Today was not a good day.
Phil woke up in pain, which is normal.
He wanted to get out of bed, get up and go do stuff. Unfortunately it was snowing so it put a damper on his plans for the day.
We went to the store, on the way to the store he began to feel awful.
By the time we got home, it was horrible.
All of the sudden he felt sick and and ran to the bathroom.
He got sick a couple of times. He has been laying on the couch ever since.
He says his inside parts feel like they are on fire.
I asked him if he thought it was heartburn, he said, not it feels different than heartburn.
He said it felt like his kidneys hurt, and his stomach hurts.
Maybe if he has been swallowing blood it might upset his stomach?
He also hasn't gone to the bathroom for 3 days. :(
I don't understand. The pain medicine seems to make it worse.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Phil's surgery
Wow what a day!!!
Facial swelling in the beginning of October
The polyps before when they were swollen
Phil was nervous this morning when he woke up. I would be nervous too if I was going into surgery. Especially such a big surgery, near the brain. Scary!
I was fine, until we started waiting. And waiting, and waiting. I started to get more anxious. I have always tried to be strong, and supportive. I felt like I kind of crumbled a little bit today!
Phil was nervous. We sat together. Waiting. We got to the hospital around 7:30am. Phil was called back by 7:50am. He changed. A couple of nurses and such came in. But for most of the waiting we were alone. Phil's mom came around 9:30am. The nurses and CNA's came in at 10am to do paper work, start the IV and get the prep started.
By 10:30 Phil's mom and I were shoved out to the waiting area and Phil was wheeled off to surgery.
I was nervous. I had planned to go shopping or do something to take my mind off the waiting. I decided to stick around. Phil's mom and I walked a little bit and she left. I walked. And walked, and walked and walked. I must have put a couple of miles on my shoes today! The hospital is a pretty big place! It has a restaurant/cafeteria, a boutique, a full on Starbucks, and a shop for scrubs. The hospital even has its own post office! It was crazy! I walked around, looked in some of the shops. Went back and waited. Then went to the restaurant and ordered some food. Just as the food came out, the front desk called me to tell me Phil was out of surgery and that the doctor would be out soon to talk with me.
So I hurried, packed my lunch up and went back to wait.
I was a little nervous. They said he was out of surgery but they didn't say how he was doing or if he was awake or ok.
I sat there, but I had a good feeling so I tried not to worry too much.
This is one of the waiting areas
The doctor came out, he was really positive! He said Phil did REALLY well. The doctor was impressed with how well Phil was recovering from surgery and that the pain from the surgery would pale in comparison to what he has been going through for the past few months.
While the surgery would not CURE this problem, the next step is to start allergy treatments to prolong as long as possible the ability for the polyps to come back. The doctor said as long as we keep up with the sprays and allergy treatments, he hopes the next surgery won't be for another 15 years. 15 years is a lot longer than the 3 years this past surgery lasted.
Phil had this surgery in the Spring of 2005.
Phil's recovery this time was so much better. I think his pain tolerance has improved a whole lot with all that is going on. He was awake from 3pm until 8:30pm.
He is doing really really well. We are pleased with how the surgery turned out.
Tomorrow we go back to the doctor so they can remove the packing from his nose.
We are so thankful to all our family and friends and all the love and support we've gotten!
Facial swelling in the beginning of October
The polyps before when they were swollen
Phil was nervous this morning when he woke up. I would be nervous too if I was going into surgery. Especially such a big surgery, near the brain. Scary!
I was fine, until we started waiting. And waiting, and waiting. I started to get more anxious. I have always tried to be strong, and supportive. I felt like I kind of crumbled a little bit today!
Phil was nervous. We sat together. Waiting. We got to the hospital around 7:30am. Phil was called back by 7:50am. He changed. A couple of nurses and such came in. But for most of the waiting we were alone. Phil's mom came around 9:30am. The nurses and CNA's came in at 10am to do paper work, start the IV and get the prep started.
By 10:30 Phil's mom and I were shoved out to the waiting area and Phil was wheeled off to surgery.
I was nervous. I had planned to go shopping or do something to take my mind off the waiting. I decided to stick around. Phil's mom and I walked a little bit and she left. I walked. And walked, and walked and walked. I must have put a couple of miles on my shoes today! The hospital is a pretty big place! It has a restaurant/cafeteria, a boutique, a full on Starbucks, and a shop for scrubs. The hospital even has its own post office! It was crazy! I walked around, looked in some of the shops. Went back and waited. Then went to the restaurant and ordered some food. Just as the food came out, the front desk called me to tell me Phil was out of surgery and that the doctor would be out soon to talk with me.
So I hurried, packed my lunch up and went back to wait.
I was a little nervous. They said he was out of surgery but they didn't say how he was doing or if he was awake or ok.
