Saturday, September 30, 2017

Today

I am a couple of days past the biopsy on my pancreas and doing better. Yesterday was rather miserable as my lungs decided they were not happy. My pulmunologist sent me to the ER to make sure that I had not aspirated anything during the procedure. My lungs looked good except the bottom part of my lobes were not inflating. So they gave me a couple of breathing treatments and after 4 hours let me go home.

I have spent today resting and watching movies which is a pretty rare occurrence for me. Tomorrow will be very busy and I want to be well rested for it. I am teaching Sunday School, preaching and have a 2:00 funeral to do. So it will be a very busy day.

It is good to be feeling better and I look forward to what tomorrow will bring.

Just Connie

Thursday, September 21, 2017

Treatment Day Thoughts

Treatment Day! I popped out of bed at 6am to begin my first round of pretreatment drugs. From there it was shower, dress and take my normal morning medications. And then a quick breakfast, check in with my parents to let them know I am alive and well and then time for the second round of pre treatment meds. Then it was time for pre treatment blood glucose, blood pressure and breathing treatment. And  by then the "pokenator" was pulling into the driveway to set my needles for me.

Everything went well as the pump slowly pushed the drugs into my body over the next three hours or so. As usual, I fielded counseling calls, questions, Dr's offices and so on during the process. One of the calls was to tell me that my pancreas biopsy is scheduled for next Thursday at OHSU. It will be very good to get that behind me. Another call was from my immunologist to let me know that my antibody levels had finally crawled above the bottom range of normal. He is going to watch over the next couple of months and see if I can maintain or even grow a bit more in this dosage. I am very relieved to not be increasing the gamma globulin this month.

So here I am tonight, treatment done, nauseous, migraine but some answers laying ahead for next week. I am tired and groggy and ready to call it a night. But thankful for answered prayer and for everyone who has been lifting me to the Lord.

I continue to believe there are great and wonderful things lying in store for me. I just have to keep on the journey ....

Just Connie

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

A Worthwhile Day

Spent the day at the Fire Station today. We are hiring three new people. The candidates rotate through different Tatiana that test them on EMS skills, fire skills, group interview, physical ability and conflict resolution. My job is is always to be the crazy person in the conflict resolution scenario. I always enjoy it and it can get pretty funny.

It is an honor to be part of the process that is building our team of firefighters and paramedics. These are such outstanding and incredible people. Then there are all of the area fire chiefs who come to help man the testing stations and it is a chance to get to know them as well.i

It was a good day of ministering outside the walls of the church. I am grateful for the wide variety of doors that God has opened up for me. I really think that days like this help keep me fresh and alive. It is good to be out with people, to feel fairly good an to know that you are doing something worthwhile.


Just Connie

Monday, September 18, 2017

Hurry and wait and People have no idea

I am till waiting to hear from the OHSU surgical team. It seems the head urge on was out of thoffice last week so they were supposed to call me today .. . no call. So my day went on. I went to 5:30 am yoga class, then drove to the hospital in McMinnville for immune panel blood draw. Then I took my first round of pre medications and grabbed breakfast to eat in the car on the way home. I got home in time to lay the meds out, take the 2nd round of pre drugs and make a call to the pharmaceutical company that provides the gamma globulin so the next months worth of meds could be shipped out tomorrow. Then I made a very painful  and difficult text message, which got back a heep of flaming arrows at me. There are those people that you cannot disagree with, with out them going for your throat. It is a very sad thing.

By then it was time for my pre  treatment breathing treatments and by then the pokenator was there to place the needles for me. Once everything was ready taped in and secure, the line checked for blood it was time to turn the pump  on and let it slowly pump the gamma globulin into my body. That also meant it was time for round number three of pre drugs which help combat the treatment migraine I get. I crawled into bed waved goodbye to the pokenator and read and dozed until the first  syringe was empty.

By now my head was pounding , I was nauseous and I plugged the next syringe into the pump and began that as I took the first round of mid treatment drugs and checked my blood pressure. But finally it was finished and I could call the pokenator to come back and de needle me. Only one site had a small reaction today. So much better than last week.

Then it was time to see if I could keep some food down and head back to bed to sleep come of drugs out of my system.

Besides treatment, I handled 2 counseling phone calls, a question for one of the properties we have for sale, text messages to my doctors and of course waiting for OHSU to call.

Not that untypical for treatment other than the extra blood draw. Which I am praying is going to be showing some bigger numbers .. Please! Right now I find myself groggy, exhausted and still have  1 more round of post drugs and then my nightly meds. I also got the news that I am to be on night time oxygen every night. That was really disappointing to me. But I will be a compliant patient  and do what needs to be done.

