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!!