Bev Daly Barnett
	August, 2004

31 August 04 ~ Tuesday ~ Becky
Nothing really new to report today. Bev seemed to be doing pretty well,
although, again, she said she was feeling tired (but she still managed to
vacuum upstairs while I was getting dinner ready). She has also said that
she is feeling some pain near the G-tube site. We are wondering if that
might have something to do with the sutures having come undone.
She says the pain seems to be inside . . .

Becky

30 August 04 ~ Monday ~ Bev
Today Jonathan turns 17!! These milestones make me thankful for all of the
years I've had with the family. He just got home from school and said he
made Jazz Band so we're excited for him about that! He wants to have a
barbecue with some friends from camp and church but tonight we're having
steaks at his request – his tastes are growing up too.

I didn't make it to church yesterday – I guess the chemo was making me fee
fatigued, but today I've had more energy. I went to staff meeting for a
while at Samaritan since they'd asked if I could come or call in. It was
good to see everyone but I let them know I'm not optimistic about being
back. I also swept the front area so that's been my ambitious projects for
the day.:)

I called Carroll's office to get results of the urinary culture and I do
have an infection still so they'll give me more antibiotics. I'm wondering
if I'm going to need an IV antibiotic to get rid of it. Still nothing is
coming through the colostomy so that's discouraging. My blood pressure is
kind of low (home health came today) but we're not sure why.

Thanks for the birthday cards – it sure doesn't seem like I'm going to be 50!
I got some from several Wycliffe people which has also been nice – Andersons,
Earls, Joy Oram, Mae Taeder – there might be others I'm forgetting.

Don't want to over do it so I'd better quit.
Love, Bev

29 August 04 ~ Sunday ~ Becky
Bev felt "blah" today (I don't know how best to describe it). She was
nauseas and fatigued, and didn't feel up for going to church this morning,
so she spent most of the day on the couch. Her G-tube came undone twice
today and leaked on her. Please pray that that would get fixed. There is a
meeting at Samaritan tomorrow that Bev had wanted to go to, but she's not
sure if she will feel up for it. Please pray that she will know whether or
not it's a good idea to go. We watched the olympics today (of course). :)
It's so sad to see them end . . .

Becky

28 August 04 ~ Saturday ~ Becky
Bev was a little tired today. We're thinking it's probably from the chemo
yesterday. She spent most of the day on the couch, reading and watching the
olympics (of course :). In addition to watching olympics, Tim and I put up
a wallpaper border in the boys' bathroom.

Jonathan had his second jazz band audition yesterday morning, and we still
don't know if he made it. Apparently 2 of the other trumpet players didn't
show up for the audition, so the instructor is giving them a second chance
on Monday. If I understand right, that means everyone has to re-audition on
Monday also. Robert had his youth symphony audition this morning. From
what Tim said, it doesn't sound like it went that well. :(

UAF has orientation tomorrow, which Tim has to be at. The blue car won't
start (again . . .), so I will drop him off at work and the rest of us will
go to church.

Bev has been eating a little more and trying to clamp off the G-tube.
However, it has leaked a few times when she's had it clamped off for too
long. Please pray about that.

Guess that's it. :)

Love, Becky

27 August 04 ~ Friday ~ Becky
Bev went to see Dr. Carroll today. They gave her her chemo treatment. Bev
mentioned her weight and Dr. Carroll said to try clamping off the G-tube
while taking clear liquids. Whenever she's had it clamped for too long
before (usually about an hour is her limit), she tends to get nauseous and
throw up, but she was able to keep it clamped for quite a long time tonight
(from 3:30 – 7:00). Her colostomy is not producing anything again, but Dr.
Carroll didn't seem to have anything to say about that.

The blue car has been running, so thanks for praying about that. (I think
God was just getting our attention the other day by not letting it start so
that we would be that much more thankful that He provided the jeep for us to
borrow.)

Love, Becky

26 August 04 ~ Thursday ~ Becky
I spent most of the day taking the 2 foreign exchange students to buy
blankets, which took longer than expected.

The temperature was around 70ish two days ago, so I was shocked when I woke
up yesterday morning and the thermometer said it was 42 degrees outside! It
warmed up to 60 by the afternoon, which is still cold compared to the 80 and
90 degrees we've been having all summer. I can't even imagine what it's
like below 0!

