Drains out!

The doctor took the drains out yesterday because he felt like it was too risky to keep them in. Holy cow did that hurt when he pulled them out!!! I'm going back tomorrow and he will talk to me about how I can take a shower. I still can't lift my arms up, but it might feel good to be in the shower! My chest is still very tight and uncomfortable. I'm trying to take my pain med every five hours instead of every four hours. It has been such a blessing for people to bring over meals! Thank you! Even reading posts or emails has really helped me! Even though this has been hard at times, God has been with me every step of the way, and I know that there are lessons He is teaching me that I wouldn't be able to learn any other way. He is also showing me how much He loves me through each of you!

Need prayer!

Hi everyone! I'm needing some prayer on a few issues. First, thank you for everyone who made comments about my pain medication! That really helped me. I am needing prayer on how to start lowering the amount of narcotic I'm taking without being in too much pain. Also, my drains are going to need to come out soon, but I am still having alot of drainage. Pray that the doctor knows the perfect time for when they should come out. I have also broken out into a bad, itchy rash down my arms and legs. We thought it might be from the antibiotic, so I quit taking that. So please pray I don't get an infection, that the rash will go away and that we figure out what is causing it...the antibiotic, the narcotic, the older recliner I'm in, or something else. Please pray that Craig gets the rest he needs and that be is able to catch up on his work since he has been trying to work from home. Also thanks very much to craig's sister for coming and helping out and cleaning out my very dirty refrigerator! Love you all! Thank you so much for going through this with me!

It's Me!

Hi everyone! Thank you again for praying for me! Also thank you to those who have left posts, it really encourages
me when I read them! I am doing a little better. I haven't been able to cut down yet on my medication. Today I tried to just go 10 minutes longer and it felt like someone was trying to crush my chest! I can't do anything except sit in this recliner all day. It is really sore where my drains are, so I am hoping that those can come out soon! I go to see my doctor tomorrow. Craig's sister is coming in tonight to help out for a couple of days, so that will be nice! It was very nice of her to fly in and help out! Craig's Dad has had some health problems, so please pray for him also. Also for my Dad. It was very rough those first two days in the hospital! I am so thankful that God was with me and brought me through and that my Mom was able to stay with me! Craig has been working so hard taking care of the kids, the animals and cleaning the house! I don't know what I would do without him! He is trully the best husband anyone could ever have! I thank God for him everyday!

We're Home!

Laura was discharged this morning. Dr. Zucker visited her this morning and removed two of her chest drains, and that of course caused her some discomfort. However, he said she looked like she was ready to go home. Her pain is still pretty severe, but other than that she seems to be doing fine. I am sure she will be writing her own post soon. While I have tried to be as detailed and accurate as possible in my post, you will soon have her much more detailed insight which I am sure you look forward to. Thanks for all of you prayers.

It's Getting Better

Well Laura seems to be doing a little better as long as we can get the nurses to listen to us. After all of the problems yesterday, we (doctors, nurses, Laura, Laura's Mom, and myself) finally figured out a combination of medication that seemed to be working. Well this morning a new nurse came in to give Laura some pain medication, and ask Laura to rate her pain. Laura rated her pain at a 7, but followed up by saying "but they only give me 2 units of that medicine because it makes me sick". The nurse, however, decided that since Laura's pain was at a 7 it would be best for Laura to have 5 units of the pain medication, so she proceeded to give Laura 5 units without telling her. Of course Laura got sick again. However once, but thankfully the nausea only lasted about an hour. After that, she was up in a chair most of the day, and her pain was decreasing to around 6, and she seemed to be in better spirits. Dr. Zucker made his rounds this morning and said she appeared to be doing better and that there should be no reason she wouldn't be able to go home tomorrow. So today, we were educated on how to take care of the chest drains (she currently has four, but will hopefully come home with only two), along with some other home care topics. The kids got to see Laura again today, and I think that Cody was relieved to see mommy looking and acting better. Cody gave mommy some yellow roses, and Kylie gave mommy a balloon. Laura has a long road to full recovery, but it now appears that she is headed in the right direction.

Another Tough Day

Today was a tough day for Laura. She was nauseated most of the day, but was able to vomit around 2:00 PM which seemed to bring her some relief. The pain medication doesn't seem to be helping much, she has said all day that her pain hovers around an 8 or 9 on a scale of 10. Around mid-afternoon the nurse came in a said we have thrown the best stuff that we have (referring to pain meds) it's not touching the pain, so I'm putting in a call to the pain management team to have them do an assessment on you. Based on the assessment and subsequent discussion with Dr. Zucker (plastic surgeon), they came up with a combination of meds that they can rotate so she gets something for pain about every hour. They are also giving her most of the stuff in smaller doses which appears to be helping her nausea. Her anti-nausea medicine was changed as well. These changes seem to be making some difference in the nausea, and although she still complains about the pain, she seems to be resting ever so slightly better. Dr. Zucker told her that she will not be going home until at least Friday. In addition for the prayers for Laura, please be praying for Cody and Kylie, they are both missing Mommy very much. They did get to see her for a couple minutes today which was hard on them, but Cody really needed the opportunity to check on Mommy for himself. Although it was tough to see Mommy, it really helped Cody to be able to talk to her, and give her a home made "Git well soon" card.

Bad Night

Laura needs your prayers this morning. They had trouble finding a pain medication last night that wouldn't make her sick. She was in quite a bit of pain last night and did vomit which caused more discomfort. The doctor says she should start feeling some better today, so pray that she does.

D-Day (as Laura would say)

Laura is out of surgery and everything went according to plan. She was in surgery for a total of 6 hours, and then she spent 2 hours in recovery. Both surgeons said that everything went well and that they were faced with no surprises. The sentinel node biopsy was negative, Praise the Lord. The pain medication that she was given after surgery caused her respiratory rate to drop too low, so they weren't able to give her a second dose when she began asking for it. At around 6:00 PM, Dr. Zucker (Plastic Surgeon) made his rounds and changed her pain medication. This seemed to help, at about 7:00 the pain was subsiding and she was able to begin resting again without any respiratory problems. Dr. Zucker thinks that he should be able to discharge her on Thursday. While Laura was in the holding room for surgery, all of the doctors were with her together and they were picking on her for being a frequent flyer, the anesthesiologist even remembered her, which he said was a sure sign of her spending too much time in the operating room. Thanks for all your prayers, and please continue to pray for a speedy and uneventful recovery.

Surgery fast approaching!

Just four more days till the big surgery! YIKES!! And Cody has just come down with strep!! I am praying that I don't get sick before my surgery! My surgery that was scheduled in January had to be cancelled because I came down with strep that morning! I have been recovering well from my oophorectomy. It seems like I'm getting hot flashes all the time though! It's starting to get really annoying! This morning, I've already broken out into a sweat about three different times! Thank you all for praying for me. My Mom is coming to help me out for a week. I am ready to get all of this over with so I can get it behind me!
Love you all!