He saw Jessica's reflection in the window squealed and ran to the window's reflection. "Jessica..Jessica" he said. He had his arms out reaching. He was so frustrated when he could not go to her. We told him look Charlie Jessica is over here. He looked at her and then back at the reflection and ran to Jessica. He likes to get in bed with her and just lay. She loves time with him as her heart beats with that of children. Charlie is a daily blessing and joy to Jessica.
Jessica has eaten a small amount of food today. She did good so far keeping it down. She has been able to watch the movie Chocolat. She has slept without interruption for about an hour at a time. We see improvements and are thankful for them. Her hearts desire is to be well enough to be accompanied to Croatia by her Aunt Shirley and Uncle Dennis. She will be with her Grandma Annie in her homeland. This is to occur the end of August. If it is the Lords will, she will be able to go. This will be in spite of all her physicians doubt. Jessica has always been and will continue to be a very determined person. We hope she is able to complete the trip. I was just informed that we have to move rooms, one room down to 4514 as they need to make repairs to this room. So we shall pack up and move. Enough for today. Thank you for your prayers and concern. We love you.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Return to the Huntsman
During the past week, Jessica has had two hospital stays, three visits to the E.R. and two ambulance rides. Currently she is in room 4513 on the fourth floor of the Huntsman Cancer Hospital. The doctors, this time around were able to get her nausea under control, enabling her to have pain control. The last time Jessica was admitted here to have her pain control re-evaluated, was in March. Over the past two weeks, her pain has increased to the point it was unbearable. The pain would be so excruciating that she wasn't able to keep her meds down to help with the pain. This added to the complexity of the problem. Jessica has a high tolerance for pain, so when she says she is hurting, she is really hurting.
It has been at least two weeks since she has smiled, laughed or been herself at all. On Tuesday the 24th, she and Sandy went to University of Utah's E.R. Thirteen hours later, she was finally admitted to room 4509 at the Huntsman. Due to the mistake of an incompetent intern, she was release pre-maturely on Thursday. During this day, she underwent CT scans of her pelvis, abdomen and chest. All showed no further cancer progression. We are very happy about that. But she is unable to maintain her oxygen saturation at room air, dropping down into the mid-80s. The cause of her not being able to maintain her oxygen satuation levels has still not been completely determined. At this point, her doctor has ordered for her to always be on oxygen.
Thursday, right after she was released, she was very ill again. Uncle Kevin Morris came and gave her a blessing. She slept for an hour before awaking very ill. We tried to manage it at home, but it was impossible. We ended up calling 911 at 1:30 in morning on Friday. She was taken to Timpanogos Hospital and given fluids and pain meds via IV. She was release at 8:00 that same morning. Her mom, sister and Jessica were very tired that morning. Two and half hours later, she was violently ill again. We were finally able to get a hold of her real doctor, who told us we needed to get her back up to Salt Lake. However, she was too sick to move and another ambulance was called to bring her the 40 miles to the Huntsman Hospital.
She has now been here a little over 24 hours. They are working getting her stable. Sandy and Alisa have been staying with her. Robert has been taking care of Charlie. He took Friday off to help out so everyone could rest.
We want to thank Dave and Kelly for tending Charlie on Thursday so Alisa could be with Jessie at the hospital because Sandy had to work; Grandma Knowles for sitting with Jessie and bringing in food; Kevin and Dave for giving Jessica blessings; Molly for bringing snacks and flowers up to the hospital; Jen for coming by the hospital to say goodbye before her flight and Lynn, Kevin and family for coming by to visit and bringing goodies.
We will keep everyone up-to-date via this blog. Jessica would like to thank everyone for their love, support and prayers.
It has been at least two weeks since she has smiled, laughed or been herself at all. On Tuesday the 24th, she and Sandy went to University of Utah's E.R. Thirteen hours later, she was finally admitted to room 4509 at the Huntsman. Due to the mistake of an incompetent intern, she was release pre-maturely on Thursday. During this day, she underwent CT scans of her pelvis, abdomen and chest. All showed no further cancer progression. We are very happy about that. But she is unable to maintain her oxygen saturation at room air, dropping down into the mid-80s. The cause of her not being able to maintain her oxygen satuation levels has still not been completely determined. At this point, her doctor has ordered for her to always be on oxygen.
Thursday, right after she was released, she was very ill again. Uncle Kevin Morris came and gave her a blessing. She slept for an hour before awaking very ill. We tried to manage it at home, but it was impossible. We ended up calling 911 at 1:30 in morning on Friday. She was taken to Timpanogos Hospital and given fluids and pain meds via IV. She was release at 8:00 that same morning. Her mom, sister and Jessica were very tired that morning. Two and half hours later, she was violently ill again. We were finally able to get a hold of her real doctor, who told us we needed to get her back up to Salt Lake. However, she was too sick to move and another ambulance was called to bring her the 40 miles to the Huntsman Hospital.
She has now been here a little over 24 hours. They are working getting her stable. Sandy and Alisa have been staying with her. Robert has been taking care of Charlie. He took Friday off to help out so everyone could rest.
We want to thank Dave and Kelly for tending Charlie on Thursday so Alisa could be with Jessie at the hospital because Sandy had to work; Grandma Knowles for sitting with Jessie and bringing in food; Kevin and Dave for giving Jessica blessings; Molly for bringing snacks and flowers up to the hospital; Jen for coming by the hospital to say goodbye before her flight and Lynn, Kevin and family for coming by to visit and bringing goodies.
We will keep everyone up-to-date via this blog. Jessica would like to thank everyone for their love, support and prayers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)