Update on My Grandma

Well, she had her surgery to unblock her colon and remove the cancer. They had to remove the whole sigmoid part of her colon. She will have a colostomy bag for atleast 6 weeks then they will have to reattach it in about 6 weeks. Right now she is in ICU. After she came out of surgery she had problems with her blood pressure being too low. Last night she started to go in to A-Fib, which is a type of irregular heart beat. They gave her meds for that. She takes daily meds and hasn't taken them since she has been NPO all week. So, they think that probably contributed to her irregular heart beats. The doctor came and talked to us just now. Said that they are about to give her a liter of blood because her blood levels are low.

It sucks because in the ICU she can only have visitors at 5am, 10am, 1pm, 5pm, 9pm. And you can visit only for 20 minutes and only 2-3 people at a time. Meaning, all of us have to share the 20 minutes. They said she would be in ICU for another day since they are giving her the blood and reassess in the morning.

She still does have the mass on her liver. I asked the doctor about it and he said we have to get her through this first and then she will see an oncologist for that later. So, she has a long road ahead of her.

I found out that the orginal reason why she was admitted was because she had a kidney, bladder, and infection in her blood. And they did a CT scan thinking to find a kidney stone and maybe constipation... instead they found these masses. The doctor said she is a tough lady. She is really good about not letting people know she isn't feeling good. My family said Monday while she was in the hospital before her surgery she was moving around in bed as if she was uncomfortable. So, they asked if she was ready for more pain medication. She said no, she wasn't hurting that bad. But, they ended up coming in to give her some and she told the nurse she was hurting at an 8 on 1-10 scale. So, she doesn't like us to worry about her, so she hides things.

I got here at 5am with my dad to see her and the first thing she said to me was... You didn't have to drive all the way over here.

I wish I was able to see her more... You would think when they are sick that they would want their family around more often than an hour a day.

Well, I will keep updating. Please keep praying. She really needs us right now.

My Grandma

Our family just can't catch a break. My Grandma Barbara was having bilateral flank pains and blood in her urine. She was admitted to the hospital yesterday for testing. CT scan revealed a mass on her liver and lesions on her colon. She will have a biopsy done tomorrow sometime. Then on Thursday they will go in and remove the mass. We are all praying and praying its not malignant. I can't miss another day of school at this point. I have 2 1/2 weeks left, then I'm out for 3 weeks. I just feel guilty that I cannot just up and leave and go and be there for her. We will find out tomorrow how serious it is... the wait is going to kill me. I will pray and pray. I can't imagine my life without her and I just can't bare to think about it right now... I'm trying to have a positive attitude right now, but its just so scary. I plan to go over there Thursday after school and come back Monday. Everyone just please pray with us.

Brian ate bananas for the first time at Maw's house. You can't tell that he likes them by the look on his face... but he opened his mouth for some more each time.

The Weekend

We are spending the weekend at Matt's moms house in Oklahoma. The kids love it here. They ran and played outside all day yesterday. Stephen loves the four-wheeler. I gave rides to all the kids and Bubba hated that he had to share with the other kids. When I wasn't giving rides... he was sitting on the four-wheeler. Aunt Janie and Uncle Ted came to see the kids. Stephen wouldn't even speak to Aunt Janie! He must have been tired. Last night, it felt so good outside that we slept with all the windows open. It was nice.

MIA

So, I have been missing in action....

Last Monday (April 13th) I had to take a MedSurg test in Gainsville at school. I have been having some kidney pains but thought it was a UTI that would pass. As I was taking my test I started to get really uncomfortable. I finished my test and went straight to the ladie's room. I was unable to urinate. I told my teacher that I was starting to hurt really bad and that I thought I needed to head to the ER. I called my mom and Matt while I was driving there. My intentions were to make it home to HEB Hospital. I only made it Denton and couldn't stand the pain anymore. My mom was going to get my sister and meet me there so someone could drive my car home. I checked myself in and I was okay. They took me to my room and before I could even get a gown on I was greeted by the doctor. She examined me... then they came in and started an IV with fluids. I started hurting really really really bad. I was paseing and moaning and groaning... like a crazy person needing pain meds. The nurse came in and said that they had to wait for my pregnancy test to come back before medicating me. So, I waited... and pased... and moaned... and groaned... I was hurting so bad... I think I would have said 11 on a 1-10 scale. Worst than child birth. They were pushing fluids through an IV and I told them I was unable to urinate. I kept grabbing my saline bag and going to the bathroom... nothing. Finally, an hour and a half later they come in a give me Turgadol. TURGADOL? Come on... HEB always gives Morphine. So, anyways.... they take me to CT scan. Doctor comes in and says Yes I have a 5mm kidney stone. Here is some pain meds and sends me home. I sleep the rest of the day... Wake up the next morning for clinicals.

So, I felt okay the next morning... a little sore, but better. I am in the OR watching a 10 year old girl getting her wrist set back in place due to a fracture. Suddenly, the pain is back... Not as bad as the day before... but I knew it would be a matter of time. I run back to pre-op area to find my teacher. We fiddle around trying to see if there is a urologist I could see at the hospital. Damn, he is in surgery. Finally, we deciede I just need to head to HEB, pronto. So, a friend from school follows me to HEB. I get checked in.... I get morphine... IV with fluids... They order all of my records from the hospital in Denton, plus order a X-Ray to compare to see if the stone had moved at all. The doctor comes in and says that my urine is full of WBCs & RBCs so I probably have infection. The CT from Denton showed my kidney to be enlarged. So, he was calling for a Urologist consult and they would probably want to remove it surgically due to the kidney issue.

So, I stayed the night at the hospital and had the stone removed the next day. I had a stent places from my kidney to my bladder due to the trauma. It kept the tube open so I was able to urinate. Sunday morning I had to pull the stent out myself. I have a string taped to the inside of my leg. It didn't hurt as I was pulling it out... but my kidney started to cramp about an hour later.

So, thats what has been happening around here. Today Matt and I have been married 3 years :) Yesterday Brian is officially 5 months old. Yay. We gave him some bananas today and he loved it. You couldn't tell by his facial expressions...but he opened his mouth for some more.

Sorry

I haven't been updating. I have been under the weather due to having a massive kidney stone removed. I have a stent in my kidney draining to my bladder that I have to remove on Sunday. So, I will have to update then.

Easter has come and gone again...

We had a great Easter. My mom cooked lots of food and we hung out over here. Here are all of our pictures from today. The password to view is jaicee24

http://s214.photobucket.com/albums/cc58/ManhardBabies/2009%2004%2012/