Yet Another UTI...

We've been asking for about a week now to have a urinalysis done on mom to see if she has another UTI. By now, we can just tell when she's sick, or not feeling well.

Finally, it was done and we got the results back yesterday. She has another UTI. Yay!!! Not. At least we caught it early this time. She is on antibiotics, and now has a catheter, so hopefully that will help and she won't have UTI's as frequently.

Also, we are trying Essential Oils on mom, specifically frankincense. She's been on it less than a week, so we haven't seen much difference, but we are hopeful that it will help her. After the doctors say there's nothing they can do, what can we lose by trying some natural medicine? It's through a company called doTERRA, which is the company that Alan Osmond (who also has MS) uses. I can't say that it's going to be a miracle, but if it gives us even the slightest improvement, I would say it's worth it.

I'm Sorry!

I know, I'm terrible about blogging here!

With every day life, it's hard to notice changes and to blog about things that I don't recognize are happening. But then I look back and notice things are different.

Right now, I don't know that there's much to update you on, other than that mom went to the urologist, Dr. Curtis Campbell. She went and he reccomended that she has a Foley catheter rather than a suprapubic (surgically implanted) catheter. He said she's really not a surgical canidate and I'm actually kind of grateful for that. Mom said she doesn't want another surgery, and I really don't want her to have to go through another one.


For a day-to-day glimpse into my life, you can read my blog. I do post daily, and I share a lot of my own thoughts and feelings about mom's diagnosis with MS. You can go to it here: www.hollylynn365.blogspot.com


I'll try to be better, but I can't make any promises. Life gets kind of crazy around here!
 

PPMS

We went and saw mom's neurologist, Dr. Vita Kaplan today. I have to say this visit went much better than the last.

In order to see Dr. Kaplan today, mom had to have another MRI done. We finally got that done on Tuesday. We only had to reschedule five times to get it right. Oh well, it's finally done and over with.

Dr. Kaplan was impressed with the improvments in mom's behavior, memory, and cognition. She really is doing better. Uncontrolably lauging? I'll take it.

Dr. Kaplan compared the MRI films from mom's prior MRI and this recent one, and ultimately diagnosed mom with Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (PPMS). You can read about it here. Basically, it's the rarest, most aggresive form of MS.

Since disease modifying treatments (DMT's) are not effective on PPMS, mom will not be going on Tysabri, the monthly transfusion.

PPMS has No Treatment. No Cure. We just have to treat and manage the symptoms.

Despite the news we got today, I still feel hopeful considering mom's recent improvements. Therapy is what she needs, and she's finally getting what she needs. Hallelujah.


  

100th Post!

 Happy 100th Post! I know, there should be more by now. Sorry! I've been lacking in the blogging part of my life.

Anyhow, just a little update today.

Here's what we've been up to this month:

1st: Mom moved to Heritage Park
4th: We Celebrated my birthday, (I just turned 17)
18th: The eye doctor came in and gave mom an exam. She has cataracts in both eyes. She will not be having surgery.
24th: Pioneer Day!
29th: We went to McKay Dee Hospital for mom to have an MRI done. Unfortunately, we will have to reschedule at King's Medical Imaging which has an open MRI scanner.
30th: Andy (my cousin, Mom and Dad's nephew) got married! Congratulations Andy and Jessica!

As of now, we're just waiting to get the MRI done so we can go back and see Dr. Kaplan.

We are really liking Heritage Park and what they are doing for mom. They are doing a lot of therapy with her and mom especially likes the Physical Therapist, Chris. She seems to be speaking to us more and she is regaining some use of her right hand. It depends on the day, but overall, I think she's doing much better!

P.S. Hopefully it won't be another month before I get around to blogging!
 

Temporary Home

Hey all! I'm back from Chicago, which means I'm back to blogging! Actually, I've been home since Wednesday night, but it's been a busy couple of days so I haven't really had a chance to blog.

Anyways, I had a blast in Chicago, and you can see some of my pictures here:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2215802798533.2133468.1351486139&l=a54eff52c1

It was a great getaway, but it was hard to be gone with all of this happening around here.

