Seriously!!!!!

As promised I am here to fill you in on the visit today! So I am wondering if it is possible to spend less than half a day at MD Anderson. So I went in to get my Picc line checked and changed, that went quick and easy. On to floor 6 elevator A.......infectious disease. 2 hours later, I am told that the staph was unable to grow enough bacteria to be able to name it, it had been comprimised by the previous oral antibiotic that I was on. In otherwords, they have no idea and I am keeping my picc line 1 more week! So now I am counting down to next friday when I get to take a saran wrap free shower, YAY!!!!
So I want to share with you this dream I had yesterday. I was getting ready to pick up the kids from school, but I was in bed. Well not just any bed, it was a remote control bed!!!! Yep I drove my remote control bed down to Copeland and waited at the crosswalk for my children. So you tell me what this means. I think , ummmm, yes I am going absolutly nuts and need to get out! LOL :) So I did go to Copeland to pick up the kids today, not on my bed. I walked, but had to call my mom to come get us because I looked like I had spent the last 5 hours downing tequila at Chuy's. My walk was quite staggard. It was nice to get out though.
Nate will be home wednesday and he is so excited to get back because at his request we are going to do a Hat Fashion Show. I am going to take pictures of me and all my hats that my wonderful friends have given me! I will post the link to a fun slide show for your entertainment. Well I am off to bed, it was alot today and I have a bit of a headache, not bad for being post op 3 weeks today. Can you believe it, 3 weeks ago they cut open my brain!!!! ( and even put most of it back ) I am so amazed at Gods work, I live but the verse Proverbs 3:5 and once again I trusted and I have no understanding other than the power of prayer!!!! Until next time my friends.....
Good Night!

No news is good news!

So I haven't written anything due to the fact that all is well! My infection seems to be responding well to the IV antibiotics, and my walking is now near perfect! I am definately ready to be rid of this PICC line though, I long for the day that I can take a shower without having to saran wrap a part of myself! I am just ready for some normalcy back in my world, I tried to sweep out the garage yesterday and you wold have thought I ran a 10K! everyone keeps saying baby steps, but I am a big girl now and I want to take giant steps. Oh dare I say the words.....I need to find some patience. Please nobody pray for that, cause we all know what happens when we pray for patience! So back to no news is good news! I am doing amazing and totally showing up the doctors expectations! I do like to show off.......yes I do! The fact of the matter is the power of prayer has shown its greatness and prevailed. I couldn't have gone through this without all the prayers, so I again thank the amazing support group made up of friends and family and even people I will never meet, but will always be grateful that they prayed for me. This is not the end of my blog by any means, so keep checking. For now I am off to push more drugs into my veins, at what point will I be known as a professional?

Hello it's me Dawn and yes I am on drugs!

So Nate made it to the rig this morning and I have been instructed to continue the blog in his absence. I am not even going to try and compare to him, I have finished reading everything he has written and I have to say I enjoyed the journey through his words!

This has been quite a ride! I am sitting here at the computer in my kitchen while IV antibiotics are being pushed into my veins, weird right? Yesterday as Nate said they inserted a Picc Line which is an IV that runs up my arm and into my chest, it will stay in for a course of 2 weeks. Wow I feel weird pushing drugs into my own veins! I am a bit frustrated by this set back but it is what it is right. I expected to go into the hospital yesterday and get my stitches removed and go home and scrub my head, I just want a normal shower. Can you smell me? JK I have mastered the sponge shower process, I am just sick of it! I feel amazing otherwise, it just blows my mind that only 14 days ago I was having my head cut into. This experience has taught me so much and humbled me emensly. To feel the perfection of what God created when He created us is awesome! I have felt so much love and support I am just wrapped in it! I cant say enough good things about my doctors and the staff at MD Anderson, I felt like I was on a Southwest flight, everyone is always so happy and friendly. So overall this was a good experience, now I wouldn't suggest trying it for yourself though.
Where to go from here? Well I must continue to ask for prayer concerning this infection. I am to find out on Monday exactly what kind of staph it is. They are growing it as we speak. So I am hoping that they will call and say that is wasn't as serious as they thought and to come in and get the Picc Line removed. So pray hard with me! Well I must go and change my IV bottle to med #2 now. A great night to all until I write again!

