We're finally home!
I didn't update for a couple of days because I was able to get J a private room and so I stayed with him the past two nights. Once I waved our insurance card a little, they moved us pretty quickly and J was able to rest so much better. He slept well because there were half as many nurse interruptions and because I was able to be there with him.
He was able to walk around a little and his belly and insides have started 'working'. It has been painful and uncomfortable for him but little by little, things in there are trying to get back to normal. He was able to eat solids this morning and was so happy to finally have some real food after 6 days. Just a little food has already done so much for his mood and energy level. The doctors were very pleased with his progress this morning and told us we could go home, and we couldn't get out of there fast enough!
He's so comfortable right now (well as much as can be expected), he has had a great long nap in his own bed. He's wearing his comfy pj's, and laying in the big chair watching the Cowboy game. We're home alone for a little while while the girls and my mom have gone to have Thanksgiving with different family members. It has been nice and quiet for several hours and so nice to be able to sleep next to each other again - I missed my husband so much!
Recovery will be slow and will be hard on J, mostly because he does NOT like sitting still and tends to get cabin fever very quickly. Also, it will be difficult on him and the little girls (Miss Priss specifically) because Daddy won't get to play and do normal stuff with her for a little while and she's going to have to be very gentle with him while he heals.
The doctors said that he'll need to just rest at home for about 2 weeks. After that, take it easy, no heavy lifting (more than 10 lbs) for 6 weeks, and he will feel back to 'normal' in about 2 months.
This last week really has been such a whirlwind and seems a little foggy in my head. I'll admit I've just been on auto pilot and and just going going going and doing what needed to be done to make sure he was okay and get him home. I'm coming really close to hitting the wall - now that we're home I can feel myself relaxing and just feeling so exhausted. I'm looking forward to just being home for a while.
I'm so grateful to my mom for coming into town and just taking over watching the kids for me. My sister and inlaws have also been a huge help juggling the kids and keeping my house running (all my laundry is washed and folded - wow!) We both are so genuinely touched and humbled by the love and prayers that have been sent our way - to all of you who have sent us messages, texts, calls, snacks, dinners, books, magazines, etc.... THANK YOU, we could never express to you how much it has meant to us.
This Thanksgiving we are thankful for so much, J, his life, his health, and our beautiful family. Thank you God!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Liz
I'll post occasional updates on his progress, and hopefully we'll be back to normal life around here in no time.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
he's gettin' there...
Today was a better day. J was moved out of ICU today and into a regular room. Unfortunately it is not a private room which at this hospital, I was sort of expecting :( Even though he has a roommate (who is suffering from the after affects of appendicitis and has had some moaning/groaning pain), it is still quieter and darker than the ICU and he has been able to get some nice deep sleep/naps during the afternoon and evening and if that continues tonight I know he will feel so much better tomorrow.
He was able to see the Almost Teenager and Miss Priss today. That really lifted his spirits and made him so happy. Although I had tried to prepare her for what J would look like in the hospital, M.P. was a little freaked out when she saw him, she didn't want to get too close at first, but eventually warmed up to him and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek before she left.
I was really unhappy that I had to leave him alone tonight, but since it is a shared room with another male, they wouldn't let me stay. Not to mention the room is small and cramped so there really was no place for me to stay, but I hated to leave him there, especially since now the nurses aren't as readily available as they were in ICU if he needed anything.
That is one thing I will say about the ICU, loud and bright and all, they were EXCELLENT nurses and took great care of him, I was very pleased with everything that they did for him. I just pray pray pray that the new nursing staff can provide him with the same service and care that he needs at this point. Please God, continue to look over them as they care for J.
Also - Jason's bladder and kidney are having some trouble jump starting back to normal working order which has been a huge frustration for him today. This is one thing that the nurses are really urging him to do and have been trying to get him to drink a lot of water so that he can get things flowing. He wasn't able to this evening which upset him but hopefully things will get going maybe tonight and tomorrow. Of all the things I have been praying for, PEE is the big one today, I pray for the PEE to come and give him some relief!
Tomorrow it is my goal to use and flex my insurance card muscle and get us into a private room. I don't mean to sound ugly or snobby, because I am GRATEFUL to this hospital, but I know we are one of very few people with insurance in that place and I want to use it for J to have a private room for some private recovery. Wish me luck.
I need some sleep, long day at the hospital tomorrow.
p.s. J received so many text messages and emails from friends and coworkers that he was finally able to read today and it really made him feel good. Thank you again to everyone who has called, written, and sent us prayers and messages - they have brightened our days.
