One way to have a heart attack...

Tonight, while my family was in the house resting while I was out shoveling gravel out of the driveway and back into the side drive where Tom parks. You have to move this gravel while it is wet or it sets up so firm that you can't move it. I have told Tom several times that we need to move the gravel back and it hasn't been available to help. So, tonight it was only 70 degrees and just after a rain - perfect to move this gravel. I spent about 30 minutes out there and now I my chest is not happy and my left arm is numb and hurts...the doctor said that I shouldn't be doing things like this, but Tom on his NASCAR game, Kristi playing on her computer, and Brian on his computer, Alayna in time out in her room (for the rest of her life) and of course Oma gets a free pass. I will pay for this for days........

Oma has had her bag on for 48 hours now YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!! The collar seems to be working, at least for now. I had another run in with Sinclair Home Health today. I came home for lunch and mom's PT lady was here. She came and got me and said that she wanted to show me something about mom's incision. At the very bottom it is leaking bloody pus. I told her that it didn't look good and we should probably call the doctor. She said that I had to call the Stoma nurse. I asked why I should call the stoma nurse when this doesn't have anything to do with her stoma. She said that is what you do. I called the stoma nurse and she told me that I should call the doctor....mmmmmm I was right to start with.

The doctor said that she really needs to be taking a shower everyday, and she has not had on yet. She needs to have the water running over the incision to clean out the bacteria. Tomorrow, her nurse will be here to give her a bath/shower etc, so I put the chair in her shower and she is going to try to take a shower. I think she will feel better if she gets one.

Mom did walk over to her apartment tonight. She wanted to check her plants that are over there. It was good for her to get up and move around out side. I tried to get her to sit in a chair on the driveway, but she was really tired and just wanted to come in and get into her recliner.

Alayna will be in permanent time out it appears. Yesterday, at school she stepped on and killed a frog. This is grounds to be kicked out of school. We can't figure out why she did it and she just makes up stories when you ask her. So, she is in her room until she can tell us why and apology to the school for what she did. I wonder if she will ever come out.

Next week, Brian will be moving out. I will be sad. It has been nice to have Brian here. He has changed so much in the last 2 years that he has been out on his own. Now, I will have Bubby withdrawal...

Tom got good news about his dad. It appears they got all of the cancer with the surgery so no further treatments will be needed at this time. This is great news for both Oma and grandpapa. Now, we just have to have prayers for Larry to make sure has the same outcome. Larry has graduated from his Radiation vacation and now has about 4 weeks of quiet before surgery.

Time for me to get mad...

After being up most of the night with storms (appears a tornado stuck about 1/2 mile from us) I was/am very tired and decided that I have had it with both the home health company that is taking care of mom and with her leaking bags. The first thing I did was called the stoma nurse and talked to her about my concerns. I wasn't upset with her - just the situation. I told her that mom had called me again at work to say that she was leaking again. This is frustrating me to no end so I decided to call the nurse. She said that she wanted to see mom to find out what was wrong and what the best way to fix it. So, I had to take a half day of vacation to take her to the University of Missouri Hospital to see the stoma nurse. She was great with mom. She used a "collar" to add some protection against leakage. We will see if this works.

The 2nd thing I did today was call Sinclair home health to chew them out. I have taken about all from them that I could stand. I called the supervisor and told her all of my concerns. She said that she was going to address them, but again, we will have to see. You shouldn't cross me when I have only have a few hours of sleep.

About the storm last night. We finally went to bed about 10:30 last night and wasn't in bed very long before the hail started. It was about quarter sized and the wind was terrible. We lost power about 11 pm and it was finally restored about noon today. I had decided (before I started chewing out people) that if the power was not restored by 2, I was going to come home and get mom and we were going to a motel. The heat index was suppose to be near 105-110 and with her condition I didn't want her here without air conditioning and no way to prepare food. Of course with darkness you can't see what damage you have gotten, but when the sun came up we were very surprised. I was suppose to be at work at 6:30 - but knew I was going to be late with the garage holding my van hostage due to no electricity. But, when I went outside I was shocked to see all the damage. A HUGE limb had fallen over our driveway, several others were down in the yard and the driveway looked like a green mess with all the leaves.

