Retraction... Thanks Nurse Shannon

So... There's a reason why Shannon should be blogging all the medical jargin...
- there's 1,000ml in 1 liter... so my math was a little off
- Mom had a pericardial window not a pericardium.
Lastly and probably most important...
- Mom was at SANford... not STANford...

Oye Vey...

any ways,
Mom's been resting a lot and trying to gain back some of her strength. She has a doctor's appointment with Dr. McHale today and we'll know more about where we go from here after she see's him. It's only been a week since her surgery (not even) and sleep is necessary for her recovery. Visitors are more than welcome; just give her a call, she would love to see you!
Thank you for your love, thoughts and prayers.
-A

WE HAVE A PLAN!

Mom's doctors, cardiologists and surgeons have finally reached a decision.
Tomorrow (we think) they will be doing another pericardium window - and Shannon, you can correct me on that later. The one they did at her last hospital visit has closed, so there is a need to open it up again. Also, they'll be working on getting a tube in her chest to help her hook up to a machine and drain the fluid off her lungs weekly or daily as needed.
Again, once Shannon reads this she'll tell me what I posted wrong, so I'll get back to you, but that's the general plan right now.
Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers!

Homeward Bound!

Mom’s headed home after a day of poking and prodding.
They found NO NEW CANCER GROWTH in neither her lung nor her lung fluid; which they drained the other day.
She’s on a strong antibiotic as they’re certain she has Pneumonia, which requires a lot of rest, and antibiotics.
She figures she has an Iron lung and that her right lung must be pretty strong to be dragging her left lung along for the ride.
The doctor (Cardiologist) will follow up with her in Sioux Falls on Friday to see how the fluid around her heart is doing, they feel it will dissolve itself.
So, Shannon is taking her back to Watertown, Nurse Shannon says after she eats they’ll start the discharge because she’s still a little groggy from the anesthesia, She’ll eat at 5:45pm and Mom says she’ll be running out the door and on the road by 6:05pm.
Glad to hear the pneumonia isn’t taking the spunk out of her! Great to end the week on a happy note; Thanks for all your prayers!
-a

Round Two

Mom went in for her PET scan yesterday and after some blood work found out that her hemoglobin level was at an 8. Nurse Shannon could tell me what that means, but I'd get lost half way through. Any ways, Mom is in the chair currently this morning recieving another blood transfusion. Hopefully it will rejuvinate her and make her feel less tired and lethargic.

We will find out the results of her PET scan on the 27th and for now we've all got our fingers, toes and limbs crossed that it comes back clean!

Please send your prayers and love to Mom as she's trucking along!
all my Love,
-a

In with the New

It's been a rough day back in the Dakota's.
Mom spent most of her day in the hospital with her Mom (My Grandma Nani) because Nani was up all night with shortness of breath, and pain in her arm (from what I gather) Nani is currently in the hospital waiting for her blood to thicken and get an Angiogram.

While Mom was hanging out at the hospital she noticed her eyes were a hue of yellow, so she went to the clinic to see her doctors. After tests her doctor decided that since her Hemoglobin was low she should have a blood transfusion (to recieve blood) done tomorrow; so she will find herself spending time in the clinic tomorrow. The yellowing of her eyes was mostly due to the fact that she's burst a few blood vessels in her eyes due to vomiting and the yellow is a sign her eyes are healing from that trauma. To complicate things just a little bit Mom has a really rare type of blood so it will keep the nurses on their toes tomorrow for sure.

Here's an interesting article by the ACS as to why cancer patients may need a transfusion.

So, here we go Momma... in with some new blood to help your body heal!

Please keep her in your prayers as she heads to the clinic, and say a few for Grandma Nani too!

All the Love, Abby

and for the record if Nurse Shannon is tuning in... I googled the terms to make sure I didn't misuse them... how'd I do?

Port-a-Cath - Another installment of NURSE SHANNON

Mom’s out of surgery this morning and feeling okay, they’re currently at the hospital waiting for her blood pressure to return to normal.
This morning the Doctor’s Put in a Port-a-Cath for her chemotherapy treatments.
So, Here's your explanation of Mom's treatments Via...

NURSE SHANNON!!!!
Mom is going into surgery tomorrow (7-10-09) to have a port-a-cath placed. A port-a-cath is an IV access device that is placed under the skin and usually sits under the collar bone on the left or right side of the chest. This is nice for her because they won't have to poke her every time she receives chemo or other IV medicine. And they can also draw blood from her port, so she won't have to get poked for that either. This website has a good explanation and good diagram of a port-a-cath.

PORT A CATH DIAGRAM

Then on Wednesday the 15th of July should be her first chemo treatment. She may have her first radiation treatment on that day or the next. They really haven't set a definite date for that yet. Then, she will have radiation therapy 5 days a week for six weeks and chemo every Monday. He explained (Dr. Brindle-Oncologist/Radiologist) that the chemo she will receive (can't remember the name) during radiation will aid in killing the cancer cells so they won't re-grow. Somehow it blocks something in the DNA (too complicated for me) so it can't "replicate". So, that's the plan for now. Hope it was helpful, will let you know more when I know more. Love You bunches!Shannon

Sounds like she will be moving slowly for the next couple days, but this also means that the beginning of the treatment is near.
Thank you all for your continued love and prayers,
All the Love in the Universe, Abby

PS: A BIG Thank you to Shannon Dorsett for dontating to my Relay for Life walk! $50 bucks! Holy COW! Thank YOU!

Why My Sister is a nurse...

Hey Ab! Read the blog, and thought it is great. Just wanted to correct you on a couple of terms ;). The spot in her lung is a mass (not mast). It is putting pressure on her pulmonary artery, not the ventricles. The pulmonary artery carries blood from the heart to the lungs. It is also putting pressure on her airway, which narrows it causing shortness of breath and increased risk for infection like pneumonia. The full body scan that she is having on Mon is a PET scan. They inject a kind of radioactive sugar into your blood stream and cancer cells metabolize sugar faster than healthy cells. So when they do the scan, all of the cancer cells in her body will glow on the scan. So then they will know exactly where all the cancer is. Thanks for doing the blog. I Love You! Shannon


I was serriously laughing OUT LOUD when I read this... it's so me to screw something like this up... see... told you I'd miss some things, this is why i'm counting on others to keep me on track... so I'll correct my other post... but for now just read this... :) Thank you Sis I love you.