Penny has been moved to room 444 at Bakersfield Memorial. No more ICU...again.
Cristina
Friday, May 31, 2013
Thursday, May 30, 2013
May 30th, 2013 11:00pm
My apologies -- I just realized I haven't updated the blog.
Penny is doing well. The hematoma has stabilized, without any surgery. She's being kept in ICU tonight for observation, and then will be moved to a different floor in the hospital if she does well. There's a possibility that she will be moved to Mercy Hospital so that she can continue radiation treatment while she's recovering from the hematoma, but we don't have a timeline for that. Chemotherapy may be delayed for a larger amount of time.
Thanks for all your prayers, thoughts and support. Much love.
Cristina
Penny is doing well. The hematoma has stabilized, without any surgery. She's being kept in ICU tonight for observation, and then will be moved to a different floor in the hospital if she does well. There's a possibility that she will be moved to Mercy Hospital so that she can continue radiation treatment while she's recovering from the hematoma, but we don't have a timeline for that. Chemotherapy may be delayed for a larger amount of time.
Thanks for all your prayers, thoughts and support. Much love.
Cristina
Thursday, May 30, 2013, 1:20 pm
Change of plans.
Penny's blood pressure dropped very low last night after I posted. It was so low that the nurse thought her machine was broken. She was moved into a bigger ER room with a bigger team.
She had a center line put in (no easy task) to stabilize her until they could find the bleeding and try to stop it. As I'm sure you can imagine, it was a very long night for all of us. The line finally went in (to bone marrow, as her veins were too constricted), and they located the source of the bleeding: her colon. Just before we left the hospital, they moved her to the ICU, which is where she currently is.
To my current knowledge (1:20pm), they haven't been able to completely stop the bleeding, but they've given her coagulants and have managed to slow it down. We just got to the hospital, and Matt was told that her heart rate and blood pressure are pretty close to her normal. I don't actually remember the numbers at the moment.
Things are ok for the moment. Thank you for reading, and for your support.
Cristina
Penny's blood pressure dropped very low last night after I posted. It was so low that the nurse thought her machine was broken. She was moved into a bigger ER room with a bigger team.
She had a center line put in (no easy task) to stabilize her until they could find the bleeding and try to stop it. As I'm sure you can imagine, it was a very long night for all of us. The line finally went in (to bone marrow, as her veins were too constricted), and they located the source of the bleeding: her colon. Just before we left the hospital, they moved her to the ICU, which is where she currently is.
To my current knowledge (1:20pm), they haven't been able to completely stop the bleeding, but they've given her coagulants and have managed to slow it down. We just got to the hospital, and Matt was told that her heart rate and blood pressure are pretty close to her normal. I don't actually remember the numbers at the moment.
Things are ok for the moment. Thank you for reading, and for your support.
Cristina
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Monday continued to be restful. Penny was more lucid than on Sunday, but not as lucid as usual. She had some visitors on Monday, which she enjoyed immensely.
Tuesday afternoon was the first radiation treatment, and the first dose of chemo (which is in pill form). Everything seemed to have gone well. After she was home, in attempting to get out of the wheelchair, she had a (cushioned) fall. Matt was right there, and helped lower her to the ground. It was very scary for her, but it seemed like she was okay.
Today, Penny was complaining of a sharp pain in her lower left abdomen. It's the worst pain she's been in with this experience. She's refused morphine to this point, because she doesn't want to lose any lucidity she has left, but today asked for two doses of morphine.
After talking with several different people at CBCC, Matt and Terry decided it would be best to call an ambulance to take her to the ER. She went to Bakersfield Memorial. It turns out that the sharp pain was internal bleeding. As of now, we don't know what caused the internal bleeding. She'll be staying the night in Bakersfield Memorial, and then will be moved tomorrow to Mercy Hospital, also in Bakersfield, so she can continue to receive radiation treatment while recovering. We're not sure how long she'll be at Mercy, but we'll keep you posted.
Thanks for all you do for us, and for the kind words of support.
Cristina
Tuesday afternoon was the first radiation treatment, and the first dose of chemo (which is in pill form). Everything seemed to have gone well. After she was home, in attempting to get out of the wheelchair, she had a (cushioned) fall. Matt was right there, and helped lower her to the ground. It was very scary for her, but it seemed like she was okay.
Today, Penny was complaining of a sharp pain in her lower left abdomen. It's the worst pain she's been in with this experience. She's refused morphine to this point, because she doesn't want to lose any lucidity she has left, but today asked for two doses of morphine.
