She was able to go home this morning. Dad left work and went to pick her up so she has been relaxing and enjoying being at home this afternoon. She is doing pretty well, Cale and Rheanna and Gary are over there now helping keep her company while Dad is at work. They were even able to get her to eat a little soup.
Not sure what the plan is from here, we've got to wait until tomorrow to talk with Dr. Lee. We're hoping that they won't want to start her next chemo until around the 20th of June, to give her a good long time to heal. (and so she can go to Jessika's 8th grade graduation ceremony on the 16th).
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Finally some better news
Friday I talked to Mom in the morning and they had decided that they were going to go ahead and remove the port just in case as they really couldn't find anything else that could be causing the fever and infection to keep returning. So they were trying to get a team together (on a holiday weekend) to do the surgery yesterday. In the meantime, Rachel and Dad headed over there to spend some time with her in the afternoon. Apparently, Dr. Lee finally got Mom's blood tests results for Saturday back and was frantically calling the hospital/nurses/surgeons to cancel the surgery as her numbers are finally starting to rise to safe levels...she even called Mom's cell phone to tell her to NOT let them wheel her in for surgery, just in case she couldn't get ahold of the right people to get it canceled in time...so anyway, they have decided that it isn't necessary to remove the port and her fever has now been gone for about 48 hours and her platelets, WBC and RBC numbers are moving in the right direction and she seems to be getting better finally.
Today she is feeling a bit better, just having a hard time with eating as nothing tastes good and is hard to force down.
We are hoping that they may let her out of the hospital tomorrow, or possibly on Tuesday...she is so ready to be home again.
Today she is feeling a bit better, just having a hard time with eating as nothing tastes good and is hard to force down.
We are hoping that they may let her out of the hospital tomorrow, or possibly on Tuesday...she is so ready to be home again.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
ugh...
Well if I had updated this last night I would have said that we were on the road to recovery. The CT scan did not show anything and she was starting to feel better....but today her fever came back and she isn't feeling well again. They have decided to do another chest xray tomorrow because she definitely has a rattle in her lungs and they can't decide if it is "anything" or "nothing to worry about". So for now she's stuck in the hospital indefinitely. I'm really hoping that her fever is short-lived and she's back on the road to recovery soon.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Better today...
Her fever broke yesterday late afternoon and has stayed down all night and into this morning. They decided to do a CT scan last night to see if they had missed anything. She has been coughing and having a little shortness of breath, plus on Monday some of the nurses noticed a little raspiness when they listened to her lungs. When I called this morning they didn't have the results of the scan back yet so we're still waiting...but I'm holding out hope that the little switch in antibiotics they made yesterday did the trick and we are on the road to recovery now.
It's been a tough week but maybe she'll be out of the hospital by Friday and that should lift her spirits.
It's been a tough week but maybe she'll be out of the hospital by Friday and that should lift her spirits.
Monday, May 24, 2010
not much new news...
I wish I had more of an update today...but really I pretty much know what I did yesterday. She is still fighting the fever and not feeling well. They think they have 3 basic possible scenarios for what kind of infection she has. It could be from what she ate, it could be from a sore she has on her lip or it could be from her port. So they have taken a bunch of blood and are doing cultures on everything so we have to wait for the cultures which can take 24 hours or so. If it is the port, they will need to remove it.
If they are not able to get the fever down and keep it down without meds, they will most likely move her to ICU until they can get her stabilized. She is not aware of this possibility as she is already upset about having to be in the hospital. She is still holding out hope that she could go home tomorrow which just isn't going to happen.
I wasn't able to talk to her this evening, so not sure how it has developed but at 3:45 she didn't know anything more. Hopefully we'll know more in the morning.
I hate the nights because I feel out of the loop and am worried about her being OK overnight. It's a long time to go without contact with her or the hospital and a lot can happen.
If they are not able to get the fever down and keep it down without meds, they will most likely move her to ICU until they can get her stabilized. She is not aware of this possibility as she is already upset about having to be in the hospital. She is still holding out hope that she could go home tomorrow which just isn't going to happen.
