Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Old photos
These photo's are from my Grandparent's wedding on the right and their 50th wedding anniversary on the left. almost 3 years ago they celebrated their 65th and my Grandfather passed away a year ago on their 66th wedding anniversary.
Both clippings are from the Hannibal courior post.
January...winter
It's winter.
been cold. WOrk has been kinda slow lately... a really good thing if you think about it. My parents came up this past weekend.. they brough a box of old pictures from my grandmothers house to sort through... been fun seeing so many old photos esp of when my mom was little. and of susie and pop's (grandparents) wedding. I will scan in a few and put them up..... pictures are so much better than words..... don't you think? ya... so I will shut up now....
been cold. WOrk has been kinda slow lately... a really good thing if you think about it. My parents came up this past weekend.. they brough a box of old pictures from my grandmothers house to sort through... been fun seeing so many old photos esp of when my mom was little. and of susie and pop's (grandparents) wedding. I will scan in a few and put them up..... pictures are so much better than words..... don't you think? ya... so I will shut up now....
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Cancer Sucks!
This post is again about a patient. Sometimes my job is hard. and this provides me with an outlet to "let it out". and to tell their stories... So their spirits shine and to help me gain perspective and understanding. Well here is Belinda's story off of Caring Bridge... its a public site so I don't think She would mind me copying it.
All of you know Belinda so therefore you know that she is a very sweet young women. You also know that she is a strong person and she can handle anything with great integrity. This has not changed her at all it has made her a stronger person. Now that I have told you what you all ready know. She came to the hospital on April 3,2007, she was in renal failure and her blood count was 4.5.(for everyone that doesn't know that means she has a third of the blood in her body that she needs to survive. They did a ultrasound and found a tumor under her uterus. The tumor size is 11 by 4 and 9 by 6 cm. On April 4, they flew her to St.Louis Children's hospital, where she had emergency surgery to put stints in her kidneys. At the time of the surgery they biopsied the tumor to see if it was Cancer. After surgery she went to the PICU. She under went serveal test to see what damage the tumor had done. She was so weak they were trying to figure out why. She moved to the 9th floor on the 6th of April. On April the 8 we found out that the tumor was indeed cancer. But they were still unsure how they were going to treat it at this time. So that started to waiting game for us. On April 12we decided what kind of chemo she would recivie. On the 15th of April she had her first round of chemo. That shut down the stints that they had put in her kidneys. So she was rushed back to surgery and had tubes put straight in her kidneys to drain the urine. On the 19th of April she got a second round of chemo. This round paralyzed her bowels on the 23rd of April. So on the25th of April we went back to the PICU. We are trying to see if she had a bowel obstruction.On the 6th of May they found that she did have the obstruction. So on May 10 she had surgery. She now has a colostomy bag to help the bowels out. She went through surgery great and is doing good. We moved back to the 9th floor on the 11th of May. She loves her new room and is doing good.
Well since that time.... Belinda had developed neuropathys from the Chemotherapy drugs. So walking and writing had become very difficult for her. She stuggled hard to work through pain and deal with the cards she had been dealt. December 17th 2008 was Belinda's 18th birthday and also the day of "the surgery" She was to get a complete tumor removal, hysterectomy and colostomy reversal. She was so glad the the tumor appeared in the scans to be necrotic (dead) and although she could never have children she would not have to worry further about future tumor growth in the same area ( a frequent area for the type of tumor she had.) She only had 3 more Chemotherapies left in her treatment. and the day before her birthday her hospital roommate had completed her last Chemotherapy... everyone was so excited for the roommate and I could see that Belinda was excited for her turn. Things have a way of not always working out the way we want them too. Belinda went for surgery but when they opened her abdomen they found many small tumors which had the same appearance of her large uterine tumor... they call those metastases. and its bad. they were not able to perform the surgeries as planned due to the extent of the tumors. Belinda will have to deal with the reality that this cancer is spreading quickly, despite aggressive chemotherapy. Doctors are searching for experimental treatments which may help. But they are not too optimistic. On her freaking birthday... Belinda wrote a song.... and I heard her sing it yesterday... called Cancer Sucks. it does. it sucks bad.