I sat there, but I had a good feeling so I tried not to worry too much.
This is one of the waiting areas
The doctor came out, he was really positive! He said Phil did REALLY well. The doctor was impressed with how well Phil was recovering from surgery and that the pain from the surgery would pale in comparison to what he has been going through for the past few months.
While the surgery would not CURE this problem, the next step is to start allergy treatments to prolong as long as possible the ability for the polyps to come back. The doctor said as long as we keep up with the sprays and allergy treatments, he hopes the next surgery won't be for another 15 years. 15 years is a lot longer than the 3 years this past surgery lasted.
Phil had this surgery in the Spring of 2005.
Phil's recovery this time was so much better. I think his pain tolerance has improved a whole lot with all that is going on. He was awake from 3pm until 8:30pm.
He is doing really really well. We are pleased with how the surgery turned out.
Tomorrow we go back to the doctor so they can remove the packing from his nose.
We are so thankful to all our family and friends and all the love and support we've gotten!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Super Quick Update
I only have time for a quick update.
Phil mostly slept ALL weekend. I'm not kidding. ALL weekend. I got him out for an hour yesterday morning and shortly after he was back in bed and pretty much slept the entire day.
Today Phil woke up in great spirits! He was feeling adventurous and we decided to do a small trip. We drove up to Virginia City. Walked around. Phil finally agreed to let me take several pictures of him! YAY! We walked around, got candy and drove down through Carson City and back up to Reno where we stopped and ate lunch at the Firkin Wolf.
We had a great time while we were out. We returned around noon, and Phil hasn't moved since. :(
Tomorrow he goes in for pre-surgery blood work. Then in the afternoon he has a pain management appointment.
Wednesday is the said day for surgery.
I'll keep you all posted.
Phil mostly slept ALL weekend. I'm not kidding. ALL weekend. I got him out for an hour yesterday morning and shortly after he was back in bed and pretty much slept the entire day.
Today Phil woke up in great spirits! He was feeling adventurous and we decided to do a small trip. We drove up to Virginia City. Walked around. Phil finally agreed to let me take several pictures of him! YAY! We walked around, got candy and drove down through Carson City and back up to Reno where we stopped and ate lunch at the Firkin Wolf.
We had a great time while we were out. We returned around noon, and Phil hasn't moved since. :(
Tomorrow he goes in for pre-surgery blood work. Then in the afternoon he has a pain management appointment.
Wednesday is the said day for surgery.
I'll keep you all posted.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Updates about surgery
While I created this blog, mostly for myself as notes and progress for Phil's medical appointments. I also want to share this once in a while because I feel the need to keep family and friends in the loop. While we don't mean push everyone away, Phil doesn't want anyone to see him the way he is.
If everyone knows Phil, at least the Phil that I knew 2 years ago, he was a go getter. Always moving, always trying something new, moving what seemed like 24/7. While Phil liked video games he liked tinkering with things a whole lot more whether it was model airplanes, RC airplanes, RC cars, fixing anyone and everyone's computer, he was always doing something.
In the past two years. Phil has worn out our couch from sitting/sleeping on it so often! This is not the Phil I knew, but this is the Phil that I still love. :) He doesn't want people to see him when he is not well and not himself.
Yesterday we got a call from the Ear Nose and Throat Dr. They called and asked if we would come in to review the scans from last week. Phil got a little excited and thought that since the swelling in his nose went down they weren't able to find anything on the scans! We were both a little hopeful. Almost immediately after the appointment, Phil's nasal polyps went down. He could talk almost normal and for the first time in a year (or two) he could smell!!!
So this morning we went in for the appointment, we got there 45 minutes early. They took us right in!
The doctor came in, and said, "Wow, I don't know how you are breathing!"
Immediately you can guess that our hope for no surgery just went out the window.
We got to see pictures of Phil's head.
The doctor then began saying "All those white spots (big lines, like the outline of the skull) are supposed to be black. It looks like right now, there is no way for any air to get through at all."
Oh.
So not only will Phil be having surgery next week, they are going to do as much as they can through the nose but they will probably be cutting through the forehead and muscle to fix ALL the sinus cavity. While the polyps WILL come back. The doctor wants to work with Phil and get him some treatment plans with the allergist and everyday care for his nose (neti pot and nasal sprays) so that maybe the polyps won't come back for 10, 15 or 20 years. The doctors hope is that he will only have this surgery 2 more times. But this means more appointments to keep his nose healthy and allergy free.
And again, while we were excited not to have any doctors appointments this week, it looks like we had one anyways.
But we are still hopeful and we are glad the scans came back and that this time they are removing ALL of the polyps and this time there is a treatment plan to keep them from coming back as quickly.
Phil still won't allow pictures, so I can't post any pictures yet.