Liz
He was able to see the Almost Teenager and Miss Priss today. That really lifted his spirits and made him so happy. Although I had tried to prepare her for what J would look like in the hospital, M.P. was a little freaked out when she saw him, she didn't want to get too close at first, but eventually warmed up to him and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek before she left.
I was really unhappy that I had to leave him alone tonight, but since it is a shared room with another male, they wouldn't let me stay. Not to mention the room is small and cramped so there really was no place for me to stay, but I hated to leave him there, especially since now the nurses aren't as readily available as they were in ICU if he needed anything.
That is one thing I will say about the ICU, loud and bright and all, they were EXCELLENT nurses and took great care of him, I was very pleased with everything that they did for him. I just pray pray pray that the new nursing staff can provide him with the same service and care that he needs at this point. Please God, continue to look over them as they care for J.
Also - Jason's bladder and kidney are having some trouble jump starting back to normal working order which has been a huge frustration for him today. This is one thing that the nurses are really urging him to do and have been trying to get him to drink a lot of water so that he can get things flowing. He wasn't able to this evening which upset him but hopefully things will get going maybe tonight and tomorrow. Of all the things I have been praying for, PEE is the big one today, I pray for the PEE to come and give him some relief!
Tomorrow it is my goal to use and flex my insurance card muscle and get us into a private room. I don't mean to sound ugly or snobby, because I am GRATEFUL to this hospital, but I know we are one of very few people with insurance in that place and I want to use it for J to have a private room for some private recovery. Wish me luck.
I need some sleep, long day at the hospital tomorrow.
p.s. J received so many text messages and emails from friends and coworkers that he was finally able to read today and it really made him feel good. Thank you again to everyone who has called, written, and sent us prayers and messages - they have brightened our days.
Liz
Sunday, November 22, 2009
fresh on my mind...
I'm home for just a little while and thought i'd journal this while it is fresh in my mind, although nothing in my head is very clear right now.
Friday morning J was about to take a shower and got a terrible stabbing pain in his right lower back, he was doubled over in pain. It subsided a bit and with some tylenol, he went about his day, so did I. I later got a phone call that he was going home but was probably goin to swing by the urgent care and see what the deal was, we both thought that maybe he was having kidney stones. They took xrays, thought it might be stones but suggested he get a CT scan for a clearer view.
The CT scan revealed a 'bloody mass' in his stomach and they sent us immediately to the ER. They did another CT scan that revealed the same and said it appeared to be a leaking or ruptured aneuryism on the artery that leads to his right kidney. They transferred us to a Parkland County Hospital - level 1 trauma center (after the first hospital they tried said there were no available beds for him there). Once again, they ran more tests and throughout the night he was asked, 'how did you hurt yourself, did you fall, did you get hit, did you bump into something, history of stones? kidney issues? other symptoms?' to which his answer was 'no - just this back pain this morning'.
The Vascular specialist team came in reviewed the information and determined that it was an extremely dangerous ruptured aneurisym, also extremely rare especially on someone young and healthy like J, which is why I assume everyone seemed so confused by the situation. Then the plan... they needed to get in there to fix it and that required removal of the kidney. They could not get to the rupture and focus on fixing it and saving his life without removing the kidney and since his other kidney was healthy that was what they were focusing on.
He had the emergency surgery early yesterday morning, it took about 5 hours and they said he did very well, but it was a very serious situation. The aneurisym was about the size of a ping pong ball and had attached to a big vein that should have been the diameter of half a pencil but was bigger than a large hot dog. They took it all out, with the kidney.
The doctor who did his surgery came to talk to us after they finished and told us that this situation is so rare that many Renal doctors only see one or two IF ANY of these cases in their whole careers! Our surgeon just so happened to have trained at a program that specialized in this very rare situation. Amazing that we ended up at this hospital, only after the first one they called turned us down because they had no empty beds, and the doctor that just so happens to be on call (at midnight) has been trained on this very rare case!
I can only be grateful to God for putting us exactly where we needed to be and in the hands of the most capable people because those doctors clearly said that this could have killed J. A pain in his back and no other symptoms and he could have died - I still can't really process it because the whole thing feels like such a bad dream to me, almost like it's not happening, even though I know it is.
Today was a better day, his pain is more under control with his meds. He's been able to sit in a chair for a bit today. ICU is tough on him because it's so loud and bright and there is a lot of activity in there, so he's not really getting any quality rest. Luckily he should get moved to a room in the morning sometime. He will be in the hospital at least 3-5 days.