So, since I was gone for most of the day, I'm not exactly sure what Bev was
up to or how she was feeling. But, from the looks of things when I got back
home, she did a lot. The laundry was all done and she was just finishing
making dinner. I hope that didn't wear her out too much. I guess we will
see tomorrow.

She has a doctor's appointment with Carroll tomorrow at 11, so please be
praying for that to go well.

Love, Becky

25 August 04 ~ Wednesday ~ Becky
No real big news for today. The blue car ended up working this morning, so
Jonathan and Tim were able to use that. Bev and I went to the botanical
garden, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Bev's weight is at 91, which is up from
the past few days. She ate quite a bit today: an instant breakfast,
custard, I believe some sherbet, mashed potatoes, and I think something
else, but I don't remember what. She threw up a little bit, but not as much
as yesterday. We spent the evening watching the olympics again.

I think that's about it. It is sooo nice to have running water!

Becky

24 August 04 ~ Tuesday ~ Becky
Today was the blue car's turn to wimp out on us. It wouldn't start this
morning, so thankfully we were able to use the car that Kevin had brought
over last night. God seems to enjoy using irony; the car that Kevin brought
is a red jeep cherokee, just like the one that the Barnetts have that is
currently in the shop. :)

Bev and I went to the Santa Claus House up in North Pole. It's a really
cute shop with all kinds of Christmas ornaments and souvenirs for sale. We
had a good time.

The big news is that the water is running!!! Fixing it was quite the
production. Several men from church came over tonight, brining with them a
truck with a winch, 40 feet of new pipe, and a new pump. They used the
wench to remove the 240 feet of pipe that goes down into the well. Then
they replaced the water pump as well as some pipe that had been corroded,
put it all back down into the well, and redid the wiring. We sure are
thankful for friends with now-how and the right equipment! And thankful for
running water!

Thanks again for all your prayers.

Love, Becky

23 August 04 ~ Monday ~ Becky
Well, we survived. I'm sure that was thanks to all of your prayers. :)

The jeep had been acting up a little yesterday, but Tim was going to try to
use it today, to make the logistics of getting everyone where they needed to
be a little easier. However, it wouldn't start this morning, so we had to
make do with one car yet again. (Thankfully there is plenty of time between
when Jonathan's school starts and when Robert's school starts, so that
didn't end up being a problem). So, the jeep is back at the shop yet again.
Please pray that the guys at the shop will be able to fix it this time.
While we wait for that to happen, Kevin from Tim's work has kindly lent us a
car to use for the week.

The Johnsons have also been extremely kind to us. In addition to using
their showers, they have let us have water from their house (transferred
over here via several large water jugs), and Dave and several other men from
the church are coming over tomorrow night to help install a new water pump.
In the meantime, Kevin from Tim's work (different from the aforementioned
Kevin) – who is a Christian – brought over 50 gallons of water this evening,
so we won't have to keep running over to the Johnsons' to get water.

The other good news is that Bev can eat more than ice chips now! She called
Dr. Carroll's office to ask if she could eat something else, since she has
been losing weight. They told her that she can now have mashed potatoes,
pudding, and shakes! Please pray that her body will be able to handle that.

(By the way, I keep forgetting to mention that the wildfire smoke has been
back for a while – please pray for rain or strong winds to clear it out).

OK, thanks again!

Love, Becky

22 August 04 ~ Sunday ~ Becky
We have a new item to add to the list of various trials: we are now without
running water. There is something wrong with the well pump. Tim and Dave
Johnson, a friend from church, spent most of the afternoon trying to fix it,
but to no avail. Someone should hopefully be up here within the week to
take a look at it. In the meantime, we are using large jugs of water and
will take showers over at the Johnsons and/or the rec center. (We are so
spoiled here in America! One of the foreign exchange students was telling
us how this happens all the time in Russia. I've taken running water for
granted all of these years! Now I know better and will try to be thankful
for it in the future. :)

Today went as well as could be expected, with all of that going on. We went
to church and then the parent meeting afterward. Bev didn't seem too worn
out. We had to change the evening plans. Instead of having the foreign
exchange students over to the house for dinner, we went out to dinner at
"the Cookie Jar," which was nice.

