Mom is going to have eye surgery for cataracts

I wanted to give everybody an update on Mom and her eyes. Back in May before Dad's passing I had the opportunity to take both Mom and Dad into an Opthamologist. We had been told by several optometrists the past years that Mom's eyes were getting serious and would need to be looked at. The Opthomologist said that Mom has severe cataracts in both eyes, but the worse is her left. He was surprised that she wasn't in pain, because the left eye has a duct that is already impinged by the cataract which typically causes severe pain. Mom says she is not in pain, but that her left eye is very cloudy. This has been the case for several years now.

After Mom had some time to think and pray about it, it has been decided to have eye surgery on Oct. 7, 2015. Then if that one goes well then she will have the other eye operated on in November. 

Dad's Status - 1:45 am - 6/24/2015

Well today is Dad's 84th birthday!! Happy Birthday Buddy!!! 

They just barely took him to get his CT-Scan. They had to wait awhile, because dad's blood pressure dropped to 80/40 and stayed there for several hours. They started to ween him down from the sedation medicine in order to help with the blood pressure. It worked and it popped up to 116/50. They immediately ran him down to get the scans. He was moving around more, as in feet and legs and hands, which was comforting. 

We'll have the results from that come in and that will help us know even more of what we are dealing with. 

Dad's Status - 6:47 pm

Dad is doing better as far as his vitals being regulated. Heart Rate = 93, Blood Pressure = 121/68. His eco-cardiogram came back positive. The Dr. said that his heart looked, "great." and that the arrhythmia could be indicative of electrical issues rather than physical damage, which was ruled out by the eco-cardiogram. He could have suffered a mild heart attack from the respiratory crash. They are going to keep watching that part of it.

They are going to give him in a few hours a CT-Scan of his head and stomach. The head to see if there is anything head related to his incoherency and unresponsiveness, ie. stroke. The stomach to see why he still has stuff being sucked out and to see if there is any other reason for infections. 

The next 24 will be revealing as to where all this is going. I was able to administer a blessing to Dad with the help of Elder Bingham, who is serving a S&I mission here from Idaho. 

Dad's Status - 3:15 pm

They took Dad off the Propofol that they had him on from the ER and introduce some others. He went through a little difficult period, because of the effect of the Propofol. His heartrate and blood pressure skyrockted and you could tell he was very uncomfortable. He started to throw up some more. They were able to get him stable somewhat with the new pain/sedation drugs, his heart rate is 106 and blood pressure 196/97.

His urine sample came back positive for infection and his blood sample indicates sepsis. They have an anti-biotic running through the iv, but that will take some time to have an effect. They are not yet sure if his arrhythmia is from the infection or the respiratory crash. The eco-cardiagram results have not come back yet to help make that determination. 

Dad´s status - 11:28 am - 6/23/2015

Hey everyone I will resurrect this blog site again to give regular updates as to Dad's situation. I want to say thank you to Tim and Bart who took on the task to get the word out to all family members.

Dad is in a more stabilzed condition as of right now. He is sedated and not coherent, but moves and twitches so that you know that he is still here. Tests are still be run and results will be coming back throughout today and the next several days to try and determine the underlying reason for what happened this morning.

There are two things that are being closely monitored right now as I write this: 1) respiration = He is still not able to breath completely on his own, although that is getting better. He is on a respirator and it is doing about 30% of the work right now. It was doing almost 90% once they first intubated him; 2) He is having ventricle arrhythmia, which is an irregular heartbeat that it is in a concerning place.

He attending physician is, Dr. O'Reilly who has been looking in continually so far and seems very competent. He is in room #1044 at Martha Jefferson Hospital.

This morning around 6 am we were awakened with screams from mom. She had found Dad throwing up in bed, incoherent, and shaking. As soon as I got down to their bedroom, I was able to access Dad's condition while Lucy consoled and calmed mother. Dad was awake but very unresponsive. He was soaking wet and had throw up all over him. I got him to sit up and tried to get him cleaned up, all the while trying to talk to him and get him to respond. After not recognizing me or mother or even able to give me his name, we called 911 and got the ambulance over to take him in.

While they were loading him into the ambulance, Dad went into respiratory failure and heart beat irregularity. His blood pressure was 255/80. They quickly got him over to the ER near our home, where they determined to intubate him. They determined that it was best to admit him into ICU and they started to prepare him for transportation to the main hospital, where we are now.

I know Mom and Dad would appreciate all the prayers and reflections that you can give at this time. I post any updates as I get them.