But, my shock was only just beginning. Once Tom and I moved the limb - was all we could do to move it - I tried to get to work. Trees down all over the road, roads flooded, and no way into work. I returned home and waited for the road crews to clear the roads and the water to recede. One tree in particular was completely uprooted - and the tree base (the root system) was bigger then my van.

Mom had a wonderful visit yesterday with several family members...Larry, Gail, Beth, Brayden, Steve, Candice, Scott, Bre, and Debbie. This made mom's day to have all of the visitors to talk to and visit with. Steve and Candice were here from San Diego and Debbie, of course, was here from Arizona. Mom has talked about the visit several times today and smiled about how wonderful it was to hear all the "joyful noise" of everyone talking.

It was so nice to have Debbie here to visit mom. She pitched in and help with being asked which really helped me a lot. On Sunday, mom developed a leak and Debbie put gloves on and got her hand right in there and help me change mom's bag. That was such a big help. It was also nice to know that Debbie was here with mom so I didn't have to worry about making sure mom had everything she needed before I left or running home to make sure she has a good lunch. By the way Debbie, - the antenna's are now gone out of the stoma, but I said OOPS before I pulled them out!!!! :)

More later - I am going to get mom ready for bed and then I am going to bed. I think she can make it to bed on her own (I hope) if not then she can yell and I will come down and take care of her.

Gone with the Wind...

After a long day today, we are watching mom's favorite movie - Gone with the Wind. We couldn't find anything to watch on TV which led us to watch Gone with the Wind. We are on disc 2 and it is almost 10:30 pm. This must mean that mom is feeling better since she has had a long day.

Her long day started with visiting with Debbie and a short nap she said. I got home around noon and she was getting a sponge bath with the nurse from home health. Mom didn't get to wash her hair because the dreadful bag was leaking again...but more about that later.

After the nurse left we ate lunch and then mom just had to watch Days of our Lives. I am not sure what she sees in that soap opera. I vividly remember when I was a stay at home mom and watched that soap, how mom would always complain about my soap...now she can't miss a day.

She had her doctors appointment to get her staples removed today. We thought it was just a visit with the nurse, but Dr. Remis wanted to see her as well. He had good news. The cancer had not invaded past the muscle layer in the bladder. This means no chemo or radiation. YEA!!!

Mom is really happy with the outcome. She appears to be getting stronger each day. I figure that she will need the walker for a while, she has really lost a lot of her strength. PT starts coming on Monday and that will be a big help.

These bags are going to really drive me crazy. The bags that the home health provides don't appear to be holding more than one day. She is only suppose to change the plate (the part that attaches to her skin) twice a week. At the rate we are going we are lucky for them to hold for more than one day. Medicare will only pay for 10 bags and plates a month. I am not sure what we are going to do if we don't get this straightened out. I think I might call the stoma nurse who was teaching mom and I while she was in the hospital and meet with her. Maybe we can find out what we need to do.

It appears that mom is going to be a great-grandma again - but she doesn't know. Larry and family are coming on Sunday and I thought that Larry would get great joy in telling mom the news. Especially since the baby is due right around the birthdays of both Larry and mom. This will make 10 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great grandchildren if I can count right this late at night!

Speaking of visits, Steve and Candice came to visit Larry and Gail in independence for a week or so. They are coming to Columbia to visit mom since mom can't travel right now and really wants to see them. They are visiting from San Diego. This will make mom's week complete with all of the visits from loved ones.

Update on Carl's Surgery

He had surgery today for prostrate cancer. Surgery went well but it appears there was more of a mass then they expected. So, it took a little longer then expected. Tom just got back from visiting him and said that he was watching the St. Louis Cardinals on TV. He is having trouble with his blood pressure being way too low, so they are going to up his IV to see if they can get his blood pressure to raise. They think that he can go home in a couple of days. We don't know about Chemo or Radiation yet...that will be determined when the pathology results come back.