Tomorrow is the first day of school. What with coordinating showers at the
Johnsons and dealing with somewhat unreliable cars, please pray that it all
goes well. (Or at least if it doesn't, that we will know how to respond
properly!).

Bev seemed to be doing really well today, although her weight is down to 90
lbs. Please continue to pray that the doctors will eventually upgrade her
diet at least to shakes.

Thanks again! Becky

21 August 04 ~ Saturday ~ Becky
Tim painted the kids bathroom today.  Bev and I helped a little bit, but he
did most of the work.  It was an all day event.  Bev said she was feeling
extra tired this morning, but you wouldn't have been able to tell by the
amount of work she did.  She did some gardening today: watered the flowers,
repotted one of the plants, and cut back some of the flowers that were
overtaking the garden.  Most of the rest of the day was olympics again.  I
don't think the boys are enjoying the olympics, but Bev and I sure are.

Tomorrow, they are having their family picture taken for the church
directory, then we are going to church, then there is a youth group parent's
meeting they have to go to, then the foreign exchange students and the
Johnsons are coming over for dinner.  So, please pray that all of this won't
wear Bev out too much.

Love, Becky

20 August 04 ~ Friday ~ Becky
Bev was having a really bad stomach pain this morning right after she got
up.  She was even asking for morphine, which she hasn't done up until now,
but the pain subsided while I was trying to put the morphine contraption
together and she decided she didn't need it after all.

Besides that, the rest of the day went well.  We watched more olympics.

The jeep is back, but I'm not real sure if the guys at the shop fixed it
this time.  Bev said that they rewired something so that the fuse won't blow
anymore, but I don't know if that really means it's fixed.

Becky

19 August 04 ~ Thursday ~ Becky
We did end up going to the museum yesterday, which was very fun.  The home
health care lady came today to fix the balloon on Bev's G-tube.  She is
taking tequin for her urinary tract infection.  She seems to be getting
stronger every day.  Today she went out and helped water the flowers and get
the mail.

We spent most of the day watching the olympics again.  Since we will
probably do the same tomorrow and since Bev is doing so much better, I will
skip my daily updates and only email if something major happens.  (I'm
afraid I'm inundating you all with too many emails!)

Thanks again for keeping us in your prayers.

Love, Becky

17 August 04 ~ Tuesday ~ Bev
I sure have appreciated Becky and Tim keeping regular updates to you all,
and getting your replies is always very encouraging.  I'm sorry I haven't
done more writing myself.  Some days it's too much physical energy and other
days I think it must just be emotional energy.  But knowing you're praying
really helps and I just want to say thanks for the time and commitment that
takes.

Like Becky said, I was able to get chemo yesterday and am thankful for that.
I'll start back on every Friday (skipping this Fri.) and hopefully my blood
counts won't interfere too much.  The chemo I'm on is pretty tolerable and I
shouldn't lose my hair.  The names are not of interest to most of you, but
for those who keep up with that I'm on Gemzar, Leukovorin and 5 FU, and
Herceptin.

It's nice to add some flavor to y diet but I'll sure be glad when I can do
more!  This morning I left the G tube in my stomach clamped off longer and
everything leaked out!  So I called the surgeon's office who wants home
health to come out and see if the balloon is working properly.  I left a
message with home health and hopefully will hear from them soon.  We haven't
been very impressed with home health care so far.

I'm enjoying the days I'm feeling stronger like today and I was hoping to
finally go to the museum with Becky but we'll have to see how it goes with
home health's visit.  I just got a call from Dr. Carroll's office and I do
have a urinary tract infection and will start on some medication for that
today which ought to make me feel better too.

A prayer request would be for wisdom on how to spend better time with the
kids.  I'm such a couch potato most of the time.  I have a lot of peace
concerning my health and am thankful for that. Better go and pace my energy.

Love, Bev

17 August 04 ~ Tuesday ~ Becky
I still haven't gotten the full details of how the Doctor's appointment went
today.  (I spent the day with two foreign exchange students at UAF – took
them to buy a few things at Wal Mart and the grocery store, then we went to
the movies).  I do know that they gave Bev chemo today.  And, Dr. Carroll
has upgraded her diet to jello and popsicles.  So, although those still
aren't very exciting, they are better than ice chips!