As soon as I got back, I had to go see my mama. When I walked in the room, she looked at me and a giant smile spread across her face. That's the happiest I've seen her in quite a while.

Mom was moved back upstairs on Wednesday right before I got back, and she stayed there until we left on Friday. They finally found her somewhere to go on Thursday night and we said yes, so she is there now.

On Friday, we moved mom into her temporary home in Roy, a care center called Heritage Park. We spent today decorating and moving her things there to make it feel more comfortable until she can go back to Mt. Ogden. We're hoping they can adjust her medications and figure out the reason why she's screaming and resolve the issue once and for all. I sure hope we can do this quickly!

 

The Waiting Game

Yesterday I mentioned how we were waiting for an opening at a geropsych facility.  Today, the social workers again started checking on a facility that could take Sheila as soon as she was ready to leave the hospital.  This is what they found out:

• The unit at the University of Utah Hospital still has no beds available.
• Salt Lake Behavioral Health says Sheila is too medically ill for them to accept, but might be able to take her when she is much better.

In the meanwhile, the social worker is looking at a long term acute care (LTAC) facility.  There is one, Promise Hospital, in Salt Lake City which is in part of Salt Lake Regional Hospital.  This facility would be used to treat Sheila medically until at a point she would be physically ready to go to a geropsych facility.  A LTAC facility is a step down from a hospital but able to treat patients that need more care than a regular long term care center, or nursing home can provide.

Sheila is still improving each day.  This was day 5 in the ICU.  She spent most of the day sleeping.  She would talk to us as we fed her her lunch and dinner.  She is receiving steroids to help with the inflammation in her lungs and to make it easier for her to breath.  Because of the steroids, they have to keep an eye on her blood sugar levels which requires a finger poke.  She is still on intravenous antibiotics to fight the infection.  Overall, it was a rather quiet and uneventful day.

One of the highlights of Sheila's day was that she got to talk to Holly on the phone.  She was so very excited to get a call from her "baby".  She gave a great big smile when we told her that Holly would be home and in to see her tomorrow evening.
 
Tomorrow we will try to explain why Sheila needs a geropsych facility. 

No Room In the Inn

Sheila is continuing to improve.  Her blood pressure and other vitals are still improving.  They are slowly reducing the number of medications needed to make her stronger.  She still remains on oxygen but is requiring less than yesterday.

Today we met with another social worker from Davis Hospital.  They are trying to make plans for Sheila for when she is medically able to be discharged from the hospital.  When someone came in to do an assessment on her psychological stability she started screaming at them.  With this behavior, no long term care (LTC) facility will take her.  Our only option is a geropsych facility that deals with behaviors seen in older people who suffer from dimentia or alzheimers.  What they are hoping is that if Sheila's psych meds work and are tweeked she will then be able to return to a regular LTC. 

Right now there are four available geropsych facilities.  They are:

• Laveview Hospital in Boutiful:  They say they cannot continue to treat her medically at their facility.
• Salt Lake Regional Hospital:  They only take older patients so that leaves Sheila out.
• University of Utah Hospital:  They have no beds available but they told the social worker to keep checking each day.
• Salt Lake Behavioral Health:  They wanted to see Sheila's records before they made a decision.  So we are still waiting to hear from them.

So now we are just playing a waiting game to see where she will end up.  Unfortunately, with all these facilities being in Salt Lake City, we will be limited to how often we can visit her.  This will be hard for her as we have not missed a day in seeing her since she enter a nursing home on December 20, 2008.  But hopefully this will only be for a few short weeks until we can get her closer to us here in Ogden. 

We are grateful for the many prayers and well wishes from family and friends which we receive daily.  We will be sharing them with Sheila in the next day or so.
 

Anniversary Miracles!

Today was truly a miracle day.  This morning I got a call from one of the social workers for the hospital.  She wanted to talk to me about where Sheila would be going when she was discharged from the hospital.  She goes on to tell me that the doctor mentioned that she might be able to go as soon as Monday.  Knowing how she was when I left her last night, I thought the social worker had Sheila confused with another patient.  The social worker then tells me that Sheila was alert, sitting up, talking and had eaten a good breakfast.