OK I lied

So I thought my last post would be my last post, but I was wrong. I was suppossed to leave via helicopter to go to work on the rig this morning. I am not at work due to the weather however. This blog is not about me though so I digress, Dawn went in to the doctor this morning to get her stiches out. Which she said went very well, she was worried about there being pain, she reported there was only some slight tugging. So that part of the visit went well, however the rest of the visit seems to have gone south from there. The infection Dawn had on her skin while clearing up in front of her incision, is not improving behind her ear and is looking to get worse. The doctor not entirly sure what to do as a treatment sent her down to see an infectious desease specialist. The treatment they have come up with is to install a PIC line (an iv that goes up into her chest) and set up an in home nurse to administer IV antibiotics twice a day for the term of the treatment. So she is currently still at the hospital, and Im in a hotel in Morgan city, LA. trying to set up someone to watch the kids. Today has not been a fun day for either of us I know.Please keep praying for Dawn to overcome this infection and continue her recovery. As I find out more ill keep everybody posted.

Time to pass the torch.

So I didnt really have anything to report yesterday, Dawn has been doing well, and nothing really exciting happened to comment on. I know her goal was to be able to walk around on her own before I left to go back to work. Which is today, and Im happy to tell you all that she has leap yet another hurdle, she has walked around all day with no help from me. I feel mixed emotions of elation and sadness. I am overjoyed that she has done so well with this whole process, but feel useless at the same time because she wont need me to wait on her anymore. Especially when I get home, she is going to be so much more independant after two weeks. So I will be passing the torch to her, to carry on keeping everyone updated, as I wont be here to transcript the happenings of each day. Dawn is going back to the hospital tomorrow, for stiches removal, that should make a huge difference, and afford her the oportunity to clean the wound much better. She is also seeing a marked improvment in her impetigo, the antibiotics seem to be doing the trick. So you wont be hearing from me anymore, Ive enjoyed sharing Dawn's adventure with you all. I hope that whatever your endeavors, whatever your dreams, whatever your goals are, you are wished all the best with an abundance of love, peace and happiness! I pray that God bless and be with you always.

Postman's creed

Dawn adopted the postmans creed today with some revision, not as a post delivery person, but as a post reciever. "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night, (nor severed balance nerve) stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds". We took a walk in the great outdoors to the mail box today to get the mail. Dawn's first time walking outside since her surgery, in her words "It was wierd, it made my head spin, like being on a roller coaster on my feet! There was just too much space." To which I replied "Hence the outside honey." That while not a temendously long walk was the longest one yet, and tired her out. She gets tired physically and mentally due to the intense concentration needed to maintian her balance, I think it is akin to a toddler learning to walk. The intense concentration just to stay up must be exausting... Whoa what is that called when someone else says what you are thinking? Dawn just said she felt like she was a toddler learning to walk. Thats about it for today. Dawn just wanted to add she/we appreciate all the prayers and support that everyone is giving us, her successful surgery and recovery would not be possible if not for the prayers answered by GOD. You are all to thank for that!

impetigo says what?

So it turns out Dawns brain wasnt leaking. We had to go back to the hospital at the behest of the doctors. And we had a meeting with all three of Dawns primary doctors, which other than operating day we have never seen all three of them in the same room at the same time. They all agreed that the rash looking stuff that is in the general area of her incision was actually the source of the "leak" (mainly) and the all concured on the diagnosis of impetigo. Impetigo which some of the moms out there might be familiar with is a skin infection, most commonly caused by streptococcus (strep) or staphylococcus (staph) bacteria. Also common amongst babies or infants in the diaper area, tends to be a red irritation that presents with blisters filled with puss, yum! So she was given some more meds, I think we need to invest in an old peoples pill box, you know the ones with all the days of the week compartments, just to keep track of all her pills. Im running out of room on our bathroom mirror where I write her pill schedual with dry erase markers, it looks like that white board they use on the show "House". Other than that she continues to get better balance each day, walking a little more with less assistance. She is concerned on not being up to par before I have to go back to work. So please pray that the antibiotics they have given her for the infection do the trick. She goes back on the 20th to get the stiches out. Thats about it for today.

Time flies when your having fun...

Or when your doped up and sleeping 18 hrs. a day. Dawn said that she could not believe that a week ago today she was having her surgery, I guess it is true what Albert Einstein said about time being relative to the observer. From Dawns point of view it has been a quick week, while as for the rest of that had to sit and wait while she was going through all of this and recovering the time, the week has been slow and long. She has been doing well the last two days, but I think that she is pushing herself. Thats the curse of being home, I wonder if it is a mother thing or a person thing, and would I feel the same. I think she feels now that she is at home she should be spending time with the kids and doing the things she normally does, it is hard, especially for a woman to let go of control of the household even when they are sick or recovering. So that being said she was feeling more dizzy today, I think as a result of pushing to be at a hundred percent by next week (When I go back to work). She did alot today, showered

(that was a chore I wont go into detail), put on make up,

 made some calls (which she mentioned she felt bad she hasnt called everybody), did bills, and FB'd. Then stayed up and hung out till the kids got home. Tomorrow will be a day of rest.

