Tuesday update

Yesterday Jennie went to the Doctors office in Owensboro because we thought her incision might be infected. The Doctor gave her an antibiotic and took some cultures as he felt it was infected also. Hopefully this antibiotic will kick the infection quickly, as it is causing Jennie's abdomen to swell more which is quite painful.

We were able to get her out quite a bit this weekend, we even made a short trip to Walmart! I think her recovery is still going well, but I am not sure if we will be able to remove half the staples at the end of the week as we planned. I guess we will just have to see what the rest of this week is like.

I went back to Louisville yesterday and am trying to get things in order to go back to work tomorrow.

We made it!!

Just a quick note to let everyone know that we made it into Owensboro late last night. We are all exhausted from the long drives, and Jennie has slept most of the day today. Hopefully after a day or two of resting we can get her moving and back on the way to recovery again.

We are halfway home . . .

I just wanted to let everyone know we made it to Rockford, IL. It took about 7 hours driving with a few short breaks, and we had to drive through heavy rain almost the whole way.

Jennie was a real trooper and is determined to make it home tomorrow, even though she is in more pain than she was last time. Driving in rain also makes her very nervous, so today was bad and it looks like tomorrow will be too.

Anyway, hopefully we will be in Owensboro tomorrow night, and I may begin posting just every few days, as the progress is likely to be slow. Thanks again for all the support, we look forward to seeing many of you soon.

Meeting with the Dr.

This morning we met with Dr. Sutherland. He was pleased with Jennie's progress, and was happy to hear that things were going well. He took out the top 6 staples, in an effort to let the incision drain and avoid an infection.

Other than that, the trip over there wore Jennie out and she has slept much of the afternoon. On a positive note, she was able to eat a few grapes and a small amount of cheese, which is a step in the right direction. It didn't seem to bother her too badly, and hopefully she can begin eating more normally over the next week or so.

The plan is to leave here early in the morning. We will see if we make it in two days. It is almost a week earlier than we have left in the past, and I don't know if Jennie will be able to tolerate 7 or 8 hours of driving a day.

I will likely post tomorrow night after we stop, just to update on how far we made it. Thanks again for the prayers and support and we hope to see many of you soon!

Sleep . . .

Jennie's first day back at the hotel has been uneventful for the most part, and consisted mostly of sleeping. She is still waking every 2 hours for pain medicine, which keeps her from getting any deep sleep, but she is exhausted.

She still hasn't been able to really eat anything, just a few crackers with some water. Hopefully we can get the reflux and heartburn under control that she might be able to eat something tomorrow. We will be getting some Boost shakes to try, hoping that they will give her some of the nutrients she needs to continue healing.

Tomorrow we will let her rest again for much of the day, as Tuesday we have the Doctors appointment and we will likely begin the journey home on Wednesday. This will be a long and painful week for Jennie.

Pray that the appointment goes well on Tuesday, maybe she will be able to begin eating again by then!!

We're out of here!!

Dr. Singh just came in and gave us the offical news, Jennie is getting out of the hospital!! We will be staying in Minneapolis for a least a few days, as we have an appointment with Dr. Sutherland on Tuesday morning, but getting out of the hospital is a major step in the right direction.

Dr. Singh is concerned about the fact that Jennie isn't eating much yet and he was worried about stopping the IV nutrition, but he decided it would be ok if we get the check-in with Dr. Sutherland on tuesday. If there are any additional needs for nutrition they can be addressed on that day.

Anyway, I know Jennie will be much more comfortable and will be able to rest better out of here and away from nurses checking in every few hours. Hopefully we can be on the way home by the middle of the week, although I am sure it will take at least 2 or 3 days to drive back.

Thanks again to everyone for the prayers and support, it has made the last few weeks much easier.

Recovery Day 7

It is amazing how much improvement Jennie has in just a week! Late yesterday they switched Jennie of to oral pain meds with a short acting injectible Duladid available for breakthrough pain, and it seems to be working pretty well. She still has a lot of heartburn and the doctors are still trying to address that.

The only real issue keeping her in here is the TPN, and the fact that she can't eat much yet to keep her nutrition up without it. The doctors did say she can leave when she wants, but we are worried that her nutrition will suffer if we leave too soon. Hopefully we can discuss this with the doctors again when they come in this afternoon.

