First of all, thank you all for the prayers of the past week. We have wonderful God, family, friends, medical team, and support system that makes tough days manageable.
Now to give you all the back story of the latest medical journey. It all started last Wednesday night (6/1). I had the day off of work and was uber productive. We had Parker's birthday party cookout planned for the weekend and I wanted to have everything ready.
While putting the kids to bed, I started having upper belly pain, cramping, and painful burping. I thought maybe it was just from something I had eaten and it would pass. Unfortunately, the pain was just getting more intense. Thankfully, Wil's parents (Ted and Connie) live down the road from us and were able to come over and get the kids and dogs before everyone fell asleep.
Wil and I packed our bags in case this would end up in a hospital stay and wouldn't have to be in a bind like the last admission of not having what we wanted and needed. It was hard to say goodbye to the kids not knowing when we would see them next. We had the reassurance they were in good hands and would be well taken care of.
We head over to the main hospital (Forsyth Medical Center) to be evaluated in the emergency room. It was a MAD HOUSE, I mean standing room only in the waiting room. My pain at this point is getting worse and I'm thinking we won't be evaluated or medicated for hours. We sign in and sit down to wait to be triaged. One lady said her son had been here since 1 pm and it was almost 9:30 pm and still hadn't been to a room. He had tests run and needed discharge papers but was still waiting.
We go back for triage and my blood pressure is 180's/110's, just due to the pain. We are back out to the waiting room. After Ted driving to the Clemmons ER and poking his head around, we decide to leave Forsyth ER and head over to Clemmons in an attempt to be seen sooner. There were 48 patients waiting at this point and didn't seem like it was a good use of time to just sit.
Clemmons ER was a night and day difference. Was triaged by one of the first amazing nurses (Michelle M.) and had several tests ordered. I had labs drawn and an x-ray of my belly. I was first on the list for the next open room. Michelle brought us back, hooked my port up like a pro, and went back for a CT Scan. Our ER physician was great as well. He needed to rule out anything with my gallbladder so that was ultrasounded as well. I have known gallstones but needed to make sure that they weren't blocking anything or could be the cause of the pain.
Then we get the CT results... it is another obstruction. "Findings consistent with small bowel obstruction with multiple dilated loops of proximal small bowel and collapsed distal small bowel." There was also some bowel wall thickening that had increased since the last obstruction in April. We have to be admitted to Forsyth and get that nasogastric (NG) tube down to suck the contents of my stomach out to let my bowels rest. Thankfully, Michelle is a super nurse and got the tube down.
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| 1st NG tube in the ER |
I was given pain meds and anti-nausea meds and was able to sleep some during the night. My superman of a husband got to try to sleep in a straight back chair, resting his head on my stretcher rails. Mind you, not complaining a bit. He truly is a saint!
After a night in the ER, we had to wait for Critical Care Transport to take me to Forsyth when my room was ready. Despite having the NG tube to suction, I still was throwing up around the tube. Probably one of the worst parts of having the tube and the obstruction. Makes your throat burn, chunks get stuck around the tube, and you are heaving with a garden hose down your nose. In the flails of wretching, I hear a familiar voice and a cold towel on my neck. One of my transport nurses was Jessica who I used to work with in ICU many years ago!
Wil wasn't able to go with my in the ambulance but it was a quick 15 minute ride. Unfortunately, it felt like much longer because I was still so nauseated and gagging a lot. Once I got up to my room on the 9th oncology floor, my nurse came to assess me and hook my NG tube back to suction. Something didn't feel right and sure enough, I had heaved so much and so hard that the NG tube had come out and was just sitting inside of my nose. So I got to have ANOTHER NG tube shoved down my nose to my stomach.
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| 1st tube out, waiting for the 2nd |
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| 2nd NG tube back in place |
The plan was close to the same as the last obstruction. We needed to rest my bowels for a few days. I was also put on IV steriods to help with the inflammation that was seen on the scan. I had IV meds for pain and for nausea which I mainly slept for the first several days. With that tube in your throat, it is uncomfortable to talk, swallow, move, just exist.