Sunday dinner together

We were able to enjoy a nice Sunday dinner with the Becks before they leave back for Utah tomorrow. Dad was even able to come out and be with us. He is still struggling to get back on his feet. The doctor changed his gout medicine and we are hoping that it will get him better.

Mom continues to get raving reviews from the in home health care nurses. She will start radiation in two weeks.

We will miss a lot Becky and can't say enough about what she has done for mom and dad.

Some other news. Mom and Dad have now got an Ipad that they are starting to use. You can see it in the picture. Dad's holding it. They had an Ipod touch for a couple of years but always struggled with the smallness of the screen and buttons. They are excited to try it again with the Ipad.

We signed them up with a new email address as well. It is:

bobandalicejo@gmail.com

They welcome emails and are hoping that in time to be able to write back.

New Blog Name & Mom's Post Surgery Appt. - 03/18/11

I have decided to change the name of the blog to Alice Jo & Buddy's Status. Mom continues to recover from her surgery, surprising all her nurses and physicians. In fact today with Dr. Summers her pathology report finally was received and was reviewed. Dr. Summers was excited to share the results with us. One of the amazing results was that the final size of the tumor was .9 cm. Let that sink in. Only .9 cm! What began as the size of a tennis ball had been reduced with the chemo to not even a centimeter. She also told us that the tumor was shown to still have chemo treatment in it. She said that is impressive and exciting for them to see, because it shows that the chemo was doing exactly what it was suppose to, attack the cancer. One other thing she shared with us was that beside the lymph nodes she knew were cancerous, she had removed 7 other ducts to see, two of which she knew were already infected. The others were a preventative measure to just make sure other areas were good. And sure enough, the 5 other ducts were proved to not be infected. Great News. Dr. Summers agrees that Mom should be a poster child for breast cancer survivors. Mom only needs to come back for a check up in 6 months. That is two doctors down and only one to go. Dr. Spalding is up next with radiation.

Dad on the other hand has had some difficult twists and setbacks. Many of you know his constant battle with gout. Well with the last round we were noticing that he just wasn't getting better and this was concerning. Becky, who has been a big blessing for all of us, suggested that we prick Dad's finger and get a glucose number. His feet were really swollen and discolored which is evidence of poor circulation possibly caused by diabetes. So we did take his number and it was 238, which is extremely high. We waited two hours, he had just drank some orange juice, and yet it was over 230. We quickly made an appointment to see the doctor. There after some tests Dr. Murray diagnosed dad as being diabetic. He prescribed him some medication that he hopes that will aid in bringing things around. He wants to see Dad back in 3 weeks to do some more tests, but till then has put Dad on a strict, strict diet program. He hopes that it was a result stress, and the gout and so forth.

So from now on this blog will be about both Mom and Dad and will hopefully be about not just diseases and illnesses, but good reports about them and their experiences as well.

Back Home - 3/4/2011

Well it is hard to believe, but we are back home! Dad was able to make the trip to get mom from the hospital, which was a joyful surprise for her. They sat together holding hands on the way home, like two lovebirds.

Mom got a clean bill of health from Dr Summers along with her personal cell phone number to call in case of any concern over the weekend. She has been amazing and truly as Felicia said, "a healer."

Post Surgery - Dr. Summers consult

2:55 pm - Dr. Summers came out of the operating room and talked to us. She said everything went according to plans. There was no surprise. Mom is still in recovery but had come out of the anesthesia with a "smile." Dr. Summers said that she knew right then that she was going to be ok! Mom's blood pressure rose a little but it as no concern.

4:45 pm - Mom was brought into her room. she is in room #477. She is alert and awake and in good spirits. They had her get up and go into the bathroom. that help get her more conscious. We have been truly blessed by the Lord.

Mom's pre-surgery - morning of 3/3/2011

i just wanted to let all know about mom and her surgery. It is now 12:30 pm and they just wheeled mom into the operation room. I am including some pictures of her and those that came to wish her well. We are so excited that Becky was able to arrive safely from Utah. Felicia and Doc also added some special moments to the wait time as Mom met with doctors and nurses. I'll keep all up to date as we can. Dr. Summers said that it should last about 2 hours.