I am still finding my way through the path. At time the road is bumpy, hurtful  and emotional. Some times there are even rocks thrown at me as I trudge along. But the amazing thing is, that God brings me through and though the "slings and arrows might hurt me" they cannot detroy me. God has my back and I I have incredible prayer support. I know he will meet every need. Abundantly, wonderfully, lovingly and in amazing ways.

Who knows what lies around the corner?

Just Connie

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Waiting for the Call

I am still waiting for for the call from OHSU to set my initial consultation and MRI. They told me Friday they would call me early in the week and get it scheduled. It is now Thursday and I have heard nothing from them. I put a call into my pulmunologist yesterday to let him know that I had not heard from them.

I am so hoping we can get the initial appts set up, so I can move ahead in this process. I know that the church will feel better when they see some answers and I would certainly like to get through this diagnosistic phase as well.

Soooo, I am trying to stay busy today which has been challenging since I spent the night throwing up. But I am planning on having lunch with a friend and perhaps take a walk around the pond afterwards. All which will be a good break for me.

I am also preparing my Sunday School lesson for Sunday and getting ready to meet with th Superintndent on Sunday. And of course Bridge the Gap is Saturday where the police and Fire Department come down and let the kids climb in the equipment and get to know all of us on a one to one basis.

So lots to do while I wait ..... I wish that call would come!

Just Connie

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Another Step in the Journey

The past week has been a whirlwind of hospitals, dr's and testing.  I am still processing everything and gathering information.

The good news is that my lungs looked fairly good. However, they did find that I have a yeast infection in my lungs which they are treating for the next 30 days. That was good news to me since it explained why I have not been getting better.

The flip side is that the CT scan showed a mass on the tail of my pancreas. They sent me in for a targeted contrasted CT scan of my pancreas and the DR called me on Friday. It is a growth about an inch and a quarter by three quarters of an inch. He consulted with the team up at OHSU and they have picked the team that will be working with me. It looks like the next step is the consultation, MRI and probable biopsy. I should hear from them today about when that will happen.

Soooooo, how do I feel about all of this? For the most part I have a great sense of peace. No amount of worry is going to change what is or is not there. I find that I have also been really concerned about how the people around  me accept the information. I know the knee jerk reaction people have when there is a possibility of pancreatic cancer. I want them to know that I believe that God has me in the palm of his hand and I feel his presence in such an incredible way. Regardless of what lies ahead, I know that God is big enough, powerful enough and loving enough to bring me through.

I want to continue to live a life that glorifies God, brings love into people's lives and is a joy to be around. And that is plenty to keep my my mind and heart occupied while I walk this journey.

Just Connnie

Saturday, September 2, 2017

Lung Procedure Day

I called my favorite taxi cab driver for a ride to the Santiam hospital for my lung procedure. I always have so much fun with Ginny and she unfortunately has a lot of experience with hospitals and how things go.

So at 8am she came and picked me up and we headed to Stayton where my pulmonologist is head of pulmonology and internal medicine at the hospital. As always it is a joy to check in there. Very nice people and a very quick system. Before I knew it I was being showed to my room and they were prepping me. I of course got the gorgeous and fashionable hospital gown, booties and blue cap for my hair. Then they began what is often the big challenge, getting my IV in. They got one on the back of my hand which failed within minutes, so they headed to the opposite arm and was able to place one there. They gave me a nebulizer treatment, sprays for my sinuses nd kept getting things ready.

Soon the anesthesiologist was there and seemed a bit surprised to have been called in. I was not elderly, didn't have lung cancer and did not have a huge case of pneumonia. He explained that this procedure often does not use an anesthesiologist and general anesthesia. but also explained that my doctor had specifically requested it. (which I knew he was going to because he had told me) So I signed all the papers and soon they were wheeling me into the surgical suite.

They gave me yet more steroids, and I looked around at amazement at a room full of people. They discussed what anesthetics I would be getting and then they gave me the first does, my doctor asked me to hold up my right thumb and when I did he said give her more, that happened three more times before I was under.

The next thing I remember was waking up back in my room. I was having a neb treatment, crying and had a pounding headache. Obviously I had been awake for a while since I was holding the nebulizer but I had not memory of it at all. I felt like my body had been taken over by aliens.

Over the next couple of hours, they worked at getting my oxygen levels back up and finally around 3:30 they released for the hour long trip back home.

I am so very grateful for my friend Ginny who gave up her entire day to be with me. Thankful for the very kind nurses (and no Ginny I do not think that male nurse was flirting with me) Thankful for the skill and expertise of all the doctors who participated in the procedure.

And now I wait to hear for the results and for the cultures to grow to see what if anything needs to be treated. Glad to have this procedure behind me, especially since my lungs are telling me they are not happy with me this morning.

But I am fully expectant that there are good things ahead,

Just Connie