You could cut it with a knife.....

::SIGH:: Yesterday was so tension filled you could really...(well check the title) Ray was relatively quiet....I think he was really pulling the reserves from deep within...as all of this has drained what little he had to grasp too! All the rest of us...were in that wait mode...would the surgery be a go....would we have another let down....well turns out bright and early we got our visit from Dr. Scott. He said the labs looked great! His INR which was WAY too high the day before at 4.1 was at 1.8!!! It was on.....surgery was tentatively scheduled to begin 2p-3p. Since they had him NPO since midnight and his blood sugar as a tad low Dr. Scott allowed a juice and a little water...the cut off time of a few sips was 8am. The rest of the morning was spent preparing....greeting arriving family....and of course the inevitable hospital wait! Near noon I head down to eat....as I come back up...I was informed they ran some labs and he was going to get yet another transfusion....his platelets were 1250!!!! Ok this is where I did a "Whoah beep beep back up the train" How can we go from over 1 million to 1250 in less then 24 hours???!?!?!? I asked the nurse if this would put off surgery and she said possibly...I was so distraught.....I just didn't understand how this could be...after all...weren't we checking with the medical oncologist about the HIGH platelets??? And now this??? So we prepared for the transfusion even asked again to have the platelets explained by the nurse but 2 just wasn't equaling 2. Finally about 1:30p ish we did get the transfusion started and the yep...surgery is on....but instead of 2 or 3....he was taken about 4:15pm. Tick Tock Tock...we passed the 30 minute mark so we all safely assumed that he was out for the count....then Tick Tock...Tick Tock...we played Farkle!, Rummy, 31, BlackJack and laughed....to pass those darn hospital minutes! FINALLY about 7pm ish Dr. Scott emerged said things went well. There was a HUGE hematoma in the calf....he irrigated it out...and found and repaired the bleeder. The Dr. also solved the mystery of the HIGH/LOW platelets....it was just a miss reading by the nurse...apparently the nurses don't read the zero's....so his count was 1,250,000.....That made a lot more sense!!! He was in recovery and Dr. said go grab a bite to eat...relax and he would be up in the room before we knew it. While I was digesting all the info hugging all those around and decided what to do....the phone in the waiting room rang....it was our family and two others...and since no volunteer that late I answered the phone they wanted the wife of Raymond W....luckily I hadn't left....Teesa the recovery nurse explained that Ray was totally confused and agitated because he couldn't remember so they came and got me to go back to the recovery room. I got spend the 30 or so minutes with him. He was "stuck" in a work haze. That's so Ray though! He is such a hard worker even in the depths of anesthesia he works :o) He had the nurse Teesa on edge just because he was so defiant that he needed to unload his truck and park it. He even tried to escape the bed a time or two after I was there. Each and every time he closed his eyes for a few seconds then wake back up we had to start all over again. He was even confused throughout the whole night!!! After we got back up to the room everyone gave there hugs and departed. We settled in for what I thought was going to be a very rough night! Now don't get me wrong it was LONG, HARD, and EXHAUSTING but not what I feared. We dealt with pain and confusion the whole night...but we did get sleep in about hour and half increments. His biggest complaint beyond those two was that he WANTED to get out of bed...but he was on complete bed rest....he couldn't put that leg on the floor at all! That was a fight! He did have a sense of humor though and the nurse and aide were giggling most of the night! This morning we had an early morning visit from Dr. Scott...he gave a run down of today's plan of action...UP and walking with PT....weaning from PDA (pain pump) and healing! While he was there guess who came....Dr. Ott!!!! Ray was ecstatic!!!! He literally beamed and even asked Dr. Ott if Ott could see his countenance change! Doc Ott was so soothing as always and always joking with Ray...Ott did tell Ray he looked pretty bad though...."You need a shave" :o) After that...we did exactly that...pain pump...GONE! walk with PT DONE!...a chair/sponge bath...DONE!....linens and gowns changed DONE...we even snuck off to the cafeteria via wheelchair where Ray could PICK his own food! He loved it....he had sweet and sour pork, rice, corn, and a choc chip cookie!!! We did promptly report that he would need some extra insulin upon our return LOL! Ray's parents showed up shortly there after I was off to home to shower, laundry and change myself. So here we are....I am doing a quick jaunt here at home then back off to the hospital...Courtney & Cami are coming for a visit and I am certain an ice cream stop in the cafeteria!

