Nonna's Recovery

Nonna should be in the hospital for a few more days for observations. She is doing well both mentally and physically. Our two nurses in the family, Stacey and Cheryl Ann, are caring for Nonna right now at home and in the hospital. What a relief to have them involved and double-checking the hospital staff. I don't think Nonna could get better care than this. Over the next two weeks she will need to rest and attend some physical therapy. The plan for action will be determined after this period of rest. We love you Nonna and Pop-Pop!

Surrounded by Family

Nonna can only receive visitors a few times each day and only for 30 minutes at a time. From what I hear, her room has been filled with family at every opportunity. We all love her so much! As the word spread, many family members wanted to hear all the updates and be included on all the emails. Tom just wrote: "Use this new thread to forward an update this evening. I have downloaded my entire contact list and I believe we have every limb of the family tree covered" So the next hurdle: CT scan revealed 4.4-5.9 cm mass in left lung; 4.3-4.4 cm mass in cervix, and a lesion in liver. Ultrtasound will be done later on liver and cervix. Keep praying.

Stacey's update

My sister-in-law Stacey arrived in Gastonia today to help out Nonna and Pop-Pop. If I ever need medical attention, she is the nurse I want looking after me. I'm so glad she is there to help. Here is her update:

Dad and I have settled in for the evening after visiting with Mom in the Surgical ICU. We came home to a great dinner Cheryl made for us. Yummy!! Mom was alert and able to recognize every one even calling them by name. She still has difficulty with recall of certain events and date/time. However, once reoriented to such details she is able to correct her recall. Both Dad and Jeanne Marie feel she greatly improved from their noon visit. Since this was my first assessment of her I had no previous findings to compare, but I am very pleased with her recovery thus far. Generally, she is in stable\good condition and the SICU MD is planning to transfer her to a step-down unit tomorrow. She will be there for at least two more days. This will allow more open visitation hours. I will keep you all updated with an email in the evening once returning from the hospital, but feel free to call me with any concerns or questions.

My goal for tomorrow is to begin plan of care for Mom which involves planning for discharge. I can complete this task by working with the case manager assigned to her new unit once transferred. I am also hoping to meet with more specialist to address the other MRI/CT findings.

Love,
Stacey

Jamie's update

Mom was kept under sedation last night with a breathing tube. This morning they removed the tube and stopped the anesthesia. At 9 am she was semi-awake, and at noon when Dad, Jeanne, Tom and Cheryl visited her she was awake and able to talk (more details in Tom's e-mail below). I don't know about the visit at 5, but at 8 when Dad, Jeanne, Cheryl, Stacey, Kathy, KG and Brett visited her she was very alert, knew everyone and was anxious to know the next steps medically. I believe the only doctor she saw today was the neurosurgeon but should she more tomorrow and the next day to decide on the path forward. She should move out of the surgical ICU tomorrow.

Nonna Updates

Successful surgery!

(from last night)
Mom's surgery just ended (after 2.5 hrs). The doctor said it went well - he feels he got all of both tumors. He took a CT scan post-op and it looks fine. Mom will have an MRI in the morning, as well. She will be in the surgical ICU tonight. Other specialists will see her beginning tomorrow. The doctor said preliminary analyses of the tumors suggest they metastisized from the lungs.

(from this morning)
Mom was semi-awake this morning and they said she had a good night. When we came back for the 12 visit, they have removed her tubes and she was awake and able to talk. Her head was hurting and they gave her pain meds, which made her sleepy. At least we got a good 30min visit. She was able to move well, speak clearly, and recognized everyone.

Please Pray

The neurosurgeon just saw Mom & Dad. The MRI from last night revealed two tumors in the back of Mom's head - one about the size of a golf ball and one smaller. The location of the larger one is causing the headaches, equilibrium and nausea. They can be removed surgically, and Mom & Dad have decided to have the surgery this afternoon at 4. The neurosurgeon plans to remove the smaller one first, then the larger. Both will be biopsied for further evaluation. He expects Mom will be in the hospital for 3-5 days, possibly longer depending on the amount of rehab she needs.

The results from the CT scan of Mom's chest/abdomen/pelvis has not been read by a radiologist yet because it was done so late last night. They expect to hear about that later today.

Praying for Nonna

This was difficult news to receive yesterday: Mom has had a chest x-ray and CT scan of her brain which showed a mass in her chest and several 'areas' in her brain. She will have an MRI of her head and CT scan of her chest tonight which will proivide much better information for the docs to diagnose.

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We are waiting and praying for Nonna and Pop-Pop.