After talking with several different people at CBCC, Matt and Terry decided it would be best to call an ambulance to take her to the ER. She went to Bakersfield Memorial. It turns out that the sharp pain was internal bleeding. As of now, we don't know what caused the internal bleeding. She'll be staying the night in Bakersfield Memorial, and then will be moved tomorrow to Mercy Hospital, also in Bakersfield, so she can continue to receive radiation treatment while recovering. We're not sure how long she'll be at Mercy, but we'll keep you posted.
Thanks for all you do for us, and for the kind words of support.
Cristina
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Sunday, May 26, 2013
What a week!
Penny was supposed to start radiation Thursday afternoon, but the swelling on her head had changed size since they'd done the markers, so they couldn't start. Since the swelling changes every day, they're going to use a bigger mapping mask, and they did the re-marking for that on Friday. She'll finally be able to start radiation and chemo on Tuesday (since tomorrow's Memorial Day).
Also on Friday, one of Penny's friends from CSUB, Rose, came and brought one of her friends, Jeffery, who is also in Social Work. Having them here was lovely, and options were discussed with Terry as far as daily care goes. No decisions have been made yet. We're going to have a couple of companies come out as soon as we can on Tuesday for a free evaluation so we can get some bids.
Around the same time, Penny's physical therapist (Jessica) came. She talked with Penny and Terry about transfers (to and from bed, to and from car, etc.), and giving training to both Penny and whoever's helping her so that neither gets hurt. Training involves doing transfers a certain way in a certain order to maximize safety. Since Penny's re-marking appt. was at 1:30, Jessica helped with the car transfer and gave us a lot of very helpful tips. (Who knew that boardwalks and curbs could be so useful??) Jessica is AMAZING, and we are so grateful for her help.
Jessica will be returning Tuesday morning, and Jeffery will be returning Wednesday morning.
Penny loves having visitors, even though she gets tired very easily. Since we arrived last Sunday evening, Penny has been lucid about 95% of the time. Today, she's been a lot less lucid, which makes things more difficult.
I'm asked regularly whether I think Penny is going downhill. It always surprises me how difficult that is to answer, because it's not a straight "yes" or "no." She is physically very strong. She has good muscle tone in her limbs and can do a lot. However, she has a lot of fear. She is very, very afraid of falling, and that is her biggest adversary in her physical abilities. It's difficult for us to tell, sometimes, whether her fear comes from the falls she's already had (none of which have been bad, physically), or whether it's coming from the brain injury itself. Rose is in Social Work, and mentioned that she could do a test on Penny to help determine an answer, but that it most likely switches between the two regularly. We also know that how we answer that question will change once she actually starts treatment.
We continue to do what we can, and are grateful for the support and love of family, friends, colleagues, co-workers, and dogs (and cats, too, I suppose).
Thanks for the flowers, cards and food. They are all appreciated, more than you know.
Cristina
Penny was supposed to start radiation Thursday afternoon, but the swelling on her head had changed size since they'd done the markers, so they couldn't start. Since the swelling changes every day, they're going to use a bigger mapping mask, and they did the re-marking for that on Friday. She'll finally be able to start radiation and chemo on Tuesday (since tomorrow's Memorial Day).
Also on Friday, one of Penny's friends from CSUB, Rose, came and brought one of her friends, Jeffery, who is also in Social Work. Having them here was lovely, and options were discussed with Terry as far as daily care goes. No decisions have been made yet. We're going to have a couple of companies come out as soon as we can on Tuesday for a free evaluation so we can get some bids.
Around the same time, Penny's physical therapist (Jessica) came. She talked with Penny and Terry about transfers (to and from bed, to and from car, etc.), and giving training to both Penny and whoever's helping her so that neither gets hurt. Training involves doing transfers a certain way in a certain order to maximize safety. Since Penny's re-marking appt. was at 1:30, Jessica helped with the car transfer and gave us a lot of very helpful tips. (Who knew that boardwalks and curbs could be so useful??) Jessica is AMAZING, and we are so grateful for her help.
Jessica will be returning Tuesday morning, and Jeffery will be returning Wednesday morning.
Penny loves having visitors, even though she gets tired very easily. Since we arrived last Sunday evening, Penny has been lucid about 95% of the time. Today, she's been a lot less lucid, which makes things more difficult.
I'm asked regularly whether I think Penny is going downhill. It always surprises me how difficult that is to answer, because it's not a straight "yes" or "no." She is physically very strong. She has good muscle tone in her limbs and can do a lot. However, she has a lot of fear. She is very, very afraid of falling, and that is her biggest adversary in her physical abilities. It's difficult for us to tell, sometimes, whether her fear comes from the falls she's already had (none of which have been bad, physically), or whether it's coming from the brain injury itself. Rose is in Social Work, and mentioned that she could do a test on Penny to help determine an answer, but that it most likely switches between the two regularly. We also know that how we answer that question will change once she actually starts treatment.