Day 3 at home

Sorry that I have not updated in a little while. I have been debating on hiring a caregiver for the caregiver!!! I just can't seem to be everywhere I need to be lately.

Let's see where I ended...OK, we had the 1st visit from the nurse after hours. Notice that I said 1st visit at night. Yes, we have had to have them out twice. They are going to hate us by the time this is over. Last night mom was wet again. So, I went looking for the source of the wet (I think I will be a good detective when this is over) and found the source to be her urine bag. It was not attached to her skin so it was not collecting - it was leaking. I have only changed the bag one time and that was with the nurse as a guide. This time I was on my own. Well, I didn't do a very good job. I put the bag on and it started leaking. This was the only bag that we had, so I had to call the nurse to come out and do it again. The nurse that came out was wonderful. She showed me again how to do it and explained what I did wrong. She was a great teacher. I know what I did wrong - I didn't let the stoma glue dry before putting on the bag.

Yesterday Debbie (my sister-in-law) arrived from Arizona. Mom was so happy to see her. I went to work today and let mom and Debbie share the day. This helped give me a break to allow me to get my allergy shot at lunch today. I am glad Debbie is here, it is helping mom. Having someone else here to see instead of me each day.

Of course yesterday Kristi was home sick. I think that she was so worried about her class on Tuesday night that I think she made herself sick. She got up Tuesday morning and said that she had a migraine. I said good, you can stay with Oma so I can go to work. Well, that was a mistake for Oma. Kristi told her that she was not going to sleep all day. She made her get up and take a sponge bath and wash her hair, changed her bed and washed her sheets.

They finally delivered her hospital bed today and mom couldn't wait to get in it. Debbie quickly made it for her and mom crawled in and went to sleep. I am glad because I think it is getting old sleeping in her recliner. I am still sleeping downstairs just until mom has more strength - which means that I am not getting a lot of sleep, but it is worth it to make sure mom is OK.

They also delivered her life alert yesterday as well. This will allow her to push a button if something happens and she feels that she needs help. They will call me first, then Tom, then Kristi. This way it will allow mom some freedom and piece of mind for me.

Waiting on a 2nd visit from the nurse

The nurse finally arrived 2 1/2 hours late...I guess better late than never. She was here for 2 hours and left around 3. Mind you, mom had not had lunch because she was suppose to be here by 11. So, when she left mom was really not in good shape. Very sick because she was hungry and had a fever. I tried to get her to eat and more comfortable but decided that it was a lost cause. Finally, mom moved to her chair in the living room and took a snooze.

I made her favorite meal for supper and she ate a few bites. After supper she said that she was getting wet. Now that she has a bag to collect her urine, I figured that mom "wet the bed" as we have been calling it. I went searching for the source of the liquid and found that it was from the "JP" drain that is draining the fluid from her belly. So, I called the home health nurse and after 2 phone calls she decided to come out since the doctor said this drain might have to be removed since it has a hole in it. We are now waiting on her and hoping that it won't be another 2 hour wait.

We also order a hospital bed for her since this roll away bed is not the answer. Since she is on Medicare they will pay for it and the nurse said that she needed a different sleeping arrangement. Also, they are going to get her scheduled with a PT and a personal care attendant. The PT will help mom with getting her strength back and the personal care attendant will help mom with showers and personal care to get her back on her feet. She has fallen so far behind in the week since surgery, for someone who is totally independent to become dependent in the matter of a few hours has really sat hard with her. She has been so upset about it. I told her that it is OK, this is what I am here for but she still is upset about it.

Home day 1

I thought I would update the blog a little before the home health nurse gets here. She was suppose to be here at 11 and it is now a little after 12, so I think she is late. Mom was really tired after her escape from the local hospital. Before she left we didn't have any blood in her urine bag and now it is really red. I think that is from all the movement from the hospital to the house to the bed and then deciding that she would rather sleep in her chair. I gave her Tylenol about 10 last night and she went to sleep. Not a really deep sleep, but I did catch her snoring a time or two. Around midnight we started having thunderstorms and lost our power about 4 this morning. We all sat around for about 30 minutes and decided to go back to sleep. The power finally came back on around 7:30. We had over 2 inches of rain by 8, and it is still raining so I would assume that we need to start drawing up plans for an Ark.

