ANSWERS.........

Well here we go again, we went to dinner and when we returned there were orders to put the NG tube back.  Mom had declined to have it back until we returned.  She felt that if she was throwing it up why did she need to have it sucked out.  The response from the Dr was Ok, but I think she should have it.  My experience with Coop was that throwing up was not good when you are trying to make the bowels work.  When you throw up your body pushes everything up and you are looking for the action of pulling things down so it's not good.  I explaineed this to Mom and of course if the NG tube was a better course of action she was willing to do it.  It is amazing what explaining something will do.  So now I want answers and I expressed that to the nurse.  I asked for a conference call with the doctor and she was more than happy and willing to do that for us.  The doctor actually answered my questions and everything he said did make sense.  I only wish he would do this without being drilled.  Anyway, what is important is that she has a small part of the bowel that is not pushing the bile to the colon.  This could be a blockage or it could just be slow waking up.  If it is blockage and does not clear on its own they may have to go back in to remove the blockage.  She is still retaining fluid because the tissue is still retaining it which happens after trauma.  Her white blood count is up about 5% and this is not what they wanted to see but with no other signs of infection, they are not alarmed about this yet.  They will pull blood again in the morning and we will see what the count is then.  This will determine a lot about how I feel tomorrow.  Her NG tube is finally in place.  This was brutal for her because she had swelling from the previous time and it took them 3 tries to get it in.  It was awful but Mom is so strong! The NG tube will be in for at least 2 days and then we'll see.

I am so not ready to leave.  I feel so responsible for her and I don't know why.  It will kill me to leave tomorrow.  I have to get the kids back home for school and have to work but let me tell you if things have not drastically changed I will be back for the weekend.  Raelynn and Cooper are starting to miss us.  With Terry home and me here they have been staying with my oldest sister since Thursday and she has taken great care of them but there reaches a time they just need their Mommy.  Not to mention there reaches a time their Mommy just needs them.  Tonight at dinner Raelynn kissed me 100 times and when I got ready to leave Coop just kept hugging me.  Those things tear at my heart and bring tears to my eyes just why I am thinking about them.  I am so thankful for my Dad and sisters because together we are here for her.  Now I know why Mom had 4 kids, it takes us all to play the role that is needed to care for one of us when someone is sick.  I remember every time Coop has been in the hospital everyone finds their role and makes sure no one is left uncared for.

Mom is strong and she will get there eventually but we are still accepting prayers :)  Thank you to everyone back home in Lawrence for all your kind text, comments and emails.  You all never fail to amaze me in your kindness and willingness to help.  You all rock!!!

DID I MENTION UP AND DOWNS……..

Last night went well.  They pulled Mom's NG Tube about 2:30am.  This morning she was up and showered and they started her on a slow diet of liquid and Popsicles.  Her bowels were beginning to work and even her urine output was increasing.  This afternoon she started feeling more bloated and just yucky again.  About 3:30pm she threw up a lot of bile.  Now as gross as that sounds, it looked worse.  Her urine was also getting very "dirty" looking.  They called the doctor and took the food/liquids away again.  She now can have 1 teaspoon of ice every 20 minutes and that is the very most.  The doctor continues to indicate this is just the process but there just seems to be some unanswered questions.  I am not sure why she threw up bile and I am not sure why her urine is so cloudy.  The doctor has not been by to question but the nurse continues to relay from him that everything is just taking time to work correctly.  Trust me I understand this and understand the importance of patience at a hospital, however, I really like concrete answers or at least guesses as to why something is happening rather than avoiding those direct questions with, "It takes time?".  I intend to spend the rest of the evening researching everything I can find about appendectomies and everything else related.  Anyway, as you can tell I am just getting a little irritated with the lack of answers.  I am probably also a little irritated because I know tomorrow I have to leave and I am worried.  I am worried someone won't be sitting here 24/7 following exactly what's going on.  Anyway, we are getting ready for a family dinner thanks to Steph's Mother-in-law (Thanks so much Shelli) and that will give us a chance to regroup and see where we go from here.

It is also snowing here and COLD!  Mom has loved having visitors and I thank all her Scott City family and friends for their visits and prayers!!!

UP-DOWN-UP AGAIN!!!!!

To all of those waiting for a post, I am sorry, Mom has kept me busy!  So I left you last night on the "Up" but things quickly turned "Down".  I think we are just going to pretend nights are days from here on out because it seems the nights are bad news.  Last night her urine output virtually stopped and what was there became very dark.  They started pushing IV fluids like crazy but nothing helped.  She got very bloated and the nurse called the doctor several times.  About 3am they got her up to walk around but that didn't go well either.  Mom was starting to get miserable again and we were all getting concerned.  They x-rayed her stomach again and we waited.  Early this morning we again had the dilemma whether to keep her here or transport her to Wichita.  It was a difficult decision because there were pros and cons both ways.  If things did not improve they would need to cut her abdomen to release some of the pressure and this was not a procedure that could be done at this hospital.  I am not use to not having all procedures available so this was difficult for me.  However, Mom and Dad are comfortable here and it was unknown whether or not this would not be needed.  It was 1 hour and 10minutes from the time they call Eagle Med to the time they reach Wichita.  We decided to keep her here but made her PROMISE to disclose anything that seemed to worsen and we would transport immediately.  They changed her pain meds and there we were.  By mid morning Steph came to the hospital and I headed to Mom and Dad's to shower.  Mom asked that I go by her work to see if they needed anything and to visit Grandma.   I got back to the hospital about 12:30pm and Mom looked great!  A few hours later her bowels started gurgling and she was starving.  She now has her NG Tube clamped and if it she does not get nauseous by 7:30pm they will remove the NG Tube.  The urine is still an issue but all in all we are looking good once again.  I am choosing to pretend that we are now entering another day and skipping the night time all together:)