I wasn't able to talk to her this evening, so not sure how it has developed but at 3:45 she didn't know anything more. Hopefully we'll know more in the morning.
I hate the nights because I feel out of the loop and am worried about her being OK overnight. It's a long time to go without contact with her or the hospital and a lot can happen.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Infection update
So Mom has been fighting this fever since Saturday morning. I talked with Dad this morning early and he said they had not been able to get it under control and that we won't know more about where the infection came from until tomorrow.
After church this morning I called back and he said that the fever had broken and they THINK that the infection is from a meal they had on Friday night - take out. Dr. Lee was very emphatic that they do NOT eat out or have meals brought in for the first two weeks after treatment from now on. She will need to have all meals cooked at the house and no veggies/fruit/flowers start as soon as she leaves the hospital after chemo.
I talked with Mom tonight about 9 and she said the fever is back. She got the chills right after Dad left late afternoon and they haven't been able to get it under control again. She is not sounding very good at all...very shaky and weak. So I guess for now, we just have to wait and leave it in the hands of God and the doctors to help her get through this.
After church this morning I called back and he said that the fever had broken and they THINK that the infection is from a meal they had on Friday night - take out. Dr. Lee was very emphatic that they do NOT eat out or have meals brought in for the first two weeks after treatment from now on. She will need to have all meals cooked at the house and no veggies/fruit/flowers start as soon as she leaves the hospital after chemo.
I talked with Mom tonight about 9 and she said the fever is back. She got the chills right after Dad left late afternoon and they haven't been able to get it under control again. She is not sounding very good at all...very shaky and weak. So I guess for now, we just have to wait and leave it in the hands of God and the doctors to help her get through this.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Another infection
Well, Mom ended up back in the hospital this morning with a 103.8 temp...I don't know a whole lot, just talked to Dad on the phone after I got off work. She has another infection and they are treating her with IV antibiotics and gave her some sort of shot to try to fight it off. Will try to get some more info tonight and find out exactly what is going on. This sucks!
Friday, May 21, 2010
More blood
Well Millie took Mom over to have blood work done this morning. She needed two units of blood so she was admitted to the hospital for the day and will get the blood over the next six hours. She should be able to go home tonight around 9 or so if they got her started by 1. I may go get her after I get off work or Dad may get her if it doesn't get too late. While they were over in Corvallis I was able to get over and clean their house again, so at least she'll come home to a clean house tonight.
She said she is feeling a little better, food still tastes funny but at least it is staying down.
She said she is feeling a little better, food still tastes funny but at least it is staying down.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
New look
Well, the hair is gone. Mom's got a new look. I went over today and shaved off what little she had left, the pile was less than I have when I get a trim...it was really getting to be more of a nuisance for her, coming off in clumps and getting all over the place. So I took over my clippers and scissors and now its gone. It was tough. But she looks cute in her hats!
I've been slacking in getting any updates done but she got out of the hospital on Sunday morning. She hasn't been feeling well at all this time around, lots of stomach cramping and nausea and tiredness. Today was a little better. I took her over for blood tests this afternoon and she had to get a bag of platelets. Her WBC is down to .2 and her neutrophil # is .1 - so back to no flowers/fruits/vegetables and staying away from people. We had quite a long afternoon over there, the blood bank was being stingy with the platelets, said emergency patients only. So Dr. Lee had to get on the phone and tell them that Mom WAS an emergency and we needed it NOW. Her appt was at 1:30 and we finally got the platelets at 4:40...left the office at a little before 6. Made for a very long afternoon for her, I hope she ate some dinner and then laid down.
Anyway, emotionally she's hanging in there. She's sad that she's missing out on so many of the things the kids are doing. We're not sure if she's going to get to see Jessika's confirmation on Sunday or not. She says she's going to sneak in and watch from the back, but I told her that we need to play it by ear and see how she's feeling that day. My Aunt Sheri and Uncle Mike(dad's brother) are coming from Nebraska on Saturday for a week, so she really wants to be feeling well enough to visit with them. Anyway, she said it seems silly to miss all this stuff, she doesn't really need to, and I said um, yes you DO! We'd rather have her miss one year's worth of stuff than forever, tough to say...
