Answered Prayer

JoJi, Joanne's nurse was accompanied by Dr. Chi and a hospital worker, Marsha in repacking her wound. The process of removing the old sponge material and inserting new non-adhering sponge went quickly and the pain was well managed. We are grateful for everyone's prayers and the Lord covering this procedure and providing Joanne grace.
Joanne has started to eat small amounts of food- chicken soup, mashed potatoes, etc. Once she reaches a certain calorie intake level the TPN feeding can be reduced and eventually stopped.

Meeting Dr. Chi and a walk outside

Joanne met Dr. Chi today who had returned from vacation. The hospital will begin to measure calories from other food sources over the next three days to see when the TPN feeding IV can slowly be discontinued. She will be evaluating Mom's condition over the next week.
Joanne had a chance to walk outside today and feel the sun. She was thankful for the fresh spring air and to see the blossoms on the trees.
Pray for much grace during the repacking of her wound tomorrow which has been painful as the sponge material is removed and the vacuum tube is reinserted.

Non-stick sponges

A nurse told Mom this morning than they found some non-stick sponges they could possibly use for her wound. This was quite encouraging to Mom, meaning that after Tuesday the wound changes would be substantially less painful.

Meanwhile the nurses have been encouraging Mom to administer her own shots. For someone who dislikes needles, this morning's self-injection took 20 minutes. Mom is working on bringing the time down - but for her the thought is more than a little daunting.

Also, the irritation in Mom's skin has gone away. She stopped taking morphine based oxycontin, which seems to have been the source of the skin reaction.

Meanwhile she continues to improve. Please pray that she will get adequate exercise each day.

Saturday at Youville

Mom took some Benadril last night for a rash she has been having. The rash causes a lot of itchiness and is very uncomfortable. On a positive note, the Benadril helped her sleep very well. In the morning she saw the occupational therapist and was able to do 1.5 laps around the hospital floor. Most of the remainder of the afternoon Mom was anticipating the change of her incision sponges. Just before this she enjoyed another encouraging visit from her sister and brother-in-law. Changing the wound was the most painful it has ever been. Mom felt like they were tearing her skin and started crying, struggling to keep from screaming. Apparently one of the sponge pieces bonded so strongly with the side of her wound making its removal excruciatingly painful. The pain was so bad that they had to stop the procedure to give her some Dilaudid (a morphine substitute). Furthermore, there was some confusion on how to operate the wound VAC machine - the nurse wasn't familiar with it. Overall the procedure took 1.5 to 2 hours. During this time the physical therapist came in to work with Mom. This session was cancelled, however, because of the duration of the procedure, causing Mom to lose another opportunity to exercise. This traumatizing experience created a lot of anxiety for Mom, which combined with the Dilaudid caused Mom to sob a lot about the future week - changing the wound on Tuesday and even worse on Friday with Dr. Berkowitz, who just pulls the sponges out without pain medication or patient consideration. It was hard for Mom to get her mind off this. Also, the nurse told Mom that there was some unhealthy tissue in the wound, which would have to be cut out. Mom is exhausted from all these complications and discomforting situations. She said she felt as though she is being hit by waves that just get larger and larger and just when you think you are through one, the next one hits. Please pray that she would find rest for her soul.

Andrew and Dad visited her in the evening. She was really happy to see Andrew, who doesn't get to visit that often.

Another source of concern is that I be will leaving for California on Sunday afternoon. Mom is afraid of being alone during these difficult procedures. In many ways she still needs a lot of help. The nurses here often don't seem to remember what medications they have given Mom, and several times Mom has corrected them and is usually right when they consult the record.

Stephen Juraschek

Visiting Joanne

Visiting hours at Youville, Cambridge are 2:00 - 8:00p.m. Joanne is working with a physical therapist and an occupational therapist and is still in pain from her incision so she tires easily. If you come to visit her please keep your visits short, 10-15 minutes. If Joanne is sleeping please do not wake her but instead you may write a note to her in a book provided in her room. She is in a semi-private room and does not enjoy the space or privacy she had at BWH - cramped quarters with a roommate - so please no more than 2 visitors at a time.

Joanne is so encouraged by your comments in the blog and by visitors reading the word of God and praying with her.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. 2nd Thes. 3:18

Friday at Youville

The night was once again a little rocky. Rather than reduce Mom's stool softener as discussed by one of the doctors, one of the nurses tried to administer an increased dosage, which given the way Mom's digestive track was acting, was a little disconcerting. Fortunately, Mom was aware of the error and able to refuse the excess drugs. This did not prevent her from having the same digestive issue as the night before. The next morning she still managed to eat toast and scrambled eggs with ketchup (something she has an unusual craving for). When I arrived, she met with a substitute physical therapist who cleared me to walk with her on the weekends as well as did some exercises with her after a walk in the hall. The exercises unfortunately triggered the same digestive problem she had been having making her feel clammy and faint after the episode not to mention ending her exercise for the morning. Mom then retired to her bed where she made a feeble attempt to eat lunch and refused a visit with the occupational therapist, having recurrent pain in her abdomen. Shortly after, the geriatric doctor visited Mom and promised to sort out the confusion over the medication last night as well as said she could postpone the change of her would sponges until Saturday. Mom was quite happy about this change of schedule. Later, her sister, Terri, and brother-in-law, Billy, visited while she was having dinner. She was quite happy to see them.

