Next

Next surgery will be August 21st. I have to be there on August 20th for pre op.

Downside....It's back to school week! I will miss seeing all those first day of school outfits! Take pictures!!

Upside.....Maybe it will all be done by September...dare I hope!

Details...The procedure could end up being diagnostic depending on what they find. I questioned if scar tissue is even repairable...seems to me it will just keep growing back. She said they could lazer it, put in a stint for healing and be done or, if it's a large area, another surgery will be scheduled and they will cut out the bad area and reconnect the good areas to rebuild my ureter.

I also wanted to know how long I will have to be there. She is calling back with that answer. Mike is nearly out of vacation time now. He is going in to ask about Family Medical Leave.

Granddaughterisms...Grace told me yesterday that emptying the catheter reminds her of peeing like a boy. Madison was the first one up this morning so she was checking my amounts. She said "Grandma, this thing is so cool. Won't you be sad when you have to take it out?"

Grandson moments...Andrew saw me cry yesterday after the Clinic phone call. He became my protector the rest of the evening constantly checking on me and touching my hands. He finally went up to bed but anytime I coughed or made a sound he was back down those stairs asking if I was okay. I honestly don't know how he even heard me!

Lest I forget my many blessings....I am surrounded by them!

Their eyes see things for what they are! It IS really cool to be able to stand up and empty my catheter like a boy and it is pretty cool to not have to go to the bathroom all the time! And it's comforting to know that someone is always watching over me...like a precious grandson

I had a fun morning yesterday! Matt is extending the width of the driveway and installing a basketball hoop! Yesterday the cement truck came! It was a lot of work and so interesting!

It's been a wonderful week here...such a busy and happy place! Thank you Matt, Val, Andrew, Madison & Grace.

Love to everyone...
Leslie

One more surgery...maybe 2

The Clinic just called.

My stint will stay in 2-3 more weeks.

My problems seem to be coming from the original surgery. Scar tissue blocking my ureter.

I will have surgery in 2-3 weeks to find out where the blockage is and how big it is. If it is do-able....they will fix it during that surgery. If not, another surgery will be scheduled.

I am waiting on another call from Dr. Desai who is a urologist specialist and will be doing my surgery. He will give me dates and schedules and I will pass them along to you.

Oh, I almost forgot....I can have my catheter removed by my family doctor anytime. I will call tomorrow! Okay, nevermind.....Cleveland just called back, I have to keep it in another week.

It's been a good day...
love you all, Leslie

Coshocton r & r

I'm resting and relaxing with Matt, Val and the grandchildren. I feel like royalty! Everyone fussing over me....it's wonderful!

Faithfully drinking my 3 liters of water so by evening I feel like a blimp and very uncomfortable. It's so nice to be empty in the mornings! (then I start all over...) I'm not complaining...it was the deal to get me home from the hospital on Sunday.

I've adjusted to the catheter after a bit of a panic attack when they first told me I had to wear it home. The girls are so cute...always checking it to see if it needs emptied. This morning Grace said "Grandma, you know I don't care if you have the catheter. You know we love you anyway." (gulping back a tear)

I still find myself panicking at every little pain. I won't lie, it was a rough 4 days at the clinic....not just for me but also for Mike, Mom & Val.

The days were getting very dark and even when I got good news I wasn't excited anymore because the odds were that something bad would follow.

Then a van full of angels arrived....a real gift from God. Matt & the girls came. Andrew had soccer practice (thank you to the friends who kept him during the weekend....I can't remember who it was but I hated that he was home while we were all in Cleveland...he was greatly missed)

So, in came my little red headed angels and the room changed and the world became brighter! (along with my mood)

They stayed the night at the Guesthouse and checked in with me in the morning. Everything pointed to me going home so I insisted Val leave with them. They were going to Akron/ Canton to do some school shopping on the way home. Several hours later something went wrong and they wouldn't release me. The next thing I knew Matt & Val decided to come back with the girls. (the girls told me that mommy was crying so daddy brought them back)

Typing it all in words just can't really express what that meant to me and maybe even more for Mike. He still tells me how Grace came running up the front of the hotel wearing her new little pink camo hat and jumped into his arms. He cried the first time he told me and now it makes me want to cry telling you. They made all the bad things go away just by their presence.

Thank you to everyone for the notes, cards, blog comments and especially for your love and prayers. I never thought I would still be struggling this far out from surgery.

*Hey G...I just hung up the phone from our "therapy" session! Thanks for the call.

To my Mike, you are still my hero...even heroes have to cry.

To my Mom....thank you for the hugs and for your endless love. I know this was not an easy trip for you. It broke my heart seeing you in that chair for hour upon hour. And thanks to my Dad for staying strong at home not knowing this trip would be a bit longer than one night.