As I enter the ICU, passing the nurse's station, I look down towards Sheila's room and see her looking at me. She smiles and then waves at me. I say to Ashley, "this is not the same woman that I left here last night".  I was truly shocked! 

I asked Sheila if she knew what today was.  She looks at the information board on the wall, notices the date written on it and says, "it's our anniversary".  This was the best anniversary gift I have ever been given.  I told her because of the safety restrictions of the ICU that we would celebrate another day when she got "home".

Throughout the day, we talked, held hands, I helped feed her lunch, and finally helped her talk with Holly via video chat.  She was so excited to be able to talk to her "baby".

Medically she is doing so much better.  Her kidney function is steadily improving, pain is subsiding, and she is much more alert.  They were able to discontinue the drug used to increase her blood pressure.  Her blood pressure has stayed up and her pulsed has fallen to where it needs to be. 

Tomorrow they are going to have someone from the Behavioral Unit come in to assess her.  We need to find out the source of her screaming and how we can control it.

As a family, we thank everyone for their continued prayers in Sheila's behalf.  We truly feel blessed.  Heavenly Father has heard our prayers.

ICU Day Two

Last night (Friday) Sheila's blood pressure continued to drop.  It got so dangerously low that the doctors started medications to get it back up. Also, her blood was not clotting so they had to give her frozen plasma and Vitamin K to bring her blood levels to an acceptable level.

Her overall urinary output is not where they want it to be, so they gave her steroids to help get her kidneys working more efficiently.

We spent a good portion of the day with her, unfortunately she was so delirious, tired, and worn out that she spent most of the time trying to sleep. Unfortunately, the intermittent pain is so frequent, and seems to be sharp, that she doesn't seem to be resting comfortably. Luckily, for the other patients and staff, her CPAP muffles a lot of her screaming and she also gets the proper oxygen levels she needs.

We thank all of our close friends that came to see her today, she really does enjoy your visits and sharing those times together.


(Now you know why I let Holly write the blog postings.  She is a very natural writer with a special gift for words that did not come through her father.)

ICU Round Two...

As I'm sure you inferred from the title, mom is back in the ICU for sepsis. I know what you're thinking, "How could you let this happen again?" Believe me, I'm asking the same question.

Anyhow, she was transferred to the ICU this morning to be more closely monitored. Her blood pressure persisted to drop, and they felt she would be better cared for in the ICU.

She seems to be more uncomfortable and more confused today than she was yesterday, and I'm hoping it's just because things have to get worse before they get better.

We sang a few songs to her before she went to sleep tonight and they seemed to comfort her. I Am A Child of God seemed to be her favorite.

I just have to send a shout out to Sondra (mom's sister, my aunt) and a big Thank You for dinner tonight! It was a relief to not have to cook and she made it easier to get everything done. She's always there when you need her!

P.S. My bags are packed, and I'm boarding the plane for Chicago in the morning. Dad will take over blogging while I'm gone in order to keep you updated. Please keep mom in your prayers!
 

She Screamed!

GUESS WHAT?!? She screamed! And... We went to the hospital. Davis Hospital. We didn't even make it a day.

We got a call today that basically said (I'm not quoting here) "We're sending her!" So, we packed ourselves up into the car and headed to Davis Hospital's ER. Yay!!! ...not.

We get there and she's so dehydrated that they can't even start an IV or draw any blood from her. They catheterized her and her urine was so dark yellow that the doctor took one look at it and said "She's got a Urinary Tract Infection."

They tried again to get some blood from her, and got a little bit, but not enough to do the tests they needed.

Since the whole "reason" we went to the ER was because of mom's abdominal pain, she was taken in for a CT scan of her abdomen. We got the results back, and it looks all clear.

They admitted her because of her UTI and explained to us that her kidneys aren't working very well because she is so dang dehydrated. They're pumping saline pretty aggressively as of now in order to get her blood pressure back up in the normal range.

She fell asleep just before we left, and she looked more peaceful than I've seen her in a while. I'm a little relieved that she's in the hospital's care and that her pain is being managed.

