Hey all,
We're still hanging in there. Actually I'm doing pretty good with all of this sickness stuff. I tend to do better when things are most definitely out of my control. These last couples months have been just that. Now, don't get me wrong, I would love to have a healthy family for more than a week but that's just not the case right now so I'll have to be ok with that.
Abby spiked a big fever on Saturday morning and it didn't come down by Sunday morning so we had to take her to the only place that was open, the ER. Not the best place to go if you don't have to... just my opinion. They actually were pretty good there. They checked her out, listened to her lungs, accessed her port, took blood, ran a CBC, and did a blood culture. Her fever was still in the 102.5-103.5 range so they gave her a shot of Roseffen, an antibiotic, just in case she had a blood infection. I assume the culture was negative since they didn't call back.
Abby's fever is gone now, her cough is getting better but I think Anna is getting it now. Lily already had it and Tiffany too so I guess Anna is the last one for this virus unless I catch it. I think I have it, but it has been tolerable for me. Tiffany also had something, it turned into a sinus infection so she went to the doctor yesterday and they put her on antibiotics. Hopefully she will fell better tonight.
So, that's life in the sick lane. Isn't it fun? I am definitely looking forward to Disneyland... I think we are all going to wear masks on the plane though!
Later
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Sunday, February 11, 2007
RSV?
Well it looks like Abby may now be the winner of a new virus called RSV. I told her to choose door number 3, but she went for door number 2 and now... RSV.
Actually we don't know for sure if it is but they are treating her like it is since RSV peaks in Feb and Jan. Lily had a cough last week, and Anna didn't feel too well either so it probably finally just got to Abby.
Yesterday morning, while I was gone, Abby spiked a big ol' fever so Tiffany called Dr. Smith at CHOA. They put her on a double does of her weekend antibiotic since that one covers for pneumonia and we really don't want her to get that! We did the old ibuprofen & and Tylenol tag team to get her fever down and I gave her a little codeine/Tylenol so that she could get some sleep last night. She seem better this morning and she slept great last night compared to the night before.
On the tummy side she is doing ok. They still have her on the anti-protozoa med every other day until we can see the doc again at the end of the month.
So pray that both of these goes away quickly and that other infections stay at bay.
That's all the medical news from the Schreiber household. Everything and everyone else is going real good but we all are looking forward to the spring!
Actually we don't know for sure if it is but they are treating her like it is since RSV peaks in Feb and Jan. Lily had a cough last week, and Anna didn't feel too well either so it probably finally just got to Abby.
Yesterday morning, while I was gone, Abby spiked a big ol' fever so Tiffany called Dr. Smith at CHOA. They put her on a double does of her weekend antibiotic since that one covers for pneumonia and we really don't want her to get that! We did the old ibuprofen & and Tylenol tag team to get her fever down and I gave her a little codeine/Tylenol so that she could get some sleep last night. She seem better this morning and she slept great last night compared to the night before.
On the tummy side she is doing ok. They still have her on the anti-protozoa med every other day until we can see the doc again at the end of the month.
So pray that both of these goes away quickly and that other infections stay at bay.
That's all the medical news from the Schreiber household. Everything and everyone else is going real good but we all are looking forward to the spring!
Friday, February 09, 2007
Upper GI
Well, Abby had her upper GI on Tuesday and things went fine as far as I know. She just had to fast for about 12 hours and then drink some radioactive stuff so they could watch it go down into her stomach. The test was painless and only took about 30 minutes. Tiffany went with her and she said it was kind of neat to see it swirl down to her stomach.
I guess this test is to see about any ulcers or problems with the lining of her stomach. We'll talk to the GI doctor about it near the end of the month. We could get an earlier appointment with him but the end of the month one he will be here in Fort Collins so that is much better than driving down to Denver again.
I think her stomach is getting better slowly but surely. She seems to be feeling good except for a bit of a cold.
I can't wait till cold season is over and we can let them out of the house to breath some fresh air. Ahhhhh... spring will be here soon.
I guess this test is to see about any ulcers or problems with the lining of her stomach. We'll talk to the GI doctor about it near the end of the month. We could get an earlier appointment with him but the end of the month one he will be here in Fort Collins so that is much better than driving down to Denver again.
I think her stomach is getting better slowly but surely. She seems to be feeling good except for a bit of a cold.
I can't wait till cold season is over and we can let them out of the house to breath some fresh air. Ahhhhh... spring will be here soon.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Biopsy results
Just a quick update to tell you about Abby's biopsy results from her tummy. On the cancer side things are great, no cancer cells or anything unusual found
As for infections, she has one. They started her on an antibiotic that seems to cover for protozoa and such. Anyway, she'll be on that one for a week to 10 days. We have an upper GI test scheduled for Tuesday and then a follow up for all of this stuff on a Friday at the end of the month.
