Rest and Recovery

I am writing this Sunday, June 26, 2011.  Carl was discharged from the hospital just over one week ago on Saturday, June 18, 2011, after a Wednesday June 15, 2011 neck surgery that removed the remaining visible tumor from his neck.  [Actually, before the surgery, no tumor was visible.  (It was on the inside, ha ha)  But once the neck surgeon cut him open...  The surgeon looked around and removed all the tumor in the neck that was visible to the surgeon, and visible to the imaging (CT/MRI/X-ray?) equipment  in the operating room.]  

Froedtert's Operating Room used for Angiograms

The photo above and below shows the operating room used for Carl's two Angiogram procedures on Monday June 13, 2011 and Tuesday June 14, 2011.  Above, the large white structure with the large curved arm is an imaging machine that rotates and slides forward and back to takes images before, during and after the procedure.  A second curved arm in the center of the above photo takes images from the top and bottom of the surgery table.  Carl's bald head is visible on the far right.  Carl is still in the transport bed, and will be transferred to the operating table shortly.

The photo below shows the same operating room from a different angle.  This is the view of the operating room from the monitoring station, a room next to the operating room that has glass windows viewing the operating room.  I believe this is where the machine technicians operate the imaging machine from.  Carl is still on the transport bed.  The curved arms of the imaging machine are visible at the far left.

Froedtert's Operating Room used for Angiograms

Carl has spent the last week resting and recovering at home.  He did get lots of rest, hours of it a day, but there were still four children running to and fro - so not all of the hours in the day were 'restful'.  I estimating that Carl slept more then 12 hours a day, and Carl didn't move around too much.  He has started being a bit more active this weekend, and was exercising a little bit on a reclining exercise bike I bought at a rummage sale.  He went in to his work only for a short visit to say hi on one day.  Of course he didn't stay at home all of the time, though.  Probably once a day we/he left the house for some reason or other.

Carl came home from the hospital this time with a walker.  So now Carl has had a cane; crutches; a foot orthotic; and now a walker.  Today was one of the first days since the surgery that he has been able to move a bit without using either the walker or the crutches.  We went to church for the first time in weeks (with the walker). 

Carl on June 18, 2011

The photo above is from the day Carl was released from the hospital, Saturday, June 18, 2011.  Miranda came with me to pick Carl up from Froedtert hospital, and since it was a Saturday, we stopped at the Wauwatosa Farmer's Market.  Should we have?  Probably not, but Carl wanted to.  We did buy a couple of plants from local farmers for Carl's "earth box" garden.  One of the things accomplished this week was that Carl and the children planted tomatoes and cilantro and basil in two "earth box" gardens.  I can tell that Carl has lost weight in this photo. 

One of the highlights of this weekend has been a family film-festival viewing of the Lord of the Ring trilogy - tomorrow night we hope to watch third movie in the series, "The Return of the King".  We have decided that Nathan would make a good Frodo, the ring-bearer.


Thank you once again for your prayers.  We continue to welcome them. 

Click on any photo to see it larger. 7955 

Carl is back home!

I am HAPPY to report that Carl was discharged from the hospital on Saturday, June 18, 2011, after 3 long days of procedures and a neck surgery on Wednesday.

Carl is glad to be out of the hospital.  I am looking forward to a good night's sleep, and sleeping late tomorrow morning.  

I am hopeful that Carl's recovery time at home will be quality family time.  This week has been challenging since the children were out of school for the entire week, and I was gone on most mornings before the two middle boys even got out of bed.  Things at home ran a little crazy.  Here is an example.  The lawn needed mowing all week, and yet with three teenage boys in the family, none of whom had pressing or scheduled commitments ALL week, the lawn didn't get started until after Carl got home today.  (Don't worry, Carl didn't mow it...)  Finally, with a parent (or two) actually around to say "no going to the pool before you mow the lawn",  Nathan tackled the overgrown front yard.  Perhaps Monday Carl and I can establish a good start of the summer routine for the children.

Thank you once again for your prayers.  Carl's surgery seems to have gone better then originally thought possible.  And thank you to those who fed and/or watched and/or drove and/or entertained some and/or all of my children at various points through out the week.  We are blessed to have all the prayers and help, we are blessed to have friends like you.

June 15 Surgery update.

Carl's neck surgery at Froedtert on Wednesday June 15, 2011 went well according to the surgeon.  Now Carl has to recover, which is painful, but the hard part is (hopefully) over.  I don't want to jinx anything, but I want to give out an update. 


Monday June 13, 2011 Carl was in SICU (S=Surgical Intensive Care Unit) after a angiogram with embolization procedure, which was done under full anesthetic.  Carl did not eat at all on Monday.  He had to lay on his back from 9:00 AM until midnight.  

Tuesday June 14, 2011 Carl was in NICU (N=Nuerological Intensive Care Unit) after an angiogram procedure was done to balloon and block off his left vertebral artery.  This procedure had to be done with Carl fully awake, not even lightly sedated.  Carl didn't eat at all until past 9:30 PM, when I tempted him with whatever I could find from Froedtert's all night cafe, because he couldn't eat or drink anything after midnight.  He ate a sandwich, applesause, milk, a candy bar, 3/4 of a pear, and a blueberry muffin. 

Wednesday June 15, 2011 Carl was in NICU after the neck his third neck surgery in 2011 - this surgery debulked the tumor in his neck. (Carl got operating room # 13-sigh...).  This surgery was done under full anesthetic.  He didn't eat at all on Wednesday, and had to lay on his back the entire day, except for when he was being operated on, when they rolled him to his stomach and the surgeon worked from the back of his neck.  Really, though, I haven't figured out if Carl even remembers anything after they took him to surgery at 8:30 AM. Carl got heavy duty pain medication - including Morphine.  It seems almost wrong to type 'Morphine' - like it is a bad drug, and he shouldn't have gotten any, but I am glad that he was able to sleep with apparent comfort.

