Ok...so.....last night a MUCH better night! Although we did switch from extreme pain to extreme loopy! Ray was funny last night...he was talking in his sleep about work.......and acting out driving.....He asked me to go get him some ice cream from the cafeteria....the 10 mins I took to go get it...he totally forgot that he wanted it! He had to be told to chew his dinner numerous times. Then about midnight he woke me up and said he had to go....Which I thought he meant to the bathroom (ok TMI but he is on a catheter so I figured it was number 2) I knew I couldn't get him to the bathroom by myself so I buzzed for the nurse by the time she got there he was confused again....and said he needed his clothes because he had to GO....not GO....He was convinced he had somewhere to go...but he wasn't sure where....then after we got him settled....10 mins later he woke me up and asked....well demanded me to answer how old Blake was.....Well I don't know a Blake...we certainly don't know a Blake together....and I was pretty sure he really didn't know a Blake.....so after several minutes of him getting a little agitated at me...I finally said "20". That calmed him like his Valium did. Then it was on to haggling the nurses...and again wanting to know when they are going on vacation....They were all laughing....Tonight maybe a 2 drink minimum for his comedy routine?!??! I love ya babe! Well this morning he was a little less loopy (emphasis on the LITTLE) but we were able to get him to eat breakfast, Watch the Price Is Right.....He told me he missed shaking Bob Barkers hand...which I translated into he'd rather have him as host instead of Drew Carey. We had to wait for the doctor until 2:30pish today....we forgot it was his surgery day! Just about the time he showed up....Ray was getting his sponge bath (I told him to just picture us on a nice romantic beach and enjoy the warm water) He was a very good patient for me...and he felt a LOT better afterwards....so we talked to Dr. Scott. He said the labs looked ok....He is borderline on a need for another transfusion but are going to wait until tomorrow mornings labs till he decides. Ray asked he had lost a lot of blood during surgery. The Dr. explained it was a lot due to that tumor had a lot of its own vessels that it had grown and attached itself with it was quite vascular involved. We may be looking at a Friday home date....but that's not set in stone yet. Dr. Scott is really in tune with the needs of the patient and not that of the insurance companies! All in all a much better day! I snuck home for a quick shower and change and I am on my way back. Thanks again all for the texts, calls, and postings to send your love! Ray says to tell everyone he is humbled by the outpouring of support!
Until the next post....
Loves!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
W-O-W......
I just can't explain by words alone how rough a night Ray had last night!!! Thanks Brek for doing those updates for me....for some reason my phone won't let me post to here so until I make a trip to the house to shower and change I have to rely on Brek and Jenefer to do my postings...and may I say....you gals are doing a beautiful job! Thanks so much for literally ALL you do! Ok....I am going to back track to slightly before the surgery and just give the day as it progressed through my eyes and thoughts.
The night before the surgery my Sister picked up the girls about 8pm so we didn't have to worry about them so early the next morning!!! Thanks Amanda you can't imagine how much it helps to know my girls are in good hands!!! So we stayed up till about 11pm....nerves and all...and then Ray and I seemed to take turns sleeping and waking. It was a long night....I think it was just preparing us for the EXTREMELY long day ahead! Ray got his best sleep after my alarm went off at 4:20am. He slept while I dressed...he was soundly sleeping and wasn't too pleased when I went to MAKE him get up since it was 5:00a and we needed to be at the hospital at 5:30a. We drove out. Pretty much in silence.....We have had so much opportunity to talk and voice our fears, stresses etc that it was just nice to hold hands as we drove and say our fervent silent prayers. Upon arrival it was CROWDED! It seems they ask all those who are supposed to be in surgery to arrive at the same time....so it was a lot of organized chaos! It never ceases to amazing me how many people it takes to "check in" with. We had the beeper kiosk....enter your name take a pager and wait....then you are paged come up and get medical history forms and an ID bracelet applied....then sit back down...then your re-re-paged to a different desk to give photo ID and insurance info. Then its back to the same spot to sit and wait till your paged a third time to go back to triage. Get a weight and temp and off we go with yet another person to our