It will be nice to talk to the doc and see what all he has to tell us.
See ya.
As for infections, she has one. They started her on an antibiotic that seems to cover for protozoa and such. Anyway, she'll be on that one for a week to 10 days. We have an upper GI test scheduled for Tuesday and then a follow up for all of this stuff on a Friday at the end of the month.
It will be nice to talk to the doc and see what all he has to tell us.
See ya.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
AWOL Appendix
So we are back from our Chemoscopy Tuesday and all went well. It was kind of like a progressive dinner but instead of parts of a meal we focused on different medical procedures... just like a progressive dinner though at the end Abby got dessert, a gianormous Popsicle!
So IvIG went well, as did the Vincristine. Abby's counts were great, actually a bit too good. Other than being really hungry at CHOA and unable to eat since the night before and unable to drink after 9am she was in good spirits. Things went really quick and in only 2 short videos we were out the door and on our way to the surgery center 15 miles away. We checked in and got everything all filled out and such. Abby was very excited to be able to eat a Popsicle when she got done and also was looking forward to being pushed around in the bed with wheels. The doctor actually took her for an extended ride around the recovery area before taking her into the surgery room.
40 minutes later she was done with both top and bottom "oscopies" and the doctor came to show me the nice color pictures of the inside of her colon and stomach. I know lovely! Good for show and tell later I guess. He gave us 3 copies of each, I don't know why so many really, maybe he is just very generous.
He took biopsies of her stomach and colon and is going to have some tests run on them. We won't know about those for a few days or a week. But that wasn't the big news. The big news was that her Cecum and Appendix are not where they are suppose to be. Wierd I know. Remember my family is different, refer to previous posts if you need a reminder. See her a the Schreiber house we try to do things in creative ways. Sometimes it's interesting colored pages that the girls draw, sometimes it's the care bears dressed up in Barbie clothes, and sometimes we just really try to get creative with how our organs are placed in our bodies. Yup our organs.
So they found the appendix if you are still wondering. It's just not in the bottom right side of her like it should be. Instead it is in the upper left quadrant. When he said it was in the upper left quadrant I really didn't mind because I had no clue as to what he was trying to say. I still don't really know what he is trying to, or not to, say about this condition. All I know is that it's about 180 degrees out of phase with the normal human. Did any of you ever watch X-Files? Just wondering.
Anyway, they'll be doing some more tests on her this coming week at PVH her in Fort Collins. Basically they just want to get an idea of where the rest of her GI track is. I guess that is a nice thing to know.
Well, that's all for now on the case of the AWOL Appendix. Stay tuned next time to see where the rest of her organs are!
PS. For those of you that have watched X-Files in the past, I can assure you that none of the future test have anything to do with bees, clones and or any vaccine that I know about.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Tuesday Chemoscopy
Look, I made a new word "Chemoscopy"
Chemoscopy-- Definition: (Noun, Adjective, and Verb.) Pronounced-- (Kee Mo Os Cope ee).
1)To drive to Denver for many procedures. 1a)The act of lots of procedures being scheduled for the same day. 1b)To describe a day filled with medical devices such as small intestinal cameras, fiber optics, laxatives, access ports, IvIG, and chemotherapy. 1c)To give multiple procedures that have to do with chemo, and multiple "oscopy" procedures in rapid succession on one day. "Abby will have a Chemoscopy on Tuesday, Mark told his concerned friends."
Yup, you got it. It's Chemoscopy Tuesday next week. Here's the day plan give her multiple laxative for about 12 hours before. Drive her down to CHOA where they will give her Vincristine and IViG in 2 hours instead of the normal 4 hours. Then by 10am ish we will give her some other lovely looking "clearing" device to help the colonoscopy go better. We will arrive at the outpatient surgery center where they will put her under for the procedures, and endoscopy and colonoscopy, to determine what might be going on.
So you say, "where did all this come from?" or "When did this all get scheduled?" Well, just on Friday, so get off my back. I can only type so fast! :) just kiddin'.
Ya, so Friday Tiffany took Abby to the GI Doc and they decided to try to get this all taken care of on the same day that we have chemo/IViG schedule, Tuesday. By Friday afternoon they had it all scheduled. They don't think there will be much to see but with her tummy being in such disarray for such a long time they want to make sure there isn't something more going on. They will also be able to take some biopsies that will help them to determine what is going on. I'll be glad when we have something more solid, no pun intended... actually it was, to go on. Get it all figured out, that's what we'd like.
They think it is probably just some reaction of the bodies to the virus that she had where the body stops processing foods the correct way. If that is the case then we will just have to do some dietary changes until she gets back on track.