Hopefully Jennie will be leaving the hospital within the next few days, although it will still be several days before we leave Minneapolis to give her more time to heal in the Hotel before the long Ride home. I think the drive and all the bumps along the way really set her back, and I know it is very painful.

Thank you all for the prayers, calls, and support.

Recovery Day 6

Again today has been a fairly good day for Jennie. Some of the food she ate yesterday caused some heartburn, so they are going to switch her Protonix to 2 times a day orally instead of once a day through IV. They also told her she can take TUMS as needed, and they seemed to help some today.

She didn't get much sleep last night because of a headache, but we were able to get rid of that and she got to sleep for a few hours. She has also been good about getting out and going for walks on the floor, and they are gradually getting longer each day.

The only real cause for concern is that she had some sharp pain under her left ribs today, around where the stomach is. We haven't seen a doctor yet today to ask about this, so we aren't sure what it means. It could be that this is normal as her stomach begins to heal and work properly again, or it could be the first sign of a problem. We really won't know until we get to talk to the doctors, and they may want to run some tests to look into it further.

Recovery Day 5

I apologize for not posting earlier, I spent the night with Jennie last night and wanted to wait until we had heard from the Doctor this afternoon before posting.

Today has been another good day for Jennie. She has been moving more, and the pain is still staying tolerable for the most part. She had the catheter taken out yesterday, so she has been forced to get up every several hours, which I think will speed the recovery along.

She has also been allowed to switch over to a full liquid diet, so we are slowly trying Jello, fruit ice, and pudding. So far most of it has gone ok, but she is getting a lot of heartburn with food. We will be taking eating slowly, and the doctors seem pleased with the progress, as are we.

Jennie did pull an abdominal muscle last night when she jerked in her sleep, so that is keeping it sorer than it would otherwise be. There was some talk about switching her over to oral pain meds tomorrow, but we convinced the doctor to wait another day after all the problems we had in March making that transition.

Thanks again for all the prayers and support. All in all it was a good day, and hopefully with a few more she can be out of the hospital!!

Recovery Day 4

Jennie is feeling less pain today and her blood levels are up since the transfusion yesterday, however she has been running a slight fever since last night and is coughing a lot. The doctors are unsure at this point if it is an infection or Pneumonia, and will wait until the blood and urine cultures they took last night come back before they try to address it.

Hopefully tomorrow they will be back and it can be treated regardless of the findings. Overall I think her health is still fairly good, and hopefully this won't be too much of a setback.

Recovery Day 3

Jennie is still doing well, her pain has been under control and she has been able to get a lot of rest. They started her on the TPN last night, and it has raised her blood sugar somewhat, but not enough to be alarmed. They have tried to address it through the insulin shots, and I am sure they will get it better under control with a little more time.

The doctor came in a few minutes ago and informed us that her Hemoglobin has dropped just a little bit to 7.8, so they are going to give her a few units of blood to raise it again. The doctor didn't seem to think Jennie had any bleeding issues internally, but that the levels had just dropped a little over the weekend and he wanted to get it higher to help with the recovery. They will also be giving another dose of lasix, although Jennie is starting to loose some of the fluids naturally, so hopefully that won't be needed much longer.

Other than that, it has just been a good morning, and we will be getting up and doing some walking this afternoon. Thanks again for all the prayers and support, I have read every comment and appreciate knowing that everyone is thinking about us. For those of you who wanted the address, I have included it below. Please remember to only send cards, we are limited in room and there are a lot of restrictions as to what is accepted on the floor also.

Fairview Medical Center

420 Delaware Street SE

Floor 7C Room 409 - Jennie Boggess

Minneapolis, MN 55455

Day 2

Jennie had a better night once we were able to get her pain medicine increased. The lasix helped to get some of the fluid off, and they will be giving her another dose to try and reduce the swelling even more.

The Doctors came in to day and decided to remove her NG tube since it hasn't produced hardly anything since the surgery, hopefully she doesn't get nauseous with it out. They will also be starting her on TPN today, which is the IV nutrition, and have cut her other fluids back to try and reduce the swelling also.

