No Procedure

SO........After our visit to the ER last night, we paid another visit to the hospital this morning in hopes that we would get the fluid from last night drained off. They did an ultrasound and found that there was really not enough fluid to warrant doing the procedure. So we are back home and the Hospice nurse is here now checking on Carrie and we are working with our social worker on getting established with a local oncologist. As of right now we don't expect to have an appointment with one today but hopefully we will on Monday or Tuesday. We will update the blog during the weekend to let everyone know how we are doing.

New Record

Another exciting night at the Chavers' house. After I got home from work Carrie said that she had some pain when she took some deep breaths. When she stood up the pain increased and didn't ease when she laid back down. I called the home health nurse and we were told to go the ER. We were only at the ER for two hours. :) After talking to the doctor we found out that the fluid in her abdomen and the swelling she has had is two separate issues. We are going first thing in the morning to have the fluid in her abdomen drained off. It will be an outpatient procedure and hopefully not take too long. As for the swelling, Carrie has a low chemical protein in her blood stream that is allowing the fluid in the blood stream to move into her tissues in her legs and hips causing the swelling. I will be working tomorrow morning to get Carrie established here in Auburn with a local oncologist and hopefully get an appointment to get an IV treatment of the chemical protein. Hopefully this will allow the fluid in the tissues to move back into her blood stream and then to kidneys and flushed out I will update the blog to let everyone know how the procedure went and what we find out about the local oncologist and what we are going to do about the swelling in her legs. Please continue to pray for us.

Jason & Carrie

Still Fighting

We just wanted to give everyone a quick update on how I've been doing over the last few days since Home Health started coming out to see me. I met Joey, who will be my primary nurse, Monday afternoon. He basically went over the notes from the on-call nurse I met over the weekend (Amanda) to make sure he was up to speed with everything and clarify any questions we may have.

I'm still having the leg swelling and we told him Amanda had told me to double my Lasix over the weekend and wrap my feet and legs to try and push the fluid upward. That seems to have helped relieve some of the swelling/water retention in my feet and lower legs, but now it feels like all that fluid has collected in my thighs and lower abdomen. But the Lasix doesn't seem to be flushing that fluid out. As of right now, Joey is supposed to be coordinating with Amamda to see if they want to increase my dosage of Lasix or leave it where it previously was.

Other than that, no NEW problems have come up. I'm still having trouble regaining any strength/energy and it seems like every day becomes a little more of a struggle. I'm having to rely on other people more to help me - I'm still getting around okay, I just sometimes need that extra assistance. Luckily, we've been blessed with great family that have graciously taken turns doing just that.

Part of the services provided as a new Alacare Home Health patient includes a meeting with a social worker and chaplain, and they are supposed to schedule a visit with me today (Wednesday), and Joey is scheduled to see me again tomorrow (Thursday). I'm hoping tomorrow Joey will have some insight or suggestion or SOMETHING we can do to get the swelling under control, but we will of course keep you updated on anything we find out. Until then, please continue to pray for us and our families (as I know you will) and we will keep you posted. We love you all!

Latest Update, New Developments...

A few things have changed since our latest update this past Thursday... As you know, these last few weeks have been somewhat difficult and I've had trouble regaining my strength and energy. We've been becoming concerned obviously, but it was getting to the point where we were worried about me having the ability to make dr appts in UAB physically and getting around in general. Earlier this week they increased my Morphine to 60mg every 8 hours, and Friday afternoon my pain dr called to see how that was working and also see how everything else was going. I told him the pain dosage was good, but then I expressed our other concerns-lack of energy, not being able to eat much because of the bloating sensation, the leg swelling, etc. He immediately became concerned because it sounded like I'd developed a lot more severe problems since I'd last seen him and he was worried about me having to wait until October 5 to see them to address these issues. (BTW: I had emailed my UAB oncologist Thursday evening about our concerns and was waiting to hear back from her). After talking to the pain doctor for 30 minutes, we came to the conclusion that we needed to address things sooner and here in Auburn instead of Bham if possible.

