Update 1-13-13

Mom has been pretty much the same today. She has been on the cpap setting for the majority of the day. She's had a few more bouts of restlessness today, but that is pretty normal for cpap. Mom has been resting for the last several hours. Tomorrow they will attempt to extubate and we will see how it goes.  We don't really have any concept of how long she'll have after the extubation...could be hours, days, weeks. She's fooled us all before. What we do know is that Mom has asked not to be intubated again, even if her lungs can't handle it.  The last time they extubated, she did well for about 12-18 hours and then started having high heart rate and breathing issues...but she's had more antibiotics at this point and we just don't know.  We will just trust in God's plan even if we don't understand it. Please keep all of us in your prayers tomorrow.

Update 1-11-13

Today's recap: whew, what a day. I don't really know how my eyes are still open. This is what we know: overnight Mom's heart rate went way to high and we are fortunate that the medications available to her got the rate down, but that also means she had to get the tube in again. She was fairly stable today, but she has another pneumonia. Dr. Cripe spoke with us all tonight (including mom) and said we'd wait and see how much of this infection she can fight and if she can tolerate being extubated again. If they take out the tube and she cannot tolerate it, mom does not want it back in again. We will cross that bridge when we get there. In the meantime we are praying that this infection leaves her body and that her lungs and heart stay as strong as her spunk and spirit. She's trying to keep her sense of humor and faith in her arsenal, and so we will too. Lord please hear all of our prayers and the prayers of all who know you!

Update 1-10-13

After a couple of tense days of electrolyte imbalance, it looks like Mom's numbers are stabilizing. James was at the hospital this morning when the doctor decided to extubate. Mom got the breathing tube out this morning and she's done great today. She can talk pretty well and says her throat doesn't hurt when she talks. She is a little confused (common for anyone who has been intubated) and starts to say some things that don't make sense, but comes back pretty quick. She is very adamant that she wants to come home and asks just about everyone that comes in to either take her home (if they're family) or "what are we waiting on" (if they're staff). They'll continue to monitor in the ICU for a little bit and then they'll transfer her to a step down unit. Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support. Thank God for her extubation and stability!!

Update 1-7-13

For those of you that haven't been caught up yet, just a quick update: Mom got admitted to IU hospital on 1-5-13 for the flu and double lung pneumonia. In true Mary fashion, it has not been as simple as that. Her breathing was really labored and her heart rate was high so we transferred to progressive care that night and started on the bipap machine--that sort of forces air into the lungs and has a very uncomfortable face mask. She didn't stay there long before moving to the ICU and when they saw the discomfort of the machine and that she still needed much support, they decided to intubate her. She has the breathing tube now and is being watched closely, but is very alert for someone with a tube. She sleeps a lot, but will interact with staff when they come into the room (and of course let us know when she needs something)! Today they switched the settings on the vent to "cpap", settings, which basically means she's doing the breathing work on her own with just a little back up help. They're also stopping the blood pressure medication to see if she can hold those stable. If the breathing and blood pressures stabilize, that will lead to getting the tube out! They placed a feeding tube today to make sure she's getting the nutritional support she needs, but we all know she really just wants a diet coke:)
We will try our best to keep this blog updated because I know everyone does not have Facebook, but I do make frequent updates to the Facebook page "Prayers for Mary". Thank you to everyone for your support and prayers!!

Mary's TV Debut

Mary was asked by Dr. Cripe to help with a Channel 13 News Story on Monday, October 22.  Here is the clip from Channel 13.  They asked a LOT more questions and took a LOT more video than what is shown, but we are so proud of Mom's courage to get in front of the cameras!! Enjoy!!

Windford's Update 9/24/12

I found out this information about a week ago, but wanted to fill in my mother and my children first and I have been quite busy since. The cancer drug they had me on to slow it down to see if I could get a chance for a transplant in Chicago unfortunately  is not working and my Tumor Marker has went up tremendously. They have taken me off the drug. The transplant surgeon and my oncologist have conferred and agree that there is no drug or surgery I can survive. The oncologist will regulate my medicines to make me as comfortable as possible. My feet and legs are swelling very bad since my liver is not functioning properly. I am going to another doctor on 9/25/12 to get a liver reduction diet to help with the swelling. The transplant surgeon said God only knows how long I have for sure, but he thinks maybe I can make Christmas and possibly New Years, but the rest of 2013 will be very rough.

Remember the times we laughed and smile for me.

Windford

What's next?

As you know, we've been dealing with Mom's latest relapse. We met with the oncologist today to find out what options exist. Mom is very clear that she doesn't want to spend a bunch of time being sick and in the hospital if it's not going to be good for her quality of life. Knowing that, Dr. Cripe has offered a 7 day infusion (outpatient) that may keep the leukemia at bay for awhile. He said if she tolerates that ok then she'll possibly do another week in 4-6 weeks.
If at any point she doesn't tolerate it well, then they will stop. Either way, she will continue to need blood and platelets. This will help her have energy and feel better. If the leukemia continues to progress and the infusion doesn't seem to be helping then treatment will be done to make sure the symptoms are controlled, but it won't be cured.
She is staying strong and is confident in trying Dr. Cripe's plan. Please just continue to pray for strength, wisdom, and courage.
Much love to all of you!!