Thursday, February 18, 2010

Day +323: Progress

It's day +323 for Max (day +4 in the hospital for Matt) and things are progressing for both of them, slowly but surely. It's been another long week with a few surprises, as usual but, we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel for Matt and that really helps.

Max is doing well. He is still coughing a little bit here and there but, has no fevers and is running around like a wild-man, playing basketball everyday and generally up to his old tricks around here! You can tell pretty quickly when Max really isn't feeling well because he doesn't shoot hoops about once every 1/2 hour like he does on a normal day. Since about Monday afternoon, he has been back to regular rounds of dunking and horse with Alex!

Matt is still in the hospital. They have found a gallstone in the duct outside the gallbladder that is causing digestive juices to back up and inflame both the liver and the pancreas. They tried a procedure under "conscious sedation" on Tuesday afternoon to remove the stone and, unfortunately, it did not go well. Matt ended up not breathing for a bit as a result of the medication that they were using to sedate him and they had to stop the procedure and reverse the medications to get him breathing again. Just a little scary, to say the least! His dad and I were waiting outside the procedure area for his doctor to come out when it was over and all of a sudden, we heard "FAST team to the Diagnostic Center STAT" repeated twice over the hospital intercom. We both froze and looked at each other, not knowing what the FAST team was but, fearing it was for Matt. Sure enough, about 10 minutes later, the doctor came out looking a bit flustered and told us that he had to stop the procedure because Matt had struggled with the medication and stopped breathing for a bit. One of the nurses later said that he was "purple on the table and they had to turn him over to bag him". Lovely. Just what we needed, huh? Once I heard that, I lost it. I asked to speak to the doctor and I kind of let loose on him for a bit. He listened and assured me that he would not let it happen again. He wanted Matt to rest for a few days after that incident before they tried the procedure again. So, the plan is for Matt to have the procedure to get the stone done again tomorrow under general anesthesia with an anesthesiologist right there with him the whole time. If this second try is successful and Matt can eat some solid food tomorrow afterwards and keep it down, he may be able to come home tomorrow. Of course, we would ALL love that...especially Matt!

Matt is in good spirits and actually has felt better late yesterday and this morning than he had in a while. But, he had nothing to eat until yesterday and that was just clear liquids so, he is very weak and still a bit dizzy from the pain medicine. He also has a stomach ache this afternoon which may be from two antibiotics they are giving him to prevent infection. Overall, now that we know what is going on, we realize that it is resolvable and, with time, Matt will be feeling much better again. There are more stones in his gallbladder so eventually, he will have his gallbladder removed too but, not for at least a few weeks. They want his digestive system to continue cooling down before that takes place. We have been told by a couple of different people at the hospital that they had never seen someone's liver and pancreas numbers that high before so, it will likely take some recovery time before Matt is really feeling well again.

We are relieved that Matt's issues seem to be relatively easy to repair and that Max is once again healthy and feeling good but, we are again exhausted. Tuesday was another one of those totally exhausting days - in every way - mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Sitting next to Matt while he recovered from the "procedure gone wrong" was scary and I experienced a wealth of emotions. I realized how much we have been through together this past 13 months and what a partnership we have forged as a result. We were a strong couple before...now we are even stronger. He is my love, my best friend, my partner and I couldn't imagine not having him here with me. We make a great team - he always pulls me up when I need it and I do the same for him. He is a fabulous husband and dad and we all love him.

We have just had too many of these kinds of days this past 13 months. We long for the days when our biggest worries were how we would get the kids to school on time and get all their homework done admist our work schedules and their extra-curricular activities. We know that we will get back to that place eventually but, we also know that through the experiences we have had over the last 13 months, good and bad, we are forever changed. Our perspectives on life are not the same...our fears and worries are completely different....our eyes have been opened in ways we never expected or even imagined. While we long for the fun days to return, we know we always want to remember these tough ones...they will make the fun times even better and more memorable.

We have been overwhelmed once again by the love and support of our fabulous community - our families, friends, neighbors and church. Yet again you all have shown us how much you care. Thank you for shoveling and snowblowing our driveway, for yummy meals, for gifts, flowers, cards and calls...and for your thoughts and prayers.

I want to leave you on a positive note today. Last Sunday, for Valentines day, Max and I woke up at Children's Hospital, once again. But, thanks to Max's Meals, there was a bit of excitement in the air! There were signs posted in the parent lounge in the BMT Unit and on the Hem/Oc Unit that a Valentine's lunch would be provided by Max's Meals that day. Much to our surprise, we got to be recipients, once again, of the generosity of our support community and got to see first hand how you all are brightening tough days for lots of families. My parents friends, the Cummins family, very generously donated the luncheon from their Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken business. The families of A5 got to enjoy chicken, mashed potatoes, cole slaw, green beans and biscuits, along with homemade cupcakes prepared by my mom. It was all a hit and if you look in the comments from my last post, you will see that one of the families near and dear to us that is still in the BMT unit down there with their precious son, Brayton, really enjoyed the meal once again. Thank you to all of you that have supported Max's Meals and especially to the Cummins family for making this Valentine's luncheon possible!!

More soon....

Peace and love,
Kristi (and Matt, Max, Alex, Ellee and Spud)

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