Rita already had Jennie out of bed when I got here and they had walked out into the hall along with sitting in a chair for a while. I think her progress is remarkable, especially given how difficult the last two surgeries have been. Hopefully we won't face any major setbacks and she will be out of here in a week or so, I know she would much rather be away from the hospital as quickly as possible.

Thanks again for all the prayers, calls, and support. We greatly appreciate it and it helps immensely.

Update

Apparently Dr. Sutherland was so upset about the events that he decided to come down here today on his day off and stop in to check on Jennie. He came by a few minutes ago to see exactly how Jennie was and reiterated to us that he could increase the pain medicine if need be, and to just let the nurses know because he would make sure the orders were put in if she needed it.

I can't help but be grateful that Jennie is in the hands of such a skilled and compassionate surgeon. I don't know too many doctors that would actually take the initiative to come in on their day off, especially after having a very long day yesterday (and I am sure the rest of the week).

With that being said, I think that Jennie's pain is a little better this afternoon, she seems to be sleeping more soundly. The nurse also gave her a dose of Ativan, which is an anxiety medicine that seems to be helping her relax and sleep better. The lasix seem to be getting some fluid off, however she is still very swollen.

Please continue to pray for Jennie, hopefully she will continue to make progress and the pain will stay under control.

Day One Update

Ok, so you can scratch the whole idea about switching her to oral pain meds. Dr. Sutherland nixed that idea, and I think Dr. Singh is upset I went over his head. Oh well, it's what is best for Jennie.

Other than that, I think everything else will be adjusted as I posted earlier. The pain consult is still set for Monday, I just hope Jennie can make it until then.

Day One

Last night was a rough night for Jennie. Her pain medicine levels were too low and she suffered most of the night as we tried to get the Doctors to increase it little by little. Today seems to have gotten her pain at least to tolerable levels, although she still is having difficulty getting any rest.

They have requested a pain consult to see if a pain specialist will have any other suggestions or if they would be willing to bump her pain medicine up just a little more, unfortunately pain consults are only available Monday - Friday. To try to make it until then, the doctor said he will discontinue her continuous rate pain medicine and put her back on her oral pain meds she had at home but keep the PCA pump for breakthrough pain relief. They will be giving her these medicines by crushing them and putting them through her NG tube.

I am not sure that putting medicine into a stomach that was just operated on is a good idea, but the Surgeon that operated with Dr. Sutherland seems to think it will work and that it may help control it better. Time will tell, unless Dr. Sutherland has another idea when he is consulted by phone.

She has also started swelling quite a bit, just as she has for each of the previous surgeries, and they will be giving her lasix later to try and get some of the fluid off. There also was some miscommunication about the acceptable blood sugar levels, but the doctor that just came in will be adjusting the scale some to prevent her blood sugar from getting too high.

I just hope and pray that they are able to help with the pain some so that Jennie can get some rest. I think if we can get her feeling just a little better we can get her moving quicker and hopefully out of the hospital a day or two sooner.

Up to her room . . .

We finally got Jennie moved into a room and got to see her for the first time. This time her room is on the Surgical Oncology floor, which we are not sure why they chose this floor. We are afraid once she begins to heal and move around more that the low moral and demeanor on the floor could impede her recovery, but I hope we are wrong.

On the plus side, she does look better this time compared to the last two surgeries. Her color is a little better, and she seems to be in a little less pain than the previous times. That is not to say that she doesn't have a long way to go, but it is the little signs :-) Anyway, I hope she is able to sleep tonight and will be well on the way to recovery soon.

She made it!!

Dr. Sutherland came out a few minutes ago and told us that the surgery is complete and that Jennie should be making her way to recovery shortly. Dr. Sutherland thinks the surgery went well and hopefully there will be a noticeable improvement within several weeks as Jennie begins to heal.

He elected not to do the liver biopsy he was planning on, he said because he was concerned about bleeding. He was also on his way to another case, and he said her blood sugar stayed low the entire surgery without any insulin. I think both of these may have been factors in him choosing not to do the biopsy as well.

Anyway, the surgery is over and now she can begin to recover. I expect her to be out of it for the next day or two, but hopefully she will notice a difference as she begins to heal and trys to eat in the next few days and weeks. Keep praying that this surgery will have finally made her pain tolerable and that she will heal quickly.