On a side note....I am brought to tears to see all the work done on our behalf.....I have decided that those who have arranged and are setting up the Yard Sale should run the country! They can accomplish anything!!! Its amazing to see all the donations, hear the good word and progress, people who don't even know us donating cash. ALL of it is truly a blessing!!! I have to share a cute thing Cami said....The article in the Davis County Clipper about us was great and my Dad and Sister had showed the girls and article. They were excited!!! So when Cami shared the news with Great Grandma she said..."Guess what Great Grandma....we are in the newspaper! Maybe tonight we will be on the news!!!" That made my heart melt!!!

Thanks to all!

Love,
Sheri

Its was the worst yet!!

So.....thanks to Brek again for giving you all a few updates I was unable to get to home and give my daily updates....Thanks to my Bro-in-law Rob for bringing his laptop in to my so I can give a recount of the last day and a half! Ok....so its starts yesterday morning....we had our Hyperbaric meds appointment (for intake and set up a plan) and then our 1st post-op with Dr. Scott that same day later in the afternoon. Well Ray had had a decent night sleep....we didn't have the girls because they wanted to stay at AnaMana's and we were taking our morning nice and slow. About 8am Ray starting getting some more intense pains....so he took a Valium and rested until almost 9am. So then we headed out to our first appointment (a little late) with the increasing pain it was harder to get him ready and dressed. Well miracle of all miracles we were only 10 minutes late.....we checked in and started the usual paperwork....but Ray was now almost doubled over in pain.....we went to the nurse practitioner to have his vitals done...they were concerned with how much it was in pain so the other nurse called Dr. Scott's office.....they were going to try and work him in sooner.....so Ray wanted to go wait elsewhere so Hyperbaric was going to call our cell phone when they heard something.....so for now they discontinued the Hyperbaric eval because this took precedence. As we were headed up to the main level Ray decided he just As were approaching the right floor we got a call that said they were ready for us.....we arrived about a minute later check in then waited......we waited for about 20 mins...(which felt like 2 hours) each minute getting worse and worse.....finally they took us back. Dr. Scott said "Wow Ray! What happened...you look a complete 180 from discharge on Saturday" so they took off the half cast and took a look....Ray did have some minor cellulitis.....and extreme tenderness....It was decided that he was going to be admitted for pain control and to start the IV antibiotics. It took about 30 minutes for them the get the room available so Ray laid on the exam table in Dr. Scott's office until we could get check in. This was our worst of the worst.....Ray was really ready to go.....and I don't mean home.....we shared some private moments and lots of tears.......Well we finally got over to our room...but it was another 55 mins until the pain meds were administered.....He was at a TEN on the pain scale....we finally got some relief.....and within the hour he was resting more comfortable....so then started coming the labs....His hematocrit was down to 19...needs to be over 35.....they ordered 2 transfusions (this brings his total to 6 for the last week) also his platelet count was over a million should be around 300,000 so they are looking into lab work for that.....so that brings us to last night...it was an ok night...patches of sleep with periods of restlessness....3 bathroom trips that resulted into falls (he now has the bedside approach for nature calls) Oh he also had a CT earlier in that eve...so we are to this morning.....Dr. Scott came in.....CT did show that there is a collection of blood...due to possible ruptured blood vessel....shoot for surgery about 3pm.....had a decent day.....he slept off and on...3:10 came and he was off to surgery...another emotional private moment or two....and I go to the cafeteria with my Dad and Mom....grab a quick drink and snack and head up to the waiting room....get set up to play some Farkle! to speed the time by....10 minutes later I see what I thought was Dr. Scott walk by us (we were in the back area near the elevators) I said to Mom and Dad "I think that was Dr. Scott" My Mom "No, it couldn't be this early" so I walk around the corner where he is asking for "Sheri" I call out and he turns....by the look of surprise on my face he quickly reassures me that Ray is ok....then he says "Oh they must not have told you that he didn't go in for the surgery" WHAT?!?!??! Turns out his INR was high (this tells how thin/thick the blood is for clotting) normal is about 1.8 to 2.0 his was 4.1! Dr. Scott and the anesthesiologist decides its not worth the risk. They give him a Vitamin K shot (to reverse the effects of the Coumadin) and we are going to have to wait for surgery till tomorrow afternoon. Tonight has been up and down....he ate a great dinner (thanks Mom & Dad Wojtasek for staying with him while I ran home to freshen up!) Mom W says he ate it all! Which is great! But now that night is full on Rob and I are here and Ray's pain has been almost unbearable again. We are ticking away the minutes till 10:15pm when he can get his next Valium...