As a result of our conversation, we decided it would be a good idea to look into Home Health to assist me here at home, especially since right now I don't feel comfortable being home by myself and being so weak. He helped me get in contact with a home health company here in Auburn, called Alacare. They contacted me Friday afternoon and set up an appt for Friday evening. A nurse came out and talked to me and Jason about what they do and how they can help us. Basically, they will have a nurse come to our house twice a week (more often if we feel we need it) to check my vital signs, medications, or anything that would involve needing assistance with here at home. They would help with any problems regarding pain management, nutrition, appetite, sleep, etc. In addition, if something were to happen (I.e. falling or fever) and we didn't know whether to go to the doctor or ER, we would call them first and they will send someone out first to assess the situation and help first.

After talking to the nurse for a little over an hour, we felt it was definitely in our best interest to do Home Health, especially with the way the last few weeks have gone. They will come out to the house twice a week to check on me and see how things are going. Right now, the biggest focus is my leg swelling, which has progressively gotten worse. I was told to double my Lasix dosage for 2 days (Saturday and Sunday) and wrap my ankles and lower legs off and on to try and relieve the water I'm retaining. When the HH nurse comes this week, they'll reassess the swelling and see if the wrapping/lasix is helping and go from there.

Other than that, it looks like I'll always have someone here with me at home for now, not because I need around the clock care, but in case something were to happen or I need assistance. My parents and in-laws have all graciously worked out a schedule with us to help stay with me. We are also going to establish a local oncologist here in Auburn so I don't have to rely solely on the one at UAB if I can't make that trip. We are still keeping a positive outlook on everything and are blessed with every passing day! These past few weeks have definitely been the hardest and most trying thus far, but thanks to all of your prayers and support, we can feel the Lord lifting us up and getting us through! We will keep you updated over the next few days and expect the HH nurse to come Monday or Tuesday, so we'll let you know what we find out then. We love you all!

Recovering still...

Well, it has been a week since my fall, but thankfully my body is recovering from that incident pretty well. My knee is still blue and purple, and the swelling has stopped. I can put most of my weight on it so it's getting stronger. And my shoulder is healing too-it's still a little sore, but much better in general.

Other than that, I seem to be doing okay. I'm still having a lot of swelling in my feet, ankles, and legs but I'm pretty sure that's just water retention. I hadn't been taking my Lasix (water pill) like I should have been, primarily from fear of becoming dehydrated. But I started taking it again these last few days so hopefully that will help with that fullness in my legs. I'm still trying to regain my strength, which seems to be the biggest struggle right now. But I'm feeling a little stronger every day so hopefully I'll start feeling more like myself soon!

I am scheduled to check up with my oncologist in Bham on Wednesday October 5, as well as my pain doctor. Until then, I plan on resting & regaining my strength. Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers and we will of course keep you updated! We love you all!

Slowly gettin there

Since my slight mishap Thursday evening, nothing else has happened Praise the Lord! Jason stayed home Friday to take care of me and he did a terrific job!! The swelling on my right knee didn't progress too far-icing it helped tremendously. Its still 50 shades of purple and blue, but other than that it looks like it'll be okay :) My left shoulder actually looks like it got hit the worst. It has progressively gotten a little more bruising & is extremely sore, but nothing was broken, sprained, or even dislocated from what we can assess. I'm still very tired & weak, but I'm resting as much as I can and like I said, Jason has done a great job of taking care of me & making sure I don't have another slip.

We will call my dr in Bham Monday morning to inform her of what happened (I know, should've called last Friday), and we'll let you know what she has to say. But we did want to keep you updated & reassure y'all that I'm indeed recovering from last week thanks in large part to all your prayers & thoughts sent our way. God is good!!

Little incident last night...

