Thursday (Day 14)

Magee Women's Hospital.
Thursday, March 12, 2010.

I was not feeling oh so good today (Thursday), so having some more surprise visitors come to see me really helped make my day. Each day a few people from town ventured the 3 hour drive down to Pittsburgh to visit me. These were the people that stopped by to visit me for Thursday. It wasn't probably the best day for them to stop by b/c I had a bunch o' tests to go through today. It was still fun to have familiar faces stop by for a visit, and cheer me up! (:

Mama B...no, Jack didn't come.

Mrs. J...what a hoot the car ride must have been.

Barb Grove...What a sweetie.

All o' Us...Yeah!! I look really sick. I'd also like to point out that I'm getting ready to go down for some testing so I had my isolation gown on. Also honk if you can see li'l Baby Jefferis! (:
Thanks for stopping by, Girlies! (:

All o' the cool socks...can you guess who's is whose?

Saying their goodbyes.
(I was still down getting my testing done.)

Being silly with the socks (:

Gotta have a feet picture, right? Pretty, right?

My awesome socks!

All my stuffed animals! (:

Michelle...my favorite nurse.

For one o' the tests that they wanted me to do, was called the Activated Charcoal Test. This test involved swallowing a big cup o' Activated Charcoal, then they would wait and let it run thru my system. The goal is that the charcoal would get to the spot where the fistula (hole) is in my system and then it would leak thru so we could find it. The nurse on duty, Mary CRNP, was a real jerk face. Although I hate to admit it, I didn't like her and she was very inconsiderate. When I was in pain and crying in a ball on my bed, she literally told me to "suck it up". When I asked about more pain meds, Mary laughed and said I didn't need anything that I would be fine.

So needless to say I drank the awful tasting Activated Charcoal, without complaining. If you look at this video below, you can see how thick and disgusting it is. Yet, I didn't complain. My nurse, Michelle was VERY impressed with me that she couldn't stop complimenting me on how well I had drank the stuff. Please note at the very end how she gives me a "high 5" and then she says how much she loves me. (: Oh yeah, and you just gotta love the black charcoal all over my teeth!! Eww...

Yummy Yummy Charcoal...

Gotta a li'l something on ya face!

/\/\/\ MY FAMILY /\/\/\

Me in my Ativan-Induced sleep... I look like Sleepy Beauty.

To my surprise, I woke up from an Ativan induced sleep to my family all walking into my hospital room. It's so nice to have my family so close and them able to be there to be an encouragement to me. They are great support and I love them so much! (:

Mama & Her Girlies.

The Girls...

Me & My baby...KK!! (:

Heidi, Doug, Jan, Carrie, Kaitlynn
CC & Me.

My Visitors...sorry I was in such a foul mood.

Caden loved my HUGE wheelchair.

Isn't that wheelchair soo big??

It was a great time had by all. I enjoyed visiting with my family. Even though I was in such a foul mood from my stupid nurse practictioner, Mary, it was so great to have my family there and be such a GREAT support to me at this time. (: I have the most wonderful friends and the most terrific family o' all times. Couldn't ask for anything better. I'm also very thankful that my sister lives so close to this hospital. My sister and I haven't always been as close as I would have liked to be, but recently thru all these trials, Heidi and I have become a LOT closer freinds, and for that I am SO greatful. Praise The Lord for such wonderful friends and family. I couldn't be as strong or make it thru where I am today without them.

Also, this blog wouldn't be complete if I didn't have a li'l paragraph to write about my lovely hubby. It's been so nice to have such a wonderful husband. It's been a rough journey for poor Ace, but he has certainly been quite the trooper. I'm sure that many times I have mentioned this before, but I'll mention it just one more time. Ace and I were married in May, and it is now March. That makes us married for a total o' 10 months. In those 10 months, many were spent in the hospital: May, July, August, December, February, March. So it's been pretty rough for Ace as well. It's also been amazing to see the many people who have helped donate money for gas and food for Ace so he is able to be down here with me and be by my side and not have to be so concerned about work, etc...

My Lover, BFF, One & Only...

Well, enough about that. Hope to have some better news tomorrow! Have a great night!! (: MUAH!!

/\/\/\ THE END /\/\/\

Tuesday (Day 12).

MaGee Women's Hospital.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010.

/\/\/\ IV Dressing Change /\/\/\

My IV had some leakage and bleeding, so they put a call out to the IV tech and she came back to change my dressing. It wasn't the greatest fun I've ever had, let me just tell you what. (:

Cleaning the Site.

Using peroxide...it burned, BADLY!

But I lived through it...WHEW!

All nice & clean.

Doesn't it look nice?

/\/\/\ More Sleepiness /\/\/\

Boy, I must've been really tired.

Like my bruise on my left cheek?

My Favs: Kenny, Me, & Liz.

Dr. Richard & Me.
He's totally my favorite.
Can you tell? MUAH!

Well, Dr. Richard stopped in to my room to discuss the latest update. He also wanted to discuss the newest possibilties with me. The words that were brought up were: ileostomy, colostomy, etc... These words all came as a shock to me and I cetainly didn't think in these extreme terms. So now decisions need be made and we have to figure out where to go from here. So you can pray for wisdom.

THE END!!!

Monday (Day 11)

MaGee Women's Hospital
Monday, March 8, 2010.

