This week has not turned out as planned. I have spent nearly all week in the hospital,
with today, June 18, spent in the ICU. I
am recovering tonight in the ICU after having a ventilator on for most of the
day. The doctors believe the primary
cause of today’s incident was aspiration.
As I have been experiencing severe headaches, they also took an MRI of
my brain. The MRI did not identify any
tumors. I will stay in the ICU tonight
for observation. Overall, a very scary
and difficult day. The ventilator down
my throat really hurt my throat.
Although not claustrophobic, I found it very difficult with my throat
blocked. When I could not talk, I would
write notes to describe my pain and to identify what I needed. I appreciate
Steve being at my side, holding my hand.
Also, it was so wonderful that my sisters, Tammy and Yvonne, were here
as they rubbed my feet and back. When I
saw them around my bed, I felt that there were angels present, including my Mom
and Dad. It was feeling of comfort and
peace. At this time, I am glad I can
talk again, even though my voice is very quiet now.
Now back to the
beginning of the week, and why I have been in the hospital. On Monday, June 15, I began to feel quite ill,
with a lot of nausea and headaches. I
vomited several times during the day and could not hold down any food, but
still planned to have the two procedures (port installation) and ERCP (bile
duct stent installation) on Tuesday. As
I quit eating after midnight in anticipation of the procedures, I became even
more ill. At 4 am, the pain was so
severe that Steve took me to the emergency room at Fair Oaks Hospital. They gave me an I.V., a variety of nausea
medication and pain medicine.
At 10 am I was admitted to the hospital, to prepare for such
procedures. Unfortunately, when I went
for the port installation, I began to cough extensively so the doctors decided
to defer the installation of the port until Wednesday, when I could be
administered a general anesthesia. What
was so frustrating was that I had not really been coughing before going to the
procedure. I was very disappointed, as I
needed to have the port installed.
At 2 pm, I was taken to pre-op for the stent
installation. Unfortunately, they were
very busy so the procedure was delayed 2 hours.
I was exhausted. The procedure
went very well in the respect of the stent installation. According to the doctor, when he installed
the stent, he could immediately see the bile move from the liver, gall bladder
and pancreas. He found that the blockage
of the bile duct was caused by a single tumor.
The tumor was sent to pathologists for analysis. Unfortunately, they found the tumor to be
malignant (adenocarcinoma). It is
expected that the treatment plan will
remain the same. I will begin with
chemotherapy as soon as I am well enough to stand the treatment.
Tuesday night, I stayed in the hospital. The port was installed on Wednesday
afternoon. This should be helpful, as
they have struggled finding adequate locations for IVs. I also had a CT-scan and X-ray on Wednesday
evening. They are investigating my
lungs.
In spite of the difficult week, it has been very helpful to
have two of my sisters, Yvonne and Tammy, visit me from Utah. They have been great help and so much fun. Also, my brother, Tom, and Deana, his
girlfriend, visited me. We reminisced
about growing up together. We mentioned
great learning from, and fun times with, our parents. We shared stories of our deceased parents
serving us now as guardian angels.
Yvonne also shared with me a letter that I had sent to my Mom and Dad
more than 30 years ago. I had expressed
my great love for them, especially in light of my rearing of my own
children. My parents gave me great love
when I was a child, and I still feel their love and presence near me. They were always a wonderful, powerful
example to me; it has been great to share time with my family.
This week reminded me of the challenges that I face. It will require me to be patient and to
persevere. Again, I recognize and
appreciate all those who help and support me.
Thank you for sharing your journey. I am sorry to hear this week has not gone as planned. Let's hope and pray next week goes better. I bet you are very grateful for your port! I had a PICC line in when I was pregnant with Max because I was constantly so dehydrated from vomiting that they couldn't ever find veins to give me fluids. They even sent me to the cancer unit to see if those experts could get a vein, and they were unable to. They finally had to use an ultra-sound machine to guide the port in! But once that was done - it was so easy to give blood samples, get fluids, and look REALLY cool with tubes coming out of my arm!
ReplyDeletePlease know you are in my thoughts and prayers. I love you!
Oh Marilynn. My heart hurts. I wish I had a magic wand that could miraculously remove all your pain and transport you back home. We pray for you daily and I think of you so often. Thank you for updating your blog as I've wondered how you are. Your spirit is strong and therefore you are strong. Hang in there. We love you.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry this is so difficult for you! We love you and are praying for you. Thanks for keeping us updated and please know that we are available to help in any way!
ReplyDeleteSister Forsyth, we love you SO much! I'm so sorry for the pain you are feeling, and the unmet expectations. We are praying for you, for your family and for your doctors! Love you!!! Melodi & Caroline
ReplyDeleteLetter from Yvonne Jordan:
ReplyDeleteDear Family,
Tammy and I were priviledged to be able to spend the last several days with Marilynn. Steve took her to the emergency room at 4am Tuesday morning. (June 16,2015) He took her because her pain was very intense. Most nurses are very warm and attentive; however, Marilynn had one nurse that I felt was not listening to Marilynn, this nurse was definitely not a warm, fuzzy type of individual. I walked up to the nurses station and I told this nurse that my sister deals with a lot pain and she never complains. I stated, "If my sister does complain, that tells me she is in a a great deal of pain. Can you give her something to help manage the pain?" Marilynn had this nurse for two days. When the nurse told Marilynn at the end of the second day she was going on vacation, I was relieved. These nurses work 12 hour shifts so Marilynn spends a great deal of time with them. I am jumping for joy that this nurse will not be back!---------------And this is what Marilynn says to her----------"Thank you so much for all you have done for me. I really appreciate your efforts on my behalf." This is the kind of sister we have. She is always thinking of others.----another example----Tom and Deana are back east, so they take a detour to come see Marilynn. After they leave Marilynn says, "I hope they got something to eat before they came." As for eating, Marilynn had not had any food for 5 days, finally on Friday she was able to enjoy a grilled cheese sandwich.
Steve has never left her side. He has gotten good at sleeping in a chair next to Marilynn's bed. Her children each take such good care of her. Even though Justin lives in Ireland, he arranged to have lunch brought into us the day Marilynn was in ICU. Food and flowers were being delivered by her children----even though neither is allowed tin the ICU.
I love and admire my sister, Marilynn. She is a fighter and she is determined to beat this thing called cancer.
Love, Yvonne
I wrote a response and am not sure if it will be posted later, but in case it isn't...We wanted you to know we are sad there is this set back in your health. We send our love, our hugs, and our prayers you way. We admire you, the sister, mother, daughter, wife, and friend that you are Marilyn. You are truly loved, you are a great example to us all. We send positive vibes and deepest prayers of recovery to you. Love you. Dan and Dee
ReplyDelete