Recap of our day...

Although she rallies whenever someone comes over, Amy still hurts quite a bit. This evening we also noticed her swelling is coming back. We see the surgeon again Friday morning, and I'll be eager to see what he thinks. Staying in bed and resting has lost its appeal, and she's ready to get up and get moving again...if only she didn't hurt so much. It'll be good for her to have her friends around this weekend. We're all looking forward to seeing the boys. Yep, 4 really awesome teenage boys.
Our good friend, Cynthia, fixed a wonderful dinner for us last night and Amy loves the chicken/rice soup...one of the only things she can eat without a lot of pain. And did I mention this is the same awesome friend who fixed us dinner the LAST time Amy had surgery? Between Brian, my parents and Cynthia, I've been able to focus on taking care of Amy. Who would have thought something other than her previous feet/wound issues would consume so many of our waking hours? Because we've had health issues to deal with, I'm thankful to be a stay-at-home mom. This is the greatest calling in the world!! Thanks, BA, for providing for us so I can nurture our family.

Re-focusing the brain cells

We made it thru the night...chatted a few times...got a snack at 1:30am so Amy could take more pain medication, etc. Ok, we didn't sleep all that great. But we made it thru and that's all that counts. Today Amy was ready for some food and a bath. We changed the dressing again and this time the yell was "Mother of Jehovah!" Not as much drainage, so we were able to put on a smaller dressing. She's beginning to feel human again. Today we'll distract our brain cells by focusing on groceries/food for the next few days. Phil, Mitch, Mike and possibly Justin are coming down for the weekend and begin arriving tomorrow evening. And we know teenage boys can eat! It'll be great to have them around. They're fun guys, and they're all very protective of Amy. So it looks like (hopefully) the worst is behind us for now. One day at a time...

Mother of Pearl!!!!

We just changed Amy's bandage and she said "It hurts like the dickens, so if I make a face just do what you have to do." As we took the old one off she yelled out "Mother of Pearl!!!" But we did it!!! The surgeon hoped by tomorrow we might be able to get by with just a large bandage instead of this big, bulky one, and we sure hope he's right.
As if we needed another roller coaster ride...we received a letter tonight from the Registrar who implied Amy doesn't have to lose the whole trimester. She said Amy can stay home till 6 April and then make it back for the next class. Brian is going to call tomorrow to verify we're all on the same page. But this is HUGE! It's been a rather emotional few weeks and when I read that e-mail tonight I shed a few tears. I'll admit it. But I'm just so thrilled that Amy might not have to put her dreams on hold after all!!! You have no idea how happy this makes us. Did I mention earlier that there have been lots of miracles and answered prayers? Wow...just goes to show you that God can't be put in a box with limitations. He's a God who exceeds our wildest expectations! Amy had such a good attitude about re-working the timeline to finish school. And then God added an exclamation point to this crazy roller coaster ride. I'm in awe of His mighty power, grace, and abundant blessings.

My hero...

Within minutes of arriving home, Amy was already asleep. So much for only Tylenol. She asked for painkillers while in post-op. This from a girl who HATES taking pain meds and tries to tough it out. Brian sent an e-mail to the Registrar at school to see if we have any options other than pulling her out. Maybe tomorrow we'll get some answers. She really wants to make it back but it isn't looking good. She seems a bit sad tonight. I'm not sure if that's from the emotions of the day, the many medications they gave her, the pain, or what. She's certainly entitled to be a bit emotional after the roller coaster ride she's been on since her first surgery in June 2007. Today was number 11, and hopefully it will be her last. We still don't have answers about why she has trouble healing...why there are "abnormal markers" in her blood...etc. We'll see the PCM on Friday after the surgeon removes the drain tube in the morning.
We know there are people all over the country who have never even met Amy who are praying for her and it means so much to us. We also know things happen for a reason. For now we'll just take things one day at a time and pray for sunnier days ahead. We'll get thru this. As one of the nurses today said, "this girl wins the "tough award" for being tougher than anyone who's ever come thru this department."
She's an inspiration...she's my hero.

Another one bites the dust...

The surgeon just came out and said he drained between 1 & 2 cups of pus out of her wound. Crazy! He said she'll feel much better and should be able to get by with just Tylenol. I'll update the blog again this evening once we get her home and see how she's doing. Praise our Abba Father!!!

The dominoes fall...