Well, that's it. Pray for Tuesday.
Chemoscopy-- Definition: (Noun, Adjective, and Verb.) Pronounced-- (Kee Mo Os Cope ee).
1)To drive to Denver for many procedures. 1a)The act of lots of procedures being scheduled for the same day. 1b)To describe a day filled with medical devices such as small intestinal cameras, fiber optics, laxatives, access ports, IvIG, and chemotherapy. 1c)To give multiple procedures that have to do with chemo, and multiple "oscopy" procedures in rapid succession on one day. "Abby will have a Chemoscopy on Tuesday, Mark told his concerned friends."
Yup, you got it. It's Chemoscopy Tuesday next week. Here's the day plan give her multiple laxative for about 12 hours before. Drive her down to CHOA where they will give her Vincristine and IViG in 2 hours instead of the normal 4 hours. Then by 10am ish we will give her some other lovely looking "clearing" device to help the colonoscopy go better. We will arrive at the outpatient surgery center where they will put her under for the procedures, and endoscopy and colonoscopy, to determine what might be going on.
So you say, "where did all this come from?" or "When did this all get scheduled?" Well, just on Friday, so get off my back. I can only type so fast! :) just kiddin'.
Ya, so Friday Tiffany took Abby to the GI Doc and they decided to try to get this all taken care of on the same day that we have chemo/IViG schedule, Tuesday. By Friday afternoon they had it all scheduled. They don't think there will be much to see but with her tummy being in such disarray for such a long time they want to make sure there isn't something more going on. They will also be able to take some biopsies that will help them to determine what is going on. I'll be glad when we have something more solid, no pun intended... actually it was, to go on. Get it all figured out, that's what we'd like.
They think it is probably just some reaction of the bodies to the virus that she had where the body stops processing foods the correct way. If that is the case then we will just have to do some dietary changes until she gets back on track.
Well, that's it. Pray for Tuesday.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
GI doc Friday
Well, Abby still is having tummy issues. Nauseous in the morning sometimes and well... lets just say she isn't exactly happy in the bathroom yet. It's been about a month and a half now. We had her on immodium for a few days in a row and took her off of it on Monday and back to the same old. We called CHOA and they wanted us to get checked out soon since the immodium should have taken care of it all for good. They got us in to see a doc that they work with and bonus, he's in Fort Collins on Friday! So no need for a trip to Denver. Actually the funny thing is I still have to go to Denver for a conference on Friday and a luncheon on Saturday. Then next week, Tuesday, I'll take Abby back down to CHOA for another round of chemo. After this one we only will have 2 or 3 more! Yippee! Crazy.
Other than that, the pink eye is gone... we hope. Tiffany looks like she is getting another cold and I think the girls might not be that far behind her. Oh well, what can you do? We can't just stay cooped up in the house every waking moment. Maybe Abby will fight it off! She is getting IvIG on Tuesday so who knows.
That's about it... Oh ya Abby's B-day is coming up at the end of the month! The big 5 0 minus the "0" so I guess that's just the big 5. I'll say it again, crazy! That should be a good B-day, we are excited.
Have a good night!
Other than that, the pink eye is gone... we hope. Tiffany looks like she is getting another cold and I think the girls might not be that far behind her. Oh well, what can you do? We can't just stay cooped up in the house every waking moment. Maybe Abby will fight it off! She is getting IvIG on Tuesday so who knows.
That's about it... Oh ya Abby's B-day is coming up at the end of the month! The big 5 0 minus the "0" so I guess that's just the big 5. I'll say it again, crazy! That should be a good B-day, we are excited.
Have a good night!
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Still getting better
Does it seem like forever to you? It does to me. But now think things are finally on the up and up. We are half way threw the drops for the second round of pink eye (Abby, Tiffany, and Lily). I'm praying that we will get that all over with soon.
As for Abby's tummy issues, they are still there. I took her down for her 3rd fill up on Monday afternoon and they checked her out and topped her off with some fluids. I'm thinking of getting a frequent fill up card for her to see if we can maybe get one free soon. They had us take another sample in for testing to the lab but I haven't heard anything back from that so I assume it was another negative test. They finally let us put her on immodium and after a few doses that seemed to do the trick for now. I don't know how long she'll need to be on it, probably just a couple more days.
Lily has 4 teeth coming in on the top all at the same time so she hasn't been real happy about that... now I know why she is always trying to chew on our Zantac bottle! We've since bought a chew-toy for her... wait is a chew-toy what dogs get? Maybe it is a chew ring or something like that.
We'll Abby's not feeling good this morning so I'm going to go help get some food in her tummy. All in all we are doing good.