Moon walking.

The word of the day...Pajamas! Just took it east today, it was so nice not to get interupted every few minutes for vitals and what not. So Dawn is doing well, she was up on the couch catching up on all the shows she DVR'd while she was away. She said she felt good today. I had a scare though today, every time I would help her move around or to the bathroom. (She is going to be unstable for a little while and just needs the stability of another). Anyhow she would say "I feel like I'm walking on the moon!". So my first thought was "Oh crap I have overdosed my wife with pain killers!", luckly she was fine and only refering to walking on the carpet. The hospital which is obviously devoid of carpet, wasnt as squishy under her feet. This being a new sensation it didnt occur to me what she was talking about. Well now that that is all sorted out, it should be smooth sailing from here on. Oh I dont want to forget to mention that her brain leaking has slowed even more to almost no leak so thats good news, I told her she cant function with any less brain than she has already got. Hope everybody has a wonderful night, talk to you more tomorrow.

Home sweet home

Well home at last, Dawn did well on the ride home, they doped her up pretty good for the ride. The last thing she said before she hopped (more like eased) into the car was "I feel woosie!". She was in and out the rest the way home. The kids were excited to see her and say good night as they had not seen her other than through skype for almost a week now. It is nice to be home. She is resting now and should finnally get a good nights sleep now that she is not getting woken up every hour to have her vitals taken. I told her that I could wake her up every once and awhile to take her temp and pulse,(Im not sure how I would figure out her pulse-ox) but she declined. I thought she would like the familiarty of it since we were in the hospital so long, but I was mistaken. I did not even get a smile out of that one, she must be tired. Well good night all.

Going over the wall!!!

Finnally...we got paroled for good behaviour ( no more wheelchairs boosted). The doctor came back in about thirty minutes ago and took a look at the leakage. Obviously he determined it was a slow enough leak that Dawn could do without that bit of brain. Seriously though the doctor said it seems inconsicuential enough that she can go home and we can monitor it on our own. Of course if anything were to get worse we would come back to get it checked out, but he believes it will subside as time passes. If we see that it lessens then we can just wait untill we have to meet with her parole officer on the 20th to get it looked at. Other than that we will be reporting from the comforts of home from here on out.

Today could be the day.

Well we are on the right track to getting out of here today, one little speed bump though. Dawn's brian is trying to escape. She has had a little fluid leaking form her wound and they just want to make sure it is not leaking profusely. Also they are trying to ascertain the origin of the fluid, weather it is from the incision itself or if it is from the suture holes. The fellows residents that came to look at her said it should not prevent us from going home today, but they didnt want to give a definative answer until they checked on it later. So like everything else it is going to be a couple more hours until we know whats going on. If anything needs to be done they will just throw another box stich in to close the wound for good measure. Any body know how to crochet? Good news is we get to have some more yummy hospital food for lunch. When I know more Ill report...

Pointless but interesting.

So someone asked me the other day what did I think the "M.D." in MD Anderson Cancer Center stood for.
I replied that it was probably someones name and "MD" were his first initials. Well I did get that much right, his name was Monroe Dunaway Anderson. Whats the point you might ask? It is always funny to me how a semingly inocuous question can show us GODs hands working behind the scenes. So I looked up the man whos name is so world renound, to find out he probably never had the first thought about opening a cancer center in his lifetime. GOD works in amazing ways, and to think of all the people that have been helped, cured, healed, and cared for over the years all thanks to a man that created a charitable foundation to escape, the possibility of a large estate tax. Here is a link, I found it an interesting read.
http://www.mdanderson.org/about-us/facts-and-history/who-was-m-d-anderson-/index.html

Dawn's life of crime

Dawn felt much better when she woke up, no more nausea, and the pain is being managed well. So the day has been slow and long, with less and less to look at on these four walls. Dawn suggested we "boost" a wheelchiar and go on a road trip, for a change of scenery. As you all know I'm a saint and would never be lured into a criminal life, but pier pressure is powerful. I ended up lifting a sweet ride right down the hall, someone left the keys right on the seat. So we spent the afternoon riding around, there is really a lot to see in this hospital. It was nice to get out, especially for Dawn. We got back and I returned the ride to where I found it. Thought the "Heat" was on my tail on my way back to the room but I think I lost them when I doubled back around the nurses station. So not to long after that the lead Neurologist showed up to take a look at Dawn he said he had reviewed her post-op MRI and it looks clean, no tumor, good looking brain. All is well, he said, they would be by in the morning to see if we can get out of here. We give all the credit to GOD who is the ultimate healer, and provider. HE was with Dawn, the surgeons, techs, and nurses throught the surgery and recovery. We thank everybody for their fervent detication to prayer for Dawn and her team through out all of this, you all are great! Thank You!