She said that her pain gets as high as a 2 when she is trying to sit or stand. Otherwise, she is virtually pain-free which is a blessing. I know her bag needs to be changed and as soon as the nurse gets here that will be one of the first things to do. I am hoping that mom will be able to change her own bag in a week or so, once she gets her strength back. We go to the doctor on Friday afternoon to have her JP tube removed and all 60+ staples (yes, I counted them!).

I will let you know later how the rest of her day went.

Going home

I just got to the hospital and it appears that she is getting released tonight. We are waiting on the stoma nurse to arrive and work on her bag and then we will be off. I have to get her set-up at home so this should be fun, I guess I should have started before now, huh??? It would have helped if I was there to do it instead of at the hospital with her. Well, I think a call to Tom is in order to start the ball rolling.

Day 6

I called this morning to check on mom and she was not a very happy camper. The nurse sat her in the chair without her "clicker," water, nurse call button, blanket over her legs. The only reason that the nurse came in is because her phone was ringing. The nurse came in and told her that her phone was ringing and mom said that she knew that but couldn't reach it. I went up at lunch to check on her and she is feeling pretty good. Doesn't have much of an appetite, but who would with hospital food. She said that she walked down the hall towards the "escape route" as we put it (the way out of the hospital) and then towards the other end of the hall. They are suppose to come back tonight to take her on another walk. She said that she didn't sleep very good last night, so tonight she is going to take a Tylenol (which she has not had since Saturday night late). I talked to mom today about getting a life line for a short time after she comes home from the hospital. That is that little contraption where the lady says "Help I have fallen and can't get up" on the commericals. It will give me a little piece of mind in case I am not right there and something happens to her. When I was there at lunch she said that she had not seen the doctor, so I am hoping I get to see him when I get there right after work. I want to discuss some of her home meds with him that she is not getting at the hospital. I would like to know why.

Food...good food

Well, today has been a good day for mom. She ate some scrambled eggs with cheese and a piece of wheat bread for lunch (about 2) and just now ordered supper of turkey and green beans. She walked about 70 feet around 3 but has not been walking since then. It appears that she will need the aid of a walker for a while since she has lost some muscle tone in the 5 days she has been in bed. The physical therapy guy said that she is very weak and needs the walker. Her stoma nurse said that she thought it would be better if mom waited until Tuesday to go home since she is so weak. She was going to leave a message with mom's doctor and mom is going to say something to him tomorrow.

Day 5

I arrived this morning to find that mom was feeling a lot better. Still not up to 100%, but on the way. We were waiting on the doctor to come in after he was in a a bike race this morning. He said that she could go straight to a regular diet and with some luck may be able to go home late tomorrow night. He ordered PT to come and help her walk and gain some strength since she can only make it to the bathroom door and back. He has ordered her to have IV magnesium and potassium because they are still a little low. She still looks really good and says that he pain is at a 2 at the worse, but most of the time she is at a 1/2. More later.

Day 4 update

I came in this morning to find her slightly awake and missing the NG tube that was in her nose. This is a good step toward going home in the near future. The doctor told her that it would not be on Sunday. Maybe early next week, but not that early! He was going to call the business office to confirm that they had lost their minds and he refused to release her and that she was probably would not release herself against medical advice since she can't stay away very long and doesn't know how to take care of her ostomy yet. She is excited about getting lunch today. It will be soft foods, but I do see a light at the end of the tunnel. She is snoozin' really good right now. It will take her a day or two to get the drug out of her system. I have to get the name to make sure we put it on her "Can't take" list."