The jeep broke down.  Again.  This happened while the girls and I were on
our way to the movies.  We were right near the movie theater, so – after two
gentlemen very kindly pushed the vehicle out of the way of traffic – we
walked over to the theater to watch the movie.  Meanwhile, Tim and Jonathan
came and took the jeep back to the shop.  So, please put transportation back
on your prayer list.

Thanks, Becky

16 August 04 ~ Monday ~ Becky
Well, we were couch potatoes again today.  Bev seems to be doing better.
Although she felt a little nauseous this morning, she didn't throw up and
her pain seems to be under control.  The jeep is finally home.  Hopefully
it's fixed for good this time.  Bev has an appointment with Dr. Carroll
tomorrow, so please be praying that that goes well.  She's hoping that he
will let her eat, since she seems to be doing better and her colostomy is
functioning.

Becky

15 August 04 ~ Sunday ~ Becky
Bev (and the rest of us) went to church this morning and afterwards we spent
the rest of the day watching the olympics.

She was feeling nauseous this morning and threw up three times today.  She
said she was feeling "off" last night, although she couldn't exactly
describe what she meant by that.  She thought it might have something to do
with her blood sugar, but we tested it and it seemed to be within the normal
range.  She was still feeling "off" this morning.

Tim made it home from his trip this evening.  He seemed tired, but I think
he had a good time.

Becky

14 August 04 ~ Saturday ~ Becky
Well, all of the activity at the fair yesterday definitely wore Bev out.
She opted out of taking a shower this morning, because she didn't feel quite
up to it.  We ended up spending most of the day lounging around, watching
the olympics, which was fun.

She felt queasy for most of the day, but did not throw up.  I asked her
about the abdominal pains she was having and she says that she hasn't had
any of those since she's been home.  I thought she might be having pain
around the area of the incision, but she says her pain right now seems to be
mostly internal.

She has mentioned feeling really hungry.  When she was in the hospital,
someone asked her if she was hungry but she said she wasn't because the
hyperal seemed to be keeping her full.  I'm not exactly sure what's making
the difference now, since she's on the same amount of hyperal.  It might
have something to do with having to watch the rest of us eat.  While she was
in the hospital, we tried to be sensitive to her feelings and not eat in
front of her too much (although we still did it a few times).  Now that
she's home, she has to put it up with us eating dinner in front of her every
night, while all she gets to eat is cranberry flavored ice.  (We asked Dr.
Carroll's office about adding some flavoring and they said we could, so
we've been adding a tiny bit of cranberry juice).

Her blood sugar seems to be staying pretty stable, hovering around 100, so
thanks for praying about that. :)

Guess that's it for tonight. Becky

13 August 04 ~ Friday ~ Becky
Well, we made it to the fair.  It turns out that they stopped providing
wheelchairs this year, so Bev called a few places trying to see if there was
one we could use, but there wasn't.  Bev decided to go anyway, figuring we
could sit and rest every so often.  We stayed from 3:30 till 7:30 (which I
think was a little to long for Bev).  The boys went on rides and such while
Bev and I browsed the shops and exhibits.  We got to see a 50 lb cabbage,
which Bev was wanting to see.  Then we met up with the boys for dinner
around 5:00 (Bev had a snow cone with a small amount of cherry syrup).  I
think Bev was ready to go home then, but the boys still had some leftover
ride tickets, so we decided to stay longer.  I think we all had a good time
(I know I did).  When we got home, we watched the opening ceremonies of the
olympic games.

Bev felt somewhat queasy at several times today, bit didn't throw up at all.
She doesn't seem to be having the abdominal pains anymore, which is really
good.  She has mentioned feeling weaker than when she was in the hospital
(I'm sure it's from all of the extra activity she is doing).  I don't know
if I mentioned this before, but she seems to be a bit shaky, and I don't
know why exactly.

The home health nurse told us to check Bev's blood sugar before and after
giving her the hyperal.  This morning, her blood sugar was at 68 (normal
range is between 70 or 80 and 120), which kind of scared me.  We gave her a
little bit of koolaid to bring it back up.  I'm not sure if that's what did
the trick, but about an hour later when we checked again, her blood sugar
was at 110.  Tonight it was at 98.

