Out of ICU

Mom didn't get much rest last night. They had a busy night in the SICU. I was given another scare when I was in here with her. Her telemetry monitor alarmed and showed the cardiac rhythm ventricular tachycardia...I've never dealt with it on Labor & Delivery, but I know enough about it to know it's not good. I saw several nurses running in the direction of her room. Mom panicked when I asked her how she was feeling. Just then I looked in the crack from the blinds through the window into the next room and saw everyone in there. That was when I realized that the V-Tach was in room 2. If I would have looked closer I would have seen that on the monitor.

This afternoon, Mom got moved out of SICU a day or two ahead of schedule and to a cardio/pulmonary/telemetry floor. Today has been a little rough for her. She is in a lot of pain and the epidural isn't keeping up with it. She got some morphine in her IV during lunch that helped her a great deal. The coughing is still what it was last night. She is going to get sick of us telling her to cough, but it's what she needs. She is so tired right now, the only sleep she got since Saturday night was the 6-1/2 hours she was in surgery.

Right now they are trying to decide what to do for her pain. I think they are leaning in the direction the starting her on a PCA pump and removing the epidural. I think they are wondering if the epidural was working in the first place....Yup, Dr. Ludwikowski just came in and removed her epidural so they can start her on the PCA.

My only concern with her is that her oxygen saturation levels (O2 sats) were 98-99% post-op and into this morning, but around 11:00 this morning they started to decrease gradually to 89-92%. I'm hoping (because this would be the best scenario) that it's because she's hurting and breathing shallow, but we'll see how she see does once her pain is back under control.

Tonight Dad is staying with her and I'm going home. However, I'm leaving him with strict orders to call for anything. He better!

She's Resting

We got to go to Mom's room and visit. She seems to being doing very well. She's wanting to stay awake to entertain Dad and I. We're taking shifts at her bedside encouraging her to go to sleep. She told me that she is scared to go to sleep because she's scared she will wake up coughing and that it will hurt. We keep encouraging her that she needs to cough and the epidural will help with the pain.

Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers. Words cannot express how grateful we are for everything everyone has done for us. We are truly blessed.

Update-Out of Recovery

We just got to see Mom since she was taken to surgery. They let us say hello on the way from the recovery room to the SICU. She looked good, all things considered. She said she thought the epidural was working well......

We just got the crap scared out of us. They just called a "Code Blue, Surgical ICU" I ran down there to see people coming out of her room. Just when the moment of panic set in to try to bust down the door, her ICU nurse came out of her room saying, "Sorry guys, that was an accident." Yes, an accident. They hit the Code Blue button by mistake. Well, they passed the test when it comes to responding to codes here.

Anyways, as I was saying, she said the epidural was working well and she didn't look like she was in too much pain. I'm sure she is still very sedated, but she looks good. We'll get to go in and see her in about an hour.

Update-Mom Is Out Of Surgery

Dr. Seligson just came to talk to us. Mom just got out of surgery about 10 minutes ago. The tumor and right upper lobe were removed. He said it was complicated because on the bronchoscopy he saw the tumor protruding into the mainstem bronchus. This creates a complication because you can't just cut through it like you normally would, you have to cut above and below the tumor and then put the two pieces back together again. Which according to him takes an extra hour. He said that the right upper lobe had not been getting any air for some time and it was rather infected. Like I said, she just got out of surgery so we're still trying to comprehend all of this (it's not like she's in labor where I know what all can be expected). She will be in recovery for about an hour or two then she will move to the surgical ICU (SICU). She is at an extremely high risk for pneumonia and plugging of the airways because the normal phlegm can't move up and out like normal for a couple weeks. In addition, more prayers were answered...it is NON-SMALL CELL, just what we wanted, the lesser of the two evils. We'll update again once we get to see her in the SICU. By the way, Dr. Seligson has completed a 6x bypass surgery and Mom's surgery today and is now going to go sit with her while she wakes up. This man is AMAZING!!!

Update-So Far So Good

Mom is still in surgery. They told us the thoracotomy would take about two to three hours, and then she will be in the recovery room for at least an hour, and then it will be one to two hours to get her settles into her ICU room before we can see her. We are anxiously waiting to hold her hand and tell her how much we lover her. We figure at this point, and as Mary Sue told us, that no news is good news. Mom will remain in the surgical ICU for at least two days. She will most likely be here for at least a week. Thank you Pastor Kent for all your support and encouragement today. With the Lord, you helped make today much more bearable. We'll keep you all posted as soon as we know more!