room. Get some vitals....then we meet the nurse who does their own set of vitals...then walked in the phlebotomist....Which Ray practically scares her to change occupations....she ends up getting his nurse who starts the IV and luckily will get the lab work at the same time....some nurses won't do that...he got lucky! Then......................the wait.................Ray was scheduled to go to the O.R. about 7am....we didn't leave for the O.R. until 7:45a I gave him a kiss....and off to the waiting room.....to do exactly that....WAIT! Thank heavens for my Mom and Dad....they were there with me from the get go....we played Farkle!, Rummy (two kinds) and cross-worded together. Dad was my ice/drink runner (thanks so much to you both!!) The worse part is just NOT knowing....Dr. Ott spoiled us....he sent word either through him or the nurse almost every hour.....this one (and all the other's in the waiting room were the type that came AFTER the surgery was done!!) so 1 hour, 2, 3, 4, 5......ok it was supposed to be 4-5 hours. By now I am watching the clock every 3 or so minutes....DOH! That just makes it go slower! Finally at 6 hour point I talked to the volunteer in the waiting room...asked her to please just check to make sure he was still in surgery...this 2nd volunteer was sub-par (our one from earlier in the morning was awesome!) but this lady was quite rude, a little funny to watch and not very efficient) I wanted to make sure we didn't miss the announcement that he was in recovery. She had just come from the back and said he was still indeed in the O.R....then about 20 mins later she announced he was done and then the doctor appeared about 10 mins later. All went fairly well.....it was more involved then originally thought....(isn't that SO Ray) ;o) The tumor had made the normally small tibia...about 3 times its normal size! It was also VERY close (almost too close) to the foot...but luckily they were able to make the graft above the connection. The doctor also had to stretch some of his calf muscle around to give "padding" He said Ray tolerated it well and was even talking a bit in recovery and moving his toes when asked. They also ended up putting a rod in along with the pins and plates we already knew about. He would be in recovery about 45 mins and then up to the room. I hit the cafeteria for some lunch then headed up. It was more then 45 mins but whats new...its a hospital. He got to the room and he looked HORRIBLE!!! Color was awfully! He was emotionally a wreck! (later I found out it was because he thought they ended up having to go with the amputation...a possibility we knew) He cried, was in pain and asked for his Mom. He needed her! He cried some more and complained of pain and that he just wanted to die....then things leveled some for a few hours....then about 10pm IT HIT!!! He was having muscle spasms (from where they had pulled the muscle around during surgery!) To the point he was screaming, would quit breathing and of course not getting sleep. We didn't really get along with our nurse that night (luckily we had a nurse change at 11pm) but before the change I literally had to INSIST she call the doctor....he needed something....and also our dear friend Dr. Mike L happened to text and call and mentioned there are things to help with those....he encouraged us to call the nurse to call the doctor. Thanks Mike you helped us in the right direction during a low point! About midnight Ray got his first dose of Valium the relief was instantaneous! He slept for a solid hour...the WHAM it was back with a vengeance......he was scheduled for Valium only every 6 hours....so it was intense...one hour a relief followed by hours of excruciating pain! Finally the new nurse gave him the Valium and 1 1/2 hours early. He also started with a slight fever....so they did IV antibiotics. Fast forward through the worst of the worst nights and we met with Dr. Scott this morning...he is increasing the Valium to every 4 hours....UP'D the morphine not only can he give himself a dose every 10 they have him on a drip of it continuously...he also gets Toradol (sp?) every 8 hours. That is our course of action today....lets hope it is better. The doctor is not worried about infection yet down at the surgical site (that happens about day 5) so the fever will be watched closely and his must do his breathing treatments....they are keeping pneumonia at bay hopefully! Well Ray's sisters Carrie and Ro came in this morning...so I came home to freshen up and relax a few....as I was typing this I got a text from Ro and Ray got up and moved a bit on crutches....despite the pain he said it felt SO GOOD to be out of the bed! I think its gonna be a better day!
Thanks again for EVERYONE who contributes in one way or another....we truly couldn't do this without each and everyone of you. You truly are doing the Lord's errands!