I've been slacking in getting any updates done but she got out of the hospital on Sunday morning. She hasn't been feeling well at all this time around, lots of stomach cramping and nausea and tiredness. Today was a little better. I took her over for blood tests this afternoon and she had to get a bag of platelets. Her WBC is down to .2 and her neutrophil # is .1 - so back to no flowers/fruits/vegetables and staying away from people. We had quite a long afternoon over there, the blood bank was being stingy with the platelets, said emergency patients only. So Dr. Lee had to get on the phone and tell them that Mom WAS an emergency and we needed it NOW. Her appt was at 1:30 and we finally got the platelets at 4:40...left the office at a little before 6. Made for a very long afternoon for her, I hope she ate some dinner and then laid down.
Anyway, emotionally she's hanging in there. She's sad that she's missing out on so many of the things the kids are doing. We're not sure if she's going to get to see Jessika's confirmation on Sunday or not. She says she's going to sneak in and watch from the back, but I told her that we need to play it by ear and see how she's feeling that day. My Aunt Sheri and Uncle Mike(dad's brother) are coming from Nebraska on Saturday for a week, so she really wants to be feeling well enough to visit with them. Anyway, she said it seems silly to miss all this stuff, she doesn't really need to, and I said um, yes you DO! We'd rather have her miss one year's worth of stuff than forever, tough to say...
Friday, May 14, 2010
Almost done again...
Well only one more full day in the hospital and we'll have another round of chemo under the belts...Mom has definitely been feeling the effects this time around. Lots of nausea and tiredness...they've been giving her anti-nausea meds to cut down on it some but she still isn't feeling really great. I was able to get over there yesterday and spend a little time with her but not today and won't be able to tomorrow, so we'll have to wait to see her again after she gets home from the hospital on Sunday.
Dr. Lee says that her blood counts are doing better this time so we're hopeful that she won't need as much blood or platelets as last time. She is also better prepared and will be monitoring things more closely so hopefully Mom won't need to go to the hospital for large amounts, just in the infusion room with a bag at a time.
Next week looks to be very busy with trips for blood tests and check ups again.
Dr. Lee says that her blood counts are doing better this time so we're hopeful that she won't need as much blood or platelets as last time. She is also better prepared and will be monitoring things more closely so hopefully Mom won't need to go to the hospital for large amounts, just in the infusion room with a bag at a time.
Next week looks to be very busy with trips for blood tests and check ups again.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Chemo is kicking in again...
Mom has been feeling pretty good so far but the chemo is starting to kick in again. Today she had a little bit of nausea and is feeling really tired, and bored...with me working I haven't been able to get over to see her and keep her occupied during the day so the days are dragging by for her.
So we're getting there - August feels like a long ways away but really it isn't, June is almost here already and then July and then we should be done with this nasty chemo crap.
So we're getting there - August feels like a long ways away but really it isn't, June is almost here already and then July and then we should be done with this nasty chemo crap.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Round 3
Well this morning was the beginning of round 3 of chemo. Mom and Dad went to the hospital about 7am and by 9:15 she was being wheeled in to have her port installed. I made it over there about 9:45 and Dad and Dave Olson were sitting in the waiting room. By 10 they had called to say she was being moved to recovery; by 10:30 Dad and I were up in her room with her. She was wide awake and doing great. No pain, just hungry. :)
Dad left to head to work and I stayed until about 1:15. About 1:45 they got her first dose of chemo going, she will do another round of 1 dose every 12 hours for six days. So she should be out of the hospital next Sunday.
In other news...
Kam started a job today. He is working for Advanced Mechanical in Brownsville. This is temporary thing for now but we are very hopeful they will like him and keep him on in a more permanent position. There is even a possibility that he could get into an apprenticeship program with them, on the job training type of thing with the ability to earn a millwright card at the end of two years, so we are very hopeful!