Surgery update

Dr. Sutherland just poked his head out briefly to give us an update. They just completed the stomach removal and will be working to attach the remaining portion to the Duodenum when he goes back in. He noted that there was a large amount of swelling and inflammation, possibly from the reflux. He warned us that it was taking somewhat longer than he anticipated, but that everything was going fine so far.

Dr. Sutherland also said that the site around where he performed the Subtotal Colectomy was also very inflamed, and he wasn't sure if this was related to the reflux or not. He doesn't see any other issues at this point, but he did tell us due to the prior surgeries he was going very slowly to avoid any further damage and to ensure everything is done properly to avoid any additional surgeries.

We appreciate all the prayers and support, and hope to have some good news in a few more hours.

Surgery has begun . . .

Jennie's surgery began this morning at about 7:30, and Dr. Sutherland told us to expect it to last 3 or 4 hours, possibly a bit longer depending on exactly what they find. We did get some good news that her islet cells seem to be functioning very well after the boost test on Wednesday. Her insulin production is just below the normal range, which it seems is better than Dr. Sutherland expected after the transplant last summer.

Today in addition to the Roux-En-Y procedure, Dr. Sutherland will take care of any adhesions he finds and do a liver biopsy. Dr. Sutherland told us that many of the patients he has to perform this surgery on notice a difference almost immediately, and I think that we are all hoping that happens with Jennie.

Jennie of course was very nervous this morning, as we are, but we all hope that this will be the last surgery for a long time and that she will finally be able to reduce the pain medicine and get back into school or whatever she wants to do. If this makes it so that she can actually live life again it will have all been worth it.

Please keep Jennie in your prayers, hopefully the surgery will be done in a few hours and she can begin to recover.

From Jennie

Hi everyone! This is Jennie. I wanted to write and let you all know how grateful I am for your thoughts and prayers. With the surgery tomorrow, we are getting, as you can well imagine, a little nervous. But in hopes of soothing some of my dear husband's fears we have found a midnight showing of "GI Joe" that we will be attending tonight. To everyone reading this post, you have all been a very important piece of our lives and we would not be the couple we are today, nor as happy with our lives as we are today without you. Thank you for all of your support, your prayers, and, of course, for the many hugs and cards. As tomorrow morning approaches, I will be thinking of you all and praying that you have a blessed day. Thank you in advance for your love and prayers, and I ask only that you continue to hold my family and my sweet Andy as they deal with the numerous hours in the hospital and waiting rooms.
With lots of love and hugs, Jennie

Meeting with the Doctor

Today we met with Dr. Sutherland and discussed the surgery in more length. He believes that this surgery should absolutely fix the remaining pain and digestive issues that Jennie has, and talked briefly with us about several other patients he has had to perform this surgery on after their Pancreatectomy. He also mentioned that he was glad we had not attempted to do the Roux-En-Y back in March along with the Subtotal Colectomy because of the complications we had with that surgery afterwords.

Jennie's surgery is scheduled for Friday morning, and we have to be at the Hospital at 5:30. It will be Dr. Sutherland's first case of the day, which has been the case both other times, and should help to get the surgery started on time. Dr. Sutherland gave us an estimate of 3-4 hours for this surgery, however both of the previous surgeries went well past the estimates we were given, so I expect it to take somewhat longer than that. He also mentioned that he expected this surgery to be pretty difficult, and it is much more involved than the Subtotal Colectomy was in March. This was not very comforting to hear, especially after that surgery ended up having lots more complications than we expected. Jennie's blood work was drawn today as well, and her hemoglobin levels were a little on the low side, so a blood transfusion will most likely be necessary on Friday.

On a side note, today was the first time that they have accessed the Powerport that was put in last month. It was much easier to do once we found a nurse who was familiar with the port, and it only took two attempts which is much better than the 15 tries it took last time.

We made it!

After two long days of traveling, we made it into Minneapolis late last night. We are staying at the same hotel as last time, and it was really sad to know that I didn't need a map to get to the hotel or to Target to buy groceries. I think that is definitely a sign we have been here too much!!

Anyway, we are planning on just relaxing and getting settled in today, we will start the pre-op testing tomorrow morning bright and early. We have to be at the hospital at 5:30 on Friday, so the next few days will be early mornings for us. Just wish us well, I will try to begin posting regularly again!