Hi,
Jeff continued with his nausea most of the day and into tonight. The doctors feel that it is due to the anesthetic, as well as from motion and his balance. He did manage to sit up tonight and even ate a cracker. He is still hooked up to an IV for fluids but has been trying to sip small amounts of water and juice through a straw. We are hoping that he will feel better in the morning and that the nausea has subsided some. I do have to give kudos to Ann for being a great nurse to Jeff, I'm sure you all know how well I do with puke. ;)
The doctor also removed his Knoll's swimming cap (A.K.A. his bandage.) I am happy to report that they did NOT shave his entire head so we won't have to stare at Jeff's bald head all summer (I saw pictures from when he shaved his head in high school, and believe me, it was not a pretty sight!) They did shave a square patch in the back of his head where the incision is. The incision is probably close to 4 inches long... ouch.
We are hoping to receive the MRI and pathology reports tomorrow, so please keep Jeff in your prayers until then. Thanks for all of the wonderful notes you have left, Jeff has had fun listening to me read them.
Until tomorrow,
Kim :)
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Out of ICU!
Hi everyone,
Jeff moved from the intensive care unit and up to 9th floor (they actually just wheeled his bed right onto the elevator and up to the next level!) He is still feeling quite queasy, but his head doesn't seem to be bothering him as much (go figure!) He hasn't eaten anything yet, and really hasn't even had much to drink, so he is still on an IV. To put it bluntly, he pretty much feels like crap.
Ann and I have spent the entire day up here with him. We have tried to get up and move around as much as possible, but the space in the room is pretty limited (and I don't want to get too far away from his room, because I'm afraid I will never find my way back!)
Jeff hasn't been out of bed at all, in fact, he hasn't even been in a sitting position yet. Unfortunately, the nurse just informed us that she has "orders" to get him up and moving... I think I may have to go out and get "lost" in the hospital during that time~ he told Ann and I to leave last night because we were whispering, I can't imagine what he is going to tell the poor nurse when she makes him get out of bed to walk around! ;)
Write more later!
Kim
Jeff moved from the intensive care unit and up to 9th floor (they actually just wheeled his bed right onto the elevator and up to the next level!) He is still feeling quite queasy, but his head doesn't seem to be bothering him as much (go figure!) He hasn't eaten anything yet, and really hasn't even had much to drink, so he is still on an IV. To put it bluntly, he pretty much feels like crap.
Ann and I have spent the entire day up here with him. We have tried to get up and move around as much as possible, but the space in the room is pretty limited (and I don't want to get too far away from his room, because I'm afraid I will never find my way back!)
Jeff hasn't been out of bed at all, in fact, he hasn't even been in a sitting position yet. Unfortunately, the nurse just informed us that she has "orders" to get him up and moving... I think I may have to go out and get "lost" in the hospital during that time~ he told Ann and I to leave last night because we were whispering, I can't imagine what he is going to tell the poor nurse when she makes him get out of bed to walk around! ;)
Write more later!
Kim
...a little nauseated
Good morning,
Jeff is definitely feeling the side effects of the anesthesia today. He has been pretty nauseated most of the morning and is getting tired of feeling sick to his stomach. On a good note, he isn't having as much pain from the incision, and isn't requiring as much pain medicine as he was last night.
Doctor Link, the neurosurgeon, was in this morning around 8:00. He had Jeff do some tests to make sure that everything is functioning alright, and he passed with flying colors (he probably performed some of the tests better than I could have, and I haven't had brain surgery!) They are hoping to move Jeff to a regular room sometime today, as long as they are able get the nausea under control. They hope to have Jeff up and moving around some tomorrow, but want him to get as much rest as possible today.
Jeff will have the MRI done tomorrow to make sure that they were able to get all of the tumor, although Dr. Link seemed to feel confident that they did. We should also get the results of the pathology report tomorrow, as well.
It is SO quiet in this room. I'm not used to it being SO quiet.... hint, hint, 6th grade students! ;)
I hope that everyone is enjoying the nice rain back in Nebraska and that the sun comes out tomorrow. I'll post an update later today after the patient wakes up and I have more to tell!
Love you!
Kim
Jeff is definitely feeling the side effects of the anesthesia today. He has been pretty nauseated most of the morning and is getting tired of feeling sick to his stomach. On a good note, he isn't having as much pain from the incision, and isn't requiring as much pain medicine as he was last night.
Doctor Link, the neurosurgeon, was in this morning around 8:00. He had Jeff do some tests to make sure that everything is functioning alright, and he passed with flying colors (he probably performed some of the tests better than I could have, and I haven't had brain surgery!) They are hoping to move Jeff to a regular room sometime today, as long as they are able get the nausea under control. They hope to have Jeff up and moving around some tomorrow, but want him to get as much rest as possible today.
Jeff will have the MRI done tomorrow to make sure that they were able to get all of the tumor, although Dr. Link seemed to feel confident that they did. We should also get the results of the pathology report tomorrow, as well.
It is SO quiet in this room. I'm not used to it being SO quiet.... hint, hint, 6th grade students! ;)
I hope that everyone is enjoying the nice rain back in Nebraska and that the sun comes out tomorrow. I'll post an update later today after the patient wakes up and I have more to tell!
Love you!
Kim
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
He asked us to leave! :)
Hello,
Well I think the patient is slowly returning to normal... as Ann and I were WHISPERING (and I do mean whispering) in his room tonight, Jeff opened his eyes, squinted at us and said, "leave... I can hear you whispering, you need to leave so I can sleep." Nice huh? :) I told Maddie and Cole that his bandages kind of make him look like he is on the Knoll's swim team and is wearing a swim cap!