Update-Prayers Answered!

Mary Sue, the nurse liaison just gave us an update. THE LYMPH NODES ARE CLEAR!!!! They just turned Mom and started the thoracotomy the take the lobe out with the tumor in it. According to Mary Sue, Dr. Seligson was very surprised that the nodes were clear due to the size of the tumor. Thank you all for your prayers! They have been answered! Again, more updates to come

Update

The nurse liaison just gave us an update on Mom. She's been in the OR now for an hour. She didn't have any specific details just that things were proceeding without complication. She didn't know if they started the mediastinoscopy (step 2) yet or not. We figure the longer it takes, the more they're doing, (as in getting it out). I'll keep posting more updates as we know.

It's on...

I know you all have been chomping at the bit for an update. As some of you may know, Mom's surgery got bumped to a later time. She got bumped for a heart patient that was requiring extensive bypass surgery. We pray for strength and a speedy recovery for him/her and the family. Mom got her epidural placed and just got wheeled into the OR. We are in the ICU waiting room awaiting news for a long surgery. No, it's not mean to ask for that, it means that the lymph nodes are clear and they can proceed with the thoracotomy to remove the lobe. Thank you all for you prayers and well-wishes. Today has been extremely difficult and emotional for Mom and us. Please pray for her. She is one heck of a fighter so this cancer will not keep her down!

Great Friends, Great Times!

Here are a few pictures from last night's festivities. Thank you Nici, Stef, Terry, Mark and everyone else for a wonderful evening!

Terry, Mom, Mark

Mom & Terry

The Beatty Bunch-Dad, Mom, Jenny, Jodie, Jason

Cass County Fair Gate Bit, umm, Attendants

Front L to R: Becky, Mom, Kathy
Back L to R: Holly, Cindy, Nici, Bev, Jenny, Lisa, Sharon

Mark & Scott

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of "The Table Dance",

Terry & Mom dancing to Jose Cuervo

And, yes, even Bob & Tim got into the spirit

(it's been 5 years since their first dance)

Norm, Mom, Dad, Steve, Donna

Tomorrow is the big day. We will be updating this as soon as we know anything. She is a strong woman that is one heck of a fighter, so we know she will be just fine. Thank you all again for your continued support, prayers, and well wishes.

Quite the send-off

Mom's last day at work was yesterday. I can't even imagine how that felt for her. This picture was taken at the last City Council meeting. Tonight is her big retirement party. We hope to see you all there!

Retirement Celebration

Mom's long awaited party will take place this Saturday, March 28th at 7pm at the Memorial Building in Pleasant Hill. Please, feel free to attend. She would love to see you all there!

Front Page News

Just in case you didn't see the article in this week's "Pleasant Hill Times", here it is. Jeremy got all excited when he saw the paper because, "Nanny's a celebrity because she's on the front page of the newspaper." I tried to keep it as large as possible so you all can read it, but I wasn't sure how large of a file this would allow. Hope you all can see it!

Picture Day!

Today, we had family pictures taken. The last time this was done Justin was 8-weeks old, Reagan was 2-weeks old, and little Anna wasn't even here yet. Boy, time sure does fly! We are lucky to have a family friend, Christy, that is a photographer. Her work is amazing! Here are some sneek peeks. Thanks Christy!

Game On

Today, Mom met with the cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Seligson. This man was AMAZING! He had already reviewed Mom's case prior to our arrival, spoke with other physicians involved (Dr. Brook, the pulmonologist and also the radiologist that read the PET scan), and was ready to give her a few options complete with in depth explanations.

We discussed what she's up against surgically and physically. He explained that due to the size of the tumor it is unclear if lymph nodes are involved. He added that lymph nodes can also light up on PET scan due to some sort of inflammatory process or infection...remember, she did have pneumonia at the beginning of this. He also explained that the three tiny spots on her liver are not a huge concern at this time as he has reviewed their significance on the PET scan with the radiologist.