If everyone knows Phil, at least the Phil that I knew 2 years ago, he was a go getter. Always moving, always trying something new, moving what seemed like 24/7. While Phil liked video games he liked tinkering with things a whole lot more whether it was model airplanes, RC airplanes, RC cars, fixing anyone and everyone's computer, he was always doing something.
In the past two years. Phil has worn out our couch from sitting/sleeping on it so often! This is not the Phil I knew, but this is the Phil that I still love. :) He doesn't want people to see him when he is not well and not himself.
Yesterday we got a call from the Ear Nose and Throat Dr. They called and asked if we would come in to review the scans from last week. Phil got a little excited and thought that since the swelling in his nose went down they weren't able to find anything on the scans! We were both a little hopeful. Almost immediately after the appointment, Phil's nasal polyps went down. He could talk almost normal and for the first time in a year (or two) he could smell!!!
So this morning we went in for the appointment, we got there 45 minutes early. They took us right in!
The doctor came in, and said, "Wow, I don't know how you are breathing!"
Immediately you can guess that our hope for no surgery just went out the window.
We got to see pictures of Phil's head.
The doctor then began saying "All those white spots (big lines, like the outline of the skull) are supposed to be black. It looks like right now, there is no way for any air to get through at all."
Oh.
So not only will Phil be having surgery next week, they are going to do as much as they can through the nose but they will probably be cutting through the forehead and muscle to fix ALL the sinus cavity. While the polyps WILL come back. The doctor wants to work with Phil and get him some treatment plans with the allergist and everyday care for his nose (neti pot and nasal sprays) so that maybe the polyps won't come back for 10, 15 or 20 years. The doctors hope is that he will only have this surgery 2 more times. But this means more appointments to keep his nose healthy and allergy free.
And again, while we were excited not to have any doctors appointments this week, it looks like we had one anyways.
But we are still hopeful and we are glad the scans came back and that this time they are removing ALL of the polyps and this time there is a treatment plan to keep them from coming back as quickly.
Phil still won't allow pictures, so I can't post any pictures yet.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
October 23, 2011
Yesterday Phil woke up feeling "AMAZING" so we did the normal morning thing, showering and getting ready and such. The only really odd thing I can think of is that he was watching Ava while I was getting ready. He held her (all 22 lbs of Ava) for about 10 minutes and his muscles began to shake because his muscles are becoming fatigued. After we got ready, we drove around for a bit and ended up taking a trip to Target. We walked around for a bit, killing time. Then Phil started to sweat profusely, and then he turned white. He was super hot and then super cold. We rushed out of the store and into the car and headed home.
While he didn't let that drag him down, he puttered around the house, pushed through it and ended up playing with his RC cars for a bit.
Today was a "bad" day. He woke up in pain, with abdominal cramping, his legs are also getting fatigue (maybe from laying down so much?) and cramped. Actually the cramps in his legs are pretty bad I guess. Like Charley Horse's. We ended up rescheduling for my mom's birthday lunch (more of a remembrance lunch I guess), which ended up being a good thing because Phil is pretty sedentary today.
We did make it out of the house to go to Costco. While we were walking around, I noticed Phil's head bobbing around. I asked him why his head was shaking (like a twitch?) he said he didn't know what I was talking about. I observed him through out the store. The longer were were standing the worse the twitch/bobbing, got. As we were exiting the store, I noticed he was pale and white again.
When we got to the car, he was sweating profusely in addition to the head twitch.
We are taking it easy the rest of the day (which isn't hard because Ava takes her 3 hour nap in the afternoon).
Kind of concerning that there are new issues in addition to the old issues, and that the Clix Plexus doesn't really seem to be helping all that much at this point. Phil seems to think that it has dulled the pain, but he still gets cramps and pain in his abdomen.
PS
So the head bobbing may be a reaction to a sudden stop in medication (recommended by his doctor) or maybe an addition of medication added to his long list of medication. We are hoping in about three days it will stop.
I also want to mention. Most days we are hopeful. We try and keep our head above water. We try and think positive and enjoy the time that we spend together. We hang out most days. While the business is slow, mostly due to my not learning how to actually run the machine, and Phil being stuck either on the couch or in bed.
We make the most of our days. We enjoy each others company.
The purpose of these blogs are to help remind myself of the progress (or lack there of) in Phil's health, also to keep others updated periodically because we seem to be couped up in our own little world. When Phil feels better he wants to get out more and hang out with people again. But since he isn't feeling well, he keeps to himself.
I'll keep updating and once in a while posting the important updates on facebook. Thanks for following and thank you again so much for your prayers and concern. We appreciate it.
While he didn't let that drag him down, he puttered around the house, pushed through it and ended up playing with his RC cars for a bit.