P.S. Because of God and the example of prayer and dedication I've experienced, I vow to turn from my criminal life and wheelchair "boosting".

Looks like one more day in the clink...

So Dawn woke up this morning with more nausea than usual. The assistant to the nuero surgeon came by to see if we could go home today. She was concerned about the pain managment not being under control yet, so she said we are going to stay one more day and see if we can work that out. All that means is getting down to one kind of pain med and lengthing the time between doses. Dawn actually mentioned several times that she wasnt in pain as much today, it was the nausea that was really bothering her. So we went for another trianing walk this morning and then Dawn got some stronger nausea meds delivered so she took that and fell right to sleep. So its nap time and more news later.

Training for the 50M

So today was trianing day for the 50 Meter Marathon, its like the Boston Marathon only shorter. Dawn did some laps around the nurses station, and then rested for awhile. When the rest period was over she did figure eights around both nurses stations on the ward. We firgure that was about 25 meter trianing for today. We are going to do some more trianing later tonight, before dinner. Why all the work outs? Well in order for Dawn to go home she needs to be able to get around on her own, at least from the bed to the bathroom ( thats like 2M ). So thats the goal, try to get to a point as soon as possible, that the doctors are comfortable with kicking us out of here. More later.

Dawn: Unwrapped

As you can see the bandages came off today. Not to long after dinner time one of the doctors came in and removed the bandages. He said that the incision looked good, they didnt clean the area at all it looked just as you see it above when they took off the bandage. I thought it would have had more discharge or blood let out, but it looks very clean. They have already set an appointment for next week to take out the sutures. Dawn was a little more fatigued today from moving around more, sitting up for longer periods of time, and at meals. So she is just going to rest for the night. More news tomorrow.

Im zestfully clean...

So they un-hooked Dawn from her IV's today, which you no what that means, bye bye "good drugs". :(

Thats not all bad though they are getting her more ready to go home every day and getting of the IV, and on to an oral pain medication is key. She also took a shower this morning and sat up for breakfast and lunch. She had a good appetite today, cream of wheat for breakfast, cottage cheese, fruit, and zuccinni bread for lunch.

The Mystery of the Ticking Temple: SOLVED

So Dawn had been complianing yesterday and today of a ticking sound in her head. She said it wasnt painful just annoying. It was the wierdest thing, I could put my ear next to her left temple and hear this mysterious ticking sound. Like coming from inside her head it was totally wild. Well the mystery was revealed today. She was visited by all of her doctors today, they were making rounds and checking on her progress. Which they are all very pleased with how she is doing by the way. Back to my story, so Dawn asked about the sound in her and the Audiologist said "I've been missing my Timex watch"! He was joking of course, he explained that was normal. The sound she has been hearing was the peice of skull they removed to make a window to her brain rubbing on the rest of her skull. You see all skulls are pretty much the same in make up, like pieces of a puzzle our skulls are made of not just one solid bone, but different sections that lock together in the same fashion as teeth on a sproket and gear. The puzzle pieces expand and contract, minutely of course, but moving none the less. So as dawns intact skull expands and contracts it is rubbing the piece they took out making a "Ticking Sound". Mystery solved! Aside from that anatomy lesson the other happings of the day were as follows. Her neuro surgeon said he wanted her to do some more sitting up and wanted her to sit up and eat some solid food for dinner. She was looked over by the two anesthesioloists to see how cognizant she was. She also had her post op MRI today right before dinner time. Other than that she was awake and clear headed more today than any other day. More tommorrow.

FLOWERS

Dawn wanted me to make a quick note, if you or anyone you know is planning on sending flowers please send them to the house, instead of the hospital. Thank you.

A step closer to going home.