It sounds like Karli has the Christmas Decorations down and Mom and Dad's house clean.  Raelynn has spent the day with Chandler and Cooper is at Hunter's Day Care I hope also having fun.  Raelynn got to visit Mom today and I LOVE that the tubes coming from her do not phase Raelynn at all.  I love how comfortable we both are at the hospital and see it as one more thing Coop gave us!  Thanks for every one's prayers as they are being answered little by little!

HAPPY TO BE AT THE HOSPITAL....

Well what a difference a few hours can make.  Late last night Sherri called and said medically Mom was ok but she was very agitated and felt horrible.  You could tell Sherri was a little stressed and that Mom was not doing as well as we had thought.  I told her we would be up for the weekend and stay with Mom and help out.  Then by this morning Dad was calling and said things were not going well.  Mom had gotten very sick over night and her white blood count was up and she had blood in her urine.  The girls and I started getting things arranged so we could head to Scott City or wherever as there was talk about transporting her out.  They pumped her stomach and by this afternoon she had made improvements.  We all arrived about 6pm and she was doing much better.  I am currently at the hospital with her and will be for the night.  I have slept many nights at hospitals and by this time I don't mind at all.  It gives me comfort to know I am here with her if she needs anything.  She has an NG Tube that is keeping everything off of her stomach and she is currently on oxygen due to a low SAT level. She has a foley in and has a UTI.  She is in some pain but they are trying to find her something that is a little more comfortable for her than the Morphine.  She did get up and take a walk this evening which I think she  really needed.  She can have NOTHING by mouth which means no food and no liquids.  Therefore her mouth is extremely dry.  I cannot imagine how hungry she must be as she has not ate in days, at least since last Friday.  They of course have IV fluids giving her the nutrients she needs but she is dying for a Coca-Cola.  She will be here for awhile but considering how things looked this morning I would say we are just lucky to have been able to stay here without being transported. Her nursing staff has been awesome since I have been here.  It is funny to be in a small town though.  Mom's CNA went to school with Karli and Dad has worked with her nurse many times.    It just makes me chuckle.  There are already rumors flying around town which again makes me chuckle.  Small towns are unique but one thing is for sure, in times like these it is nice to have people you know around you.

Thank you to everyone for their thoughts ad prayers.  Thank you Tom for being understanding and letting me leave to be with my Mom when I needed to be.  Thank you to my co-workers for picking up the slack.  Thank you to Terry who just helps me do what I need to do.  Thank you to my kids who are so laid back and just roll with whatever life throws our way.  Thank you to my family for all sticking together.  Thank you to my friends that offer any way they can help.  You all rock and once again, I love and appreciate you all!!!

HAPPY 2014!!!!

And so 2013 comes to an end with a little excitement and 2014 starts with a little relief!  Yesterday was full of surprises!  My day started bright and early as I dropped my car off for a service about 7:25am.  I got a ride back to my office with one of our clients which was a nice surprise and visit.  I arrived in plenty of time to open up except for one small thing……I left my office key on the key ring with my car key at the dealership!!!!  I went in to one of the offices next to us who was nice enough to let me sit there and work and watch our door to make sure no one came.  I stayed there until one of my co-workers arrived and then started my day.  Everything was fine and work was good until a little after lunch and things got CRAZY!  I was slammed at work and my desk was piling higher and higher.  I had a couple great visits with clients and even though I knew I would never get out of there by 5pm, I didn't expect what came next.  About 3pm I got a call and my Mom was in the ER.  She had been sick since Christmas with what we thought was the flu.  Come to find our her appendix had ruptured Thursday or Friday and her body was filled with the poison.  Sherri and Dad were there with Mom and Steph, Karli and I were miles away just waiting on updates.  She went in to emergency surgery late afternoon.  I got off work a little late and had plans to go over to friends house for New Year's Eve celebration but weren't sure whether we would be on the road to Scott City or not.  We kept in touch with Dad and Sherri and Mom's surgery went well but the next 24 hours were critical.  I have to say it made for a nervous New Year's but by 10pm I felt better knowing she was out of surgery and settled for the evening.  We spent the evening with the Cozadd's and had some good laughs.  It was hard though knowing that Mom was critical for the next 24 hours. I was thankful to be surrounded by good friends though.

This morning we started the New Year off with fantastic news that Mom was doing great!!!!!  She will be on antibiotics and in the hospital for a while but she was doing well.  It was a huge relief and I even got to talk to her which made me feel better.  The unexpected always makes me appreciate my day to day uneventful life.  Things like this also are a reminder how lucky we are to have our family and how precious everyone really is.  We love you so much Mom and am so thankful you are ok!!!

Today flew by and tomorrow it is back to work to welcome 2014.  I have high hopes and big plans for the upcoming year and can't wait to get started!