Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Is It Bedtime, Yet?

Well, Lucas came home yesterday. His surgery went well. He is up on crutches now, but is laying low. We are all so thankful that he and his friend are both alright. Lucas is definitely milking this injury for all it's worth. Everyone jumps at his every request and will usually do it before he even asks. He's in Heaven...

Speaking of Heaven, Mom spoke with grandma today. Grandma told her to be prepared... :C She goes in for surgery on Friday to get a new fistula for dialysis. She's been told she will need dialysis more frequently now as well as more blood transfusions. Chemotherapy was started this last Friday. Grandma has no appetite anymore and is feeling sick. Please, say a little prayer for no suffering. And if this is the end, we all know that Jesus is waiting for her with open arms. There is no person more deserving of soaring through the sky on her way towards Heaven's gates in the embrace of an angel at the end of her journey to meet our Heavenly Father. She has been so strong for so long and has not once lost her faith. She is my inspiration. <3

I have been exhausted for the last few days. Coughing non-stop, joint pain that wakes me up at night, no appetite, feeling like a whale is sitting on my lungs and chest pains. The small dose of steroids Dr. Williams put me on for my joint pain and inflammation has done nothing for the pain and nothing for the inflammation, but has launched my blood sugars into the 400-600 range. My insulin regimen has been increased by 50%, but is still hardly bringing my glucose down. Just gotta keep on going, I guess....

Friday, November 2, 2012

When it rains, it pours...

Sorry, it's been so long since my last post. Things have been crazy. So much is happening and I don't know where to start....

Gramma has been given a not so good prognosis. She's got CHF, Renal Failure, Neoplasm of the Bladder, and the cancer has spread to her bones. As of right now I don't know how this will turn out, but I don't think it will be very well. We had a surprise for her a few Saturdays ago. Sort of a mini family reunion type thing. She loved it! It was wonderful to see her beautiful smile all afternoon.  Please, say a prayer for her as she begins Chemotherapy today.

Overall, the morale of the Zitzloff household is pretty low...  Everyone seems to be stressed about one thing or another. We're all just trying to keep on tuggin' along, but since money is tight at the moment everyone is on edge about how the winter will pan out. 

My brother, Lucas, was in a car accident last night with one of his friends. He ended up with a broken Femur and will be going into surgery shortly to get a rod placed to help the bone heal. His friend, the driver, from what I've been told, is alright. He has no memory of the accident or of his day prior to the crash, but is at home. His car was totaled, but everyone is thankful both boys are ok and neither will have any permanent injuries. 

I had a day full of doctors' appointments yesterday. PFTs and weight dropped slightly, but he wasn't too concerned. However, he did start me on Prednisone for joint pain which he think is caused from inflammation. (My inflammatory markers were pretty elevated.) On a positive note, my endocrinologist  gave me the approval to start driving again!!! :D YAY! 

I was also chosen for "Student of the Quarter" at school for last quarter! This did come as a bit of a surprise for me because I did miss quite a lot of class last quarter being in the hospital. I was nominated by several instructors because of my perseverance and hard work in the classroom as well as consistently keeping on top of all my school work and keeping in touch with those involved.   

I will do my best to keep you all updated more often! <3