Thursday June 15, 2011 Carl graduated out of NICU to the Spine care 'floor', walked a tiny bit, had soup and a pastrami sandwich (from Benji's - a deli we both love), and ate several times, watched a movie. His pain medications are back to oxicodone and oxicontin. 

I will be happier once he is home.  Then I will be freaked out that he might get a fever, fall, etc.  That's just kind of the way it is.  Stress either way, but at least at home things are calmer.  

2011 Summary (so far) and 2nd Surgery update

Wow, it has been a while since I have done an update. Perhaps no news is good news? It's been so long I'll do a brief summary of 2011 with regards to Carl's medical journey. I'll start with December, just 'cause.

Dec 27-Dec 30, 2011 Carl had inpatient Chemotherapy at Froedtert. They let him out one day early so that he could enjoy New Years Eve and Day with his family.

Carl had the hardest time recovering from this particular chemotherapy, and pain increased in his neck. The Doctors decided to operate on his neck to stabilize his neck and debulk the tumor, and the neck surgery was done on Jan 24, 2011. Carl was sent home from the hospital wearing a neck brace, which he wore for 23 plus hours a day, except in the shower, for weeks, and instructions not to drive.

After the surgery Carl was recovering (sort-of) but then the pain in his neck was getting worse. The surgeon saw Carl, took an X-ray, and determined that Carl's spinal fusion had failed, and included a screw pulling out. Carl had an emergency surgery on Feb 14, 2011 to repair the failed hardware. On this surgery they pulled out the screws and put in larger screws, used acrylic glue and more hardware, and fused Carl's neck from the base of his skull to C7.

Carl was released from the hospital on Wednesday, February 16, 2011. After a week or so, Carl felt good enough to start working again, although with reduced hours. Again, Carl was sent home from the hospital wearing a neck brace, which he wore for 23 plus hours a day, except in the shower, for weeks. He won't be able to drive a car for at least six weeks.

Life with the children, of course, continued, and the weekend of Feb 25-27, 2011 was particularily busy. Anthony (a freshman) was in a great musical for 4 days, Miranda (6th grade) was in forensics, and the three younger children had a piano recital, and poor weather made some things more difficult. We survived the activity, but Carl overdid it that weekend. The funny thing about overdoing things is that "hindsight is 20-20". After you overdo something, you know that hey - you overdid it, you shouldn't do that. But by then it is too late. Fortunately, Carl survived, with no ill effects.

The 2nd surgery's spinal fusion has lasted longer and worked better then the first surgery, so far. On Thursday, March 10, 2011 I took Carl to see the surgeon for a post-op appointment. Carl had an X-ray and the surgeon said things look great. He even said Carl could start wearing the neck brace less (an hour or two each day), and that Carl should start PT (Physical Therapy) next week.

This week, later today, in fact, Carl will meet with the radiation Doctor, and 'the doctors' will start planning the next link in the chain of treatment.

Carl is home!

Carl came home from the hospital yesterday, Wednesday, January 26, 2010 at around 8:30 PM at night. My son Anthony and I went to pick him up and then I drove Carl home over the bumpy roads which caused pain at each bump. After Carl was tucked into bed at home, I went to fill prescriptions for him - the total bill for the prescriptions before insurance exceeded $1000. (It's a good thing I had the new prescription card with me. Insurance plans changed on January 1, and... lets just say I still had to pay WAY over $100.)

Carl was released about 48 hours after his neck surgery, and I personally think that was too early. He had barely eaten anything solid since the surgery, and the nurses had been giving him lots of drugs in the hospital. It throws a lot of responsibility on me be able to recognize problems.

Here is an example. On January 1, 2010 (one year ago) Carl went in to get chemotherapy. The night before he had been sick, it was the 4th day of a 5 day chemotherapy string, and I didn't know what to expect. All that I remember thinking was he was like a walking zombie. Carl never got chemotherapy that day, because pre-chemo blood work revealed his potassium level had crashed and so the nurses gave him IV fluids and potassium, etc., and sent him home. I now know (from this sample of 1) that "walking zombie" possibly means potassium is low. I have no idea what hi or low blood sugar, sodium, any of the other 30 things they check in a blood test would result in, so I happily only worry about potassium.

So yesterday I had the nurse check his blood test results before we left the hospital. Carl had his blood tested on Wednesday morning, Jan 26, 2011, and his potassium levels were only 'a little low'. How will I recognize (much less fix) a problem like this at home? Problems like this can only get worse then it probably would in the hospital, and then we would have to run back to the hospital to get it fixed.

That being said, if it were me in the hospital, I'd want to get out ASAP. (And Carl is the same way). In the hospital, people are always monitoring the patient, morning, noon, and night. Blood pressure, temperature, heart rate, blood oxygenation are checked often, 4x a day. They wake you up to check these things - day and night, they take blood tests, and more. You don't go to a hospital to get rest. And you don't get it either.

The fear of infection, usually highest at a hospital, is one of the main reasons medical personnel send post surgery patients like Carl home so quickly after a surgery. That, and Carl moaning "I just want to go home".

So, home he is. And since things seem to be going well, I am very glad. Today I don't have to race over to the hospital, and that is a really nice relief. WHAT A TREAT. Carl slept well, he has had some food, and is getting lots of rest. I will keep you posted.

Thank you for your prayers. Keep them coming. What I am praying for now is that the neck tumor does not grow back, a very real possibility.