We had a little bit of an incident last night (Thursday night), but it appears everything is A-OK. As you know, I've been very worn down and simply lacking energy all week and yesterday was no exception. But I managed to rest most of the day so I didn't overdo anything. Yesterday evening, however, it somehow got the best of me... Jason came home from work and was headed back out to meet with some co-workers for about an hour or so. I was home with the dogs and went to get off the couch, which wasn't a problem. I got up off the couch just fine, but my legs must have just gave out from under me because the next thing I know, I'd fallen and almost all my body weight landed on my right kneecap. The rest happened so fast, I really can't say what happened. I scrambled to get up off the floor but I was so weak and somewhat hysterical by this point I didn't have the strength. I somehow tried, but lost my footing again and this time when I tried to stand up I instead hit my left collar-bone/shoulder on the corner of our wall. By this time, I'm just trying to get to my phone to call Jason which is on the couch. By the grace of God I find the strength to get my phone and call him-luckily he was only 3 minutes or so away. By the time he gets home, I've managed to get off the floor and onto my feet. He helped me lay back on the couch and luckily nothing appeared/felt broken or out of socket. My right knee was already swollen and all shades of blue & my left shoulder was scraped pretty good and sore, but that appeared to be it. I finally calm down and realize I'll be okay.

So, this morning everything still seems okay, thank the Lord. I'm definitely banged up and will have several nasty bruises, but nothing else appears to have been injured. I still don't know exactly what happened last night, if I may have simply blacked out for a milli-second from being so weak or just lost my footing... it all happened so fast and it mainly just scared us. But as scary as it was, it could have been a lot worse. The Lord definitely had His hand over me last night. Jason will stay home with me today to help me out & we'll see how the weekend goes regarding if he'll stay home some of next week too. For now, please continue to pray for restored energy and that these injuries don't progress. We will update everyone this weekend on my "recovery". Until then, I will take it easy and do my best to stay on my own 2 feet. Thanks again for all your pray and support. We love you all!!

Better but still weak...

Since this last weekend, I've improved significantly. I haven't had a fever since Sunday morning and the pain has pretty much returned to its' normal level (normal for me at least). I still, however, can't seem to regain much energy and feel very worn out and tired. I've been resting and trying to (for lack of better words) do absolutely nothing, but nothing seems to help. I'm eating small portions throughout the day so I'm getting some nutrients. I have contacted my oncologist at UAB about this past weekend and how things have changed/progressed throughout the week-I'm just waiting to hear back from her to see if there's anything to be concerned about (hopefully not).

We just wanted to give a quick update about how I've been feeling this week. I know a lot of you have been praying for strength for me to regain some of the energy I've lost and I ask that you continue to pray for that strength to return. I will update you again if anything comes up or changes, but for now, thank you all for thinking of us yet again. We love you all!!

Back and Forth....

There seems to be a pretty steady pattern of good days and bad days, going back and forth over the past several weeks. Last week was a considerably good week, without too many bad days. The trip to UAB last Wednesday wasn't even as bad as I had anticipated - it made me tired, but that was about it! SO... after a seemingly good week, I decided to try and spend a few days with some old friends this past weekend, relax and do nothing but enjoy their company. And that's exactly what I did - absolutely nothing but lie around, talk, and enjoy their company! Unfortunately, Saturday afternoon I started experiencing some pain and discomfort that gradually progressed throughout the day. By Saturday evening, the pain had started to radiate around to my back, particularly my upper back. It started out as just a bloated, full type feeling (which is nothing new), but it had progressed to a level that was actually painful and no longer just a "discomfort". I took some additional Oxycodone, but that honestly didn't seem to give me any relief. I checked my temperature and I had a fever of 99.8. By this point, I decided to go to bed and hopefully wake up feeling better.

