Pericarditis

As a mother I am happy to post what is happening in my boys lives. But not too much about myself. This post is for my posterity. Over the last week I have felt that I needed to leave a record about what has happened. I hope that it might help them later on. So this is for them.

Last Tuesday, I ended up in the ER room after being sick for over a week. We flew down to Anaheim for Landon's Baseball Tournament on Saturday, March 31st. I started having flu like symptoms and trouble breathing on Monday by the time we got home Wednesday I was still feeling awful. I have been have trouble with the nodules on my Thyroid pressing on my esophagus and trouble swallowing. So I thought that I was just having more symptoms and so we decide to move up the surgery (which would have been today). And with that you have to go off all ibuprofen which I had been taking on and off for the body aches.

After taking Nathan to school and work I started having more chest pains and I couldn't take a deep breath and when I tried to lay down I couldn't stand the pain. I was freezing and aching. I finally called Jeff and talked to him. I just didn't want to go to the ER. I was leaning forward with my hands in my head which helped alleviate some of the pain and pressure in my chest. I was praying to the Lord to just give me the strength to make it till next Tuesday. Well some of us need a to be hit on the head with a bat I guess. I heard the still small voice in my head say, "go the hospital and now". I guess we need to listen and not pray for what we want.

We arrived at the ER about six. They took chest and neck x-rays and my Thyroid tests said the levels were still  normal. But, the chest x-ray showed a cloud around my heart. They ordered an echo on my heart and a CT scan to check for a pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lung) While the echo was being done he ER doc came in and asked if she could see any thing. She said, oh yes, she has about an inch of fluid between her heart and the lining of her heart. With that they knew what it was...Pericarditis. I have inflammation around the heart with a Pericadial effusion which is the fluid. They admitted me to the hospital around two in the morning.

I spent the next two days in the hospital while they put me on an anti-inflammatory and a Lasix to take off the fluid. Luckily no damage to my heart. I went to my internist yesterday and he said it would be about 2-3 weeks before I will be a 100%. I go to the Cardiologist on Friday and hopefully all the fluid will be gone so I don't have to have it drained off (that certainly doesn't sound fun). There are two kinds of Pericaditis, acute or chronic. Mine is acute caused by a virus I picked up probably on the plane. They will watch me real close for the next three months so that is does not go chronic.

I am not sure why we are given some of the trials and mountains we all have to climb. But, I do know that the Lord watches over us even when we think he has forgotten us. He knows better than we do what we need.  We just need to stop and listened to what he is trying to tell us. I am so grateful to my family and for everyone that has helped us over this last week. Our Bishop has been in for three and half years and has had 39  Funerals. I told him when he came to the hospital that I didn't like the number 40. So I will stay around and cause just a little more trouble.

Tender Mercies

Still pretty swollen...waiting to see the xrays

Today we went in for Nathan's post op appointment for his ankle. We have really been praying that his foot would be in the right position so that he would get a boot instead of a cast. That way he can work on getting his motion back and then in ten more weeks when he can finally put weight on his foot he would be that much further ahead.

Waiting for them to take out the stitches

Of course you never have to look far to see someone else worse off than you. While we were waiting to go back a guy went by in a wheelchair with a boot on each foot and his back in what I call a turtle shell. We found out that he had fallen at Momentum also and had broken both of his feet and his back. We keep reminding Nathan that it could have been so much worse and how grateful we are that it wasn't.

What will the Doc say after seeing the x-rays???

A very happy day for Nathan and us! He got the boot :) it never ceases to amaze me how the Lord has a hand in every thing. Although this has not been an easy thing for our family, I feel like the Lord has sent us tender mercies. When  trials come our way the Lord is always there to help us through it. I know we still have a long way to go to get him back on his feet (literally) but, I feel like we are truly watched over and blessed while we get through this. I am so grateful for every tender mercy he sends our way!

Sweethearts 2012

Landon, I hope I don't Strike out with asking you to Sweethearts. So here's my pitch...knock it out of the park to find my name

Landon and Toni

It has been a rough few days ...Poor Nate :(

It is just after midnight as Jeff and I sit in the waiting room. Nathan has been in surgery for over two hours now. We were sitting at Landon's first baseball game when Jeff got the call from his brother Justin. He had come down from Montana and Nathan had taken him to go rock climbing out to Momemtum. Nathan was bouldering when he fell 13 feet landing on the seam were the two mats meets breaking and dislocating his ankle. He was taken by ambulance to IMC. Jeff and Justin met them at the hospital. I stayed at the game until Landon finished pitching. Nathan didn't want me to see it until they had straighten it. But I got there right after they took X-rays. It was not a good sight and terribly hard to see your son that way. They did conscious sedation while they put it back in place. Even with the meds he was holding on to the bed rails. Luckily he doesn't remember any of that part.

You can see why he didn't want me to see this...

It definitely looks much better straight

While Jeff was on his way, Brad from his work called and he told Lori, who called her brother Drew who is an orthopedic surgeon for ankles. After seeing Nathan's X-rays he took over and called the ER doc and was on the phone with Jeff. They moved him to trauma so they could speed up getting his medical care. After post X-rays and a CT scan they splint his ankle and moved him to a room until the surgery. Drew made arrangements for an OR room.