Last night, I left here around 8 and stopped at McDonald's. On the way home Brian called and said to be careful pulling in the driveway since his car was broken down at the end of the driveway. By the time I got home Tom and Brian had gotten it up to the house. Tom said that he had to go to the shop because something was wrong with the back drivers side wheel. Called a tow truck for our free tow since the car only has 15,000 miles on it. Found out that he had a rock stuck between the brake and the rotor. Ford is going to look and make sure that there is not any damage to the rotor.

I searched for about an hour this morning and Tom about 2 hours yesterday for mom's cat. I think he was very sick and went off somewhere and died. I just wish I would have known because I would have kept him closer so that he wouldn't have been alone - even thought I don't like him - he still didn't deserve to die alone.

Day 3

Well, I think this is day 3...Wednesday was surgery and today is 2 days later then the day she had surgery. So, it is day 3 right???

I came in this morning and she was snoozin' in a chair. Great!! She is out of bed. We are getting somewhere. No, we are stepping back a few steps. She is very sensitive to drugs and I have been telling them that since she came in. Well, I guess I didn't tell the right nurse. They gave her some this morning before they moved her to a chair so we don't expect to see the whites of mom's eyes before sometime tomorrow.

The business office came in today and said that she would be going home in a day or two. Now, understand that she tried to pass out several times just trying to get from the chair back to bed...so how is she going to be able to go home. I might just have to get mean!!!

She has gotten a few really pretty flower arrangements and I really like looking at them. I am going to bring my camera tomorrow and take pictures for her...in case she sleeps like Rumpelstiltskin...or whatever his name was.

Alayna is having a really difficult time right now. Her life is in an uproar with Oma gone and me running in and out. She keeps asking me if I would bring Oma home because as Alayna puts it "I can take really good care of her, grandma I promise." I keep telling her that Oma is sick and at the hospital but is getting really good care and will be home in a few days. But, to a 5 year old that doesn't make sense.

And I have not told mom yet, as if she would remember, but I think her cat is on his way out. Tom went to put him outside last night and said he was VERY VERY hot to the touch and didn't want to go outside. This morning we couldn't find him...

Ahhhh...I figured out how to do it

This is a picture of mom and Larry at the Royals game. Don't they look like a million???

Cancer is gone

Boy, yesterday was a very long day. It started out with only 2 hours of sleep at the best - and of course I was talking about me. Mom didn't get a lot of sleep either, but guess who sleep all day yesterday. Anyway, we had to be at the hospital at 5 yesterday morning. We went to Wal-Mart before surgery, who wouldn't??? After we got here, they took mom back and proceeded to start getting her ready for surgery. They took me back about 30 minutes after they took her back. They had already took her blood and were waiting on the doctor. He came in and said that he didn't' like her potassium levels so he took another blood sample to check it. He didn't like that one and told her that he was going to cancel surgery. She was not very happy with him and told him that she was getting this out one way or the other. So, he agreed. From the first cut to the last staple it took 4 hours and he said that he is sure that he got it all. We won't be sure until the lab work comes back in 4-5 days. He also tested her kidneys and they were both clear of cancer. After one night in ICU she was just moved to a room. They have been really good so far with her, but we have a week to go so we will be able to tell you more later. She is in Columbia Regional Hosptial, room 559B. The phone number to her room is 57.875.9832 but remember that she might not be able to get to the phone if they have her sitting in a chair across the room. I am sure in a day or two she would love to talk to you. One nice thing is that I have wireless Internet here...remember the blog about the Internet cafe, well this is my Internet hospital. Man am I having fun. I have also have been working from here which make it nice. It is like I am sitting at my desk because I log into my desktop and work.

mmm...prep is not fun

Mom had to start her prep for surgery yesterday. It wasn't bad until today. Because they are going to take part of her colon to make a new tube for urine to pass she had to prep like she was having a colonoscopy. Well, this is a lot easier said then done. She started the prep for this at noon today and around 2 I got a call at work, on the other end was a very weak mom and all she said was "Please come home, please come home." So, I left really quick and ran home...ok so I drove home to find her in the bathroom sitting on the potty with the trash can in her hand leaning against the wall too weak to get up.

