Bettyjo Update

Bettyjo will be in the hospital until the end of next week. They will be taking the funnel out Monday or Tuesday, and the hope and prayer is that the back tear in the esophagus will have healed. The problem is that the vomiting caused a tear lower in the esophagus and to the front. Apparently this is an easier spot to fix. Bettyjo will need a lot of home care as she will be coming home with a trach, a 4" open neck wound and will be on tpn (nutrition through IV).

Pray for all of us to be patient and that this round of treatment will work.

Bettyjo Update

Bettyjo is still vomiting and no one seems to know just why. She is scheduled to come home tomorrow, but who knows. When she does come home, I will have to learn trach care, and how to hook up her TPN. We will also start the wound care regime again, as the very large wound on her neck is open and needs to heal from the inside out.

Bettyjo Update

Bettyjo is taking nutrition through her Grushon port. Because of all the vomiting she has torn the stitches in her funnel and is leaking through the same old hole. She now has a blood clot in her right shoulder. However through it all was in good spirits when I left her this evening.

Dr. Willet was to come in later this evening with some new idea/ideas. So hopefully I will have something more to report tomorrow.

My grandfather has done well with his chemo, and is no longer passing blood. Hopefully the tumor in the prostate is shrinking. They will do a full body scan after is last chemo treatment.

My father is now passing blood and, is having some pain in his back. He has had kidney stones before, but says this pain is not the same. He will be going to a specialists on June 6th.

My uncle Don, had a hematoma on his brain from a fall in January and had suffered some stroke like symptoms, had brain surgery to repair the blood vessel and then was recently hospitalized again because of a seizure. He is out of the hospital and is doing much better now.

Please remember all of these, and their doctors in your prayers.

Bettyjo Update

Bettyjo is still throwing up. No one, even Bettyjo seems to know why. They are considering putting her on TPN through her IV.

Bettyjo Update

Good and bad news today. Bettyjo was able to talk a bit to me on the phone (please do not call her just yet). Hopefully she will be talking more soon. She gets a bit frustrated writing. Mostly because she has difficulty spelling. I am not the best speller either, so both of the girls are cursed. In addition they have run out of sites to put in IV's so they are going surgically install a Grushon Port. This will be surgery #10 in 14 months.

Bettyjo Update

On Sunday I went to see my Grandfather. He is doing pretty well. He has not been very sick, but has lost all most all of his hair, and has some sores in his mouth, which are known side effects of the chemo. His spirit remains high, and both he and Grandma are handling the situation pretty well.

Dr. Willet attempted to put in a new, more permanent trach in this morning, but it initiated the gag reflex and Bettyjo threw up. This has caused some of her stitches to break loose, and he was not successful in getting the new tube in. It seems that this entire battle is up hill.

Bettyjo Update

Bettyjo was dong well yesterday. She was completely off the ventilator. She has some pain, but it seems to managed well, and she is tolerating it well. She is still in ICU. The plan was to get her to a regular room, but none were available. Hopefully today. She has a valve for her trach that will help her talk but it has been a bit cumbersome. She can also put her finger on the trach and exhale over her vocal cords to talk, but it is going to take some practice.

Bettyjo Update

When I got to the hospital this morning, Bettyjo was doing very well. She was much more alert, and very aware of what is going on. The pain management team was in and they are adjusting and monitoring her pain meds very closely. One thing that concerned me was that there was some discussion among the pain team and the nurse on duty regarding documentation of the pain pump. I have the feeling that Bettyjo may have been getting much more pain meds that she should have been? The wound on Bettyjo's neck looks good, and they have been weeing her off the ventilator. Hopefully she will be able to get out of ICU Friday or Saturday. Which in one sense is too bad. Her care here in ICU has been terrific. She has had great nurses, in a clean room. However, getting out of ICU is one step toward going home, which would be the best by far.

Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers. I do have one request. If any of you have the opportunity, please send Bettyjo a card or note. I try to read all the comments on the blog to her, but I know that cards and notes really perk her up. Thanks.

Bettyjo Update

Bettyjo has come out of surgery and is doing very well. Dr. Willet was able to repair the blood vessel a close her back up. She is still reacting very badly to the pain meds. A pain specialist has been consulted, and a new cocktail is being put together.

Bettyjo Update

Bettyjo had a very very bad day today. She is not tolerating the pain medication well, and earlier this afternoon, she had a coughing spell after a trach procedure and busted a blood vessel in her neck causing Dr. Willet to take her in to surgery to repair it. I will update again this evening with the results of the surgery, when she is back in her room.

Bettyjo Update

With all the pain medication and the trauma of having a funnel in her esophagus and a trach and being on a ventilator the pain meds Bettyjo is on keeps her pretty much sedated and had caused her to be a bit confused today. However she was a little more alert tonight when I left. Her one request was to be able to see some VHS videos of our family vacations and of the girls when they were small. Sot he Chaplin at Riverside arraigned for her to have a VCR in her room and we watched videos most of the afternoon. For those of you reading this who have small children, cherish the time you have, because the time you have REALLY does go by much too fast.

Hopefully Bettyjo will be able to come off the ventilator Wednesday, and will get into a regular room.

I can't express enough our thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. I want you to know they have been felt.

Bettyjo Update

Sorry this posting is so late. Bettyjo went into surgery at about 3:30pm and came out at 6:45pm. When Dr. Willet briefed us on the surgery, he stated that when he go her opened up, the flap that Dr. Alam did in Feb. was completely dissolved by the infection she had in March. He first put in a trach tube, and then was able to put in the funnel which will help divert her saliva and will hopefully allow the esophagus to heal. The trach will stay in until the funnel comes out.

She will be in ICU for 24 to 48 hours, and will be in the hospital for a few more days. Bettyjo is alert and is able to communicate by writing on a piece of paper. Dr. Willet is hopeful that she will be able to speak without any trouble when the trach comes out.

Bettyjo Update

Bettyjo is doing much better. She has been re-hydrated, and is taking some food. They are going to keep her in the hospital until her surgery on Monday, which is just as well. They are better equipped to keep her hydrated, and generally monitor her health.

Her surgery is set for 3:00pm. I am guessing that it will be a three or four hours long. I will post the surgery results to the blog, when she is out of recovery.

Bettyjo Update

Bettyjo went to the ER at Riverside yesterday. She was dehydrated, and possibly has a flu of some sort. They put in a liter of IV solution on a fast drip, with a continual drip since then. She was admitted, and will most likely be in the hospital until she has surgery on Monday. Some time in the night she started to feel better, and is doing well currently.