Amy texted this morning at 5:30 to say she had a fever and wouldn’t be able to go to lab today. That was enough to get us in motion after the phone call last night saying she had a red, warm rash on her neck. We jumped in the car and headed to Denver to pick her up and called the surgeon’s office on the way home to ask for a “same day” appt. Thankfully, they sensed our urgency and were able to get her in. Once the Dr saw her he knew she was in trouble with a serious post-op infection. Only one other time has he seen this so long after surgery (it’s been 3 weeks today.) Wouldn’t you know Amy would be the “one in a million’ so to speak.
The Dr told us to come to the surgery center at 12:30, so we left around 11 to head home for a bit. Within minutes the surgery center called and said the anesthesiologist wanted us back, and we’ve been here ever since. Amy’s surgery was scheduled for 4pm, but praise God, Dr Davis was ready for her at 2:30! He’s going to flush out the incision site with 4 liters of saline and put in a drain to stay in until he sees her again on Friday. Since Amy had to miss labs today, she’ll have to drop out of school if she misses tomorrow as well. She’s determined to make it back to the dorm tonight, and the Dr said it’s ok with him if it’s ok with the school. If only determination would make it so! We’ll take things one hour at a time and see how she is later in the day. One thing is certain...this could not have waited until Friday as we’d hoped. It needed to be taken care of TODAY. So many prayers have been lifted up on Amy’s behalf, and it’s clear miracles were taking place for the dominoes to fall so it could happen quickly. We’re praising God again and again for His love and provision for our girl.

But wait, there's more!

Amy & Phil think the swelling in Amy's neck is getting bigger instead of smaller even though she's on an antibiotic. And last night she e-mailed to tell me she has unexplained bruises on her legs. Hmmm. Momma instincts kicked in and today I made Dr appointments for Friday. She'll see the surgeon first and then we'll head over to primary care afterward. The good news is Phil & Amy won't have to make a special trip. They'd already planned to come down along with Mitch, Mike, and Justin to spend a couple of nights. The college kids know a good thing when they see it...clean sheets, food, and laundry facilities. And the boys have really taken a liking to my parents and are looking forward to playing ping-pong with my Dad. So both houses will play host this weekend, I think.
Despite everything, Amy is still smiling and pressing on. We're hoping for answers...something with a name instead of a bunch of symptoms...so we know what we're dealing with. But even the unknowns are part of the Master's plan, so we're trusting and taking things one day at a time.

The happy chefs!

Bittersweet

It's with a bittersweet feeling that we said goodbye to Amy & Phil this morning as they headed back to school. We had hoped after 2 1/2 days on the antibiotic the swelling would have gone down a bit, but not so. Her neck is still swollen, tender, and hard as a rock. She's still taking 1/2 doses of pain meds every 6 hours but hopes to get by with just Tylenol (or nothing at all) as soon as possible. She's determined to keep going. Our goal is to help her get thru the next 7 weeks so she can finish the trimester. Realistically, if she still has swelling and/or fever issues, she'll need to be seen again by the Dr to see if there's something else going on. On Thursday she got a very tiny cut on her finger during lab, and it took an unusually long time to quit bleeding. That just doesn't seem quite right. So many things to think about. For now we'll just keep praying and taking things one day at a time...hoping for the best. It helps knowing she has awesome friends watching over her. Her roommate, Emily, and her boyfriend, Phil, do all they can to help her and make sure she's staying on top of medicines, sleeping, eating, etc. And we're so thankful Phil brought her to see us this weekend. I was ready to camp out in a hotel in Denver just to be with her and make sure she had the medicine she needed. So it was especially awesome that they managed to come down here instead. And despite the pain/swelling, Amy & Phil made delicious omelets for breakfast before they left. I think I'm going to like having the chefs around!

Weekend update

It's amazing how much easier the pain is to tolerate when Amy's on Vicodin. She's only taking 1/2 dose during the day with a full dose thru the night. She knows she can't be on it at all when she's in labs. Culinary knives and Vicodin don't mix well! So the goal is to get her thru the weekend and give the antibiotic time to work before she has to switch back to Tylenol for labs on Monday. She's wearing her "happy face" around everyone, but it's pretty obvious she hurts when we see the swelling. She said it feels like her neck & shoulder are quite bruised.
Tonight we're fixing one of Amy's all-time favorite meals, and I know that will give her something to smile about. Her laundry is done...she's getting rested...and we're giving her lots of hugs. I think she'll be ready to face the week with a great attitude. She mentioned to me last night that she knows this is happening for a reason. For now only God knows what that reason is, and we accept that. If nothing else, we know her attitude and positive outlook are inspiring others to look for their own silver lining in whatever they're facing. And we're ALL facing struggles, aren't we?
Hang in there...find your silver linings...love those around you and don't forget to tell them how much you appreciate them. And keep giving thanks for the gift of each day.

