Dear Wonderful Friend...

You are in my thoughts & prayers today! I love you!!

Hurricane Ike

Those in Ike's path are in my thoughts & prayers! Be safe!

Tragedy Once Again

The wife of one of the partners (I'll call him M and her F to protect their privacy) in Bob's department at the firm passed away unexpectedly this morning. All that is known is that M took F to the ER last night because she was having difficulty breathing. Then this morning he called to let his secretary know he wouldn't be in because his wife had passed away.

F was 42 years old and leaves behind two daughters and a son. I don't recall their exact ages, but are all pretty close to Olivia's age.

M...Our thoughts & prayers will be with you, the kids and the rest of the family during this extremely difficult time.

So Sorry, Kev

Our friend, Kevin, did end up stuck in KC for an extra 24 hours due to the storm on Friday.

A few hours after he got home he found out his 14-year-old nephew had passed away. His nephew was autistic and had issues with seizures most of his life. He had numerous surgeries and tried many medications to control the seizures. Recently, they had been under control -- until Friday night while he slept. The medical examiner said he probably had the seizure around midnight -- shortly after mom & dad had checked on him before turning into bed themselves.

Please keep his family in your prayers. As you can imagine with a death so sudden and unexpected, they are taking this really hard. Pray memories of their time spent together will comfort them in this very difficult time.

Kev...we are here for you if you or your family need anything! Love you, buddy! :)

She's Home

Aubrie is home now! She will wear a monitor for at least the next week when she will be seen by her doctor again. It is still unclear what caused her to stop breathing, but Aaron & Angie are thankful to have their little darling home in time for Thanksgiving.

Thank you all for your thoughts & prayers!

Prayers for Aubrie

Please say a little prayer for my cousin, his wife and their newborn daughter.

Aubrie was born Thursday afternoon and went home Saturday afternoon. Sunday morning when my cousin's wife went in for Aubrie's 3AM feeding, she found her blue & not breathing. My cousin's wife did CPR until the paramedics arrived, and they were able to get her breathing again. Aubrie is now at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. The doctors have done many tests, but are still uncertain of the cause. She is doing OK last I heard late this morning, but will remain in the hospital for at least the next 48 hours.

Answered Prayers

Thank you all for your prayers for Carolynn!

All four of Carolynn's biopsies and the unknown tissue were benign! In three months, she will have another FISH test. If it is negative, that means she does not have bladder cancer. If positive, the cancer would be found early and treatment would be minimal.

Thank the Lord for answered prayers!

Prayers for Carolynn

My dear friend, Carolynn, is facing a bladder cancer diagnosis. A few weeks ago she tested positive on a FISH test. FISH is very accurate (95%) and highly sensitive, but is not a definite diagnosis of bladder cancer. A positive FISH indicates abnormal growth/a possible tumor. As follow-up to the FISH, Carolynn had had a CT IVP. The CT IVP came back negative which means any cancer has not left her bladder.

As I write this, she is in surgery -- having a cystoscopy/TURB. At least four areas will be biopsied and any growth or abnormalities will be removed.

Next she will have to wait for pathology results. If the cancer diagnosis is confirmed, a treatment plan will be put in place. If the biopsies come back negative, she will have to wait three months and repeat the procedures. Bladder cancer is a recurring disease, and it could take a more time before it shows itself beyond the FISH.

Please keep her in your thoughts & prayers.

I love you, Carolynn, my dear friend!

UGH!

Dad's back at the hospital tonight -- my step-mom took him to the ER about an hour ago. Apparently, for the last three days he has not be able to keep anything down. Every time he eats or drinks he vomits (TMI, I know!). Don't ask me why he waited THREE days before calling someone. (Although, this entry will remind you of his stubbornness.)

Part of me thinks he pushed to get home too soon. In the hospital he had to have therapy everyday. At home, he just sits in his chair. He is still very weak, sleeps a lot, has the abnormal heart rhythm...

I could go on, but I don't want to be a Debbie Downer on here. Please just say a little extra prayer for him tonight!

Alright, look at the date on the entry I linked too. How creepy is that?

One Month

Today is one month since my dad's heart attack/surgery. He is still in the hospital. He is doing well with physical therapy, but his heart is back into the atrial fib/flutter. His heart rate is at about 113 today. From a therapy stand point he is ready to move on, but from a cardiac stand point he is not. We found out this week he has congestive heart failure. I have had experience with CHF in our family before. My grandfather (mom's dad) had it and lived with it for many years. It just does horrible things to your body & requires a major lifestyle change that I don't know my dad is ready to face.

Being in the hospital so long is getting him kind of down. His mood today is pretty good. Please pray that he keeps a good attitude toward his recovery and that the CHF is a mild and controllable.

Dad News

I think Dad is finally on the upswing and not taking those steps backwards. He will need to go to an inpatient physical therapy program. It is at a different hospital that is a bit of a trek from all our houses. He will be moved either tomorrow or Wednesday. The hold up is he has developed an atrial flutter. Right now we are all hoping it will go into a regular rhythm on it's own today. If not, tomorrow he will have a procedure to try to get it there.

Dad's still walking with the walker, but getting so much stronger. The feeding tube was taken out Saturday morning. He is showering and eating on his own. All big steps in the right direction!

Update on Dad

The procedure my dad had this morning was to see if angioplasty would take care of a blockage in the Circumflex artery (think that was the name my brother said the doctor used). While trying to clear the blockage they broke through the wall. It as too risky to try again so he needs bypass. It will be 2-4 depending on what they find once they open him up.

He went into surgery around 3:00 PM central. It is expected to last 3-4 hours. Bob is on his way home from work, and we will head to the hospital shortly after he gets home.

Thoughts & Prayers Please

I got a call this morning that my dad had a heart attack while he was at work. He is going into surgery now. I will update you guys as soon as I know anything further. Thank you for your thoughts & prayers!