P.S. Since a few people have asked, I thought I'd let you know that I will still be leaving for Chicago on Saturday morning. It is certainly going to be hard to get on a plane and take off, but I know it's what mom would want me to do. Besides, what's happening is going to happen no matter where I'm at, so I might as well go to Chicago and bring mom back a really sweet souvenir! Right? I think so.

Oprah, I hope you've got your bags packed and you're ready to come visit Utah!!! Mom's expecting you!


 

Trapped

So... We had a meeting with the administrators at Mt. Ogden today. Not good.

We were told flat out that by the end of the meeting, they were planning to discharge her home. Yep, you read that right. Home. Which, if it were a feasible option, would have me jumping for joy. However, there is no way that could happen. We live in an upstairs apartment  that we have no way of getting her to or in. Besides that small little detail, she needs nursing care. Hello, people! Don't you think that if having her at home were an option, she'd already be there?

So, we came up with a plan. A plan that I don't neccesarily like, but it's our only option. The next time she screams, they're going to call an ambulance. Then, they're going to take her to Davis Hospital and have her worked up for a psychiatric evaluation. The reason it's Davis Hospital is because they have a psych unit equipped to handle bariatric (large statured) patients.

If we can solve this screaming problem (which I attribute to uncontrolled pain) they say they'll take her back. We'll see. I sure hope so since that's her home.

Dads

I just want to take a minute to say "Thanks" to all the dads out there, especially mine.

There's a saying out there that goes something like:

"Choose the one you love, and love the one you chose"  

Well, I've just got to say that I love mom's choice. :) Thank you, Dad for everything you do and everything you are. I love you!

 

We Saw a New Neurologist

This is a lot of information, but that's a good thing. We've been wanting information for a while now!

Okay, Mom was diagnosed with Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) yesterday. You can find out more about it here: www.pbainfo.org The drug we are trying out to treat this is called Nuedexta. (http://www.nuedexta.com/) It's good to finally know what it is affecting her! We should know within a couple of weeks if this drug works or not. Let's sure hope and pray! Prayers aplenty, please. We also need to specifically pray that Medicare will approve it. It's a fairly new drug that is expensive so we hope they will approve it for her!

She was taken off of Copaxone after three years of being on it and recieving no results. She is on no MS medication for the time being. After our follow-up appointment on July 7th, we will probably be starting Tysabri, (www.tysabri.com) a once a month infusion that more agressively attacks the disease. It has it's side effects, but the benefits are seeming to outweigh the risks at this point. Hey, one needle poke a month definitely beats thirty!

 Her new neurologist's name is Dr. Vita (Viktoria) Kaplan, and she practices at the Rocky Mountain Multiple Sclerosis clinic located by LDS Hospital. We were very impressed with Dr. Kaplan, and her willingness to consult other doctors about mom's case. She was also not intimidated by mom's behavior and seemed to understand the situation more thoroughly. She kept the films from mom's first MRI that was done in November of 2008, and wants to consult another neurologist about what she sees.

We have an appointment scheduled for an MRI at McKay Dee on June 20th. We'll see the progression of the disease after that.

We really were very comfortable with Dr. Kaplan and feel it was a productive appointment. I'm anxious to see what is to come with these changes.

The psychiatrist put her on Depakote and Zyprexa, and also doubled her Klonopin. We're seeing less full blown screaming, and more just moaning now as the old drugs work out of her system and the new ones take effect.

I hope this gave you all the information you wanted and needed to know. If you have any more questions you can email me at contacthollylynn@gmail.com

Also, I want to give an MS bracelet (shown below) to any of our friends and family who want one.  I want to do all I can to raise awareness about MS and I think this is a good way to do it. Want one? Just send a self addressed, postage paid envelope to my home address. To get my address, you can email me at contacthollylynn@gmail.com In return, all I ask is that you wear it and tell anyone who asks about it about MS.

 

She's still at Mt. Ogden

Just thought I'd post really quick and let you all know that mom is still at Mt. Ogden. We're still trying to get to the root of the problem, and we've yet to find out what it is. We're meeting with a new neurologist on Tuesday, one who specializes in MS patients. Hopefully she can give us some insight!