To my Daughter...you light up my life and make the bad things so much easier. I will never forget the night you stayed until nearly 2am because you knew they were coming for blood and my veins were blowing. Your gentle touches on my face and hands were so calming and I know it was so hard when I cried. I am so proud to be your mom.

Chad, I know it is hard for you being so far away and having to keep up by phone. You were missed! I know if we needed you that you would be here as quick as the next flight out. Stay strong and we will see you soon.

Suzy, I'm thinking about you and that baby daughter you will deliver soon. You will be blessed. You will love her and cherish her and teach her and one day she may have to care for you....and she will, because she will have learned how from you. Give her a love touch from me. I can't wait to meet her next month!

I have so many to thank. So many have written encouraging messages and notes in their cards & emails....they always arrive just when I need them most. You know who you are.....I love you all!

Today is Grace's birthday. She is 6. She got up this morning and decided to change her middle name from Kathryn to Abigail. So we are letting her do that for today. Kids just make everything better.....it's going to be a great day!

Happy Birthday, Grace "Abigail"!

Hugs for everyone!
Leslie

Home for Now....

I knew some of you would be checking in to see what was going on, and I am sure Mom will put on a post when she is ready.....but we are home against the advice of the doctors.

They tried to keep Mom "again" overnight and it was just heart breaking news for all of us. It was so frustrating to be there this time, I don't know if it was b/c it was a weekend or what. We made many promises to them if they let us go home, so if we need to run to z-ville and get labs done for kidney function, we will, she has to drink like 2 liters of water a day. She needed a break, even if for a day. They couldn't even get an iv into her veins anymore, they would blow as soon as they hit the vein. We got home late afternoon yesterday. We are in touch with Dr. Novic's office and I think we go back there next week. She has the stint for a month, 6 weeks without lifting more than 10 pounds and the biggest bummer is she has a catheter for 2 weeks. Although Madison and Grace think it is pretty cool!

Okay, I have to get dinner in the crockpot.......have to keep my patient fed well this week! Hugs to everyone!

Still here....

Mom did not get discharged today, and we had made it to Canton and when we heard the news, so we (Matt, Madison, Grace and I) turned around and headed back. Dad and Gma were obviously still here. I am not going to go into great detail tonight, but her levels dropped, but then stayed the same and they aren't back to "normal" yet. Improved, but they don't want her to go home and have to come back. She did get thrown for a bit of a loop today when she found out she would be coming home with some tubes and such on her for 2 more weeks. I will let her explain all this in more detail when she is back home and blogging! :) So, her road to recovery will definately have to be extended a little. We are still cheering her on and reminding her of all the blessings we have in our lives and most importantly that she is cancer free......this stuff is all fixable!

3rd Time's a Charm.....right?!

Mom went into surgery last night to get her 3rd stint around 9pm and was out of recovery at 1:30am. They did find that it was urine leaking and put in another approx. 11 inch stint. To make a long story short--it is a complication from the orginal surgery and it did not heal properly due to the misplacement of the 1st stint and then who knows what from the 2nd stint.

Thankfully, she is not in any pain with this one and all her levels are returning to normal and her kidney is "back in business". We are keeping our fingers crossed for a discharge this evening. This one will be in for approx. a month, she will check back in with the doctors and they will decide from that point if she will need a perminent stint.

Madison and Grace got to come and visit Grandma this morning and they loved seeing her as much as she did them. Matt and I will be heading out with the girls and Gma Hood and Dad will be staying until Mom is discharged. Mom will be finally checking into the "Miller house hotel" this week, I have waited 6 weeks for custody of her! We can't wait to help take care of her!

Thanks for all the prayers and continued support......

Friday....

So, 5 different doctors have been in before 7:30 am.....so , she at least looks pretty important around here. It wa a long night and Dad and Mom did not get any sleep.

So, we are booked for another night's stay here. They are continuing to try and figure out what they need to do. They have discussed another stint (YUCK, they hurt), they have also still talked about either putting a needle in to drain the fluid or physically putting a drain tube in (YUCK, that means we have to come back) or just observing her kidney and seeing if extra fluids will flush it out and get it working properly. Time will tell, and Dad and I just said, we would rather them do what "needs" to be done versus guessing. Option A,B or C all lead us to stay here tonight. It is Friday, and everything is crazy, busy here, so they would not be able to schedule any procedures until late today or tomorrow.

I am going to go home today and bring some extra support back here tonight.....grandchildren! I think it will do the trick to get her and Dad through 24 more hours of this place!

Thanks for the comment Roxanne, it is nice to know someone is out there reading this! :) I wasn't sure if anyone checks this anymore, but I just sit here and ramble on and it makes me feel better anyway!

See you all soon.