Drew came in just before ten and explained everything again to us. He dislocated and broke his ankle on all three bones that stable your ankle. One clean break on the outside and 4 to 6 breaks on the inside. Not good. They went in to clean everything and if there is not too much swelling take care of everything...plates, screws, bone graphs etc. they just called and said that they had finished cleaning and that they were going to be able to move on and finish his surgery. It will be another hour and a half before he is done.

I will write later after he is out of surgery and we learn more. It sure isn't easy to watch your children go through these trials. I wish it was me and I could take all the pain away. If it was only as simple as when they were little and you just put a bandaid on it and kissed him better.

It is Wednesday night. It has been a long two days but, all has gone well. They finished up his surgery about 2:00 a.m. He has two metal plates on both sides of his ankle and 12 screws total. He will be in the hospital for two days for antibiotics, your ankle is high risk for infection...they won't take any chances. It will be two weeks before the cast it or put it in a boot.  No weight on it for 12 weeks. It is going to be a long haul but, it could have been so much worse. 

The new hardware in Nate's Ankle

Junior Prom

It all began with her answer...

Picking up his date Maddie Nielson

The Guys

The Group

 

Off to the Dance in style

The Rotunda at the State Capitol

Meeting Thurl Bailey

Nathan and his date Melissa couldn't resist getting their picture taken with Thurl Bailey at Landon's Baseball Banquet where he was the guest speaker!

Man's Best Friend!

Bridger turned 5 years old today!...He has brought so much fun and joy into our lives these last five years! Happy Birthday to a great dog...may we have many more years of his unconditional love.

Shoulder of a 25 year old!

When Landon was a baby I was carrying him in his car seat when I slipped and fell on our bridge.  I was so worried about dropping him that I fell on my left arm jamming my elbow up into my shoulder. Of course I was young back then and after a few weeks was back to normal.  Five years later my shoulder froze. I had a miracle cortisone shot and did physical therapy at home. And I have been good until last September I started having pain down my arm and in my back of my shoulder and neck. I tried everything that I had done before. The cortisone and physical therapy didn't work, to no avail.  I even tried acupuncture. When I went in for my followup, Dr Metcalf said that it was time. The calcification needed to be be cleaned out so the inflammation would calm down and I could get rid of the constant pain I having been experiencing for so long.

      Yesterday I went in and he scoped my shoulder. The calcium deposits had opened up two tendons and so every time I moved my arm it was pinching. That is why it was so inflamed. He cleaned it out and now they will close back up and I will be good as new in about six to eight weeks. He told Jeff though I had a shoulder of a 25 year old so nice and smooth. Here are some cool pictures of my shoulder surgery.

My 25 year old looking shoulder

The scope going in

All the Inflammation

All the Calcification

After he was finished

May your Mailbox be full of...Christmas Cards!

This year definitely went by faster than the last two…at least for me.  As I reflect back it has truly been an adventure for all of us…

Nathan finished up his mission in Sandakan, East Malaysia the end of July and we were able to meet him in Singapore and then travel to areas he served Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. It was an amazing experience for our family to meet with the people he taught and see how much they love our son.  It will be something our family will cherish forever. 

Since Nathan has returned home he has had surgery on his hand…which he broke 5 days before he finished his mission, started school again and is working for Cogent Health.  He will finish up his Associates Degree at SLCC next semester and then is planning on heading up to the U of U to complete his Bachelors. 

It is Landon’s senior year at Cottonwood and he is still deciding on where he will attend college next year.  With school, baseball, and seminary council he is always on the go. We went to Las Vegas to watch him pitch in the Bishop Gorman Tournament.  Baseball will take him to Nevada and California and we are looking forward to spring and watching him play his last year of high school baseball.

Jeff continues to work hard and makes it possible for us to enjoy life to its fullest.   His only request while in Malaysia was to drive to the Tip of Borneo it was a four hour drive from Kota Kinabalu on very rough roads but, well worth the view as you can see from our picture on our Christmas card.

As for me, I received the best birthday gift ever this year…the return of our son. Although it won’t last for too long, it is so good to be altogether again. It was a wonderful and full year.  Jeff and I are just trying to enjoy these precious years with our boys as they continue to grow up and before they leave home.

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree:  the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.  ~Burton Hillis

                       

Love,

                 Jeff, Joan, Nathan & Landon

              

Mr. Postman bring me some Cheer...

One of my favorite things about the holiday season is receiving Christmas Cards in the mail.  It is December 8th and we have only gotten one so far this year. I brought in the mail today...what a disappoint junk mail again and no Christmas Cards. It's one of those things that I love hearing from the people that you don't see every day and what has been going on in their lives. I hope we get some soon to brighten my holiday. Please...Mr. Postman fill up my mailbox!

Happy Thanksgiving...

We must have been tougher in my day!

Last Friday Landon got his wisdom teeth pulled.  When I got mine out you just went to your regular dentist and they just shot you with Novocaine and they took them out while you were awake. In other words you felt every thing...and I mean every thing! Now they just put you out and the next thing you know they're done.  Both of our boys were done like this...but, if you ask me...We must have been tougher back in our day.