Thanks for checking in on us!
As for Abby's tummy issues, they are still there. I took her down for her 3rd fill up on Monday afternoon and they checked her out and topped her off with some fluids. I'm thinking of getting a frequent fill up card for her to see if we can maybe get one free soon. They had us take another sample in for testing to the lab but I haven't heard anything back from that so I assume it was another negative test. They finally let us put her on immodium and after a few doses that seemed to do the trick for now. I don't know how long she'll need to be on it, probably just a couple more days.
Lily has 4 teeth coming in on the top all at the same time so she hasn't been real happy about that... now I know why she is always trying to chew on our Zantac bottle! We've since bought a chew-toy for her... wait is a chew-toy what dogs get? Maybe it is a chew ring or something like that.
We'll Abby's not feeling good this morning so I'm going to go help get some food in her tummy. All in all we are doing good.
Thanks for checking in on us!
Sunday, January 07, 2007
My Family is Different...
As I was watching Lily chew on the top of Abby's mega Zantac bottle the other day(don't worry it was closed!) it struck me that my family is different than most. I know, news flash did someone forget to tell me!?So, Abby got sick again (after the pink eye) in the tummy arena on Tuesday. She had such bad issues (ie. diarrhea) that we took her down to CHOA to get checked out. She was dehydrated so they plugged her into some fluids for an hour and a half to rehydrate her. See that's what I mean... different. I mean your kid doesn't get sick and just go get plugged in to fluids. Sometimes I feel like she is a little car. "Plug her in and get the coolant flushed and don't forget I have a frequent buyer coupon." Different.
Maybe other families went put their kids in the Christmas pageant without a mask and their kids are still sick but I don't know of any. Different. I guess I could have made her a cute Christmas Angel mask with glitter and stuff but that just seemed kind of sad to be honest. She was a cute Angel though... I'll have to post some video.
So, as you can tell, I'm a little worn down... we all are a little worn down. We're trying to keep our chins up, find the best in things and not become a product of our circumstances but to be honest, it's still tiring. Just like the snow here in Colorado, it just keeps coming. Cold fronts and "Cold fronts". I'm really hoping for a change in the metaphorical and real weather around here.
So, here are some requests if you are the praying type:
- For us to all get better (Tiffany's cough, my sinus infection, Lily (whatever her deal is) and of course Abby's health.
- For us to see the best in what is set before us.
- For the Lysol to actual work.
- Good nights sleep.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Ringin' in the new year
We'll it's 9pm and everyone is sleeping. I figure it's midnight somewhere so why fight it, I might as well just go to bed :)!
Actually, even though everyone has been sick and Tiffany is still pushing through the cold it still is a good night. I mean honestly I can get down about these circumstances but when you look at the whole picture... we are doing great! Remember 2 years ago? I had the flu, Tiffany had the flu, Abby had the flu and was in the Hospital getting a Broviac put in, bone marrow taken out, and a spinal tap with Methotrexate. So again, this is nothing really.
Perspective.
What a crazy time. Tiffany and I were talking and saying that it seems like it was 5 years ago that this all started, not 2. Yet in some ways it seems like just yesterday.
With all of us getting sick this break and the 3 feet of snow there has been a lot of time to think and that's been really good. Last year I think we kept ourselves busy enough to not have to think about the previous 12 months and that was good. But all this time to think about it this year has also been equally as good. It has really made me and our whole family a lot different in who we all are... and once we can start to leave this house again maybe you all will notice! But really, things are good. We would like to get out some more and Tiffany and I are definitely looking forward to being able to put Abby and Anna back in Sunday school or take them to germ infected play room in the near future. Actually I bet it will be pretty hard not to hose them down with sanitizer or burn their clothes when we get home but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.
And there is coming up soon! When Abby is done with this round of chemo we should have only 3 more to go (slight chance of 4 but I'm holding out for 3). That sounds weird. She'll be done in 3 months. Done. Weird. I don't know if I'll be relieved or just stressed about it coming back. I'm going to shoot for relieved with just a tinge of stress on the side. Anyway that is going to be a really nice belated Easter present. Maybe we'll chance it and take her to an Easter egg hunt... outside of course... with a mask. Hey with 11 days to go on Easter Sunday I may just for go the mask... we'll see.
Well, I got to mention 3 new years and an Easter here in one post so I'd say my job is done.
Happy New Year!
Actually, even though everyone has been sick and Tiffany is still pushing through the cold it still is a good night. I mean honestly I can get down about these circumstances but when you look at the whole picture... we are doing great! Remember 2 years ago? I had the flu, Tiffany had the flu, Abby had the flu and was in the Hospital getting a Broviac put in, bone marrow taken out, and a spinal tap with Methotrexate. So again, this is nothing really.