Today was a "bad" day. He woke up in pain, with abdominal cramping, his legs are also getting fatigue (maybe from laying down so much?) and cramped. Actually the cramps in his legs are pretty bad I guess. Like Charley Horse's. We ended up rescheduling for my mom's birthday lunch (more of a remembrance lunch I guess), which ended up being a good thing because Phil is pretty sedentary today.
We did make it out of the house to go to Costco. While we were walking around, I noticed Phil's head bobbing around. I asked him why his head was shaking (like a twitch?) he said he didn't know what I was talking about. I observed him through out the store. The longer were were standing the worse the twitch/bobbing, got. As we were exiting the store, I noticed he was pale and white again.
When we got to the car, he was sweating profusely in addition to the head twitch.
We are taking it easy the rest of the day (which isn't hard because Ava takes her 3 hour nap in the afternoon).
Kind of concerning that there are new issues in addition to the old issues, and that the Clix Plexus doesn't really seem to be helping all that much at this point. Phil seems to think that it has dulled the pain, but he still gets cramps and pain in his abdomen.
PS
So the head bobbing may be a reaction to a sudden stop in medication (recommended by his doctor) or maybe an addition of medication added to his long list of medication. We are hoping in about three days it will stop.
I also want to mention. Most days we are hopeful. We try and keep our head above water. We try and think positive and enjoy the time that we spend together. We hang out most days. While the business is slow, mostly due to my not learning how to actually run the machine, and Phil being stuck either on the couch or in bed.
We make the most of our days. We enjoy each others company.
The purpose of these blogs are to help remind myself of the progress (or lack there of) in Phil's health, also to keep others updated periodically because we seem to be couped up in our own little world. When Phil feels better he wants to get out more and hang out with people again. But since he isn't feeling well, he keeps to himself.
I'll keep updating and once in a while posting the important updates on facebook. Thanks for following and thank you again so much for your prayers and concern. We appreciate it.
Friday, October 21, 2011
A new day
Yesterday I was so proud of Phil!
He got out of bed. He made it to his CAT scan appointment (to get pictures of the polyps in his nose/head so they can remove them on November 2)!
He also printed a few shirts and changed the print head on the machine.
Good job Phil!
He didn't sleep so well so he isn't doing super hot today but he spent some time with Ava this morning before she went to school. He and Ava had fun naming parts of the RC cars.... she's learning new words. And they worked on Phil-on-phonics. Phil is great at teaching her to say words correctly.
Today might be a slow day for Phil, but he seems to be doing a little better. YAY! Progress!
Next week might be the first week in almost a month that we don't have three appointments, actually I don't think he has any appointments next week.
He got out of bed. He made it to his CAT scan appointment (to get pictures of the polyps in his nose/head so they can remove them on November 2)!
He also printed a few shirts and changed the print head on the machine.
Good job Phil!
He didn't sleep so well so he isn't doing super hot today but he spent some time with Ava this morning before she went to school. He and Ava had fun naming parts of the RC cars.... she's learning new words. And they worked on Phil-on-phonics. Phil is great at teaching her to say words correctly.
Today might be a slow day for Phil, but he seems to be doing a little better. YAY! Progress!
Next week might be the first week in almost a month that we don't have three appointments, actually I don't think he has any appointments next week.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
The Pain is back
Phil had his Celiex Plexis last week on Thursday.
We attempted an outting Friday morning which was a major set back. Phil has been in bed pretty much since last Friday afternoon. We went out on Tuesday to cancel his GI Emptying test.
I don't completely understand whats going on.
I guess the pain is gone from the normal places but now he can feel his liver. I'm not sure, I don't normally feel parts in my body, but it must be pretty bad if he can feel specific areas that are hurting.
Tomorrow we go in the afternoon to get a CAT scan done for his nose surgery coming up on November 2 to remove all the polyps in his sinus cavities.
He started his antibiotic today. So I'm hoping in 10 days that some of the pain that still remains (even after the Celiex Plexis) is 60% gone!
At this point, I don't know if Phil will ever be off the medicine, but if they could tell us whats going on, that would be fantastic! :)
I still remain hopeful.
Phil remains asleep most of the day and night.....
We attempted an outting Friday morning which was a major set back. Phil has been in bed pretty much since last Friday afternoon. We went out on Tuesday to cancel his GI Emptying test.
I don't completely understand whats going on.
I guess the pain is gone from the normal places but now he can feel his liver. I'm not sure, I don't normally feel parts in my body, but it must be pretty bad if he can feel specific areas that are hurting.
Tomorrow we go in the afternoon to get a CAT scan done for his nose surgery coming up on November 2 to remove all the polyps in his sinus cavities.
He started his antibiotic today. So I'm hoping in 10 days that some of the pain that still remains (even after the Celiex Plexis) is 60% gone!
At this point, I don't know if Phil will ever be off the medicine, but if they could tell us whats going on, that would be fantastic! :)
I still remain hopeful.
Phil remains asleep most of the day and night.....
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)