It's a mom thing...

Phil is bringing our chef home for the weekend, and I can't wait to lay eyes on her. She's hurting terribly...it's pretty obvious in her voice. We'll get her on pain meds thru the weekend and hopefully she'll be feeling enough better to face labs again on Monday. Seven weeks. That's all we need to get thru before she can be home for the summer. Please keep those prayers coming!

Another round...

I talked to both the surgeon's office and our primary care Dr's office today and they both feel that Amy has developed an infection from the surgery. She'll be on an antibiotic for 10 days, and she's supposed to take her temp daily and keep a chart. Once the antibiotics are gone, IF she still has fevers, it's time to get her to an infectious disease specialist. Now, if only I could reach Amy to let her know she needs to pick up medicine at the pharmacy!!

Not again!

Amy just e-mailed and said the lump in her neck, which was rapidly going down, has swelled up again. And once again she's having trouble turning her head and swallowing. Even the chef noticed it in class today. She's been massaging it daily as she was supposed to at this point, so we're not sure why this is happening. All I know is my girl is having to deal once again with pain issues and I ache for her. For those of you who have sent cards and e-mails...thanks for loving on her. For those of you who are praying for her...we appreciate each and every one!
Today Ian celebrates his 21st birthday. His parents are taking he and Laura out to dinner to celebrate. A milestone!
Bethany did her first day of Masterdrive skills today and had a blast. It's a great program on a closed course complete with an icy skid pad...great experience. But she's exhausted tonight!! One more day of skills and then she can begin her "on-street" sessions.
There's always something. Sometimes it's hard to keep up, but we're trying!

Prayers answered

Tomorrow is Amy's first day back in labs and she's SO excited! She started back to work on Sunday without any trouble. The swelling in her neck is down considerably from what it was just a few days ago, and she's already beginning to massage it as the surgeon wanted her to at the 2 week point. She's pretty much full steam ahead. We're so grateful for the many prayer warriors who were diligent in hitting their knees for our girl. While it's easy to say "I'll pray for you", it's much harder to follow thru. Life gets busy and it's easy to forget to be intentional about prayers promised.
For those who prayed for the 2 mission trips to Haiti that I had friends/family on, thanks also for those prayers. Gina is back in California safely, although her brother and his wife are still in the Dominical Republic. David and Jordan are also back in the States and getting closer to home. I know all of them were grateful to be remembered each day. No doubt lives were impacted in a positive way for Christ by each team serving in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Everyone has something/someone who needs our prayers. No one is exempt from that need whether they realize it or not. Please take the time to think of a friend, family member, neighbor, etc who needs to be remembered. Be intentional and specific...God loves it when we ask Him for ANYTHING in His name! And remember to thank Him for His answers to prayer...whether the answer is the one we seek or the one He knows is best for us.
Many blessings...

The roller coaster ride...

Yesterday Bethany wore flip flops to school. This morning at 5:10 am I got a "flash alert" text that school had been cancelled for the day, yet there was no snow on the ground whatsoever. By 9 am the ground was covered in white and it was coming down pretty hard. On Sunday it's supposed to be back in the upper 60's and sunny which will feel more like the 70's in Colorado. It's been a roller coaster ride...sort of how our whole month has gone in so many ways.
Amy's blood work shows that she's perfectly normal (although Laura says she knows otherwise!) She's never had mono, which is one thing we thought just might show up. Nothing. So now we wait and see if she still gets random, unexplained fevers. If so, she'll see an infectious disease specialist over the summer. If not, we assume the "psychotic lymph node" was the problem and pronounce her cured now that it's been removed. It's a waiting game. One thing I DO know...she doesn't have cancer! Even with the waiting game, we know it could be so much worse. For now we'll just take things one day at a time and try to find the silver lining in the gift of each day.
For those of you who are praying for my friends on their various mission trips in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, please don't let up! The ones in the DR ran into some not so friendly locals but were successful in talking their way out of what could have been an ugly situation. And one of my friends on the team in Haiti had a cinderblock dropped on his hand and has a broken finger. Satan is trying to disrupt their work, but they're all protected by the armor of God and we're so grateful for the coverage they feel from everyone's prayers.
Laura is home for 2 more days and Bethany's spring break started early with the gift of a snow day. We're all going to take a deep breath and just try to relax a bit before the roller coaster takes us for another ride! As my mom likes to say "life is what happens when you're planning something else."

Back to School!!!

