Long Journey

Monday 5/7 - 2:30 am I kissed my two girls good bye, and holding back tears, turned and walked out of the hospital room, starting my long journey home.  I knew my trip to Fairfield Glade was nothing compared to the long road to recovery Courtney still faced.  It was a quick taxi ride to the airport, so I had over an hour to kill.  I sat by a power source, ate breakfast, and tried to blog.




While traveling I got news that Dr. S. had just talked with Britney.  He saw the CT scan and said the fluid (pancreatic I believe) was organizing and the wall was being built around this fluid collection, which is good.  He said this would make it easier and safer to drain.  But there is fluid in the abdomen, (peritonitis) that he felt needed to be drained.  They also saw that both the feeding and NG tube were still correctly placed.  

My flights and connections went without delay, Joe picked me up in Knoxville and I was home by 3 pm.  I couldn't believe how green everything had gotten since I left eight days earlier.

Joe had tried hard to keep things clean and the animals cared for, but it was not up to my standards, so I cleaned, unpacked, and started laundry.

A few weeks ago, Patty took this photo of Maggie sleeping with her eyes partly open and her tongue hanging out.

It was how I was currently feeling.

Late in the day they took Courtney down to IR (Interventional Radiology) and drew nearly a liter of fluid from her abdomen.  Mike was told she did well.  It was nowhere near the stress of the last time when they collected a fluid sample from her necrotic pancreatic fluid.  The abdominal fluid sample would be cultured and tested to see if there was an infection and to determine if it was regular bodily fluid or was pancreatic fluid.

Joe and I watched both taped Survivor shows while I had popcorn and a beer for dinner.  I was dead tired and ended up nodding off occasionally so had to have Joe rewind a few times.  Early to bed.

Tuesday 5/8 - I got a note from Britney at 5:30am (4:30 Salt Lake City time) that Courtney had had a really good night.  She slept soundly from 12:00-4:00 with hardly any talking, woke up and asked for Zofran and Tylenol, got up to go to the bathroom and then went back to sleep.







Monita had been bugging me to get up and then wanted to snuggle much of the morning.  I finished up the last two loads of laundry and worked at blogging.





I also took two morning naps.  I just couldn't get the fog to clear, even though I slept well the night before.  I needed to get back to my regular schedule.

My iris are blooming! 

I spent a few hours out in the yard weeding and picking up all the little debris left behind by the roofers.  I also watered all the new transplants and flowers.

I went to the barn to check on and ride Amiga.  I took a (video) of Zorro coming in, to share it with Courtney.  Amiga was already in eating so I chatted with Judy, who said this time Amiga seemed a little off on her front leg, not her back leg.

I helped Judy and Karen clean up more of the debris that has been piled (for quite some time) in the gelding pasture.  Nothing like a tractor ride (video) and working with friends out on the farm to help forget about your worries.

This is the load of boards we collected.



Once we dumped the load onto the fire, I went to check on Amiga.  I brushed her and then got on bareback to ride her and see how she felt.  She was definitely lame on the front right leg.  Upon careful examination, all we saw was some swelling at the fetlock.  Karen let me barrow her Bute cream that I massaged into the leg.

Earlier, Chester had hopped up into the tractor to be with Judy.

It was a quite evening at home while staying in touch with Courtney's caregivers, Mike and Britney.  Today's update - It was a quiet day.  Courtney slept most of the time while her body continued to fight to recover and try to heal.  Results back on the fluid draw done the day before confirmed that the fluid is pancreatic.  There may be an issue with the pancreatic duct leaking into the abdomen which would need to be dealt with.  The team of doctors were considering a few options and a pancreatic surgeon was brought on to consult with to help determine what the next steps should be.  The fluid collection is causing some secondary pain in Courtney's ribs in addition to causing issues with her upper GI.  So they do want to try to relieve that pressure.

Wednesday 5/9 - It had been decided to solve the fluid build up by putting in an external drain from Courtney's abdomen to allow for that fluid to go somewhere and take the pressure off of her insides which would hopefully get her GI going and allow her to take on more food from the feeding tube once they start that back up.


During the day, Jan and Judy had gotten Zorro all pretty in pink to send Courtney get-well wishes.  How sweet they are and cute Zorro is.





He even got a pink heart on his chest to tell Courtney he loves her.



I had work meetings and computer training from 9:30 - 12:30.  I napped after lunch, puttered around the house, took Maggie on an hour walk, re-potted and tried to revive some house plants that did not do too well in my absence, and chatted with Britney and Mike.

Jan and Judy sent all these photos and this (video) of Zorro getting cleaned up after his photo debut.