Also this morning, we realized that pharmacy hadn't given us the specialized
syringe thingy (that's the technical term for it :) for the morphine.  So,
right before Tim was supposed to leave for his fishing trip, we had to run
down there and pick it up.  I'm not sure how necessary it was to rush down
there this morning, since she hasn't needed it thus far, but I think it's
comforting to know it's there if she does happen to need it.

Tim made it to Valdez.  Please pray that he has a good trip, and please
continue to pray that everything goes well here.

I guess that's about it. :)

Thanks, Becky

12 August 04 ~ Thursday ~ Becky
Today went really well.  Bev has not used the morphine once yet, although
she has used some other meds to take care of the pain (lorazapam last night
and roxicet this morning).  She had a little bit of nausea and threw up some
of her medications, but her abdominal pains seemed to be under control.

She did a lot today.  She took a shower this morning, then a home health
care nurse came by this afternoon.  After she left, we dropped Jonathan off
at the fair to spend time with his friends and went over to Creamer's field
to watch the birds.  There were all kinds of birds there stopping to rest
for a bit while on their way south for the winter.

It sounds like we might try to go to the fair tomorrow, Bev included.  Her
friend Janice told her that they have wheelchairs at the fair that you can
use, so we're going to see how that works out.  If she ends up not feeling
well, I can just bring her home and let Jonathan and Robert hang out at the
fair together.

Tim leaves for a weekend fishing trip tomorrow morning and gets back Sunday
afternoon.  Bev has mixed feelings about that.  On the one hand, she wants
him to go and have a good time, but on the other hand she's worried that
something might happen while he's gone.  Please pray that everything goes
well.

Thanks! Becky

11 August 04 ~ Wednesday ~ Becky
Bev is home! After getting everything ready this morning, she was able to
come home this afternoon.

They increased her pain patch prescription to 125, which seems to be helping
with the pain so far.  The real test will be to see how she does tonight, as
the pain tends to be worse at night.

She threw up twice today, which is not so good.  Once this morning, after
she was given a morphine shot (which can cause nausea) and once this
evening, after she took her evening medications.

It was nice to have everyone home. :)

I can't think of anything else to add really, except thank you for praying!

Love, Becky

10 August 04 ~ Tuesday ~ Becky
Bev is coming home tomorrow (Wednesday)!  Please pray that all of that will
go smoothly.  It's finally dawning on me that this means I will actually
have to do some work around here.  Up until now, I've gotten away with
sitting around, doing a lot of reading and occasionally doing a little
housework.

The nurses taught us how to administer morphine tonight.  Bev will be sent
home with some needles full of morphine that we can give her to help relieve
her pain, since she won't be able to take the morphine pump with her.  They
also showed us how to change her G-tube bag and hook her up to suction
(although it doesn't really seem like the suction does much good).

Her pain patch was upgraded to 100.  They also gave her herceptin, benadryl,
and adavan.  All of which contributed to making her pretty drowsy.  She
slept the whole time I was there this morning.  By this afternoon, however
she was pretty awake and apparently took a shower on her own while I was
gone (a real shower – with running water).  When we went back this evening,
she was doing ok, although she was still having those awful abdominal pains
(by this time they had disconnected her from the morphine pump) and she's
still discouraged about not being able to eat.  Now she's not even on a
clear liquid diet, she's on an ice chip diet.

Robert made it home from San Diego tonight.  Tomorrow will be the first day
since I've been here that the whole family will be home together for good.
The only other time the whole family has been together has been on the
weekends – between Saturday afternoon and Sunday evening, when Jonathan got
a break from working at camp.

Bev is concerned about the transition home going well.  She's having to come
home with a lot of extra paraphernalia, so please pray that we handle all of
that properly.

I think I forgot to mention that they took a stool sample to test for C.
Dipth (?) and other bacteria, but it came back negative.  We were kinda
hoping it would come back positive, because then Bev's pain could have been
accounted for and treated.  As it is, we still don't really know what the
exact problem is (or at least I don't, maybe the doctors do).  Oh well, at
least God knows, and He knows the best way to handle all of it.

Love, Becky

8 August 04 ~ Sunday ~ Becky
No new news today.

Becky

7 August 04 ~ Saturday ~ Becky
Bev's pains lasted from 8 pm last night till 1 am (not quite as long as they
have lasted the past few nights).  She was doing really well today.  She
didn't use the morphine until 6 pm tonight, as far as I know.  I'm not sure
how bad her pain is right now.