Last night the bandage came off Amy's incision and already she feels so much better. It was itching like crazy! This is her second day with no pain meds of any kind, and she's bouncing around like she hasn't a care in the world. Tomorrow she's headed back to school!!! This wasn't exactly how she wanted to spend her spring break, but she kept a great attitude despite everything. Time for her to refocus now...the culinary world is calling her name and she's ready to get back to it. We still don't have results of her recent blood tests. She'll be finished with her freshman year in the middle of May. Hopefully if there's anything we need to think about it can wait until then. Knowing how much people have been praying for her and loving her thru this has been amazing. Thanks to all of you and especially thanks to our loving Father who loves her even more than we can ever imagine.

Light at the end of the tunnel...

I was right...she HAS turned a corner! Our girl has been up most of the day and seems to be holding up pretty well. She’s still not quite ready to step down to Tylenol, but I anticipate that will happen soon. Her neck is quite swollen...seems blood has pooled and formed a rock hard knot next to her incision. We’re told that’s normal, but she’s a bit uncomfortable and eager for it to dissipate. We’re supposed to take her bandage off on Tuesday if it hasn’t already come off on it’s own, and while it will feel better once it’s off, we’re not looking forward to having to do so. Perhaps soaking it in the shower first will help. We’re still not sure when she’ll get back to school this week. For now it’s still one day at a time in her recovery. But it’s so wonderful to see her smile and be more like her old self again. There’s light at the end of the tunnel for sure.

progress

I think we've turned a corner in Amy's recovery from surgery. Last night was a rough time, but today she's been up and awake longer than any other day so far. She's using ice packs around the clock which seem to make her more comfortable. We appreciate the many prayers, phone calls, e-mails, and facebook messages on her behalf. Knowing people care is the best medicine of all!

Update...

While it was a joy to not have to go to the hematologist today to get results of her biopsy, there was still some follow-up with her primary care physician concerning "inflammatory markers" in her blood work. The Dr took some more blood today to check on a couple more things with results anticipated in the next week. Nothing major, thankfully. She doesn't know why Amy had such a large lymph node but hopes that now that it's been removed there won't be anymore unexplained, random fevers. She called it the "psychotic lymph node." Amy's Dr is eager and hopeful that she'll be fine to go back to school once she fully recovers from the surgery this week and thinks any potential follow-up can wait till the trimester is over...UNLESS the fevers continue.

Today Amy was on her feet for awhile, but it quickly wore her out and she crashed as soon as we got back from the Dr. She tried to get off pain meds yesterday but soon realized that was a bit premature. Still, we're hopeful that each day will be better than the previous one, and our goal is to let her go back to school sometime next week. Her next class doesn't begin until 23 March, so time is on her side. She's a bit frustrated that she isn't bouncing back as quickly as she normally does, but I reminded her that except for her initial foot surgery in 2007, this one was way more invasive that the others. Her neck is quite swollen, but she's keeping an ice pack on it and that seems to help. Brian came home last night, and Phil is coming down from the campus tomorrow to spend the night, so she's a happy girl despite her discomfort. If you know her facebook or e-mail address, feel free to give her a pep talk. I'm sure she'd love to hear some words of encouragement.

On another note, we have good friends and family members going on mission trips to Haiti and the Dominican Republic this weekend, and I know they'd love all of the prayer support they can get. Gina, David, and Jordan are their names. Feel free to hit your knees for them as they become Christ in human flesh to the people who have been tragically affected by the recent earthquakes.

Laura is headed to Virginia with Ian tomorrow for spring break so he can introduce her to his extended family. And Bethany is gearing up for her spring break later this month...complete with more driver's education. There's always something! Much love and thanks again for your thoughts and prayers!

Two days out....

The "no cancer" celebration is still going on, but Amy's "fun-meter" is pegged as the post-op pain is very real to her. She can't turn her head easily and almost everything strains her throat which makes her neck hurt. At 4 this morning she felt very nauseous from the pain meds. I guess 2 pieces of toast just before she took them wasn't enough in her stomach, and it hit a little bit later. Somehow she talked herself out of being sick; just the idea of having to do so really scared her. She knew it would hurt. She has big plans for the day...wants to get up and shower and go over to the high school to see a few teachers. But realistically, she'll probably spend another day in bed. Brian comes home tonight, so that will give her something to look forward to. I'd give anything to be able to take this pain from her...I think just about any of us would. She, of course, is glad she's the one hurting and not anyone else. Brave girl, our Amy.

Answered prayers!!!!!