6th Chemo & Dr. Summers' visit - surgery scheduled for the 3rd of March

Mom's last round of chemo went really well, it was on the 7th. Paul came to accompany us. She continues to be an inspiration to us all. She had an appointment this past Monday, the 21st, with Dr. Summers the surgeon. Dr. Summers was really pleased with how everything had gone with chemo and the way the tumor had reacted to the treatments. It is all shrunk to only a little mass that they struggle to find when examining her. Dr. Summers has scheduled Mom's surgery for the 3rd of March sometime in the afternoon. Even though the tumor has shrunk it will be a mastectomy and not jut a lumpectomy. Dr.Summers insisted that with the nature of this kind of cancer and with the lymph nodes that were infected, it is what is best to ensure the possibility of getting it all and not to have the likelihood of returning. She did say that they would be able to be very precise and exact and would only remove the tumor and the ducts of the lymph nodes infected without harming or touching any muscle or other tissue. We all felt that it was right to continue following the advice of these wonderful physicians. Mom will spend a night in the hospital after the surgery and if all goes well she will be able to return home the next day. Becky is flying into Charlottesville on the 2nd and will be a big help for the weeks she is planning on staying. Once again we would like to thank all for your prayers and concern. we'll keep everyone posted.

5th Chemo Treatment - 1/17/2011

The 5th treatment has come and gone and so far it has been uneventful. Paul was able to accompany Mom to this treatment and they met with Dr. Pritchard before the treatment and he was happy about how things were progressing. He said that after the first blood draw after the 6th chemo Mom would meet with Dr. Sumers the surgeon to set the date for her surgery. He said that it would most likely be some time in late March.

We keep plodding along slowly but steady. Mom still has had no problems with the new chemo drug.

4th Chemo 12/27/10 & Lots of News and Announcements

First and foremost Mom's 4th chemo went well and without incident!!! She was first administered an ultrasound to make sure that the swelling in Mom's ankle was not a blood clot and was only the lingerings from your falling down on her knee. (I'll return to that later) That is exactly what the ultrasound concluded. We were thankful for the thoroughness of Dr. Pritchard. Paul was able to accompany Mom and Victor and was a big help. This treatment brought the new drug that was introduced on the last blog entry and is lovingly termed, "Devil's blood" because of the appearance. It is introduced through two syringes and is done by the nurse over a twenty minute period. The good news is that there was no allergic reaction. Mom had been a little nervous because of the prior treatments. She was able to relax and enjoy, as much as one could, the rest of the treatment. They even brought her lunch that she really enjoyed. There is an increased chance of nausea and a slight possibility in some of sores appearing in the mouth. We'll see how it goes.

Now the news! First mom's fall. Many of you might have already heard that Mom while getting up in the morning on Monday to start her day with her morning routine she slipped off the side of the bed as she sat up and landed on the tile floor on her knee. Dad struggled to help her up and they had to call Tim who rushed over to aid Mom up. Victor was out of town with his family in D.C. to pick up their daughter, Victoria who was coming home from BYU for the holidays. Mom thought that it was nothing serious and she was able to get around the rest of the day rather normally. But by Tuesday, the 21st, her knee had swollen up rather huge and was in a lot of pain. She already was going in for her blood work check up and an electrocardiogram of the heart in preparation for the new chemo drug. So it was decided to stop by the emergency room after all that for an x-ray just to make sure that there was nothing broken with the knee. Sure enough Mom only sprained it but she was advised to keep off it and ice it. Things are better now though. Mom is able to bend the knee normally and get around. She has been convinced that the aid and support of a walker is okay and she is getting use to it.

Other news. Tuesday morning on the 21st, before leaving for the hospital, Mom received a phone call from Gerry Gilliam, Mom's sister in-law, and was told that her brother, Martin passed away late Monday night. Because of Christmas and not being able to have access to chapel at their Lutheran church, Gerry had to plan to go ahead quickly with the funeral on the 23rd. Gerry and Mom talked and decided in light of Mom's knee and other condition and also because of the relatively short notice that it would be better that Mom did not attend. Her is the link to Martin's obituary notice in the local paper.


http://www.oakridger.com/obituaries/x1682032342/Martin-L-Gilliam

Mom did have an opportunity to be with her brother a year or so ago at Sharon's funeral. Sharon was the daughter of Martin and Gerry.

Some other news. A couple of weeks ago Tim, Paul, and Bart were able to take a little trip down to Southwestern VA and see the places of Mom and Dad's growing up. On their way down they stopped in Christiansburg and visited aunt Lois who while in her nineties is still agile and lively. Time recorded this video greeting that she sent to Mom and Dad. She even danced the jitterbug. It makes you appreciate life and relationships. Thanks again for all you prayers and love. Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!




I'll include the jitterbug in the next blog.