Also, recently they've adjusted her psych meds, taken her off of some, and increased others. We've yet to see the affects of that, her body is still working the old ones out of her system. Hopefully we'll see some change soon.
Also, for those of you that come and visit her, THANK YOU!!! SO MUCH! She really does enjoy your visits, she's just unable to speak most of the time now. She knows who you are, and appreciates very much your efforts to come and see her.
She also really loves cards and little notes, we hang them up in her room when she recieves them. If you would like to send her one, you can send them to:

Sheila Sagers

375 East 5350 South,

Washington Terrace, Utah 84405

 
Thanks for reading! Until next time,

Update and Mother's Day

Oh my! The months are flying by! I can't believe it's been almost two months since I've posted anything!
Let's see... I can't really think of much to update you about right now. We've all been doing well since mom's scare back in March.

We have noticed a decline in moms overall condition since March. She seems increasingly confused and frustrated, and has virtually ceased speaking altogether.

On April 6, we recieved a 30 day notice from the nursing home informing us that she would have to move because of her screaming. We've all been working very hard to keep her there. At this point, through speech therapy her screaming has been reduced and the problem can usually be resolved quickly.

We will be meeting tomorrow with some people from the nursing home to see what the status of her moving is. We're hoping that she won't have to move. We'll see.

Mom has had a good mother's day today, she got a new dress and was able to wear it to church. We went with her to church, and she was beaming the whole time.

Here is a picture of her and dad (she's in her new dress):

Happy Mother's Day!

 

Just a quick pic...

I just though I'd post this really quick. I took this picture last night. Yes, mom is still on oxygen, but it's keeping her stable, so we'll take it.

She seems to be slowly getting better, we've just got to take it one day at a time until things are back to "normal". Slowly but surely!

Home!

 Mom got to go back "home" yesterday. She's back at Mt. Ogden and is resting. She's still on oxygen, 3 litres, I believe, but she is staying stable!

She's still very tired, most of the time she can barely keep her eyes open.

She is becoming increasingly frustrated and confused, and we're thinking that it is caused by her MS at this point. We're looking in to seeing an MS specialist, Dr. Rose, down at the U soon. We've had a referral to him from the MS society, so we're going to try to get in to see him.

I'll keep you as updated as I can, I'm trying!

Day 4 in the hospital... Ready to go home!

This is the view from mom's hospital room window. Nice!!!

Today is mom's fourth day in the hospital. It's certainly been one heck of a ride this week.

Her official diagnosis it urosepsis, which is a severe infection of the urinary system. We didn't know how sick she really was. I didn't know how close we were to losing her. I'm thankful that her caretakers checked on her when they did and that they sent her to the hospital to be taken care of.

Earlier today, her anticipated discharge date was Friday. (3/18) But now, her discharge goal is TOMORROW!  They came in and did a chest x-ray on her, and the results should be back in the morning, and as long as they look good, and she stays stable, she should be able to go home! She's so excited to go home and see all of her friends and be more comfortable. I would be too!

Best news yet!

When we went up to see mom this afternoon, she was upset and crying, and they were trying to figure out what to do for her. They didn't know that her crying/screaming is normal, and that she relaxes when we're around, so at first, they didn't want to let us in. Once we explained to them that once we were all there, she would calm down, they let us in and didn't limit our visit to only 10 minutes. Hallelujah!

Medically, she is doing much better. Slowly and surely improving. Her blood pressure and saturations are back up in the normal ranges, and instead of being on 8 litres of oxygen, she's now on 4. She is completely off of the medication to make her blood pressure go UP, and it's still holding steady.

She was excited to watch Oprah today, she got to see the Oprah  interview with Katherine Jackson. Have I mentioned how much she LOVES Oprah?!? On a side note, when I told her I'm visiting Chicago this summer, and asked her if she wanted me to bring her back anything, she said Oprah. Not something from Oprah's store, she wanted Oprah. I have no idea how I'm going to swing that... Wish me luck.