The hematologist just called and said we don't even have to come in on Friday since the biopsy showed NO signs of cancer!!! Amy does have some "inflammatory markers" in her blood work that he can't explain, so we need to follow up with her primary care Dr. But praise God..no cancer!!! When I woke Amy up to tell her, she just opened one eye and said "cool" and then went right back to sleep. I don't think she was surprised at all. What a faith that girl has! Since nothing seems too pressing, we'll probably just let her finish out the trimester and keep an eye on her to see if she still gets unexplained fevers. And we'll make an appt with her primary care Dr as well. For now she just needs to recover from surgery and get her strength back and press on!!! Prayers have been lifted up all over the country for our girl. I'm sure Satan is quite ticked, but the angels are rejoicing along with the rest of us!!! Thanks to all who hit their knees for our girl. What a mighty God we serve!

post surgery

So, her current story is "it was a broken bottle in a bar fight!"

surgery

We got a call this morning from the surgery center asking if we could come an hour early, so we hit the ground running. Not having to wait as long is always a good thing! The little boy...I mean surgeon....thought things went well. (I swear, he looked like a child heading off to kindergarten with his scrubs and backpack on!) He said the lymph gland was about 4-5 cm, but he's seen larger for sure. Amy is on pain meds and seems to be doing really well so far. She was hungry, so my parents brought her some pasta fresca from Noodles & Co, which she devoured. And her boyfriend, Phil, just arrived from Denver to spend some time with her this evening. He always makes her smile! And now we wait till Friday. I'll try to update the blog as soon as we know something. Keep the prayers coming....Satan hates that, but we love it!

...the rest of the story

By now some of you have heard our latest news, but for those who haven't, I apologize. I didn't feel free to post this information until Brian's parents were back from their cruise and heard it firsthand. Last August, just before she left for college, Amy had a swollen gland in her neck and was treated with antibiotics for a sinus infection. While she was in school she was really tired, but we just chalked it up to the life of a college freshman who wasn't getting a ton of sleep. Yes, she power napped, but it was never enough to get caught up. And then she started having random, unexplained fevers. They wouldn't last long, but in a school with 9-day labs, she just couldn't afford to miss school. If a lab was missed more than once, it would have to be dropped and picked up again at a later date. Thankfully, she was able to keep up with her classes. But when she was home for the holidays and still had a knot in her neck, we decided to have it checked again. Once more she was put on (strong) antibiotics...this time for 2 weeks. Unfortunately, the knot persisted. Amy was sent to a hematologist last week who shocked us by saying he suspects Hodgkins lymphoma. (The knot is now 25mm.) No diagnosis yet, but we couldn't put this off. We saw a surgeon the next day who scheduled surgery for tomorrow at 12:45. They'll biopsy it, and on Friday we'll see the hematologist again for the results. Ideally, it will be an easily treatable infection and she'll head back to school in time to finish the trimester (including the class she's missing this week which had to be deferred.) Worst case scenario is that we'll have to move her home from school and start chemo and/or radiation. Now, before you feel sorry for Amy you have to understand just how strong and upbeat she truly is. Some of her first comments...."well, if I lose all of my hair I won't have to worry about it coming out of my chef's hat in labs!" and "I'm sure glad this is happening to me and not my sisters since they don't like needles too much and they don't bother me." And when the surgeon talked about wanting to minimize the scar on her neck, I thought she was going to take off her shoes and show him the scars on her feet! She's not naive. She knows this just might be life changing. But she also knows God has a plan that is perfect for her. She trusts Him completely. Of course we're asking for the miracle that will allow her to go back to school next week. But we know that He knows better than we do what is best in this situation. I'm sure we'll shed a few tears...of relief or shock. But then we'll press on...one day at a time...with whatever is ahead for Amy and for us. There's a reason I call Amy my "happy magnet!" She's one truly inspirational and amazing young lady, and I'm so very proud of her.

Neuro-stimulator trial

What a week it's been! Amy decided to give the neuro-stimulator a trial run, so it was implanted on Monday...2 leads inserted into her spine...yikes! It gave her the ability to tweak the different programs that would send impulses in her legs that would hopefully mask the pain in her feet. The first 36 hours were a bit painful and she pretty much slept thru them. But once she was up and moving and able to tweak the programs she realized pretty quickly it wasn't something she was happy with. She'd already proven she could survive culinary school with the pain in her feet by taking medication and icing her feet after labs, so she wasn't thrilled about the idea of having to get used to new sensations in her legs, feet, & ankles. And the idea of going thru another invasive surgery wasn't too appealing, either. So today we had it removed, and she's been practically dancing with joy ever since! She's been amazing...positive and upbeat and an inspiration to all of us. And now we're ready to deal with the days ahead. Part 2 of this update will be posted next week...stay tuned!