It seems that for Mom's recovery one of the most critical items is exercise. Both her rest and exercise have been greatly inhibited by her digestive problem of eliminating too quickly. We should pray that her digestive track would function more normally, she could get adequate rest tonight, and that she would exercise on a regular basis.

Stephen

Youville Thursday Morning and Afternoon

Mom had some more trouble sleeping last night. It seems as though the late night gift-snack of humus and tabouli brought to Mom by Anna and Dad did not sit well with Mom's restructured digestive tract; although Mom did say that it was delicious. Fortunately, in the morning I arrived after most of the drama, which was a relief to Mom. Today was quite productive in multiple ways. She was able to meet two physicians! This was the first time she spoke with any doctors at Youville. The first doctor, Dr. Sudoukis (sp?) spent a lot of time listening to Mom explain her concerns, the experiences she past through the last several weeks, etc. Her bedside manner was excellent. Then Mom had the opportunity to walk with the occupational therapist, Barbara, who also showed her some unique devices for getting dress and picking up objects without using her abdominal muscles. Barbara also promised to get Mom cleared to walk with family members, which will greatly increase the amount of walking she is able to do throughout the day. Afterwards Mom saw 4th year ostheopathic medical student named Jessica, who is doing a rotation at Youville. Later, a geriatric doctor and professor at Harvard Medical School came to see Mom. He was quite caring and considerate. He explained the importance of a health proxy and procedural waivers and listened to Mom's concerns about her present digestive elimination discomforts.

On another note, Mom was able to smell spring today. When Anna visited she opened the window to Mom's room quite wide (even a little too wide - items in the room started blowing away). A nice breeze aired the room out - it was quite exhilarating.

Mom seems significantly less sedated and a lot stronger on her feet. She has been complaining substantially less about pain, which are positive signs of her recovery from surgery. Also, she ate a whole egg this morning and has been eating incrementally more at each meal.

Stephen

Wednesday at Youville

Mom continued to rest most of the day at Youville. Some nurses changed the sponges in her wound, which turned out to be a two hour ordeal. Apparently one of the nurses was learning the procedure from the other nurse and it was more complicated than either of them initially expected. After this, Mom walked a little with both Barbara, the occupational therapist, and Hilda, the physical therapist. She is also beginning to eat some soft food, which will allow her to stop TPN if her caloric intake is high enough.

Stephen

Trip to Dana Farber

This morning Mom discovered that Dr. Berkowitz wanted to see her for a post-operative examination. This necessitated a trip to Dana Farber. Mom was moved onto a stretcher and Stephen joined her on a bumpy trip through Boston via an ambulance. Dr. Berkowitz removed the wound sponges and examined the incision, noting that it looked fine. He said he would like to check it again on Friday, May 11th to confirm that it was still "good and clean" before the next chemotherapy treatment. Mom was not expecting this procedure and because I was located on the other side of the room she had no hand to hold. She did great, however, even with no additional analgesic. Dr. Berkowitz left a complete repacking of the wound for the staff at Youville.

Stephen

Tuesday at Youville

This morning began Mom's first full day at Youville. In the morning she had trouble finding people to give her pain medication. Mom said they seem a little slow. After 11:15 am occupational therapist, Barbara, came in to see Mom. She wanted to assess how well Mom could do certain tasks like get dressed, go to the restroom, etc. After this Mom spoke to her nurse about pain. The staff member gave her some oxycontin. Right after (at about 12), a physical therapist visited and took Mom for a walk. She also taught Mom some techniques for standing up and sitting down on her own. Soon after the oxycontin started working and Mom became very drowsy. Mom continued sleeping for most of the day. Although she did not feel any pain, she felt over medicated. She spoke with the nurse about this problem and they will work to find a "happy medium" between no pain and complete sedation. Later in the day, a sister named Tracy Chen, came to visit Mom. Apparently she works on the same floor of Mom's room. This was quite encouraging.

It seems like Mom is adjusting to her new environment. The staff are still getting to know her, so her adjustment to this new facility will be a new adventure. Fortunately Mom has been more alert (aside from the oxycontin session), and is able to explain things like when her next chemotherapy treatment will be or what foods she cannot eat, but we still need to pray that the transition will be smooth.

On a side note, Youville does not have internet access available for visitors, so for those of you who read the blog regularly, there may be larger intervals between posts. Our apologies for this inconvenience.

Stephen