Oh and also a disclaimer....I am so tired....I hope this post makes sense!

Thanks to all those who continue all your support!

Until the next post....

Loves....

Surgery Tomorrow

Its Brek again. Sheri asked me to post an update since she is unable to from the hospital. Ray will go back into surgery tomorrow. They are going to open up his leg again and look for blood vessel issues. He has been low on blood and in extreme pain so they think there might be a blood vessel that might be leaking from the surgery. Also his platelets are high. Normal people have about 300,000, and Ray's has been climbing. Today he was over a million. So they are doing a screen for blood cancer.

Here's to hoping that the surgery will get him out of the pain that he's been in.

I'll post tomorrow if an update is needed before Sheri can get home to do it.

And back to the hospital they go.....

Hey everyone. Brek here (I'm Ray & Sheri's next door neighbor). Sheri asked me to give a quick update. They went in for a doctor's appointment this morning and Ray was in EXTREME pain. They unwrapped the leg and found that he had cellulitis (not sure on the spelling) of the skin down by his incision. This is an infection. The doc admitted him to the hospital and got him on a couple of different antibiotics and also some morphine. They are running some tests to see just how infected it is - whether it is just the skin or if it has gone further, like into the tissue, muscle, or bone. Again, it looks like right now it is cellulitis of the skin. I'm sure Sheri will keep us updated if things change. Please just keep on praying for this special little family! We sure do love them!

The Good....The Bad....and the Dunk Tank...

I am so sorry I didn't do an update yesterday...it was a horrible night two nights ago...it all started about 5 p.m. Ray was in the kitchen when he had a muscle spasm hit......Ray was in excruciating pain!!! It would take his breath away!! For about 2 hours we kinda battled...I was frustrated he wouldn't do anything about it...he was in pain and hated me asking things...so it was NOT a good combo....plus the girls were here and watching Ray in so much pain and me finally just saying "Fine, I'm done...you do it" kinda scared them. So after about those 2 hours we made a phone call to the doctor. He ordered Valium to relax the muscles....the funny thing is that Ray had this exact same scenario the night of his surgery it was another intense night but I guess due to the surgery that morning and all the drugs he didn't remember. But after my Dad picked up the Valium (Thanks Dad!!!) it was still a LONG night....we were both up till way past 3:30am! He was very loopy and was talking weird things...but still having a lot of pain! I felt so bad for him! I wanted to take even a fraction of pain away! There was a few funny parts (well they were not funny then but they are now!) Ray says "Honey where is my suit?" I am thinking his church clothes..... Me: "What do you mean?" Ray: "My suit....I gotta go get into the dunk tank....they are ready for me" :o) He also started a fever again low grade.....so per doctor's instruction we are doing a Tylenol regimen and closely monitoring it. So yesterday morning Ray was exhausted and thankfully had enough meds in him the pain was tolerable. He slept.....for a bit....my girls nerves were on edge and with the offer of going with Manda for the day they jumped at it! (Thanks Manda!) The sad point for me and it made me cry is when the girls didn't want to come back home. Cami had told my sister all day long....."I am going to have a sleepover AnaMana....my Mom says she gives up" I need to be extremely cautious of my feelings and words around the girls....I forget they are just as sensitive to our situation as Ray and I. I am sorry girls....Mommy will try harder! So yesterday we headed off to the IHC in Btfl...had some labs drawn.....came home and with the girls gone...we both caught up on some much needed rest....well Ray rested all day....I decided to clean the toy room and "sort out" a few things with the girls gone....but after that we both napped well. It went through the night too Ray only woke up a couple of times for meds and slept till about 6am. So here we are Tuesday....we have two appointments today....Hyperbaric Medicine then follow-up with Dr. Scott. I will give an update hopefully this evening.

I wanted to say thanks (sorry I sound like a broken record) but there has been so many helping us in many forms.....My prayers include ALL of you who are helping, praying and well wishing!! We love you all!

Until the next time...

Loves....

Sporadic funnies....