Perspective.
What a crazy time. Tiffany and I were talking and saying that it seems like it was 5 years ago that this all started, not 2. Yet in some ways it seems like just yesterday.
With all of us getting sick this break and the 3 feet of snow there has been a lot of time to think and that's been really good. Last year I think we kept ourselves busy enough to not have to think about the previous 12 months and that was good. But all this time to think about it this year has also been equally as good. It has really made me and our whole family a lot different in who we all are... and once we can start to leave this house again maybe you all will notice! But really, things are good. We would like to get out some more and Tiffany and I are definitely looking forward to being able to put Abby and Anna back in Sunday school or take them to germ infected play room in the near future. Actually I bet it will be pretty hard not to hose them down with sanitizer or burn their clothes when we get home but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.
And there is coming up soon! When Abby is done with this round of chemo we should have only 3 more to go (slight chance of 4 but I'm holding out for 3). That sounds weird. She'll be done in 3 months. Done. Weird. I don't know if I'll be relieved or just stressed about it coming back. I'm going to shoot for relieved with just a tinge of stress on the side. Anyway that is going to be a really nice belated Easter present. Maybe we'll chance it and take her to an Easter egg hunt... outside of course... with a mask. Hey with 11 days to go on Easter Sunday I may just for go the mask... we'll see.
Well, I got to mention 3 new years and an Easter here in one post so I'd say my job is done.
Happy New Year!
Give us this day our daily meds
Hey just a quick update of the drugs that the Schreiber clan is currently on.
Abby:
Dexamethasone (grumpy/hungry pill)
Vincristine
Methotrexate
6-MP
Benadryl (just because)
Anna:
Benadryl (why not?)
Robitussin
Tiffany:
Ibuprofen (sore throat)
Cough drops
Ocean spray
Tussin
Mark:
Augmenten (antibiotic)
Anti-inflamitory
Tussin
Benadryl (just kidding!)
Lily:
All of Tiffany's medicines while nursing
Tylenol
Diaper rash cream
The Fish:....
I probably should feed it but it seems to be doing OK.
Ahhh... we are ready for the new year! Yippee!
Actually, we are all doing pretty good. Abby has done great during this round of chemo. Still lots of "hold me's" and such" but otherwise really good.
Tiffany has the cold that we all had finally and I think Lily has it a bit too.
I have a sinus infection and I'm starting my second round of antibiotics (just got off Amoxicillin). Hopefully this will kick it.
Anna went to the doc with me yesterday and she got a chest X-Ray. Everything seems to be going good, they just wanted to make sure since she has been sick for soooooo long.
Well, that's the update! Hope you all have a happy new year too! Stay healthy and wash those hands!!
Abby:
Dexamethasone (grumpy/hungry pill)
Vincristine
Methotrexate
6-MP
Benadryl (just because)
Anna:
Benadryl (why not?)
Robitussin
Tiffany:
Ibuprofen (sore throat)
Cough drops
Ocean spray
Tussin
Mark:
Augmenten (antibiotic)
Anti-inflamitory
Tussin
Benadryl (just kidding!)
Lily:
All of Tiffany's medicines while nursing
Tylenol
Diaper rash cream
The Fish:....
I probably should feed it but it seems to be doing OK.
Ahhh... we are ready for the new year! Yippee!
Actually, we are all doing pretty good. Abby has done great during this round of chemo. Still lots of "hold me's" and such" but otherwise really good.
Tiffany has the cold that we all had finally and I think Lily has it a bit too.
I have a sinus infection and I'm starting my second round of antibiotics (just got off Amoxicillin). Hopefully this will kick it.
Anna went to the doc with me yesterday and she got a chest X-Ray. Everything seems to be going good, they just wanted to make sure since she has been sick for soooooo long.
Well, that's the update! Hope you all have a happy new year too! Stay healthy and wash those hands!!
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Chemo before the storm
We just got back from Denver... What a drive it was! Yikes! Lots of snow. Another 1-2 feet expected tonight. Denver seems to be getting more than we are. I guess shoveling will once again be in my future... round 28 I think. Maybe since Abby will be on Dexomethosone again I have her help shovel. They increased her dosage so that should be fun. Not really.
I feel like we moved to Michigan or North Dakota or something... so much snow! Piles everywhere and more is on the way. At least it is pretty.
Well, once Abby is done with this round she'll only have 3 more chemo's to go (maybe 4 but I don't think they'll tack that one on... we'll see). I'm so excited. Nervous but excited. It will be really weird when we don't have to give her nightly meds and such. Weird.
