Hi Martha,
I remember you telling me along time ago that you had family that lived near me. If your out this way and I can help you out please don't hesitate to call me I will PM you my phone number.. Your Mother will be in my prayers for a successful surgery and recovery...
Many Hugs
Dawn

i received a PM from oc girl this afternoon. i know she would want me to thank each and every one of you for your continued thoughts, prayers and well wishes during this difficult time.

martha's mom made it through the emergency surgery and is in the ICU, where she will probably remain until thurs. she is intubated, unfortunately, and receiving nutritution via a peripheral IV; however, she is lucid and does know where she is.

i believe the surgeons removed a section of her small intestine that had become diseased and was causing a blockage. her white blood cell count is down and the fever has broken, so these are all good signs, and hopefully she will be off the ventilator after tomorrow but i'm guessing the docs are taking a wait and see approach for the moment.

i was pleased to hear that her doctor is open to martha's informed suggestions re putting her mom on certain meds for the DVT, etc. so that is good. as i am sure martha is very familiar with the rest of her mom's medical history, having an ER doc that will actually collaborate on her care is a godsend in a life and death situation such as this one.

this was a close call, forum friends. still may be touch and go. so bless you all for thinking of martha and her family in the middle of your 4th of july celebrations. they've been through more than their fair share on the medical front this year, i'd say... so due for some major healing to be sent their way.

alison

Martha my sincerest, honestly heartfelt prayers for you and your family during this time.

Martha,

I just saw this and I am so sorry to see how ill your mom has been and still is...that's also worrisome to me because I know how present you are when anyone is in the hospital! Martha is like an angel from heaven for those in the hospital! So my concern is how are you doing???

I hate to think of you driving and sitting and how bad your pain must be. And then, of course, how much you love your mom.

You are a GREAT daughter Martha. I know that in my heart.

One time Olecyn and her hubby actually brought (and bought) me GROCERIES!!! So believe her when she says, "what can I do to help?" Despite her TOS pain, and then she wasn't much out of the cancer, or was just heading into treatment - anyways, she put herself aside and helped me when I hadn't eaten for four days, I think. That was so KIND.

Back to you Martha, my prayers are with you, and my prayers are also for you and your kids and hubby that you all will pull through this time, and that your mom will slowly get well and return to her old self. It sounds like a terrible ordeal she has been through. I know I wouldn't like to go through that! So give her all of OUR good prayers and wishes from TOS-ville. She doesn't know us, but let her know, we love her daughter, and so, we also spread our good throughts to her and wish her well.

God bless you M, I know God looks upon you as an angel!!!

Hello friends,

Thank you friends for your offers of help, prayers and well wishes! Thank you to my new friends and my long time friends! All of you are so wonderful!

I spent 3 days going back and forth to be with my Mom while they were doing diagnostic testing. She was having severe abdominal pain. (so hard to watch) pneumonia was the first diagnosis

On the 4th day it seemed like (and so the docs thought) that she was over the hump and on the way to recovery. That was the day they did the surgery and found the root of the abdominal pain.

She had pneumonia before her surgery.

When they opened her abdomen (the docs spoke to us about "not sure what we'll find" when they opened her up) To our great relief (although it was still quite serious) she did not have any cancer(her father died of cancer of the colon). She did have about a foot of small bowel that was gangrenous and so about 18" was resected. It had been blocked by a fibrous band or an adhesion from a previous abdominal surgery.

She was on the ventilator for about 24 hours in ICU and then it was removed.

My dad, sister and my Mom's sister were there and things seemed to be improving.

So our family had been able to get reservations at Crystal Cove Cottages State Park for the 4th & 5th as at the last minute someone canceled.

So I did not want my 18 year old daughter there alone (or with her boyfriend I should say)My husband was not able to get off work at such short notice. The beach is actually closer to my Mom than my home.

I kept in touch with my dad, sisters and called each new shift as they came on making sure she was doing ok. Things seemed to be going in the right direction until yesterday.

Today I left the beach and just had a feeling I needed to be with my Mom. I got there and she was having respiratory distress, blood pressure was way up, she was very restless and couldn't get comfortable at all.Her respirations were 40-50/minute

For the past several days the pulmonologist has been telling her that she may feel better if she was on the ventilator for a few more days.( I find this out after I'm back)

She said she was breathing fast but felt she was ok.

While I was there the nurse asked her about going back on the ventilator and my Mom said yes. She was so exhausted but just couldn't sleep.