After about 2 hours of this after I got home I called the doctor and the nurse said to stop the prep for the colon cleaning and let her stomach rest. They said the antibiotics were more important right now, so to keep taking them another 8 pills tonight. Now, she is resting in the recliner in between the trips to the bathroom.

We still do not know what time to be at the hospital since she was on the phone with them when she started throwing up again. We are waiting on them to call back.

I will keep anyone interested updated by updating this when I can. Keep the prayers coming.

Alayna's 5th Birthday

We celebrated Alayna's 5th birthday today since Oma and Grandpapa are both having cancer surgery near her actual birthday. At the age of 5 I don't think Alayna cares when we celebrate her birthday as long as we celebrate.

She got a lot of neat presents mostly princess stuff. She even had a princess ice cream cake as well.

Go Royals!!!

We decided to go to Kansas City to see the Royals play baseball on July 12th. I called Larry and he said that he would love to go as well. So, we went to Kansas City and picked him up after a great dinner with Larry's family.

We had great seats. The only problem was that we couldn't see the scoreboard because we were so far under the awning. However, the game was wonderful with the Royals pulling out a win in the last minute of play.

We also got to see a lot of Santa's since it was Santa Hat day at the stadium. I saw one and yelled "Hi, Santa" and he came over and gave me a hug. Mom turned around and asked me if I knew him and I looked at her and said "Yes, mom...there is a Santa Claus and I know him!!!"

Eisenhower Library in Kansas

Mom wanted to go to the Eisenhower Presidential Library before her surgery. So, over 4th of July week mom and I took a couple of days and went to see the sites. The Library complex is really pretty with 5 different building to tour. We had a lot of fun, and most of all mom really enjoyed it - that was why we went.

One of the buildings was the final resting place of Eisenhower, his wife, and one of their sons. It is a mediation chapel with beautiful stain glass. Then there was the boyhood home of Ike, which was a great tour back in time. I could have stayed in there and looked at the old furniture and fixtures. We also toured the library and museum. Really a nice time.

Before we went to Kansas we stopped at Independence Center so I could return a set of sheets I had bought at Macy's. It would be nice to get a King Size Fitted Sheet with the set of sheets. They gave me my money back which made me happy. After that we met my brother for dessert at Chili's. I had the white chocolate molten cake...too die for! I can't wait to have another one...it is a meal in itself.

On the way home, by the way the part of Kansas is really pretty with the rolling hills that are not cluttered with billboards, stores, and exits. Mom and I really loved the scenery.

Anyway, on our way home we stopped at Nebraska Furniture Mart. We bought mom a new TV and she wanted a new cabinet for it. I wish someone would have told me that I needed a motel room to shop there!! We only had about 20 minutes and we had a hard time finding what we were looking for there, but we did. Mom is really happy with the cabinet she bought. After she picked out her prize I wanted to check and see if they had any under-the-cabinet radio for our kitchen. I have not been able to find one in Columbia - but did find one there. I was so happy.

After we spent all our money there we stopped at Bob Evans to see our Friend Terri who was in Kansas City from Denver and her mom. Then we headed home - finally!!

Mom's surgery is scheduled...

Mom is having surgery on July 16th - one day short of one month from her official diagnosis. The surgery will be at Columbia Regional Hospital and she is the only case for this day since her surgery is so intense and they are unsure of how long the surgery will take. The doctor(s) said the surgery should last between 3-5 hours but may last 8 if they see a problem. He said that he plans on being done in time for lunch, but I don't know what time his lunch is...11...12...1...2??? I am planning on 5 so that I am not walking the floor after 3 hours. I have a lot of things to do while I am sitting up there, so I am not worried about waiting just worried about the pain mom will experience after the surgery during recovery. I know this is the best thing for her in this situation and fully support the decision that she has made about her body and future.

This surgery is such that she will have 2 doctors doing the surgery. This means that there will be 2 sets of eyes, hands, and the best 2 brains with each over 20 years experience in this surgery. So, she is in really good hands I think. Keep her in your prayers.