As for the sick front in our house, it seems that a high pressure system is starting to move back in to our house. Some of the pressure still seems to be lodged in my sinuses and maybe Abby's too but otherwise the big bad low cold pressure seems to be on the way out. Whew!
Well, everyone is back up so... off to hold Lily!
I feel like we moved to Michigan or North Dakota or something... so much snow! Piles everywhere and more is on the way. At least it is pretty.
Well, once Abby is done with this round she'll only have 3 more chemo's to go (maybe 4 but I don't think they'll tack that one on... we'll see). I'm so excited. Nervous but excited. It will be really weird when we don't have to give her nightly meds and such. Weird.
As for the sick front in our house, it seems that a high pressure system is starting to move back in to our house. Some of the pressure still seems to be lodged in my sinuses and maybe Abby's too but otherwise the big bad low cold pressure seems to be on the way out. Whew!
Well, everyone is back up so... off to hold Lily!
Friday, December 22, 2006
We'll be Home for Christmas
So where still here... in Colorado. The 2 feet of snow didn't help us get on the road to Idaho in time but that's not the main reason that we'll be staying home this year.
As you know Abby's been sick. Actually, Abby, Anna, Lily and myself have all been sick... Tiffany is taking good care of us. I have a sinus infection and Abby has the same cold I think. Lily seems like she is getting it today too so we'll just have to see how everyone does. Abby went into the local hospital to get some blood cultures done for the last couple days and a shot of Rocefin (sp?) antibiotic. She seems to be doing fine but they wanted to make sure since she was running a 101 fever and spiking up to 102.5 at times. Her fever broke today and she seems in good spirits.
We almost didn't make it back from the hospital on Wednesday since we had to go over during the blizzard. I dug us out of the parking lot with a basket and we made it mostly into our drive way before I gave up and left it there. Since then it has been about 15 rounds of digging to get various vehicle out of the snow and clear a path in our driveway. It was a nice neighborhood even. Everyone was digging and now we all have a mountian of snow in our yards!
So we are staying home. Maybe we'll all be healed up by new years! We'll see.
As you know Abby's been sick. Actually, Abby, Anna, Lily and myself have all been sick... Tiffany is taking good care of us. I have a sinus infection and Abby has the same cold I think. Lily seems like she is getting it today too so we'll just have to see how everyone does. Abby went into the local hospital to get some blood cultures done for the last couple days and a shot of Rocefin (sp?) antibiotic. She seems to be doing fine but they wanted to make sure since she was running a 101 fever and spiking up to 102.5 at times. Her fever broke today and she seems in good spirits.
We almost didn't make it back from the hospital on Wednesday since we had to go over during the blizzard. I dug us out of the parking lot with a basket and we made it mostly into our drive way before I gave up and left it there. Since then it has been about 15 rounds of digging to get various vehicle out of the snow and clear a path in our driveway. It was a nice neighborhood even. Everyone was digging and now we all have a mountian of snow in our yards!
So we are staying home. Maybe we'll all be healed up by new years! We'll see.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Still sick
Hey all,
You can be praying for Abby. She isn't feeling good at all. Walking around the house for the last week with a bowl in her hand in case she throws up. It's just a stomach virus, Anna and Tiffany also had it, but for Abby it is lasting a lot longer. That's pretty common for people with low immunities like her but still not fun. decided that I would not get their stomach bug and did everything in my power to keep it at bay... Instead I got a major sore throat and now I can barely talk. I was reminded though as grated through the pain of swallowing and eating from the sores in my throat about how happy I was that Abby have very few if any sores from the chemo last year. So, at least one good thing from this cold. It also reminded me how happy I am that Abby isn't like this all of the time like she was during some of those first few rounds. Man those were rough.
Still, it makes us sad having to see her like this for so long, pushing 9 or 10 days I think. We were up with her last night till about 2am and then again at 3:30. She seems to be eating and drinking better today and she hasn't thrown up so that is a huge deal. We are hoping that it will work it's way through and be done soon, hopefully without having to go to the other end of her system before it is all done and gone!
Well, lets just say it's been a tiring month. We did have a little reprieve while Tiffany's mom was her but then we all got sick again. I guess that is part of this winter season.
Pray that Abby will feel better and that she won't throw up her medicine again this night. I haven't been able to give her her chemo for the last 2 nights.
You can be praying for Abby. She isn't feeling good at all. Walking around the house for the last week with a bowl in her hand in case she throws up. It's just a stomach virus, Anna and Tiffany also had it, but for Abby it is lasting a lot longer. That's pretty common for people with low immunities like her but still not fun. decided that I would not get their stomach bug and did everything in my power to keep it at bay... Instead I got a major sore throat and now I can barely talk. I was reminded though as grated through the pain of swallowing and eating from the sores in my throat about how happy I was that Abby have very few if any sores from the chemo last year. So, at least one good thing from this cold. It also reminded me how happy I am that Abby isn't like this all of the time like she was during some of those first few rounds. Man those were rough.