We have received so many kind prayers, words, encouragement, offers of food, help, babysitting and any kind of help we need. The outpouring of love, friendship and caring from all of our friends and family is so overwhelming and genuinely appreciated more than I could ever put into words. I am humbled.
I am so tired, so i'll sign off now, but will try my best to regularly update.
Friday morning J was about to take a shower and got a terrible stabbing pain in his right lower back, he was doubled over in pain. It subsided a bit and with some tylenol, he went about his day, so did I. I later got a phone call that he was going home but was probably goin to swing by the urgent care and see what the deal was, we both thought that maybe he was having kidney stones. They took xrays, thought it might be stones but suggested he get a CT scan for a clearer view.
The CT scan revealed a 'bloody mass' in his stomach and they sent us immediately to the ER. They did another CT scan that revealed the same and said it appeared to be a leaking or ruptured aneuryism on the artery that leads to his right kidney. They transferred us to a Parkland County Hospital - level 1 trauma center (after the first hospital they tried said there were no available beds for him there). Once again, they ran more tests and throughout the night he was asked, 'how did you hurt yourself, did you fall, did you get hit, did you bump into something, history of stones? kidney issues? other symptoms?' to which his answer was 'no - just this back pain this morning'.
The Vascular specialist team came in reviewed the information and determined that it was an extremely dangerous ruptured aneurisym, also extremely rare especially on someone young and healthy like J, which is why I assume everyone seemed so confused by the situation. Then the plan... they needed to get in there to fix it and that required removal of the kidney. They could not get to the rupture and focus on fixing it and saving his life without removing the kidney and since his other kidney was healthy that was what they were focusing on.
He had the emergency surgery early yesterday morning, it took about 5 hours and they said he did very well, but it was a very serious situation. The aneurisym was about the size of a ping pong ball and had attached to a big vein that should have been the diameter of half a pencil but was bigger than a large hot dog. They took it all out, with the kidney.
The doctor who did his surgery came to talk to us after they finished and told us that this situation is so rare that many Renal doctors only see one or two IF ANY of these cases in their whole careers! Our surgeon just so happened to have trained at a program that specialized in this very rare situation. Amazing that we ended up at this hospital, only after the first one they called turned us down because they had no empty beds, and the doctor that just so happens to be on call (at midnight) has been trained on this very rare case!
I can only be grateful to God for putting us exactly where we needed to be and in the hands of the most capable people because those doctors clearly said that this could have killed J. A pain in his back and no other symptoms and he could have died - I still can't really process it because the whole thing feels like such a bad dream to me, almost like it's not happening, even though I know it is.
Today was a better day, his pain is more under control with his meds. He's been able to sit in a chair for a bit today. ICU is tough on him because it's so loud and bright and there is a lot of activity in there, so he's not really getting any quality rest. Luckily he should get moved to a room in the morning sometime. He will be in the hospital at least 3-5 days.
We have received so many kind prayers, words, encouragement, offers of food, help, babysitting and any kind of help we need. The outpouring of love, friendship and caring from all of our friends and family is so overwhelming and genuinely appreciated more than I could ever put into words. I am humbled.
I am so tired, so i'll sign off now, but will try my best to regularly update.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
what i'm obsessed with ... today....
I recently viewed a wedding video clip by this super talented woman, Vanessa McKellar, and clicked around some of her other videos, and found this gorgeous family video . I've watched it at least 10 times and am obsessed with it, it literally gave me goosebumps and made me teary.
This family is doing it annually to chronicle the lives of their children and I just thought to myself, what a wonderful memento to be able to look back at your kids after they've grown up and moved away, or as a grown child to see your family and your parents so young and happy. I almost get teary writing about it. Pictures are great, I love pictures, but this is so much more, and i've never really been a video type of parent, which now makes me sad because I know we've missed a lot of great things.
Anyway, the video session is a bit out of our budget, but i'm going to try my hardest to save my nickels and dimes here and there to hopefully be able to do one of these one day.
This family is doing it annually to chronicle the lives of their children and I just thought to myself, what a wonderful memento to be able to look back at your kids after they've grown up and moved away, or as a grown child to see your family and your parents so young and happy. I almost get teary writing about it. Pictures are great, I love pictures, but this is so much more, and i've never really been a video type of parent, which now makes me sad because I know we've missed a lot of great things.