I was also offered a job today. I am going to be working part time at Bing's Kitchen restaurant in Lebanon as a waitress. Not my forever job, but its money in our pocket as my unemployment is set to run out (with no further extensions) at the end of this month. I'll be working evenings and weekends, which in some ways is a blessing as I'll still be able to take Mom to doctor's appts and run errands and go to school functions during the day and work in the evenings...
It really is a world where its not what you know but who you know...without the help and caring of some really terrific people neither of us would have these opportunities for work. While neither of them "fix" our financial situation, they certainly bring hope that things are turning around. So thank you Chad and Chonda, Tami and Sara - we love you!
Dad left to head to work and I stayed until about 1:15. About 1:45 they got her first dose of chemo going, she will do another round of 1 dose every 12 hours for six days. So she should be out of the hospital next Sunday.
In other news...
Kam started a job today. He is working for Advanced Mechanical in Brownsville. This is temporary thing for now but we are very hopeful they will like him and keep him on in a more permanent position. There is even a possibility that he could get into an apprenticeship program with them, on the job training type of thing with the ability to earn a millwright card at the end of two years, so we are very hopeful!
I was also offered a job today. I am going to be working part time at Bing's Kitchen restaurant in Lebanon as a waitress. Not my forever job, but its money in our pocket as my unemployment is set to run out (with no further extensions) at the end of this month. I'll be working evenings and weekends, which in some ways is a blessing as I'll still be able to take Mom to doctor's appts and run errands and go to school functions during the day and work in the evenings...
It really is a world where its not what you know but who you know...without the help and caring of some really terrific people neither of us would have these opportunities for work. While neither of them "fix" our financial situation, they certainly bring hope that things are turning around. So thank you Chad and Chonda, Tami and Sara - we love you!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Car Show Benefit
Albany Wheel & Exhaust/B & B Speed Shop hosts:
Get Together 2010
a Benefit Car Show for Karen Wetzel
Saturday May 22, 2010
4pm - ???
at the corner of 10th & Geary in Albany
BBQ with Dogs, salads, chips, pop
Custom Exhaust Raffle
Live Music
All for generous donations to support Bill & Karen's hospital expenses
(Big, big thanks to Mike Brenneman and family for hosting this event)
Get Together 2010
a Benefit Car Show for Karen Wetzel
Saturday May 22, 2010
4pm - ???
at the corner of 10th & Geary in Albany
BBQ with Dogs, salads, chips, pop
Custom Exhaust Raffle
Live Music
All for generous donations to support Bill & Karen's hospital expenses
(Big, big thanks to Mike Brenneman and family for hosting this event)
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Nice break this week
Mom has been doing really well! She has been able to go to church, go to a couple of meetings and even sing at choir practice. She's been out and about town and doing a little visiting, she even stopped by our house today and got to sit and visit with my mother-in-law and the kids. Its been a great week, which makes it so much harder to see Monday coming around.
This week has been great for us too, I've been able to concentrate on things around the house and stay home during the day and relax a little, we're even getting out of town to do some camping with friends. A much needed break for us all.
This week has been great for us too, I've been able to concentrate on things around the house and stay home during the day and relax a little, we're even getting out of town to do some camping with friends. A much needed break for us all.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Amazing what a week will do
Mom is doing sooo much better this week. She had a doctor's appt on Friday and her blood counts were really good. Her WBC is up over 4. Her platelets were 141 and her neutrophils were 2.something...so she is feeling much better, her energy is coming back and she has a whole week off. She'll be going in on May 10th to have her port installed. As soon as that is done she'll be admitted for chemo and we'll start this process all over again.
Friday night she was able to get out of the house and have dinner at Dick & Marjean's...then Saturday morning they went out for breakfast and did a little visiting. Last night they went to a 60th birthday party. I'm guessing that today she is wiped out and will need a little down time but its really great that she can have some "normal" time, that we can all take a little break from the treatment.
Friday night she was able to get out of the house and have dinner at Dick & Marjean's...then Saturday morning they went out for breakfast and did a little visiting. Last night they went to a 60th birthday party. I'm guessing that today she is wiped out and will need a little down time but its really great that she can have some "normal" time, that we can all take a little break from the treatment.
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