We got some good news from mom's nurse today. She's moving out of ICU! She'll be heading into the Intermediate care unit where she'll continue to get better.

She wants us to tell everyone hello and thank you for the love and prayers!

We'll update you as things change and as she gets better. If you want to find out her room number to come visit, you can contact me (Holly), Dad (Jeff), or Ashley to find out where she's at!

We got off to a rough start...

Today got off to a rough start, but it has seemed to get better as the day wore on.

We got back here about 7:00, and mom was looking a little better, they had just massaged her with lotion.

She was finally able to have some beef broth and apple juice, which made her soooo happy. They allowed her to take off her CPAP mask, and go to just the nasal canula for oxygen. That made her happy too.

She started talking nonstop, and everytime her doctor walks by, she mentions that she looks like dad's sister, Denise.

I was tickling her feet, and I got her to giggle, and even one full fledged laugh came out.

I'm so glad she's doing better now!

By the way, she says "Hi." and "Thank You!"

Day 2 is harder...

 I've figured out that Day 2 in the ICU is harder than Day 1. Mom is more agitated and restless today. We have talked to the doctor, she said that it is definitely some type of Urinary Tract Infection, but we are still waiting for cultures to come back from the lab. It is definitely a bacterial infection.

She is responding well to the blood pressure medication, she has come down off of one, she is still on the other. She is also responding well to the antibiotics she is on. Her oxygen saturation is sitting in the high 90's, but she is on 5 litres of oxygen in addition to her C-PAP machine. The respiratory therapist was just in there, trying to get her to take deeper breaths, and she adjusted the machine and mask to better help her.

The ICU is closed between 5:00 and 6:30, so we're going to grab a bite to eat and wait until we can see her again.

Our home teachers came and gave her a Preisthood blessing this afternoon. It's always great to see them and be comforted by their love and care for our family. (Thanks Murray!)

She wanted us to tell you all that she loves you, specifically her siblings, Rochelle, Sondra, and Kelly, she mentioned you by name. :)

I really don't know what else to say at this point, other than thank you for all the prayers and well wishes sent our way. We really appreciate them!

Talked to a doctor... Finally.

On our way out of the ICU to come home, we finally got to talk to a doctor about mom.

As of now, they're saying it looks like either a kidney infection, bladder infection, or a severe urinary tract infection.

Urinary tract infections are common with MS, and there are a lot of medical reasons why, but we'll just leave it at they're common for MS patients.

She'll be in the ICU for at least tonight, possibly part of tomorrow, but they plan on moving her to a regular room as soon as they can.

They did an ultrasound on her legs, and she doesn't have any blood clots, so that is a good sign.  They also did an ultrasound on her kidneys and they don't look inflamed or abnormal.

For now, she's resting comfortably, so we headed home to get some sleep. We'll be heading back later tonight. We'll also be stopping by Mt. Ogden tonight so we can straighten up mom's room and see our friends and update them on mom.

If you have any questions, you can e-mail, text or call me. I'm kind of acting as the go between and informant for everyone.

Just when we thought things were getting better...

 Hey all,

It's been a really long night. Last night, mom's oxygen saturation was really low, all the way down in the 50's. Like, 52, I think. Not good at all. they immediately started her on 5 liters of oxygen, and her sat stabilized to around 90. But, about 3:30 this morning we got a call from one of the nurses at Mt. Ogden, mom's blood pressure was really low and her oxygen had lowered again. She was transfered by non emergency transport to McKay Dee hospital ER.  There, they started running tests, and determined that she has an infection. Since her vital signs were still low, they decided to admit her into the ICU to stablize her and battle the infection.  She's stabilzed now, her blood pressure is returning to normal, and her oxygen sat is around 97 on 4 litres of oxygen. It'll be a little while before she feels better, but she's looking good considering. She has some of the coloring back in her face and she smiled when she saw her ducky.

We still haven't seen a doctor, nobody has really explained too much to us. She has an IV in each arm, and a central line in her neck. so it's not very easy for her to move. She is on four different IV medications, all of them have their purpose, I just don't know what most of them are for. She'll probably be in ICU for a couple of days, I'll try to keep you updated.