The night before the surgery my Sister picked up the girls about 8pm so we didn't have to worry about them so early the next morning!!! Thanks Amanda you can't imagine how much it helps to know my girls are in good hands!!! So we stayed up till about 11pm....nerves and all...and then Ray and I seemed to take turns sleeping and waking. It was a long night....I think it was just preparing us for the EXTREMELY long day ahead! Ray got his best sleep after my alarm went off at 4:20am. He slept while I dressed...he was soundly sleeping and wasn't too pleased when I went to MAKE him get up since it was 5:00a and we needed to be at the hospital at 5:30a. We drove out. Pretty much in silence.....We have had so much opportunity to talk and voice our fears, stresses etc that it was just nice to hold hands as we drove and say our fervent silent prayers. Upon arrival it was CROWDED! It seems they ask all those who are supposed to be in surgery to arrive at the same time....so it was a lot of organized chaos! It never ceases to amazing me how many people it takes to "check in" with. We had the beeper kiosk....enter your name take a pager and wait....then you are paged come up and get medical history forms and an ID bracelet applied....then sit back down...then your re-re-paged to a different desk to give photo ID and insurance info. Then its back to the same spot to sit and wait till your paged a third time to go back to triage. Get a weight and temp and off we go with yet another person to our room. Get some vitals....then we meet the nurse who does their own set of vitals...then walked in the phlebotomist....Which Ray practically scares her to change occupations....she ends up getting his nurse who starts the IV and luckily will get the lab work at the same time....some nurses won't do that...he got lucky! Then......................the wait.................Ray was scheduled to go to the O.R. about 7am....we didn't leave for the O.R. until 7:45a I gave him a kiss....and off to the waiting room.....to do exactly that....WAIT! Thank heavens for my Mom and Dad....they were there with me from the get go....we played Farkle!, Rummy (two kinds) and cross-worded together. Dad was my ice/drink runner (thanks so much to you both!!) The worse part is just NOT knowing....Dr. Ott spoiled us....he sent word either through him or the nurse almost every hour.....this one (and all the other's in the waiting room were the type that came AFTER the surgery was done!!) so 1 hour, 2, 3, 4, 5......ok it was supposed to be 4-5 hours. By now I am watching the clock every 3 or so minutes....DOH! That just makes it go slower! Finally at 6 hour point I talked to the volunteer in the waiting room...asked her to please just check to make sure he was still in surgery...this 2nd volunteer was sub-par (our one from earlier in the morning was awesome!) but this lady was quite rude, a little funny to watch and not very efficient) I wanted to make sure we didn't miss the announcement that he was in recovery. She had just come from the back and said he was still indeed in the O.R....then about 20 mins later she announced he was done and then the doctor appeared about 10 mins later. All went fairly well.....it was more involved then originally thought....(isn't that SO Ray) ;o) The tumor had made the normally small tibia...about 3 times its normal size! It was also VERY close (almost too close) to the foot...but luckily they were able to make the graft above the connection. The doctor also had to stretch some of his calf muscle around to give "padding" He said Ray tolerated it well and was even talking a bit in recovery and moving his toes when asked. They also ended up putting a rod in along with the pins and plates we already knew about. He would be in recovery about 45 mins and then up to the room. I hit the cafeteria for some lunch then headed up. It was more then 45 mins but whats new...its a hospital. He got to the room and he looked HORRIBLE!!! Color was awfully! He was emotionally a wreck! (later I found out it was because he thought they ended up having to go with the amputation...a possibility we knew) He cried, was in pain and asked for his Mom. He needed her! He cried some more and complained of pain and that he just wanted to die....then things leveled some for a few hours....then about 10pm IT HIT!!! He was having muscle spasms (from where they had pulled the muscle around during surgery!) To the point he was screaming, would quit breathing and of course not getting sleep. We didn't really get along with our nurse that night (luckily we had a nurse change at 11pm) but before the change I literally had to INSIST she call the doctor....he needed something....and also our dear friend Dr. Mike L happened to text and call and mentioned there are things to help with those....he encouraged us to call the nurse to call the doctor. Thanks Mike you helped us in the right direction during a low point! About midnight Ray got his first dose of Valium the relief was instantaneous! He slept for a solid hour...the WHAM it was back with a vengeance......he was scheduled for Valium only every 6 hours....so it was intense...one hour a relief followed by hours of excruciating pain! Finally the new nurse gave him the Valium and 1 1/2 hours early. He also started with a slight fever....so they did IV antibiotics. Fast forward through the worst of the worst nights and we met with Dr. Scott this morning...he is increasing the Valium to every 4 hours....UP'D the morphine not only can he give himself a dose every 10 they have him on a drip of it continuously...he also gets Toradol (sp?) every 8 hours. That is our course of action today....lets hope it is better. The doctor is not worried about infection yet down at the surgical site (that happens about day 5) so the fever will be watched closely and his must do his breathing treatments....they are keeping pneumonia at bay hopefully! Well Ray's sisters Carrie and Ro came in this morning...so I came home to freshen up and relax a few....as I was typing this I got a text from Ro and Ray got up and moved a bit on crutches....despite the pain he said it felt SO GOOD to be out of the bed! I think its gonna be a better day!
Thanks again for EVERYONE who contributes in one way or another....we truly couldn't do this without each and everyone of you. You truly are doing the Lord's errands!
July 20 update
Spoke with Sheri a little while ago. Ray had an extremely rough night. Even with the morphine and Valium he was only able to sleep for about an hour at a time before the pain got to be too much. He is also running a slight fever so they have started him on antibiotics. They were waiting for the doctor to come through on his rounds and then Sheri was going to try to update here with more details. So stay tuned!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Ray is Out of Surgery!
Sheri called and asked that I post an update to the blog. Thanks to all of you who have texted and called her to show your concern.