Jeff is staying in intensive care tonight and could be moved to a regular room as soon as tomorrow afternoon. We did have to tell the patient that it is OK to take the pain meds and that he doesn't have to be a tough guy. When we left, they were giving him another dosage of morphine. Hopefully it will help him sleep through the night.
Ann and I are blessed to be staying in the beautiful home of two of the nicest people I have ever met! Frank and Sherine Cockerill, Ann's brother and sister-in-law, have opened their home and hearts to us. Frank and Sherine are both doctors at Mayo and live only blocks away from St. Mary's, the hospital Jeff is staying in. They have been so wonderful to all of us. I can't thank them enough for their kindness and hospitatlity.
Jeff''s doctor will be checking on him tomorrow morning at 8:00, so Ann and I plan on being back at the hospital bright and early. I'll write more after we get an update from him.
Love you all!
Kim
Well I think the patient is slowly returning to normal... as Ann and I were WHISPERING (and I do mean whispering) in his room tonight, Jeff opened his eyes, squinted at us and said, "leave... I can hear you whispering, you need to leave so I can sleep." Nice huh? :) I told Maddie and Cole that his bandages kind of make him look like he is on the Knoll's swim team and is wearing a swim cap!
Jeff is staying in intensive care tonight and could be moved to a regular room as soon as tomorrow afternoon. We did have to tell the patient that it is OK to take the pain meds and that he doesn't have to be a tough guy. When we left, they were giving him another dosage of morphine. Hopefully it will help him sleep through the night.
Ann and I are blessed to be staying in the beautiful home of two of the nicest people I have ever met! Frank and Sherine Cockerill, Ann's brother and sister-in-law, have opened their home and hearts to us. Frank and Sherine are both doctors at Mayo and live only blocks away from St. Mary's, the hospital Jeff is staying in. They have been so wonderful to all of us. I can't thank them enough for their kindness and hospitatlity.
Jeff''s doctor will be checking on him tomorrow morning at 8:00, so Ann and I plan on being back at the hospital bright and early. I'll write more after we get an update from him.
Love you all!
Kim
He's out of surgery!
Newest Update...
Jeff is out of surgery and in recovery! Ann and I just met with the surgeon and he said the surgery went great. The surgeon felt that he was able to get the entire tumor, but will do an MRI tomorrow to make sure. The tumor was attached to the Cerebellum but wasn't as close to the brain stem as they had once feared. We should have the pathology report tomorrow or Wednesday.
The doctor said that Jeff was awake and had moved his arms and legs. He also said that he was nauseated and had quite a headache (imagine that!) We are waiting to see him so I will write more later after we get to his room...
Kim :)
Jeff is out of surgery and in recovery! Ann and I just met with the surgeon and he said the surgery went great. The surgeon felt that he was able to get the entire tumor, but will do an MRI tomorrow to make sure. The tumor was attached to the Cerebellum but wasn't as close to the brain stem as they had once feared. We should have the pathology report tomorrow or Wednesday.
The doctor said that Jeff was awake and had moved his arms and legs. He also said that he was nauseated and had quite a headache (imagine that!) We are waiting to see him so I will write more later after we get to his room...
Kim :)
They are starting to close...
Hello,
The nurse just came into the waiting room to tell us that they are beginning to "close." We both breathed a big sigh of relief. It's nice sitting here with Ann, the nurse, because she keeps me filled in on all of the medical lingo! She feels like we are through the hard part.
Right now they are taking a graft from his thigh to cover the exposed area of the brain before they close it back up completely (sounds like a lot of fun, huh... ugh.) Funny story... This morning, Jeff was worried about where they would be able to find skin that wasn't covered with hair! He was afraid hair would start growing on his brain and out of his ears! LOL! Anyway, this procedure should take about an hour, and then he will be in the recovery room for up to two hours. I don't think that we can see him during this time.
Ann has busied herself with texts and solitare, and I have been grading Theme Tests (yes, my dear 6th graders, I didn't forget about them!) :)
Keep those prayers coming... I think they are working!
Love you all!
Kim
The nurse just came into the waiting room to tell us that they are beginning to "close." We both breathed a big sigh of relief. It's nice sitting here with Ann, the nurse, because she keeps me filled in on all of the medical lingo! She feels like we are through the hard part.
Right now they are taking a graft from his thigh to cover the exposed area of the brain before they close it back up completely (sounds like a lot of fun, huh... ugh.) Funny story... This morning, Jeff was worried about where they would be able to find skin that wasn't covered with hair! He was afraid hair would start growing on his brain and out of his ears! LOL! Anyway, this procedure should take about an hour, and then he will be in the recovery room for up to two hours. I don't think that we can see him during this time.
Ann has busied herself with texts and solitare, and I have been grading Theme Tests (yes, my dear 6th graders, I didn't forget about them!) :)
Keep those prayers coming... I think they are working!
Love you all!
Kim
...still waiting
Hi Everyone,
The most recent update from the nurse is that Jeff is now, "under the microscope." We assume that this means that they have actually started to remove the tumor. The nurse said that Jeff is stable and doing great!
They moved the two of us to a new waiting room in the neurology area of the hospital. It should be good for my diet plan since I will NEVER be able to find the cafeteria now! This hospital is ridiculously huge- I've never seen anything quite like it!
We should get another update in a few hours. Thanks for the continued thoughts and prayers!
Love you all!
Kim
The most recent update from the nurse is that Jeff is now, "under the microscope." We assume that this means that they have actually started to remove the tumor. The nurse said that Jeff is stable and doing great!
They moved the two of us to a new waiting room in the neurology area of the hospital. It should be good for my diet plan since I will NEVER be able to find the cafeteria now! This hospital is ridiculously huge- I've never seen anything quite like it!
We should get another update in a few hours. Thanks for the continued thoughts and prayers!
Love you all!
Kim
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