Two of Bev's friends came by and took her for a wheelchair ride outside of
the hospital.  I think she really enjoyed that.  It was her first time
outside in 2 weeks, and it was a beautiful sunny day.

Dr. Teslow stopped by in the morning.  Bev and Tim both said that he still
sounded very optimistic that her bowels will start working better and that
she will be able to eat.

The x-ray they did the other day doesn't show any blockage, so they aren't
exactly sure what is causing the pains.  Dr. Teslow thought it might be some
of the meds she's taking.  He also says that her bowels are just feeling
"sick"; they've had so much done to them lately that it's no wonder that
they are taking a while to get back to normal.

Dr. Sterling came by in the evening and told Bev that they are going to cut
her hyperal back to 1 L tomorrow (she's on 2 L right now) and give her clear
liquids, just to see what happens.  His hope is that in a few days she might
even be able to go home without the hyperal.  I guess we will have to wait
and see how things go.

Later this evening there was a little bit coming out of her colostomy, which
is very hopeful.

Becky

6 August 04 ~ Friday ~ Becky
Bev is still not feeling well.  She was tired this morning and feeling
nauseous.  She threw up (which I think I've forgotten to mention she's done
a few times before).  It's discouraging because we thought having the G tube
would take care of the nausea.

She was feeling better this afternoon.  The abdominal pains didn't start up
again until 8:00ish.  The pain wasn't quite as severe as it has been the
past few days, but still not fun.

They took her off the clear liquid diet, and so she's back to eating ice
chips (yum).  The doctors aren't sure if she will be able to eat again, it
all depends on the colostomy working.

Becky

5 August 04 ~ Thursday ~ Becky
Bev's pain seems to come and go.  I think Tim said she was not doing to well
this morning, but she seemed better by the time I got over there.  She was
very tired (maybe all the walking yesterday wore her out) but still got up
enough energy to take a bath and a walk before they came to get her for an
x-ray.  I went back to the house for a while in the afternoon, and when I
got back to the hospital she said that she had just slept the whole time.
They increased the pain patch to a 75 (not sure when exactly they did that)
which might be contributing to the sleepiness.  She did some crocheting, but
kept dozing off.  As far as I could tell, the pain seemed to be under
control.

This evening the pain came back, around the same time it had yesterday.  She
asked to have some adavan, which knocked her out again.  She slept for most
of the evening.  We still aren't sure when she will be able to come home.
We are hopeful that it will be tomorrow.

Please be praying for Tim also, he's definitely facing "trials of many
kinds"; Bev's health, unreliable cars that keep breaking down, and some
problem students at work who are eating up a lot of his time and energy.
The students have even resorted to personal attacks against him (although he
is trying not to take them personally) instead of taking responsibility for
their own actions.  I'm not sure exactly how he's supposed to "rejoice" in
all of this.  Please pray that he will not get discouraged.

Thanks! Becky

5 August 04 ~ Thursday a.m. ~ Margaret
We've just talked to Bev for a few minutes who said the pain is really bad, enough so that the morphine pump has been re-connected and the doctor plans to up her pain patch to 75 (from 50).  This morning she'll be undergoing a gastrograph, whatever that entails.  A couple of days ago she was hoping to go home today but that is not a possibility until the colon blockage is taken care of.

4 August 04 ~ Wednesday ~ Becky
Bev had a fever of 102 or 103 last night.  She thinks it might be due to a
urinary tract infection.  They gave her antibiotics, which seem to have
worked.

She was doing really well this morning.  They cut the reglin in half and
increased her pain patch from a 25 to a 50.  So, she didn't seem to be
having much pain this morning and was a lot more alert and perky than
yesterday.

It was like she was training for a marathon with the amount of walking we
did!  She had gone for a walk with Tim before I got over to the hospital.
Then when I got there we went for a 4 or 5 lap walk at 10:30 and another 4
or 5 lap walk at 1:00.  I went home to get some lunch and by the time I got
back she had already gone on another long walk.  Hopefully all of this
walking will help!