Anyway, the video session is a bit out of our budget, but i'm going to try my hardest to save my nickels and dimes here and there to hopefully be able to do one of these one day.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
hallelu-yer
TV fixed, $200 for a stinking bulb. stupid TV. But we have our TV back, and oh how I am grateful for the 30 minute episodes of Dora that are available any time of day when Miss Priss (or mommy) need a 'break'. Maybe we'll get lucky and this bulb might last us 10 more years, unlikely. I should start saving now.
Friday, November 13, 2009
bad TV juju ...
So J has been oogling new TV sets every time we are in an electronics department - I guess that's a normal man thing. He also gets so upset every time he sees how crazy cheap the tv we own is now compared to when we bought it (right after we got married). So Thursday morning, Miss Priss is watching Dora the Explorer and J mentions that the sound track seems a little off..
me: "no, the TV is broken, we probably need a new one" (totally joking)
J: "TV is fine, I think this channel's sound is off:
me: "I'm just kidding I thought I'd trick you into thinking we should get another TV" funny funny ha ha, right?
Then I grab my keys and drive the Almost Teenager down the road to school, back in the house in less than 5 minutes. When I walk in Miss Priss says 'mommy, the TV is broken..' Yup, between the time I walked out the door and came back, the stinking DLP bulb in our TV burned out (or something) and the TV was not functioning. SERIOUSLY?!?!?! Did I give the TV bad juju?
So, Thursday was a quiet day in our house, and today has been too. J has taken the TV to some place where hopefully (and probably in exchange for lots of our monies) they will fix the stupid thing. This is the 3rd time (in less than 6 yrs) that something $$$$ has happened to this dumb TV. Just sayin', back in the olden times, our parents had TV's for 25 years before something broke or went out on them! I want a TV that lasts THAT long, for as much as we're friggin' paying for it!
Okay, that's my gripe for this day. If it comes back still broken, I may have more gripin' to do.
me: "no, the TV is broken, we probably need a new one" (totally joking)
J: "TV is fine, I think this channel's sound is off:
me: "I'm just kidding I thought I'd trick you into thinking we should get another TV" funny funny ha ha, right?
Then I grab my keys and drive the Almost Teenager down the road to school, back in the house in less than 5 minutes. When I walk in Miss Priss says 'mommy, the TV is broken..' Yup, between the time I walked out the door and came back, the stinking DLP bulb in our TV burned out (or something) and the TV was not functioning. SERIOUSLY?!?!?! Did I give the TV bad juju?
So, Thursday was a quiet day in our house, and today has been too. J has taken the TV to some place where hopefully (and probably in exchange for lots of our monies) they will fix the stupid thing. This is the 3rd time (in less than 6 yrs) that something $$$$ has happened to this dumb TV. Just sayin', back in the olden times, our parents had TV's for 25 years before something broke or went out on them! I want a TV that lasts THAT long, for as much as we're friggin' paying for it!
Okay, that's my gripe for this day. If it comes back still broken, I may have more gripin' to do.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
tired
The baby went to stay the night at nana's yesterday. She was worn out after breakfast. What a rough life she has.
my new favorite thing...
Had a date night with my hunky hubby last night. We went to the Old Monk and had good beer, good food (cheese) and good people watching. For dessert we swung by a place I'd recently read about in D Magazine's Best of Dallas issue. Frozen yogurt has never really been a big deal to me, but I'm in love.... Yogi-licious was sooo good, i'm obsessing about it. I had avocado tart yogurt - sounds so yuck but was suprisingly delicious! Can't wait to go back soon!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
52 days..
There are 52 days until Christmas. I've already gotten a few things marked off my shopping list, but I have quite a ways to go. I plan on doing a lot of my shopping online this year because, really, there is no way I will be able to accomplish anything productive out in the stores with the demanding infant and the wayward toddler. No way.
I just love how much you can get done online, makes things sooo easy, and I like getting things done early, but especially like marking things off my list. Hopefully this proactive-ness (is that a real word?) will help me make this holiday fun and super special for the girls and J.
Okay - off to watch Weeds, love it!
I just love how much you can get done online, makes things sooo easy, and I like getting things done early, but especially like marking things off my list. Hopefully this proactive-ness (is that a real word?) will help me make this holiday fun and super special for the girls and J.
Okay - off to watch Weeds, love it!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
trick or treat
Our girls had a great time on Halloween. Lots of candy and lots of fun. Miss Priss is really starting to enjoy the whole thing which made it so much more fun for us. Little Miss could care less, and the Almost Teenager hasn't accepted that she's almost too old for trick or treating!
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