Sorry, I know this post is sounding a little incoherent, I'm not running on very much sleep. :)

NO BELLY BUTTON!

Mom, Dad, and Ashley went back to the University Hospital on Thursday for mom's post-op appointment. They removed the staples and everything seems to look fine! She has a long scar across her abdomen where her belly button is supposed to be.

She seems to be doing okay, she still screams, but now it's only for a short time. We're chalking it up to temper tantrums. Silly mommy. She's been tired lately, though. It's probably just her body recovering from the past couple of weeks.

I'll keep you posted with any new details, but for now, this is all I've got. Thanks for reading!

Thank You!

I just wanted to take a quick second to say thanks to everyone who has asked how mom is doing. She's still doing pretty well, and healing quickly. WooHoo!

She has an appointment March 3rd with Dr. Vargo. He'll check how she's healing and probably take her staples out and reveal mom's lack of a belly button! Yay! haha. It still makes me laugh when she says "You know what? I don't have a belly button!" and then she'll put her hand over her mouth and giggle. I love my mother. :)

Sheila the zookeeper!

Thanks again to all of you for your prayers and well wishes!

Update!

 This week has gone pretty well, mom hasn't seemed to be in much pain until last night when her pain pump emptied. We'll be taking it out today so one of the daytime nurses can help us redress the wound. She is getting pain pills as she needs them. She seems to be healing pretty well. She's stopped screaming after meals, which means the surgery has been successful.

Dad was talking to one of his coworkers/friends, and she was telling him about how painful abdominal hernias are. She told him about how about a half an hour after she ate anything, it would become excruciatingly painful. Her hernia was about the size of a golf ball. Mom had two, and they were about the size of Dad's fist. (He has a huge fist). I can't even imagine. So, that explains why mom would scream about half an hour after meals. It had to hurt so much...

There are also no signs that her body is rejecting the mesh they used to close the hernias. Hallelujah!

She's a trooper!

 This picture was taken in post-op. Yes, after surgery. My mother very well may be a saint. If somebody had left me with nearly a foot long incision and taken away my belly button, I certainly would not look like that, or have said thank you after somebody poked and prodded me. She is such a sweetie.

She cried for a little bit because she was uncomfortable and wanted to go home, but I say it's understandable. The funniest part is that she hasn't let it throw off her schedule at all. Rachael Ray at 10:00, Dr. Phil at 3:00, and Oprah at 4:00. And I'm almost certain she's watching NBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams right now.

They put in this nifty little pain pump that will automatically dispense a local anesthetic for the next five days. One of the coolest things about it is that it comes right off when it needs to! Cool, if you ask me. :)

All in all, I think today went well. Mom seems to be feeling well, and she ate her soup and jello very well. Mom's always been able to handle anesthesia well.

Thanks for all of your many prayers, we greatly appreciate them!

P.S. Happy Valentines Day!

All Is Well

Dr. Vargo just came in and talked to us, and mom did fine. She actually had two hernias, one right above the belly button, and one right below. He repaired both and she is doing well in recovery.

One down side... She lost her belly button. Now she's an alien! haha.

Thanks again for all of your prayers. We have a lot to be thankful for today!
 

In Surgery

Mom's in surgery right now.  We talked to one of the doctors, and he said that the anesthesia went well, but that was about an hour ago. We haven't heard anything else yet. As far as we know, the surgery is still suppposed to be outpatient, but we'll have to wait and see how everything goes and how she does. I'll keep you all updated as best I can.

Thank you for all of the many prayers!
 

Surgery Rescheduled!

Good news! Mom's surgery has been rescheduled. Bad news is that it's been rescheduled for February 14th. You got it. Valentines Day. I suppose we'll just have to celebrate another day.

Another good thing is that mom will be out of pain, and that's all that matters.

I'll keep updating with any new developments!

 

Surgery is a go!

The stress test today went well. The cardiologist said mom's heart looked good and surgery is a go. We are just waiting for a call from Dr. Vargo's office with the scheduled surgery date and time.

We'll keep you updated! Please keep praying!