3rd Chemo & 1st Check-up Afterward - 12/13/2010

I want to first apologize for not posting last week's results of Mom's 3rd Chemo treatment until now. There has been a lot going on!!! As you see above, Mom had quite the entourage for her third treatment. Ginny came into town on the 3rd and Norman was visiting us as well. I was hoping to say that Mom's chemo was uneventful, but she had another allergic reaction. She was able to recognize the symptoms quickly and Ginny was able to notify the nurses and staff quickly so that they were able to stop the iv and administer some medication to calm her pain. Dr. Pritchard believes she indeed has an allergy with the Docetaxel (trade name Taxotere). They did not continue with the treatment of Taxotere, but went ahead with the 2nd medicine, the Cytoxan, cyclophospamide. He decided to switch out the Taxotere with a different medicine, Adriamycin (doxorubicin). He said it should do the same thing and that is good because it was the Taxotere that was having the biggest effect on the cancer. Mom's breast had a little more a pink color this week and Dr. Summers, her surgeon said that it was because she did not have the taxotere this last time. Speaking of Dr. Summers, we did get to meet with her today and she was ecstatic with how everything has been going. She did a sonogram and measured the tumor and lymph node behind it and recorded the measurements. Indeed it has shrunk quite remarkably. After she and Dr. Pritchard talked on the phone it was decided that Mom will go ahead with 3 more chemo treatments and then have her surgery. They both want to make sure that there is absolutely no trace in the underlying skin; and with the development of the pink coloring again they don't want to rush it too fast. So Mom will have her next chemo on the 27th of December. It will most likely be in late February or early March when she will have the surgery. We are grateful for the competent medical team in whose hands Mom has been placed.

2nd Check-up after 2nd Chemo - 11/29/10

Felicia was able to come up Sunday night with her daughter, Esther, and spend the night the day before Mom's checkup. Dad accompanied Felicia and Mom to the appointment where all went well. Dr. Pritchard said that he was so pleased with Mom's progression that he was possibly going to have her see Dr. Summers, the surgeon after the 3rd chemo to see if surgery could be done. He said that they would still follow up with several more rounds of chemo afterward but that things were looking great. Mom asked about her allergic reaction from that past treatment and Dr. Pritchard prescribed several steroids that she could take preceding the treatment and that they would also give her a shot of Benadryl prior to it as well. The hope is that it would counteract any possible allergies. We hope!!! : ) The group was able to enjoy the day together afterward with a little lunch.

1st Check-up after 2nd Chemotherapy - 11/27/2010

Everything was great at the appointment this past week. It was one of the quickest ones yet. All the numbers were great. Mom has had no side effects this round and we credit that to her keeping up on the medicine and not letting it lapse. She is doing wonderful and we were able to enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner together. A lot to be thankful for!!!

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2nd Chemo Treatment - 11-15-2010

Mom's 2nd treatment was pretty eventful. First the good news!!! At the evaluation before the treatment, Dr. Pritchard said that Mom's blood looked really good. He also revealed that the tumor has dramatically shrunk about 75% since starting and that if it continues then we could be seeing a quicker movement into surgery. We were really excited about that possibility. Now, the not so good news. As mom started her chemo, not more than 10 minutes into it, she had some sort of allergic reaction. Mom described it has someone spraying something burning up from her feet into her legs. It eventually settled into her back and was like a knife in her lower spine. The nurses and doctor moved quickly to assess and act in helping mom get her pain under control. They immediately stopped the chemo treatment and then started to administer doses of steriods, benadryl, and morphine all through the iv. Now some more good news, all those medicines helped to get mom back to normal. After about a half an hour started back up her chemo treatment and it went successfully with no other complications. Dr. Pritchard was unsure what caused the reaction and said that he had never seen something like it before. We are just glad that it happened where it did and that all is now better.

Post chemo treatment, Mom is doing really well. She has kept up with her medications and has had no problems. We keep our fingers crossed.

We did have quite an eventful day today but it was not with any drama of pain and suffering. On the other hand it was quite full of fun and laughs. As you know from previous entries, Mom's hair has been falling out. The last several days have been pretty aggressive. Mom said from the beginning that she would prefer just shaving it all off rather than having patches of hair and such. So this morning Mom and I and Gillette had some serious time with each other. And voila, one beautiful head!!!!


Mom then wanted to try on her wigs. She was actually given two, one more curly than the other. The one on the left is the one she likes the most, at least right now.



They did such a great job matching her hair color and with a little more time and practice she will be able to style them pretty much any way she wants.