Dr. Seligson and Mom came to a great plan of attack. First, he will do the bronchoscopy to look for any airway obstruction and possibly take biopsies of the tumor. Second, he will do the mediastinoscopy. This is the procedure where he will make an incision at the notch of her sternum and take a scope and look inside the mediastinum and look at the lymph nodes. From here he will take biopsies of the lymph nodes and the pathologist will be waiting to look at them (all the biopsies taken) in the lab. He told us that we will have results in about 15-30 minutes. From this point, the game can take one of two turns. If the lymph nodes are positive (have cancer), he closes up and she will be in the hospital for about 23hours. Then she will more than likely need chemo and radiation prior to any tumor removal. However, if the lymph nodes are clear (no cancer), he will proceed with a thoracotomy and lobectomy (taking out the lobe with the tumor in it). It gets a little tricky though. Best case, the tumor is contained in the upper lobe and the surrounded blood vessels are not affected and the tumor can be removed without complication. Because he does not know until he is in there how attached the tumor is, there is a chance that it can be aggressively attached to the pulmonary artery and disrupting the flow of blood from the heart to the lung.

We have been so very lucky during this journey with things falling into place that we have every confidence in Dr. Seligson to help Mom on her road to recovery. When Dr. Seligson was taking Mom's history, he was getting an estimate on her lung function and how well she does when going up stairs. Then he asked her how far she thought she could walk on flat ground. Dad and I looked at each other and simultaneously said, "The Las Vegas Strip." Dr. Seligson laughed and is pretty confident she will do fine after surgery with that answer. By the way, she has gained 2.2 pounds! Thanks Heather!

She needs to get a few more test completed before the surgery and attend a prior engagement she has been looking forward to for the last 44 years that she wouldn't miss for the world. Therefore, the BIG DAY to remove George (Yup, she named the tumor!) is Monday, March 30th at 7:30am.

Mission Accomplished!

Last week I made some calls because I wasn't satisfied with the answers we got from Dr. Salamat and my gut told me something more could be done. Today, I finally got a call back from Joyce, the nurse from Dr. Foreman and Dr. Seiglison's office. Mom's appointment got moved from March 24th to March 11th with Dr. Seiglison (who we hear is very good as well). Joyce was VERY apologetic for the experience we had with Dr. Salamat. (That was nice to know). I asked her approximately when she thought Mom would have the surgery, she responded with, "Probably within the next week." WOW! Even though that is what we wanted, the reality is a little scary. We'll keep you all posted.

Lost in translation

Today, Mom got the results of her PET scan. We saw Dr. Salamat, a younger woman with a thick Indian accent. She came in and started giving Mom options without even giving us the results. Long story short there, we were able to get her to slow down and start from the beginning of the story rather than the end as she was doing after she got off the phone with someone she was talking to about her hospital privileges...while still in the room with us. (Insert frustration here) Like I said, these blog entries will include critiquing by the RN daughter!



According to the PET Scan, the mass is rather large and it has spread into the mediastinum, which is what we didn't want to hear. It is surrounding (not in) some of her blood vessels leading into her heart. They were unable to determine from the PET scan if it was in the lymph nodes. That would be confirmed from a biopsy. Dr. Salamat said at this point she is now considered Stage 3 cancer because it has spread from what we could understand.

When Dr. Salamat came in, she instantly started rambling about biopsy options. We had to have her slow down and go into detail about them. The options were the bronchoscopy by the pulmonologist and the mediastinoscopy by a cardiothoracic surgeon. After hearing details about them both, Mom has decided to meet with the cardiothoracic surgeon for the mediastinoscopy. She decided this route after weighing the options. It is a more invasive procedure where she will need general anesthesia (to go to sleep) and will require a day or two in the hospital. Also, she figures that if the bronchoscopy only would be done, the lymph nodes will still need to be biopsied, therefore warranting the other option, so we took the "if you're probably going to do it in the future, then go ahead and do it now" approach. The biopsy will also tell if she has "small-cell" (the ugly we don't want) or "non small-cell" (the better of the two options). Those results would come during the procedure as the pathologist would be looking at the biopsies while the surgery was going on.

The final decision to do the surgery rests in the hands of the cardiothoracic surgeon. She meets with him on March 24th. From today's experience, we have decided to go to Dr. Brook's office and see him from now on, rather than the pulmonary doctor in clinic at Cass that day this way there is more consistency in her care.

We were blessed to have our pastor there for us today. After the appointment Mom, Dad, Pastor Kent, and I had a great lunch and conversation at Applebee's. This seems to be our traditional stop after appointments.

Thank you all again for the well wishes and prayers. We are so grateful.