Ray was in surgery longer than expected. When they got into the leg it was a little more 'detailed' than originally anticipated. The cancer was closer to the foot than they thought. Sheri said it was about 1/2 inch from the ankle. They got the cadaver bone in ok, but decided to also put a rod in the bone for extra strength. They also stretched Ray's calf muscle so that it is in front of the bone (in the shin area) to fend off infection. The doc said Ray must have a very high pain tolerance, based on the size of the tumor. Overall things went very well. Because of the stretched calf muscle he will likely be having a little more intense physical therapy. Sheri sounded in good spirits when I spoke with her - a little tired but relieved to have the surgery over. She will try to post updates along the way. Hopefully she will correct me if I got anything wrong! :)
Ray was in surgery longer than expected. When they got into the leg it was a little more 'detailed' than originally anticipated. The cancer was closer to the foot than they thought. Sheri said it was about 1/2 inch from the ankle. They got the cadaver bone in ok, but decided to also put a rod in the bone for extra strength. They also stretched Ray's calf muscle so that it is in front of the bone (in the shin area) to fend off infection. The doc said Ray must have a very high pain tolerance, based on the size of the tumor. Overall things went very well. Because of the stretched calf muscle he will likely be having a little more intense physical therapy. Sheri sounded in good spirits when I spoke with her - a little tired but relieved to have the surgery over. She will try to post updates along the way. Hopefully she will correct me if I got anything wrong! :)
Fund Raiser Yard Sale
My dear friends and neighbors are getting together to do a fund raiser for our family.....The info is below. And also for those who have been asking they are setting up a bank account at US Bank....info will be to follow on that. Thanks to all those who are helping and that will be helping! Our love to you all is being sent out!
Time July 31 · 8:00am - 1:00pm
Location Woods Cross Town Center
850 W 1600 S
Woods Cross, UT
All proceeds from the sale will go to The Wojtasek family to help cover medical costs in Ray's fight against cancer. There will also be a bake sale and boutique items.... Cash donations will also be accepted at the sale. Please help spread the word and help make this fund raiser a success!!!
If you want to help in ANY way.....donate items, donate time, donate crafts etcs....you can contact.....
Michele 1704 Sorrento Drive, Woods Cross. #801-299-0311
Terah 833 W 1600 S Woods Cross. #801-295-0654
Time July 31 · 8:00am - 1:00pm
Location Woods Cross Town Center
850 W 1600 S
Woods Cross, UT
All proceeds from the sale will go to The Wojtasek family to help cover medical costs in Ray's fight against cancer. There will also be a bake sale and boutique items.... Cash donations will also be accepted at the sale. Please help spread the word and help make this fund raiser a success!!!
If you want to help in ANY way.....donate items, donate time, donate crafts etcs....you can contact.....
Michele 1704 Sorrento Drive, Woods Cross. #801-299-0311
Terah 833 W 1600 S Woods Cross. #801-295-0654
Saturday, July 17, 2010
"Crunches" take 2
Well you know how Cami calls Ray's crutches "crunches" well my Sister shared a cute story with us about those....I guess the girls were excitedly telling Manda about how they get to help Daddy on the stairs as he scoots backwards to go up and they carry the "crunches"
Manda: "So how does your Daddy get DOWN the stairs?"
Cami: "I don't know...."
Courtney: "Ummm he hasn't figured that out yet!"
Manda: ::snickering:: "Well how many times have you helped him UP the stairs???"
Courtney: "Oh 3 or 4 times!"
I really don't know how the girls minds think but that was pretty funny that since they never have helped him DOWN (or sceen it) I guess they assume he doesn't know how. I joked that since he weighs practically nothing I just heave ho him over the balcony! Kids....its a good thing we have them....they allow the pressure from stress to deflate a little! Just wanted to share with you all!
Until the next time....
Loves...
Manda: "So how does your Daddy get DOWN the stairs?"
Cami: "I don't know...."
Courtney: "Ummm he hasn't figured that out yet!"
Manda: ::snickering:: "Well how many times have you helped him UP the stairs???"
Courtney: "Oh 3 or 4 times!"
I really don't know how the girls minds think but that was pretty funny that since they never have helped him DOWN (or sceen it) I guess they assume he doesn't know how. I joked that since he weighs practically nothing I just heave ho him over the balcony! Kids....its a good thing we have them....they allow the pressure from stress to deflate a little! Just wanted to share with you all!
Until the next time....
Loves...
Back to the normal....
Well last night was full of no sleep for Ray....that is more back to his normal :o( The pain pills aren't helping much with the throbbing so we are trying a new concoction of ONE pain pill and then 800mg of IBU....we will see if that works. He jokes that on Monday he will at least get about 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep!!!
Until next update.....
Loves....
Until next update.....
Loves....
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