Our room did have an amazing view and we were able to see God's gorgeous sunsets each night. Wil and I took many walks around the floor and even did a puzzle one day. He is convinced they were chihuahuas but they were foxes.
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| 1st real food in 5 days |
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| Finished puzzle! |
Dr. Skinner (oncologist) and Dr. Stuart (surgeon) colloborated on a game plan. We were going to do the same imaging on Sunday (6/5) to see if my bowels were moving. They inject contrast down the NG tube (which made me dry heave) and take x-rays to watch it move through. If the blockage was still there, then that meant I may have to have surgery then to open it up. Well I aced that test and it was already in my colon within an hour!
Dr. Stuart came by and said I could get my NG tube out. So I'm holding it out to him and he thought I was crazy when I wanted him to do it then. He told me that I was a nurse and could do it, Wil tried to jump up and wanted to give it a whirl. But Dr. Stuart pulled it for me and it is instant relief. I was able to start on clear liquids slowly and make sure I tolerated it well.
Now the hard part, what's next?? What is causing this to keep happening? How to do we prevent it from ocurring again?
The first step is to get a PET scan in 1-2 weeks. A PET scan lights up any cells that use a lot of glucose like cancer.
The results will determine which route we consider. It if is cancer/tumor growth that is causing the obstruction, then we will go back on IV chemotherapy. The one that Dr. Skinner is leaning towards is Carboplatin. I had this for my first two bouts of cancer. It is the one that I had a reaction to and had to complete my infusions as inpatient to sneak it in without my body reacting to it. It comes with a lot of steriods, IV and oral, and is just time consuming.
If it is NOT tumor related then we would consider surgery. The option was to wait to do surgery until another obstruction happens or to do it electively to prevent just waiting for trouble to come. We would try to do laproscopic but may have to change to an open abdominal surgery since this would be my 4th surgery. The more you mess around in the belly, the more I make adhesions which is scar tissue and hard to move around laproscopically. This would allow Skinner and Stuart to remove the affected small bowel that keeps getting obstructed and remove any ahesions.
We were discharged home yesterdy (6/7) which was a huge praise. We got to pick the kids up from daycare which just made me cry happy tears. It was such a sweet time to be able to celebrate Parker's 3rd birthday and be reunited as a family.
For the THANK YOUs- as there are a lot!
1. Thank you to our God in heaven who provides for each of our needs. To grant us the ability to use this cancer journey to help others, deepen our faith, and to teach our kids about trusting in God's plans.
2. To my co-survivor, my favorite caretaker, and my husband. Thank you for the sleepless nights, never complaining about the food, coffee, lack of bed, boredom as I'm passed out. For being what I need, when I need it.
3. To our wonderful medical providers: Dr. Skinner, Emma (our PA), Dr. Stuart. To our nurses who went above and beyond- especially Michelle M at Clemmons ER & Ashlyn and Danielle on 9th West. Mahogany from Surgical Services who was a unit secretary who lit up the room and always had a smile on her face.
4. To Ted and Connie for caring for our kids and dogs- and even having to de-stink Daisy after getting sprayed in the face by a skunk our first night away.
5. For the friends and family who brought snacks to the hospital for Wil, decorated our house for Parker's birthday, brought us parking passes, and took care of us in tangible ways.
6. To my work family: thank you for being so amazing and caring for me despite only knowing me for a few short months. You all are wonderful and I am blessed to be part of Lewisville Laser!
For the prayer requests:
1. That my bowels stay unkinked and behave while we await the PET scan.
2. For wisdom and guidance for deciding on a treatment plan.
3. For my body to rest, gain strength, and prepare for the next leg of this journey.
I write this blog so that God can use my story to help others. This is in no way a means to gain attention for myself, to show how "strong" I am, because I am not. This is not for pity but to show you the strength of a God who cares for my every need. That you can see him working in the valleys and because of Jesus' perfect sacrifice for me, I don't fear evil! I know that Christ has already overcome it and has the victory. That doesn't mean that I don't struggle. There were days in the hospital that I couldn't even pray because I would just start to cry, which would irritate my tube. But I know that the Holy Spirit intercessed for me when my groanings were too much for words.
I hope that when you see me, you see how big my God is.
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