We continue to do what we can, and are grateful for the support and love of family, friends, colleagues, co-workers, and dogs (and cats, too, I suppose).
Thanks for the flowers, cards and food. They are all appreciated, more than you know.
Cristina
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Sorry for the long time between updates! As you can guess, it continues to be very busy here.
Matt, Elizabeth and I are visiting right now, and we've enjoyed it, even though it's very hard work.
Penny, Terry, Matt and Elizabeth went to Bakersfield today to prepare Penny for radiation and chemotherapy, which start tomorrow. Penny got in very quickly at the office, and the appointment went very well.
Earlier today, we had visits from the social worker, physical therapist and RN. All three were able to answer several questions that Matt and Elizabeth had. The PT worked with Penny quite a bit, and we all are working to help her overcome her fears of falling and working on the difficult PT things. Terry gets scared, too, and just wants things to be fixed right away, so we're trying to help him understand that it's a process, and that patience and training are needed. We're going to try to schedule another PT appointment when hopefully Mike, Kirsten or Maren can be here to train with Terry and Penny on the daily exercises that will help Penny the most.
Elizabeth has spent the vast majority of the last three days on the phone with the hospice/home health company and Medicare to try and get things worked out. She's been amazing, and finally got things worked out today so that radiation and chemo can start tomorrow. Matt and I have spent time doing some background research for her, and also cleaning. We've done a lot of organizing of documents, and cleared out a space in Terry's office so that he can sit and have some room to look at things.
Thank you, all, for your help and support. You've made it easier for us to pick up where you left off while we're here. This is a difficult time for everyone, and your efforts are appreciated.
Cristina
Matt, Elizabeth and I are visiting right now, and we've enjoyed it, even though it's very hard work.
Penny, Terry, Matt and Elizabeth went to Bakersfield today to prepare Penny for radiation and chemotherapy, which start tomorrow. Penny got in very quickly at the office, and the appointment went very well.
Earlier today, we had visits from the social worker, physical therapist and RN. All three were able to answer several questions that Matt and Elizabeth had. The PT worked with Penny quite a bit, and we all are working to help her overcome her fears of falling and working on the difficult PT things. Terry gets scared, too, and just wants things to be fixed right away, so we're trying to help him understand that it's a process, and that patience and training are needed. We're going to try to schedule another PT appointment when hopefully Mike, Kirsten or Maren can be here to train with Terry and Penny on the daily exercises that will help Penny the most.
Elizabeth has spent the vast majority of the last three days on the phone with the hospice/home health company and Medicare to try and get things worked out. She's been amazing, and finally got things worked out today so that radiation and chemo can start tomorrow. Matt and I have spent time doing some background research for her, and also cleaning. We've done a lot of organizing of documents, and cleared out a space in Terry's office so that he can sit and have some room to look at things.
Thank you, all, for your help and support. You've made it easier for us to pick up where you left off while we're here. This is a difficult time for everyone, and your efforts are appreciated.
Cristina
Friday, May 10, 2013
Friday, May 10, 2013
Penny continues to rest comfortably at home most days. The past two weeks she has had doctor’s
appointments in Bakersfield on Thursdays and Fridays in preparation for
treatment. She will be undergoing
radiation and chemotherapy concurrently, probably beginning in ten days to two
weeks. Yesterday she had new CT scans
and MRIs taken so that the radial oncologist can plan her treatment with the
most recent information on the locations of her cancer. She wears a helmet every time she is out of
bed, and yesterday that was adjusted so it is much more comfortable for
her. As of this weekend she is no longer
under hospice care. Optimal has switched
her over to their home health division, so we will be getting to know a different
set of nurses and aides. Penny is still answering her phones, although sometimes
she has a hard time answering them before the call goes to voicemail. She is still looking at Facebook and reads
everything that people post. She really
appreciates your comments on her page.
Last weekend, Mike and Kirsten arranged for her to watch part of one of
her grandson’s baseball games, which she thoroughly enjoyed. She enjoys receiving cards and letters
too. They brighten up her day. Another bright spot- one of the families from
church has let Penny borrow a lift chair for the TV room. The lift chair will
give her another place to sit down in the house, even when Terry is the only
other person home. Without the lift, it takes two strong people to get her out
of the chairs at their home. This
situation has limited her ability to relax outside of her bed. Now, thanks to the Chickerings, she will be
able to have a change of setting. Thank
you! And thank you to all of you who
have served her and Terry by sitting with in the afternoons and evenings. You have been such a great help!
Karinne
Karinne
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