The evening update from Mike - Courtney now has a drain in her lower left abdomen to drain pancreatic fluids that have been leaking into her abdominal cavity.  The leaking was putting pressure on her upper GI and causing issues.  The hope is that the drain will alleviate the pressure and allow for feeding tube operations and to get her off of the TPN feed.  The big takeaway right now seems to be that they are trying something and seeing how she responds, which will inform future treatment.  The pancreatic surgeon joined the team to consult but hopefully will not have to perform anything anytime soon.  The goal is a stent from the pancreas to the stomach around the 18th of this month.  Thank you to everyone who has given to and shared the GoFundMe.  It will really help Courtney and Mike out.  It had hit over 5K in 24 hours.  Amazing and so awesome that so many care for Courtney and Mike and are so generous.

Thursday 5/10 - was a day in Nashville.  We packed up the dog, picked up Patty, dropped Maggie off at the kennel, and drove to Murfreesboro, south east of Nashville.  We arrived at the house that Dan is in the process of purchasing.  Soon he and Val and then the relator arrived.  

We toured the inside of this large and lovely three bedroom home that is only five years old and sits on a quiet cul-de-sac.

Lunch at O'Charley's was more food than I could eat.  Then we went to see where the new Wayfair Warehouse where Daniel will be working is located. 

The afternoon was spent at Cortney and Mike's where Dan and Val were staying for the week while house hunting.  It was rest, digest, and cat time.

Then we started on cleaning, with Val and Patty doing the majority of the work inside and Dan, Joe, and I working outside.  If given a choice, I'd always rather be in the yard than cleaning house.

Dan mowed, and I weeded flower beds.  I trimmed trees and bushes with his and Val's help.  Joe joined us after a nap and we all did some raking and sweeping of leaves.

The day was quite hot and we all got a little sweaty.









Patty and I had smelled gas off and on, so she called the gas company.




A little later when talking to the neighbor, I asked him about the front gas light.  He said usually it burns 24/7 but had been off the past four or five nights.

When the gas guy came, he knew just what to do, and replaced the mantles, in no time (or charge) at all.  I was glad to have that resolved.

After a short rest and getting cleaned up, we headed to Hot Pot for dinner.

We were too chicken to try the hot pot dinner, but Val had some steamed shrimp that I thought was quite the effort to consume.

We got the daily up-date: A second drain was put into Courtney's abdomen as the fluid has begun to form walls resulting in separated fluid masses.  She is hanging in there with all of this going on.  We hope to see some pressure relieved.  She is tentatively scheduled for a stent to be inserted from the pancreatic pseudo-cyst to her stomach to allow that to drain.  With any luck, she will keep to that schedule.  They don't want to drain that prematurely as that will cause other issues.  The waiting game continues, as nurses and doctors adjust treatment to Courtney's needs.

Patty, Joe and I hit the road after dinner.  It wasn't that long of a journey, but we got home after bedtime.

Friday 5/11 - I had these pretty visitors on the deck who worked their way over to the bird feeders.

I worked at the pool 10:00 - 1:00 getting it ready to open in a few days.  Meanwhile, Joe drove Patty (in her car) to the Knoxville airport.  Our SUV is still in the shop, making transportation for us difficult.

The cats joined me on the dining porch while I ate my late lunch.  I was too tired to be productive, so rested awhile.

I went to the barn to check on Amiga who now appeared lame on the front left, not the front right.  Both her hooves seemed fine and there was no apparent heat and very little swelling, if any in her legs.

I gave her a spoon (scoop) full of sugar (sweet feed) to help the medicine (Bute) go down.  Then with Jan's help, we cooled both Amiga's legs using cold water for 20 minutes.

The short update for today - The tentative date to put in the stent (from the pseudo-cyst in Courtney's pancreas to her stomach) is May 18th.  She has two drains from her abdomen still taking fluid out at a pretty slow, but steady rate.  Some nausea increase today but it is being managed.  She is on track so far to continue the best treatment path.  We are still in the waiting game while her body continues to fight.

Joe and I watched both taped Survivor shows to end the day.

Saturday 5/12 - Patty had arrived at the hospital late and stayed the night with Britney to help care for Courtney.  Courtney had had a good night with hardly any talking, and no vomiting.

I was at the barn by 7:30 to give Amiga a Bute and set her up in the pony pen for the day so she could hopefully rest her legs and be watched a little closer.





I had more tea when I got home and spent my time as usual, on my computer, trying to blog while also keeping in touch with Britney, Patty, and Mike who were with Courtney.







After a noon nap, I eventually made my way outside to work in the yard.  I continued cleaning roofing debris and dead leaves up from around the foundation and all the landscaping around the house.  I planted a few more flowers but then had to hit the road.





I went to Patty's and watered all her flowers.  Look how pretty the rhododendron is in her back yard.

My last stop was the barn to check on Amiga.  She showed much improvement but I gave her another Bute and 'iced' her legs with cold water another 20 minutes.





Joe was at poker so I had a quiet evening at home with dinner on the back porch with these three.  I had a nice little walk with Maggie, but my evening didn't last long because I couldn't stay awake.  I went to bed before 8 pm.




I know how desperately Courtney wants to get home.  "The journey is long but the goal is in each step" - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar