The Pink Bucket

Yesterday was such a good day. Bound to have a setback or two... And we did. Last night the nausea set in, most likely from the anesthesia. The nurses administered Zofran to help settle her stomach, but to no avail. By bedtime, she was throwing up her toenails. Katie was spending the night with Bada, and thankfully handled the situation like a pro, in other words, she didn't gag, pass out or high-tail it to the hills! Go Katie!

This morning I got a detailed briefing from Katie and a very realistic re-enactment of the whole event.

I don't think they were having so much fun last night :)  At least the bucket is a pretty pink and not bile green!  Katie, as always, tries to keep thinks fashionably accessorized!

Today, mom headed for surgery once more and had the medi-port removed.   And we headed for the waiting room once more. 

We're getting better at the waiting, but not as patient as we need to be... We do know where every vending machine

and restroom

is in this hospital.  Important information to know if you spend a lot of time here.

The good news is that surgery went well. The port is being cultured, but the doctor doesn't think they will find any bacteria since she's been on the vancomycin for a week already. We may never know exactly where the strep set up, but we are making progress nevertheless.

Heart is Clear. Check!

Medi-port is Out. Check!

Lungs - you better clear up or you're out-a-here! A little smack talk couldn't hurt....

Dr. P wants to keep her in the hospital with the iv antibiotics and oxygen at least through next Monday. Hopefully, prayerfully, the lungs will begin to clear in the next few days. The pulmunologist hasn't ruled out tapping her lungs to remove the fluid. And that sounds painful. Would really love for her lungs to get with the program on their own.

Mom sends her love and thanks to everyone who has been holding the line for her.

Your prayers, notes and love keep us going.

Sleeping well tonight, Jane

A Heart of Gold

Mom has a Heart of Gold! We all knew that - just had to convince the doctors! The TEE (trans-esophageal-echocardiogram) was a complete success. Heart and valves were healthy and strep free. What a praise! What a relief!

I feel we may be on a roll here. Believing that good news will follow her through tomorrow's surgery as well. Yes, more surgery. After doctors concluded that her heart was not harboring the bacteria, they turned their attention to the lungs and medi-port. And decided on removing the lesser of two evils, the port. Well, that's not exactly right. To clarify, they weren't going to remove her lungs. Duhhhhh... Head Slap. The doctors are thinking of tapping her lungs and removing some of the fluid, easier on patient than removing the whole lung ;-), until you see the needle they use to remove the fluid.... Anyway, the medi-port is an easy in and out procedure, so that's next on the agenda.

For those unfamiliar with a medi-port, it is a small medical device that is implanted under the skin and sewn into a large vein to make iv access much easier for those needing it longterm, i.e. chemo patients like mom. Mom's medi-port was implanted last November and has made all the blood draws and chemo treatments relatively easy and almost pain-free. The one small problem with medi-ports is their affinity to attract these tiny bacteria families. Bacteria like streptococcus viridans. So, out it goes. Doctors feel that they will be able to implant another one in a month or so. Until then, she gets poked in the arm a whole lot more often.

Continue to pray for her lung function. Chest x-ray today revealed a small decrease in the fluid, but pulmunologist is still concerned. Her oxygen saturation remains low and she has been needing supplemental oxygen around the clock.

When they wheeled her down to surgery this morning,

they took her off the oxygen, but then the surgeon wasn't quite ready so we sat in the holding room for about 20 minutes. During that time her O2 saturation dropped to 78% (anything below 90 is in the "not acceptable" range). The ensuing flashing lights and loud alarms brought nurses running! She was slapped back on oxygen faster than green grass through a goose! (That's fast.)

One other praise for the day. Doctors confirmed that the antibiotic she is on, Vancomycin, is the best drug to battle the Strep bug.

Since the doctors put her on Vancomycin almost the minute she was admitted, we are relieved to know that she has been doing battle for the whole past week. Strep is going down! The infectious disease doctor recommends a 14 day regimen of the iv Vanc, so we have just one more week to go, barring any unforseen catastrophes.

We have felt your love tangibly these past days. And we return it you tenfold.

 Love to each, Jane

The Bug Has Been Named

Waiting is over. We have a name for the pesky bacteria that has set up housekeeping in mom's bloodstream.

Streptococcus Viridans.

Not a pleasant sort of bacteria. Dr. P, the infectious disease specialist, suspects that the bacteria has lodged in one of three places. The medi-port, the lungs, or the heart. And I have listed them in the order in which we hope to find them. Obviously, the medi-port would be best. It can be easily removed with surgery, terminating the source of the bacteria problem. The lungs are a little more tricky. She already has a hazy patch in the right lung and fluid in both. Recovery would be slow, but doable. The heart is another story. And this is where mom's background (cardiac care nursing), comes in handy, sort of. I almost wish I were blissfully ignorant of the full import of having the heart involved. If the strep has set up in her heart, it will damage the heart valves, leading to weakness, fatigue, fluid build-up, shortness of breath, etc., etc., a very slippery slope downhill. In a normal, healthy person, the only option if the valves are damaged would be open-heart surgery to replace the valves. With mom's ongoing battle with cancer, we're not sure if she would be a candidate for surgery. Ok, so do you now wish you were blissfully ignorant too? Sometimes, it's just TMI (too much information). But, you've read this far, keep going.

So, that's the word from Dr. P. As he listened to her heart and lungs, he asked if she had a cardiologist she would like to use. Without skipping a beat, she said Dr.McElroy. Dr. P paused and said he didn't know him, and didn't think he practiced out of this Texas Hospital. So, mom said okay, and asked for his recommendation. Dr. P said that Dr. Jane was very good, and we both agreed with a name like that, he's the one for mom! Anyway, about 30 seconds after Dr. P left, mom started chuckling. I haven't heard her laugh in the last 5 days and it startled me, but I asked her what was so funny. And she looked at me and said, Dr. McElroy practices in Peoria, Illinois...(their old hometown.)  Oh, the funny things that happen to our minds in the midst of stress! So glad she can laugh about it. That's the mom we know and love!

So, where do we go from here? Yesterday, they pulled another blood culture from the medi-port. We are waiting on results to rule it in or out as the source of the bacteria. Tomorrow she goes in for another chest x-ray to check on her lungs. In the meantime, they are continuing to give her lasix (a diuretic) to help reduce the fluid build-up in her lungs. And then, on Monday they will be doing an echocardiogram on her heart. This is an ultrasound picture of her heart and will tell us a lot - praying that it tells us all is well, no strep live here!

For now, we are in a holding pattern. Resting, going to the potty, snoozing, going to the potty (the lasix really works!), talking, napping, and going to the potty, oh, and eating too. I have to say that this hospital has an outstanding chef - kudos to the kitchen. Mom has eaten more here than I've seen her eat in a while!

Pray with us as we enter this second week in the hospital. Mom's energy is gone, but her spirit is spunky. We pray for healing, we pray for wisdom, we pray for strength to endure what lies before us.
As I left the hospital this afternoon, a song was playing on the radio. This is what I heard:

Be still, there is a healer
His love is deeper than the sea
His mercy, it is unfailing
His arms are a fortress for the weak

Let faith arise
Let faith arise

I lift my hands to believe again
You are my refuge, You are my strength
As I pour out my heart, these things I remember
You are faithful, God, forever

 

So appropriate for me, for this moment. It's called "I lift my Hands" by Chris Tomlin. And it is a word for today. Be still. There is a healer.

Resting in Grace, Jane