Sunday morning I woke up feeling about the same. The pain wasn't any worse, but it definitely had not gotten any better. I checked my temperature and this time ran a fever of 100.2 - 30 minutes later, I took it again and it was 100.8. I took some Extra Strength Tylenol and put a wet cloth on my head/neck and when I checked my temp again 30-45 minutes later, it had come down to 99.2. Needless to say, between the fever and the pain, I hadn't really eaten very much in the past 24 hours, nor drank much because it only added to the bloating/discomfort. Sunday night I was able to eat something small and drink a little more, hoping to prevent me from getting weaker and dehydrated. I didn't run a fever for the rest of the evening and went to bed last night feeling slightly better.

When I woke up this morning (Monday, September 12), I felt considerably better compared to the last couple of days. The pain in my upper back had significantly improved. I'm still experiencing some pain from the bloating/discomfort, but I was able to eat a little for breakfast, hoping that will give me some nutrients and strength. Overall, today has been an improvement over the last few days, but I'm still feeling very weak and in a fair amount of pain so I plan on relaxing and hopefully regaining strength and just feeling better overall.

I will keep you updated on how I'm feeling. We know many of you have continued to keep us in your prayers and for that, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We love you all and are so blessed to have you in our lives!!

Easy Check-up

I went to UAB today for a check-up with my oncologist, and as expected, it was a fairly quick and easy appointment. My blood work all looked good - white blood counts, platelets, etc were all in normal ranges. My kidney and liver functions were good also. The urologist I met with a few weeks ago (on that painful day...) did talk to her and they both agreed to wait to change the stint when problems started to arise and since everything is good as of right now, we've all agreed to monitor my lab work and kidney function before changing it. I did mention to her the experience I had with the urologist and she said she will probably not be referring any more of her patients to him in the future. There is actually a urology oncologist that is a great doctor that she will try and refer me to when they do change my stint. Out of curiosity, I asked what my Mitotane level was (they had drawn blood for it before they stopped this last treatment)and she said it was only 5.7, which is actually lower than it was the time before. So that shows that even by increasing the Mitotane dosage, it still wasn't reaching the therapeutic level. Other than that, everything checked out fine. I will plan on seeing her again in 4-5 weeks for another checkup, unless something comes up between now and then. Thanks again for all your prayers over the past several weeks!

Spoke too soon...

Looks like I spoke a little too soon in my last post. Early Tuesday afternoon, I started having slight pain in my lower pelvic area, which I've had before so this wasn't a new pain. It's usually pretty mild and subsides within a day so I figured it would be the same this time. Well, throughout the rest of the afternoon, the pain got gradually worse. Jason ran me up to Walgreens to pick up some prescriptions and by the time we returned home, the pain had gotten much worse, to the point where it was actually sharp, shooting pain. I couldn't get comfortable and even laying completely still, I still had pain. I checked my temperature and it was 99.7, which is high for me. By this point, it was about 9PM and I really didn't know what to do - but I really didn't want to go to the ER. The only thing I could think of was to page the urologist on call at UAB, thinking maybe the stent was causing the pain. The doctor called back pretty quick (a different urologist than my usual one) and I told him what was going on. He said based on the symptoms I told him, he didn't see any need for me to go to the ER. He said to obviously keep an eye on everything, but if I could wait until morning and then see if the pain had subsided or fever came down he didn't see any reason to go to the ER.

Wednesday morning (yesterday) I woke up feeling much better. My fever was gone and the pain was MUCH MUCH better. It was still there, but nothing like the night before. I layed around all day (which is actually not anything new for me) and took it easy. Throughout the day, the pain returned somewhat, but it was very mild. I did however have a fever yesterday evening of 99.2, but that came down within a short period. (I also had a fever of 99.2 a little while ago - I took some medicine and will check it again soon to see if it comes down). I'm not sure why I've been running a fever off and on, but I will probably call my doctor and see if it's something to really worry about.

I've been a little more tired than usual, but I think that's partly due to whatever is causing the fever. I'm resting and relying on Jason for a lot of things, but we will update everyone soon and let you know how I'm doing. Thank you all for all your prayers. We know God is in control and continue to place everything in His hands!