Ok I have posted already some of the funnies Ray did or said while on his drugs....but I thought I'd include a few more.....It is nice that in a time of stress and the unknown we could laugh now and then to release a little tension!



1: The second volunteer we had in the surgery waiting room was an odd duck...but she did provide entertainment.....She was OLD I would guess close to 90. Hard of hearing and spoke with a heavy accent. As people would walk up to address a question she would ask "What do YOU want" as if she wasn't supposed to be our middle person to what was going on with our love ones in back. Then she would say something to the effect..."Well you will know more then I, When the doctor comes out he will talk to you" That day it was full in the O.R. and apparently pretty darn full in the rooms of the in patient tower because we heard many a times....ok your patient is ready and done with recovery we are just trying to find a room. So there was a lot of anxious people in the waiting room. This one gentleman stood out in our minds as the whole scene unfolded.....He approached her wanting info on his wife....she gave her usual spill...but then reluctantly called back to the O.R. desk....She spoke with them...then said they wanted to talk to the hubby....she then stated very rudely, VERY loud..."After you get done talking to the nurse you come right back here and tell me exactly what she said!!! That way I will know what to tell you next time!!" The whole waiting room was snickering at this point...I mean isn't the point of re-asking how things are is to get an UPDATED update? Not the same thing you heard 2 hours prior? So she send him to the hallway phone....and this poor gentleman is so confused he goes out and picks up the phone.....well the volunteer lady had not transferred it to the phone yet and now with him on it she could not....so she starts banging on the glass walls and yelling at him to hang up the phone! Finally Ray's dad did say something to the fact...of "Give the guy a break will ya!"

2: Ray was in bed...I think it was our second evening post surgery and he is loopy on morphine and he is acting out driving his truck and just like he does in real life he was yelling that the "idiots on the road!"

3: Ray kept asking the nurses when he was going to hydrotherapy.....One nurse after probably hearing at least 5 times in a minute asked him what he meant...and basically he described something like a hot tub....When the nurse said he couldn't get his leg wet he said he'd just hold it up!!

4: This one happened when he was a little more lucid....he was still on pain meds but it wasn't the morphine....this sweet little gal came in....I am guessing she was of Hispanic decent so she didn't speak much English...but she knocked on the door and asked if she could clean our room....we said sure. Then about 15 or 20 seconds later Ray said "then I will give you my home address" You know Ray and his humor......he meant that she could clean our house next....but this poor gal had the deer in the headlights syndrome and stuttered a second or two before she said "Oh I am married" LOL it was so funny! She was so uncomfortable the rest of the time she spent in the room!

5; As the girls were leaving one night pretty late....He was still on morphine and still way wacky...he told the girls to "Call me tomorrow when you are home from school" Both girls looked at me half frightened half thinking Daddy has really lost it...I reminded them that Daddy says funny things sometimes....then I can't remember if it was Cami or Courtney that said "Daddy needs a calendar to remind him we are out of school!"

Well those are just a few I remember I KNOW there is several others....if there is one you remember let me know I'll add them.....just so we have some blackmail material later on :o)

Our First Day/Night at home...

So yesterday was so grand....we were home....girls under our roof....Ray's fav chair, his woobie (heating pad) and our bed!! It was so nice to not have any interruptions....no nurses, no "needle girl" , no announcements at 2 am, 3 am, 4 am (you get the picture) "Code Trauma Alert 2" repeated 3 times! The downside.....I was out of practice for multi tasking in "Mommy mode" There was no cafeteria in which cooked me delicious meals...no one brought Ray meals right to his bedside/chair....the girls needed to eat too! I was exhausted....but all in one breath I was glad that I was HOME and able to do all this!! Ray slept 90% of the day yesterday....I think he was in catch up mode.....he didn't have much of an appetite so finally "mean nurse Sheri" had to kick his butt and make him eat at least ONE decent meal. This morning his appetite is back! Last night I am happy to report....BOTH girls slept through the whole night in their own beds...a rare occurrence in this household....and Ray had decent night sleep, slept in bed till almost 3 am (3 weeks ago he was lucky if he got 2 or 3 hours total in a night!) then got situated downstairs for a change of pace and slept until about 6am!!! We are hoping for the same today....QUIET times...enjoying the peace...and letting us all re-coop!!! Thanks again to all who have expressed love, prayers and actions on our behalf!

Until next time....

Loves....