I held her hand and they allowed me to be with her while they intubated her. It was so heartbreaking to see her just laying there unconscious while they were bagging her. The doc from the ER was the one to try first. They had been giving my Mom 100% oxygen without humidifying the air and her airway was soooo dry that the ER doc COULD NOT FIND her trachea.

After the 3rd try (I'm about to have a heart attack) an anesthesiologist came in and looked and started suctioning her and pulled (this is gross) out a 1" thick and hard mucous plug. At first I thought it was a bloody tooth (her gums were bleeding by now from the multiple attempts to intubate her)

My poor Mom had been trying to breath through or around this impossibly hard mucous plug. No wonder she was exhausted- there was no way she could have coughed it up herself!

After they were finally finished and doing an x-ray I went to get a drink and found my Dad outside the icu. He did not know that I was there, but he did know they were putting her back on the ventilator.

He was glad to see me. When we went back to see my Mom she was breathing so much easier, and seemed much more relaxed. Her blood pressure,respiratory rate , pulse and oxygen saturation were normal on the ventilator.

Hopefully, she will get some help from the ventilator and allow her lungs to heal (severe bilateral pneumonia)She needs so desperately to sleep.

Last night when I spoke with her pulmonologist he said it would be a long road back but he thought she would be ok.

They are giving her meds to help thin her blood (the doc said he would do it for me....grrr not for me for my Mom!)

Thanks for listening to me go on and on friends.

So far I'm doing ok. I think that the bipap sleep apnea machine is really helping me have more energy and maybe less pain. Time will tell. The true test is when the ordeal is over and if I crash and burn. So far so good though.

Thanks again for your wonderful support friends. I really appreciate it. Only another tos'er can understand how difficult these times can be for a tos'er.

Blessings to all of you.
Martha

Oh Martha,

I am so sorry to hear that your mother had to go thru such horrendous care. How in the world did they miss that huge mucus plug in her trachea? Did she not have any stridor? And then your poor mothers mouth... Thank God for the anesthesiologists came in and successfully intubated her.
I'm Sorry Martha, I had no buisness going off on a tangent like that...
You have had a rough enough day as it is..

I am so sorry to hear that she had gone thru such a difficult time.
And what an emotional and frustrating experience for you. What a strong person you are to be able to be there for your Mom and family when you are dealing with such a tremendous medical condition of your own.

I do hope that your mother is able to get the much needed rest that she needs now to be able to recover fully. Your family is so fortunate to have you there with all the knowledge that you have as well as all the warm caring love you bring with you.

My prayers are with you and your mother that she can rest comfortably and recover fully.

Gentle Hugs
Dawn

Dawn,
I appreciate your kind words.
I think it kind of upsets my mom when she knows that I have driven myself to the hospital. It took 7 years but I think my parents are beginning to get it.

It's 12:40 am and I just spoke to the icu nurse who is caring for my Mom. She said that they gave my Mom some medication for her blood pressure and she had a reaction to it that took almost 2 hours to resolve

She said that my Mom is in 'guarded' condition. I wish she was at a bigger hospital ( it only has 105 beds) where they see more sick patients.
I just wonder if she is in the right place for the problem that she has.

I think I need to give this problem that I don't have any control over to the Lord(and pray for guidance or peace) as I feel quite helpless now.

This situation is particularly bothersome to me as it is in many ways similar to my own time spent in icu in March.(i.e. pneumonia, respiratory distress, unstable vital signs)I really hope she doesn't remember much of her icu stay (my memory is very cloudy of my icu stay)

I think that my Mom has not felt well for quite awhile now. She has not been to the dentist in a while and it looks like her gums have receded (sp?) and her front teeth are a little loose. The blood thinners I'm sure had something to do with her gums bleeding also, add some loose teeth and aggressive treatment ( they were working fast and searching hard for her trachea)not fun to watch for sure.(thankfully she was unconscious)

Thanks again Dawn,
Martha

Dear Martha
I have been so concerned and had prayed that the situation had not been this severe.I continue my prayers and hope for a speedy recovery.
It could not have been easy for you, I am glad the cpap is at least helping with sleep and maybe strength.
Love and hugs
Di

When u 2 came to cheer me up in the hospital
You had my Mom wondering what planet u guys flew in from.
I was laughing inside and still hear everything you guys were communicating that day.

Martha is STELLER with hospital employees and gets things done for u.

My "Martha Angel" sits upon my new bedroom fireplace mantel
It's the first thing I wake up to in the morning
And what I spy in front of my Atlantic sea fan everytime I lay down during the day and look out from my bed.
It's so cool to have my very own angel looking out for me.

Check ur PM's
I'm there for u anytime.
XXOO