Today has been great so far, we are feeling much better than expected. Dawn is awake and talking, the nurses came in and took off all her attachments. Leg pumps, ekg leads, oxygen mask, and cathater. The only thing left hooked to her is the IV which is needed for the "good stuff". So that puts her one step closer to going home, so says nurse Alice. The reason being is she can be more mobil and start getting up to go to the bathroom. The doctors want her to "excersise" her Balance nerve in a since by moving around as much as she feels comfortable with, without over doing it of course. They said her brain needes that stimulation of moving to get used to having only one signal coming from her right side. ( They severed the left balance nerve, did I mention that yesterday...dont worry that was planned.) Other than that the only other thing going on is trying to figure out what pain meds work best for her to go home with. More to come.

First thing on the 8th of Jan.

Good morning all. Dawn slept really good last night. Despite the interuptions, every hour or so for vitals (typical hospital stuff). She says her head still hurts from time to time, usually a couple of hours after her pain meds are administered, so they are probably wearing off about then. Other than that the Doctor is suppossed to be in at 6:30 for a check up. Ill add more news then.

Moved me up from the recovery room from hell, to the 8th floor...

So I ask you, say you have just gotten you skull opened up and your brains were shoved around to get at the objective of the surgery. Would you want to recover on the corner of "Main" and "Broadway"!!!! Recovery rooms are supposed to be dim and soothing and calm, yeah right, this was the only bad experience so far, from the recovery room to the trip up stairs. Let me lay it down for you. When I say Main and Broadway Im not kidding the room was open, bright, and loud. Very busy, and to many visitors walking around. Asked for some nausea medice, because the whole recovery room was spinning, no telling when ill get that. Then on the way up to my room they bumped into a wall and pinched my Arterial IV between the bed and the wall, could have found my way back to the recovery room (hell) by following my droplets of blood. So Ive been in my room for an hour. Im in and out one because Im exausted, and two because the room does flipps whenever I open my eyes. Just when I think Im at the brink, guess what shows up...my nausea meds i asked for forever ago. Well Ive got to say if that is the worst of this whole experience Im not doing to bad. Well Ive actually been over here knocked out from the nausea meds during the typing of this post, but if I were awake Id endorse the whole thing. More adventures tomorrow.

Sort of awake...

Well it has been approximatley 3 hrs. since they finished up surgery and we were given the opportunity to go and see Dawn. She had her eyes closed when we got to her bed and was groggy, she complained of pain and the noise level. The nurse had said she had given her some meds right before we walked in, and would give her more in a few minutes, but said that she had to monitor her closely and had to stage up the meds in steps. So that being said she assured us she would administer more pain medication as soon as she could, and suggested we come back and visit later. (If you ask me I dont think they should let anybody back there until the patient is asking for someone.) Needless to say we vacated the area and are back in the waiting room. Over all she looked good considering, she is sporting a big bandage on her head, but is without the "Lifesavers" from her bald picture. OK more later.

I know none of you are going to believe this...

She is already done! We were expecting to get an update at 12:00, and instead the nurse said the doctors were closing and would be out to talk to us in a moment. Which under the circumstances was a bit freaky as we were all set for an eight hour surgery (13 hours at the hospital all together). We met with her doctors and they both reported the surgery went beautifully. The tumor was well compacted with very clear boarders and they are completly confident they recovered the entire thing. They also said they didnt have to disturb her facial expression nerve and her hearing by all estimations is not effected any further than it was when we walked in this morning. She should be up if a few hours and we should be able to see her then. I will report on her condition post-op soon! Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers, all praise to GOD who was with Dawn and her team of surgeons today.

10:00 update

Hey everybody so far so good, they took Dawn back at 7:00 for anethesia, first incision was made 8:00 and so far everything is good. The doctors are working on thier appraoch to the tumor ( drilling skull ) right now. So far its smooth sailing. The nurse said it is not much to report at the moment because they just got started. More to come @ 12:00.

Surgery Schedule!

This is me and my probes!

Here we go! I will be in the main building on the 5th floor. I go in at 7:00am and it should last 8-10 hours. I have prepared by doing a head shaving ceremony, Nate and I are twins!!!! Thank you all for your prayers, Nate will be updating the blog as he hears from the doctors. Please don't call until friday, as he will not be wanting to answer tons of questions. I cant say enough how much I appreciate all of you. I will be up and about ASAP so don't get to used to the quiet:)

Old Hair, New Hair, Black Hair, Pink Hair?

So I am a very, I mean very, safe when it comes to my hair. So I decided this is the perferct time to play and have fun! Well In 4 weeks, I had 4 different colors. What do I have to lose except ......hair? So here is the progression! In 2 days I will be sporting the Mr. Clean look, pictures to follow!