Stress Test

We've had several questions as to how they will perform a stress test on a woman who can't walk. Well, after some inquisition, we found out how they will do it.

They will give mom a chemical mixture that has adrenaline in it, that will have her body react as if she had done the physical tasks.

She, Dad, and Ashley are on their way to Salt Lake now. I'm just blogging a bit before I head off to school.  I couldn't afford to miss another day especially where I'll be missing one for mom's surgery.

I'll keep you posted with the results of today's test, and the date of mom's surgery, I just wanted to let you know how they'll be doing the stress test.

 

CANCELLED?!?

Well, I guess the title says it all. Yes, mom's surgery today was cancelled. We were told it was cancelled on Friday, and that they had notified the nursing home of the cancellation. Well, some where in that process, we missed the memo. So, we had mom all packed and ready to go, with everything she may need for after the surgery. We get all loaded up, down there, and checked in. Then, someone comes and tells us that mom's surgery had been cancelled, and that she would not be having surgery today. At this point, I was mad. My thoughts were something like:

"You mean to tell me I woke up at 5 a.m. to get my butt down here in time, and she's NOT having surgery?!?"

So, needless to say, I was not in the best of moods. I can't even imagine how mom felt. Being mentally and emotionally prepped for surgery, and then not having it? Bummer, dude.

Then they proceed to tell us that since she's already here, they might as well run the tests needed before surgery. So, they take her back, begin the tests, and she starts to scream. Well, since they are not accustomed to her regular behavior, they send her down to the ER because they are better equipped to handle her pain and screaming.

Once we were in the ER, they told us that since this is is "elective" surgery (elective meaning non-life threatening) that there wasn't much they could do. They consulted with Dr. Vargo, and decided that she would need a stress test to determine whether or not her body could handle the surgery and recovery.

So tomorrow, we get to do this all over again. Oh. Joy. Except for tomorrow, all she is having done is a stress test, and then we will determine a surgery date from there.

I had hoped to be able to blog from the hospital, but my laptop wouldn't connect to the Wifi, so I had to wait until we got home. Sorry!


Thank you all again for your prayers! They are still very much wanted and appreciated! We will keep you posted with any new information as soon as possible.
 

A few more days and how to contact me!

We're just a few days out from mom's surgery, and I'm getting a little nervous. Not that I don't trust Dr. Vargo, but it is still a surgery, and there are risks involved with any surgery. I'm sure everything will go fine.



Text updates on Sheila:



Anyways, on to the main reason for this post. I will try to blog Monday if I can, but if you want almost immeadiate updates on Monday, you can e-mail us at sheilasagers@gmail.com with a number where I can text message you. I will be taking our laptop to the university where they have WiFi, so I'll be updating mom's Facebook too. There are so many ways to stay connected that we shouldn't have any problem keeping you informed.

If you have any questions, shoot me an e-mail!

Surgery it is.

Looks like mom will be having surgery next monday (1/31).  I wasn't able to go to the doctor with Mom, Dad, and Ashley, but this is what I heard over the phone:

"Mom will be having surgery next Monday. The doctor says it looks like a simple surgery, so it will be outpatient. She'll be back in Ogden the same day. The benefits outweighed the risks, so it's a go ahead."

I still have some reservations about surgery,  but it's good to hear that Dr. Vargo can do something for her versus what Dr. Alder said. I'm glad she'll be out of pain.

Please continue to pray for mom!

Getting better!

Just as a quick update, I wanted to let you know that mom is doing much better. She seems to be over the pneumonia. Thank you for all of your prayers!

Monday she will be going to a surgeon to see about a possible abdominal hernia repair. It seems to be causing her a lot of pain and making life a whole lot harder, and we want to see what we can do about it.
She has been living with a hernia since I was born, (16 1/2 years ago) and it has just continued to get worse, so we need to try to get it fixed. Prayers are still very much wanted and appreciated! We will see what happens and let you know!

 

He's a big boy now!

Look at how big Ky has gotten!

He's almost full grown! He'll be ten months old TOMORROW. On the 22nd, we will have had him for nine months. It's amazing how fast time flies by!