Still, it makes us sad having to see her like this for so long, pushing 9 or 10 days I think. We were up with her last night till about 2am and then again at 3:30. She seems to be eating and drinking better today and she hasn't thrown up so that is a huge deal. We are hoping that it will work it's way through and be done soon, hopefully without having to go to the other end of her system before it is all done and gone!
Well, lets just say it's been a tiring month. We did have a little reprieve while Tiffany's mom was her but then we all got sick again. I guess that is part of this winter season.
Pray that Abby will feel better and that she won't throw up her medicine again this night. I haven't been able to give her her chemo for the last 2 nights.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Chemo and the Christmas Angel
So Abby is on chemo again this week. She had a tap on Tuesday and we started her Dexamethasone (grumpy pill) a day early so that she would be done by Saturday since she is in the Christmas program at church... She gets to be an angel with a little group of girls. I think she'll have a good time. I'm not so sure about Anna though, she is a bit scared of large crowds of kids right now. She also hasn't been in Sunday school for a couple months becuase of the chicken pox thing at church. So, we'll see.
Over all Abby is doing good. The spinal tap with fine yesterday and Anna even stayed there in the room with her all wide-eyed watching everything that they were doing to her sister. She has been really getting into the protector and comforter role when Abby has to get a shot or wash her nose out. Anna just stands next to her and pats Abby on the foot or something like that. Pretty cute and loving.
Since Abby was already on the steroids for a day, she was quite hungry at CHOA. Anna tried to eat everything that Abby was eating but by lunch time she had hit her limit. Abby still was hungry and kind of in the "you gonna eat that?" mode wanting all of Tiffany's food too! Crazy how much she can eat.
Well, that's the breif but true update... I'll tell you how the Christmas program goes later.
Over all Abby is doing good. The spinal tap with fine yesterday and Anna even stayed there in the room with her all wide-eyed watching everything that they were doing to her sister. She has been really getting into the protector and comforter role when Abby has to get a shot or wash her nose out. Anna just stands next to her and pats Abby on the foot or something like that. Pretty cute and loving.
Since Abby was already on the steroids for a day, she was quite hungry at CHOA. Anna tried to eat everything that Abby was eating but by lunch time she had hit her limit. Abby still was hungry and kind of in the "you gonna eat that?" mode wanting all of Tiffany's food too! Crazy how much she can eat.
Well, that's the breif but true update... I'll tell you how the Christmas program goes later.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Everybody's sick... but Abby
Hey all.
Just a short post to let you know that Abby is still doing good though the rest of the kiddo's are sick. Anna isn't doing good at all. Her eye was all red this morning so we'll see if she has an eye infection from this long cold of hers. Lily has her first cold too and isn't too happy about it. Tiffany and I had something but only for a couple days... we must have slept it off. Maybe it was the antioxidant effects of large amounts of turkey who knows.
Anyway, pray that they start to get better and Abby can remain unscathed. Also that she doesn't get anything else that might turn into another sinus infection!
Happy post Thanks Giving and a pre-emptive Merry Christmas!
Just a short post to let you know that Abby is still doing good though the rest of the kiddo's are sick. Anna isn't doing good at all. Her eye was all red this morning so we'll see if she has an eye infection from this long cold of hers. Lily has her first cold too and isn't too happy about it. Tiffany and I had something but only for a couple days... we must have slept it off. Maybe it was the antioxidant effects of large amounts of turkey who knows.
Anyway, pray that they start to get better and Abby can remain unscathed. Also that she doesn't get anything else that might turn into another sinus infection!
Happy post Thanks Giving and a pre-emptive Merry Christmas!
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Contemplative
Tonight I've been in a contemplative mood. Listening to music, thinking about our life: past, present and future. Sometimes it is just hard to believe that Abby has/had cancer... I've been watching this slide show of Tiffany's favorite picture on her computer screen saver. Lots of memories there. Lots of pictures of a puffy-faced Abby. Of a bald Abby. Of an Abby with a "peach fuzz" head. Crazy. I look at those old pictures and I just have a hard time that that is and has been our life. Just very surreal. I'm glad I have these posts to re-read and pictures to look at to remind me and bring the highs and lows back to my mind.
Anyway, on the Abby (present tense) front, things are going good. She still is complaining of not feeling good. Her appetite is sometimes good and sometimes not good. She was running a low fever the last couple of days but I think that is gone now. IgG can give you a fever and also make you achey so who knows. She is a bit stuffy again and the cough is back but we are just watching it to see how it all pans out.