The doctors wanted me to get her up out of bed yesterday so she doesn't get pneumonia after surgery. It was the hardest thing I have had to do... suck it up and just do it. know that it isn't the end... More than a bump... but not the end. and we can never give up. although things look bleak, There still is life... and I can help her live it the best I know how. ...
Sorry for the long sad post. but... it had to come out.
All of you know Belinda so therefore you know that she is a very sweet young women. You also know that she is a strong person and she can handle anything with great integrity. This has not changed her at all it has made her a stronger person. Now that I have told you what you all ready know. She came to the hospital on April 3,2007, she was in renal failure and her blood count was 4.5.(for everyone that doesn't know that means she has a third of the blood in her body that she needs to survive. They did a ultrasound and found a tumor under her uterus. The tumor size is 11 by 4 and 9 by 6 cm. On April 4, they flew her to St.Louis Children's hospital, where she had emergency surgery to put stints in her kidneys. At the time of the surgery they biopsied the tumor to see if it was Cancer. After surgery she went to the PICU. She under went serveal test to see what damage the tumor had done. She was so weak they were trying to figure out why. She moved to the 9th floor on the 6th of April. On April the 8 we found out that the tumor was indeed cancer. But they were still unsure how they were going to treat it at this time. So that started to waiting game for us. On April 12we decided what kind of chemo she would recivie. On the 15th of April she had her first round of chemo. That shut down the stints that they had put in her kidneys. So she was rushed back to surgery and had tubes put straight in her kidneys to drain the urine. On the 19th of April she got a second round of chemo. This round paralyzed her bowels on the 23rd of April. So on the25th of April we went back to the PICU. We are trying to see if she had a bowel obstruction.On the 6th of May they found that she did have the obstruction. So on May 10 she had surgery. She now has a colostomy bag to help the bowels out. She went through surgery great and is doing good. We moved back to the 9th floor on the 11th of May. She loves her new room and is doing good.
Well since that time.... Belinda had developed neuropathys from the Chemotherapy drugs. So walking and writing had become very difficult for her. She stuggled hard to work through pain and deal with the cards she had been dealt. December 17th 2008 was Belinda's 18th birthday and also the day of "the surgery" She was to get a complete tumor removal, hysterectomy and colostomy reversal. She was so glad the the tumor appeared in the scans to be necrotic (dead) and although she could never have children she would not have to worry further about future tumor growth in the same area ( a frequent area for the type of tumor she had.) She only had 3 more Chemotherapies left in her treatment. and the day before her birthday her hospital roommate had completed her last Chemotherapy... everyone was so excited for the roommate and I could see that Belinda was excited for her turn. Things have a way of not always working out the way we want them too. Belinda went for surgery but when they opened her abdomen they found many small tumors which had the same appearance of her large uterine tumor... they call those metastases. and its bad. they were not able to perform the surgeries as planned due to the extent of the tumors. Belinda will have to deal with the reality that this cancer is spreading quickly, despite aggressive chemotherapy. Doctors are searching for experimental treatments which may help. But they are not too optimistic. On her freaking birthday... Belinda wrote a song.... and I heard her sing it yesterday... called Cancer Sucks. it does. it sucks bad.
The doctors wanted me to get her up out of bed yesterday so she doesn't get pneumonia after surgery. It was the hardest thing I have had to do... suck it up and just do it. know that it isn't the end... More than a bump... but not the end. and we can never give up. although things look bleak, There still is life... and I can help her live it the best I know how. ...