I had to make my hospital room feel like my home since I was going to be staying in the hospital for a really long time. Oh, such a very long time. Lots o' people send me many cards, letters, pictures, etc...and I stole some tape and put them up all over my wall, door, and ward-wrobe. It's so beautiful and everyone smiles when they come into my room and sees my lovely decor!! Hope you enjoy.

My lovely Ward-wrobe.

Maddie Jo's letter. She was mad b/c Bobbi Jo (her mama) wouldn't let her skip school to come visit me. But she did make a sweet li'l card, with lots o' illustration and gymnastics. She did such a good job. She misses me and wants me to come back to church.

Card from Maddie.

More Cards for Decoration.

The doctor's are very consistent about making rounds at 6 a.m. Yup...yup...yup, that's right the doctor's come knocking at my door at the buttcrack o' dawn. The doctor's stopped by with the game plan for today:

• Put in PICC Line.
• Take out Central Line (CVC).
• Go to Radiology to check placement.
• Go for a walk with Liz.
• Eat clear liquids.
• Get some rest.
  

/\/\/\ My PICC Line /\/\/\

Due to all my IV problems, they put a central line (CVC) in when I was in the hospital at Altoona. When I finally made it down to Pittsburgh, they wanted to take out the CVC (which remember how painful and awful it was when they put it in?) and put in a PICC line in the vein in my upper arm. A PICC Line is a type o' an IV that is put in on more o' a long-term basis. A CVC can last for a week; whereas a PICC line can be left in for months if needed. So now that you know what it is, I tried to take pictures o' each o' the steps. So here we go.

My muscle before the PICC Line.

(1) Using an ultrasound machine, a nice, juicy vein is selected. Or in my case, any vein will almost have to do. (:

Ultrasound machine & Big Juicy Vein.

(2) See the black marker mark? It shows the IV tech where to insert the catheter. Under the ultrasound a thin guide wire is inserted into through the needle and into the vein.

(4) A small catheter/needle is fed through the needle into the vein until it's in the right location. Once it's in, the needle is removed and the catheter is left in.

(5) The tubing is measured and recorded, and a connector is attached.



(6) A sterile solution is flushed thru the tube to double check placement.

(7) The catheter is attached by a stitch or two to confirm it's not going to get pulled out and to help keep the catheter in place. "Do not use until 3.8 confirmed by x-ray."


(8) Waiting for chest x-ray to confirm placement.


(9) And still waiting and waiting...

(10) Doesn't it look so pretty? Still waiting.


(11) All done...Yeah. Ace was GREAT for moral support, and he was good at holding my hand.

Yup, I'm SO lucky.

(12) After the PICC line was confirmed, my CVC line could be removed safely!!

I'm gonna miss this li'l guy! ): NOT!!

Wincing in pain as Mary tears the tape
(and all the li'l hairs on my neck) off.

Goodbye Stitches.

Pulling out the stitches.

Pulling out the CVC.

All done...WHEW!

Mary my Nurse. She was very sweet.

Taking my medication. Booo....Booo...!

This is "how I sleep"!!

I fell asleep, can you see the line .
It's across my right cheek?

Just a bandage is all that's left.

Off to Radiology.

Don't you love the yellow suit.

Off I go...Goodbye!

See ya...
(I look like Julia Snare in this picture.)

/\/\/\ My Presents /\/\/\

Mama got me soft toilet paper.

Cause the right TP is a BIG deal!

What I've always wanted!
*GASP!*

/\/\/\ I'm Sleepy! /\/\/\

So here is the story. The doctors have put me on prednisone. It makes me go crazy! Part o' the side effects o' the prednisone (besides being on edge and OCD) is that it makes me so that I can't sleep at night. When I can't sleep at night, means I have to sleep sometimes...and that sometimes is usually during the day and in the oddest position. Mama loves it. Whenever I start to drift off into sleepy land, Mama grabbed my camera and started taking picture after picture. So, you have my permission to laugh! (:

Hopefully I don't choke!

Mama's a nurse--she knows CPR.

My Mama is so mean.

This is a really funny video, and you must turn your head, so sorry for that. But this is what happens b/c I'm just SO exhausted. Mama continues to tell me to lay down, and I just think I'm sleeping. Then I get a text from Bobbi Jo Gearhart (which I answer in my sleep). Please note that if I ever send you a text and it's Chinese or something you can't read, this could be why. Haha... Enjoy!! (: Thanks to my Mama!

And there's the phone call.

Mama's Supper on Monday:

Baked Cod with Citrus Crust
Ceasar Salad
Broccoli
Chicken Noole Soup
Fresh Seasonal Fruit Cup
Coleslaw
Grape Juice
Apple Pie

/\/\/\ MY Walk With Liz /\/\/\

One o' my nurses was such a sweet girl. Although we never new each other until this day, we hit it right off. This girl is just what I needed to cheer me up.

Liz & Me.

Gotta have a feet picture, right?

There was a cancer patient that stayed on this floor, and she wrote a big long letter describing her care and her wonderful nurses. It was very interesting to read. In this note you'll never guess who was mentioned in this lovely note? Can you see the name mentioned below?

(Elizabeth Dziabiak)

See she's famous! (:

The Mama & Baby Statue.

I'm just a li'l cut off o' the picture.

We're SO good-looking! (:

There was only ONE statue on the 2nd Floor.

Silly Faces...

I just love this girl.

It was a great time had by all...well, at least it was a GREAT day for both o' us, well for me definitely. I'm so glad for my new friend. She was just a real encouragement to me and cheered me right up. Besides it was good for her to get me outside my room, enjoying the warmer weather.


THE END!!!