We don't have to go to Denver this week... that is nice, it seems like I've been down there every week lately! Other than life just keeps moving. It's a wild ride in so many ways so we just are holding on tight to see where it all goes!
Later all.
Anyway, on the Abby (present tense) front, things are going good. She still is complaining of not feeling good. Her appetite is sometimes good and sometimes not good. She was running a low fever the last couple of days but I think that is gone now. IgG can give you a fever and also make you achey so who knows. She is a bit stuffy again and the cough is back but we are just watching it to see how it all pans out.
We don't have to go to Denver this week... that is nice, it seems like I've been down there every week lately! Other than life just keeps moving. It's a wild ride in so many ways so we just are holding on tight to see where it all goes!
Later all.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Sinus news
Hey sorry for the delay in the Sinus updates but here is the scoop:
Abby had another CAT scan (CT) and chemo last Friday. Dr. Smith looked at the CT Monday and said that they look really good, a dramatic improvement.
The Ear Nose Throat (ENT) looked at them on Tuesday and said that they look good. I'm not completely sure what the ENT said we got the info second hand from a nurse at our clinic.
If the sinus infection comes back then they will need to do surgery to clear it all up.
So, Abby is off antibiotics and we are just waiting to see how it all progresses. We're still doing the nasal rinsing as much as we can remember to. Abby is doing better with it now and even Anna gets involved by standing next to Abby and telling her it will be alright... pretty cute.
Abby goes down for IgG again tommorow and we are praying that that will give her the immunity that she needs to fight off any colds or reoccurances of the sinus infection.
See what else... oh Chicken Pox is going around our church so Abby can't go to Sunday school anymore. Once the last case has surfaced we will be able to go back 21 days later. We are trying to be positive about it but it is still a bit of a pain especially since they have a vaccine for Chicken Pox now. If everyone had the vaccine then this would be less of an issue... oh well.
Abby just finished up her last Dexamethasone (ie. grumpy/hungry) pill for this chemo round. She is doing pretty good, a bit tired but good.
That's it for now.
Abby had another CAT scan (CT) and chemo last Friday. Dr. Smith looked at the CT Monday and said that they look really good, a dramatic improvement.
The Ear Nose Throat (ENT) looked at them on Tuesday and said that they look good. I'm not completely sure what the ENT said we got the info second hand from a nurse at our clinic.
If the sinus infection comes back then they will need to do surgery to clear it all up.
So, Abby is off antibiotics and we are just waiting to see how it all progresses. We're still doing the nasal rinsing as much as we can remember to. Abby is doing better with it now and even Anna gets involved by standing next to Abby and telling her it will be alright... pretty cute.
Abby goes down for IgG again tommorow and we are praying that that will give her the immunity that she needs to fight off any colds or reoccurances of the sinus infection.
See what else... oh Chicken Pox is going around our church so Abby can't go to Sunday school anymore. Once the last case has surfaced we will be able to go back 21 days later. We are trying to be positive about it but it is still a bit of a pain especially since they have a vaccine for Chicken Pox now. If everyone had the vaccine then this would be less of an issue... oh well.
Abby just finished up her last Dexamethasone (ie. grumpy/hungry) pill for this chemo round. She is doing pretty good, a bit tired but good.
That's it for now.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Hope
It's been a long couple of weeks. Abby is up and down. Good mornings and still mornings when she thinks she is going to throw up or just "doesn't feel good"... as she puts it. She really doesn't like having saline water rinsed up her nose either. I bet it feels like getting pounded by a wave in the ocean while all the salt water goes up your nose. I never did like that sensation. Anyway we haven't been doing the salt water wash lately and in the last couple of days I think we've started to just loose hope a little bit resigning to the seemingly imminent surgery to clear this thing up. I mean why put Abby through all of these nasal rinses if she is just going to have it all scrapped out in a few weeks? So, as you can see our hope is definitely waning.
Tiffany read me a quote this morning that brought me to tears and renewed my hope a bit so I thought I should share it with you all...
"There are three ways of committing suicide---taking my own life, letting myself die, and letting myself live without hope. This last form of self-destruction is so subtle that it often goes unrecognized and therefore unchallenged. Ordinarily it takes the form of boredom, monotony, drudgery, feeling overcome by the ordinariness of life.
We begin by admitting in the inner sanctum of our hearts that the Christian calling is too demanding, that life in Christ Jesus is too sublime. We settle into a well-worn groove and lose the stuff of gospel greatness. We become like everyone else, fail ourselves and the community by failing to respond to the living, vibrant, magnificent image of Christ that is within us waiting only to be expressed."
We started the nasal washes again this morning. That's all I have to say to that :).
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