Afterward Mom wanted Dad and I to experience a little bit of the excitement of having a new look. So at Mom's bidding: "viola"


My kids, Kalin and Vanessa, have yet to stop laughing. They have been going on for several hours.. Lucy says I look like a used car salesman. "Anybody care to purchase a Gremlin in good condition for a great deal?"

2nd Checkup after 1st Chemo - 11/8/2010

Today's checkup went amazingly! We actually went a bit earlier than the time so we could first visit the "Mariannes' Room." It is a wonderful part of the Hope Center at Martha Jefferson in which those receiving chemo can have free hats, scarves, and even wigs. Mom's hair has slowly began to start falling out. No worries, not in great clumps, but just noticeably on things she wears and in her comb. Dr. Pritchard had said that if it would start to fall out, it would start about the 2nd to 3rd week. We are exactly in the time frame. Mom was able to order a beautiful wig with her present hair color and similar style. It should be here before her next appointment. The room is made available by loving donations by those connected with Marianne Zirkle, who also suffered and eventually died at 39 with cancer. (see the following link for more info - http://www.mjhfoundation.org/atf/cf/%7BAA5D0B03-82D8-46EA-B586-15CB9292C79B%7D/MariannesRoom_Tabloid.pdf )

At the appointment, Mom's blood work came back good, and her temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate were all great! Besides feeling a little fatigued, which is quite normal, and some loss of feeling in her fingers, which is also normal and the Dr. says if it gets worse then they might be able to do minor changes with her chemo drugs to help that, Mom is doing great!!! Upon examining the breast the Dr. noticed that the tumor is indeed softening and shrinking, and the color is not as inflamed. All things that you hope for as a part of the treatment, but is always good to see when it is happening. It looks like the chemo is doing its job! The Dr. also told us that the test results to see if the tumor was hormonally based or not did come back and it was negative. So they will not be able to introduce hormonal treatments as part of her procedures. But, that is OK!

All in all things are going well. Many have come by and visited and called to check in. It has been a blessing for Mom and Dad. Dad suffered a period of gout this past week and himself was out of the loop a little. He is doing better this week. They are hoping to get out a little more this week. Paul has taken some time off and will accompany Mom to her next chemo treatment this upcoming Monday. Felicia is going to take her to her Monday visit after that. Ginny is planning on coming out for her 3rd chemo treatment for a week to help out. Becky is looking to visit when the surgery takes place for two weeks and Glen is planning in February to visit. Everyone's concerns, prayers, and communications have been wonderful and have been enjoyed!

1st Checkup after 1st Chemo - 11/1/10

Sorry about the lateness of this post. This week has ran by fast. Mom went in Monday for your blood work and quick check up. It was very positive. She had a 98.9 temperature and all her blood cells looked good. Dr. Pritchard checked in on us and asked about how things were going and gave some advice on certain issues. They are still waiting on the results if Mom's tumor is hormone receptive or not and hope to get that back before our next visit, this upcoming Monday. One more bit of good news was that Mom's blood pressure has been low for a while. I don't mean low in a bad way either. she has been on two medicines for a quite a while for her high blood pressure. We asked the Dr. if they were still needed being that her pressure has been so great for quite a while. He decided that she could stop taking one of her medicines and he would see about the other in the weeks to come. Mom was excited about that. : )

Overall Mom has done well this week. She was a little more tired and fatigued the first week after because of the chemo but everyday she says she gets a little more of her energy back. She is a trooper!!

Mom's Words - 10-27-10

Our lives are filled with blessings and trials! I guess we have had our share of both throughout the years, always grateful for the gospel and what it means to us. In this latest trial we see many blessings. We have three wonderful Doctors, the best facilities in the world filled with sweet and kind people, plus we have been surrounded with family, friends, and love ones with their love and prayers. We thank you and feel it all working together for good.

I am glad you are enjoying the "Blog" - a great name for an old granny. ;) I wasn't sure how I first felt about it, being on stage and such, but it is working great and we are thankful for Jon and Victor for setting it up.

Thank you for all your kind words and sweet thoughts and prayers! Keep them coming. Bob and I have found that if we just, "be still and know that I am God," he will "arrange" things. Take care and God bless!! We love you all.

Mom (Alice Jo) & Dad (Bob)

P.S. - the picture is of our front door to our apartment adorned with some beautiful yellow mums given by a dear friend. Each time we have approached our home in process of going and coming they have brightened our day and filled our souls with warmth.