Dr. Carroll ordered a suppository earlier in the day to try to get things
moving, but it doesn't seem like it worked.  Dr. Teslow stopped by in the
afternoon and sounded really optimistic about her colostomy working again at
some point.  He ordered a gastrograph and enema, which I think they are
going to do tomorrow.

This evening, Bev is not doing as well.  Around 6:00 the gassy pains were
back and she asked to have some adavan, which knocked her out.  When Tim
talked to her on the phone tonight, it sounded like she was still in a lot
of pain.

Becky

3 August 04 ~ Tuesday ~ Becky
The stents went in without a hitch today.  Dr. Taylor replaced the one Bev
had on the left side and put a new one in on the right side.  They did a
spinal epidural, so her legs were numb.  I think they also used some
sedation, although I'm not sure.

I forgot to mention yesterday that they are now giving Bev reglin, which is
supposed to help her bowel movement.  That might be what is causing (or at
least contributing to) the gassy pain she's been having.  They put her back
on the morphine pump last night, to try to control the pain.  The problem
is, the morphine counteracts the intended affects (or is it effects?) of the
reglin.  Dr. Carroll cut the dosage in half, which will hopefully help.  He
is hesitant about doing an enema, because he's not sure how effective
(affective?) that would be.  For now, he's hoping the reglin will do the
job.  He has advised Bev to do as much walking as she can, which is supposed
to help.

I think they gave Bev adavan today, she was rather groggy and sleepy.  She
was also having chills, but I'm not sure what's causing that.

The main thing to pray for right now is that her colostomy would start
working and that she would have some relief from the gassy pains.

Please also pray for our car situation.  We had taken the blue car into the
shop yesterday because it was driving a little rough.  Then today, after
picking Tim up from work, the jeep broke down for the millionth time.  Tim
had someone give him a ride to pick up the blue car so we could use it while
the jeep got towed to the shop.  The blue car was giving us some trouble on
the way to the hospital, so we rented a car and took the blue car back to
the shop.  So, both cars are in the shop and we are using a rental car
again.

Oh, and Jonathan made it home safely from his trip to Phoenix.  It sounds
like he had a good time. :)

Becky

2 August 04 ~ Monday ~ Becky
Bev was not feeling too well today.  They switched her from the morphine
pump to a patch (25), she is now on a clear liquid diet (she had just been
able to eat ice chips before), and they gave her herceptin and benadryl
today.  She was really tired today and says that she slept all afternoon.
She's thinking it was probably the benadryl that knocked her out.  Then this
evening she was having really bad gassy pain (about a 7 on a 10 point pain
scale).  It's not really clear what's causing it, but it's probably the
change in her diet.  Her colostomy worked a little bit today (I think Dr.
Carroll said that they gave her some sort of medicine to do that), but they
will probably still need to do an enema.  Dr. Teslow wants to wait to do
that until after the procedure tomorrow.  She's scheduled to have the stint
put in at 9 am tomorrow, and all of the doctors have sounded pretty
confident that that should go well and that they won't need to take her
kidney out.  Please pray that everything goes smoothly.  It's sounding like
they will let her come home on either Wednesday or Thursday.

Becky

1 August 04 ~ Sunday ~ Becky
Bev is continuing to do well.  Everyone who comes to visit comments on how
great she looks, which she does.  And she always seems to be really perky.
One of the doctors who treated her when she was in the hospital a while ago
stopped by last night and told her she looked 10 years younger than the last
time he'd seen her!

She still has some pain near her incision, but we are hoping that will heal
real soon.  She says that her shoulder hasn't been hurting, so that's good
news.

Some of the nurses have made some comments about the G tube and hyperal only
being temporary solutions, implying that Bev only has a few more months,
which is very discouraging to her.  Tim and I are very confused about this
because Dr. Teslow implied that he thinks she has quite a bit more time left
(although he was unwilling to make a guess as to how long).  From what Dr.
Teslow had said, we were hopeful that she will be able to live to see
Jonathan's graduation, which has been one of her goals.  Please pray that
Bev would not become discouraged.

Please be praying that her colostomy will start working again.  This will
help the doctors determine whether or not she will be able to eat again or
if she will be stuck on the hyperal (or a combination of both).  Bev would
really love to be able to eat and would like to avoid the inconvenience of
being on hyperal.

Guess that's about it. :)

Thanks! Becky


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