Sorry for the long sad post. but... it had to come out.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Chicago
Just got back from Chicago.... had a confrence about neurodevelopmental treatment for children with C.P. It was at the rehab institute at northwestern university. Loved the city went with a friend from work..... from our hotel we could walk everywhere. It was a tad cold being January and all but it was at least in the 30's as highs and no snow.... The confrence took most of our time but we did go out for dinner a couple of nights. one nice italian place and then to a japanise place where they cook in front of you. expensive.... both nights. but fun and good. We did a little window shopping on michagan ave. theat was cool. any way its getting late and I am finnaly getting tired....
Sunday, January 6, 2008
My eyes are still pink...
I was hoping that the pink eye would resolve its been more than 5 days... guess I have a pretty bad case of it. They do feel better than they did a couple of days ago... but my vision is still compromised. Its beautiful outside today. I spent some time raking leaves and picking up in the yard I still need to go finish... but i got tired. so I quite for a min.... played a little solitaire and blog a little... I am cooking.... not sure how it will turn out I used marinated mushrooms on chicken in the crock pot... so in about 3 more hours I should know something... but really can't you do just about anything to chicken? I plan to add some rice or noodles towards the end... see what happens...
Friday, January 4, 2008
It's not pink eye....
It's True.....
That was the news today... despite the fact that the 12e residents told me its not pink eye and the doctor at the urgent care center said it's allergies.... The Dr. at the eye clinic finally said those dreaded words.... It's viral pink eye and those drops won't help you. so just stay off work for 5 days and don't touch anything... I felt really bad because one of my patients also has pink eye and at least one 12e nurse. I was litterally escorted out when I tried to stay long enough to get my paperwork together. Apparently it is quite contagious. So I am stuck at home..... and it is kinda hard to see. stupid pink eye!!!! so here is the down low on this nasty little viral infection so you can steer clear.
Pinkeye - Topic Overview
Pinkeye (also called conjunctivitis) is redness and swelling of the conjunctiva, the mucous membrane that lines the eyelid and eye surface. The lining of the eye is usually clear. If irritation or infection occurs, the lining becomes red and swollen. See illustrations of a normal eye and one with conjunctivitis.
Pinkeye is very common. It usually is not serious and goes away in 7 to 10 days without medical treatment.
Common symptoms of pinkeye are:
Eye redness (hyperemia).
Swollen, red eyelids.
More tearing than usual.
Feeling as if something is in the eye (foreign-body sensation or keratoconjunctivitis).
An itching or burning feeling.
Mild sensitivity to light (photophobia).
Drainage from the eye.
Most cases of pinkeye are caused by:
Infections caused by viruses or bacteria.
Dry eyes from lack of tears or exposure to wind and sun.
Chemicals, fumes, or smoke (chemical conjunctivitis).
Allergies.
Viral and bacterial pinkeye are contagious and spread very easily. Since most pinkeye is caused by viruses for which there is usually no medical treatment, preventing its spread is important. Poor hand-washing is the main cause of the spread of pinkeye. Sharing an object, such as a washcloth or towel, with a person who has pinkeye can spread the infection. For tips on how to prevent the spread of pinkeye, see the Prevention section of this topic.
People with infectious pinkeye should not attend school or go to work until symptoms improve.
If the pinkeye is caused by a virus, the person can usually return to day care, school, or work when symptoms begin to improve, typically in 3 to 5 days. Medicines are not usually used to treat viral pinkeye, so it is important to prevent the spread of the infection. Pinkeye caused by a herpes virus, which is rare, can be treated with an antiviral medicine. Home treatment of viral pinkeye symptoms can help you feel more comfortable while the infection goes away.
If the pinkeye is caused by bacteria, the person can usually return to day care, school, or work 24 hours after an antibiotic has been started if symptoms have improved. Prescription antibiotic treatment usually kills the bacteria that cause pinkeye.
Pinkeye may be more serious if you:
Have a condition that decreases your body's ability to fight infection (impaired immune system). Have vision in only one eye.
Wear contact lenses.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
