Bettyjo Update

Bettyjo has gone a full week eating pudding and applesauce, and drinking small amounts of water with blue food coloring in it, and has not leaked. We are very encouraged by this and hopeful that this trend will continue.


One real blessing is that we had a family outing yesterday that included eating out at Cracker Barrel. Bettyjo was able to order water an applesauce. This has not happened in nearly two years.


I have some additional good news to report. My Grandfather, who was diagnosed with cancer this year went for some testing earlier this week, and it appears that the chemo has stopped the growth of the cancer, and he will not be needing additional treatments for at least six weeks. He will be retested and re-evaluated at that time.

Bettyjo Update

Well.....it looks as if Bettyjo got her wish for Christmas. She is now allowed to eat pudding, and applesauce with blue food coloring in it. So far the blue water has not leaked, and has gone down her esophagus into her stomach. Her food and water will continue to be colored blue for awhile, to make sure that it continues to go down and not out. Thank God for this positive step.

Bettyjo went to her family Doctor yesterday, and he wants her to increase her calorie intake to 2000/day. Which would be an extra can of Promote and a pudding snack pack. She is also having a painful time with her RA, which continues to flare up with the temperature spikes we have been having.

Please pray for continued healing, and that the RA would go into complete remission.

Bettyjo Update

We saw Dr. Willet this afternoon. He was ok with the way she was healing. Not upset, not over joyed. He did a swallow test in his office with some water and blue dye. None of it came out the hole in her neck where the primrose drain was, and later tonight it could be seen in her feeding tube, so we know it must have gone down. Bettyjo is to monitor the dressing on the drain hole for 24 hours, if she does not see any blue she can begin drinking small sips of water with blue food coloring in it. She is to call Dr. Willet on Tuesday, and discuss the possibly eating some pudding for Christmas.

Please forgive us, if when you see us we are not overjoyed. We have been at this spot before four other times, only to be disappointed. We may allow our excitement to come out after the first of the year when she has been drinking water, and eating for a couple of weeks with out incident.

Please continue to pray for full and complete healing.

Bettyjo Update

We saw Dr. Willet last Friday. The hole that was the primrose drain is almost completely closed. She has a little seepage at the surgery site due to some stitches that are surfacing. Dr. Willet was pleased with what he saw, but is cautiously optimistic for the healing of the esophagus itself. He did not feel that she would be swallowing any thing by the end of the year, except possibly her own saliva, and maybe, maybe water. I know that Bettyjo was disappointed about that.

We will go back to see the Dr. on December 19th. While she would really like to to be swallowing some thing for Christmas, we certainly do not want to risk another infection.

After we saw Dr. Willet, Bettyjo and the girls and I went to see the lights at the Columbus Zoo, which were very good. I would say that they actually were much better than they had been in the past. It was cold, but we were all bundled up, and had Bettyjo wrapped in a sleeping bag in her wheel chair. I think we all had a really good time. It has been some time since we have done anything like this as a family.

Please continue to pray for complete healing, and that Bettyjo will be able to swallow soon.