Home...Sweet..Home!

Well WWOM made it home safe and sound..she sounds great! She is excited to be home and get a good nights sleep!

Where'd that apple fall...

NOT FAR..

I was trying to organize a cleaning frenzy for home evening at WWOM's house. Knowing full well if she came home and things were unorganized she would not rest.. Made a few calls and got to ALY. I asked if she wanted to come help and she said DONE. Perfect see you then.. Nope she meant DONE. She beats us all to it...


Yep ALY apple didn't fall far from that tree.. Karens daughter..

WE are all nervous about Mom coming home, We have done this way to many times this year to get her home and have things fall apart around us again. But we are excited too.

Tomorrow..Tommorrow...your only a day away!

So Dr. C came in and told mom she could go home whenever she felt comfortable going. She says she is feeling well enough and is going to go home tomorrow...I can't believe it!

One week down...

If anyone would have told us a week ago that today Mom would be doing so well, I don't think any of us would have believed it. It's been a joyful week, and never have I been more thankful for family and friends.

One week ago today as I stood beside WWOM in ICU, tears streaming down both of our faces she said "I can't go through this again"...I started to cry and told her "that she had to just for us."

She has done so much for all of us and I hated to ask her to do more, but I don't think any of us were ready to be without her yet. I know that in the past 6 months we have all grown closer as a family..those get together's seem more cherished than before. I know this holiday season, my heart will be over flowing with thanks for the woman who gave me life, the woman who taught me how to be a mom, the woman I am proud to call....my mother!

So long dear friend...Epidural!

Turns out the epidural wasn't working so they took it out today, this could be the reason why she was in more pain today. I guess having no pain medicine can do that to you. They have moved her room so she is now in 2226 which means she is making progress.

This Swine Isn't Fine!

WWOM called me this morning to see how we were doing...see how she is! We have been exposed to the swine flu we're not sick but we are staying away for 5 days just to make sure we don't have it. The last thing poor WWOM needs is to get sick! Not to mention Aly's little guy doesn't need it either..So I guess I'm up on my soapbox right now, we appreciate care & concern and visits are nice but if your sick or have been around someone who is sick...please phone don't stop by.



WWOM reports that she is feeling okay. Her right side today is pretty tender and she is not sure why. Since Dr. C is out until Monday she hasn't seen a doctor yet to discuss this. However she has been up, walked and showered and even had a little breakfast.

Zinc...Stinks!

WWOM is still continuing to make progress, Dr. C is out until Monday so there is nothing really new to report. The Zinc made her throw up this morning which stinks! Other than that we are pleased with her progress.

This is what her abdomen looks like now with the wound vac on.

Basically it's like vacuum packing some food..kind of a handy little contraption.

As Megan mentioned Monkey Butt is working and we are glad to have him back in the family. We have all become so found of him. While I was up visiting mom I helped her go to the bathroom. She said she never wanted to live long enough that someone had to help her wipe her butt...I told her that was fine, because all we had to do was empty a bag...for once I out witted her!



So for now there will no leaping of large buildings, no saving cats from tree's but WWOM continues to whoop some bad guy butt.

I saw MOM TODAY- and I never left the house :)

Almost one week ago today I was reviewing in my mind that last time I had talked to WWOM, What we talked about, the way she laughed, the way she takes breathes in between her words I sat wondering if I would hear any of this again and thinking I surely didn't treasure it as much as I should have. Tell her enough how amazing I think she is. I though about how I would see her hunched over the french fry machine, peeling like a seasoned chef, making french fries that she never even tastes, because "the kids like them". Standing on the back porch doing it because I hate the smell of it in my hair. Pleasing everyone putting herself very last on her neverending list. I was suddenly mad that the time I could be spending with her she was spending over a fryer, outside by herself instead of visiting with her while she did it. Even if I meant smelling like burger king when I left. I missed it. I missed all of the little things that I never thought would mean everything in the world to me. I made a mental note of the weather, the last song I heard from the harp player in the fower at the hospital, everything around me suddenly I wanted to remember every detail. JUST INCASE.

Today my cell rang and suprisingly it was her cell phone, Surely it wasn't MG calling to update me on the days progress because cell phones disagree with him. I answered as I pulled out of the hospital parking lot, and was immediatly asked "What did the doctor say". It was WWOM calling from a hospital bed, hooked up to coutless IV's, stomach being vaccumed together,
Calling about me.. My welfare, seeing how I was feeling.

SO TYPICAL.

SO KAREN,

SO she is back..

As a product of the Scholes genes we don't share our emotions much and maybe that is what we are meant to learn from all of this.

These simple moments… are gone in the blink of an eye…so do not waste them

I don't say it enough WE LOVE YOU WWOM...

Fantastic Friends, Family and those we care about come out of the wood work to support and love us while we are in times of need. We are blessed beyond words. The kindness showed to our family is amazing. Given our genetics we probably won't jump up and down and express our heart felt appreciation, we feel it though and we are learning.

MG called just now to give a progress report. Last night was a fairly good night. WWOM's white blood cell count is up alittle today and they are watching it. Potassium and Zinc were both low so they are replacing those.
She walked first thing this smorning and "Monkey Bum" has rejoined the family and is showing signs of waking up. SURE MISSED HIM....

Q&A for Aunt K

Good Morning All..Aunt K had a question that she would like answered. If any of you ever have a question feel free to ask. I forget that we have been through this and have learned a lot.

The question is "why the open wound?"

WWOM also has rheumotiod arthristis for this she takes Prednisone which is a steriod that helps with the inflammation. She has to take this because she is allergic to sulfur and most arthrisitis medicines are sulfur based. The Prednisone works well but one of the side effects is that it has made her skin thin and fragile.

This was a huge concern for the Doctor, and the first time he did sew her up. But after a week it came apart and she had to have a second surgery. So this go round he just left her open to avoid the mess we had the first time. We did ask about the possibilities of her stopping the Prednisone but at this point the damage has been done so she might as well keep the pain from the arthristis in check.

I hope this answered your question, if anyone ever has a question please let me know either by a comment on the blog or feel free to email me at chantillybender@msn.com

Let's pray for another good day!

Into the great wide open!!

I spent the day with WWOM and she is doing well. Prior to having the wound vac put on she let me snap a picture of her abdomen. This is not for the faint of heart....in fact I almost fainted and had to sit down! WWOM however let them put the wound vac on without a single complaint...she amazes me!



Just an idea of how many medications she has pumping through her...


Not the most ideal place to be but the view sure is nice...


Again we are so grateful of all the prayers that have been said on her behalf. We are truly blessed to have such great friends and family!

It is good--If a Vacuum Sucks

Yesterday WWOM was given the option to either have the wet/dry bandages or the wound vac. Yesterday she choose the wet dry option but today after talking with doctor decided to go with the wound vac. He thought it was a better option since she has a 5" open wound and the wound vac will be better at helping that to heal. Several pros made her choose it and she also did not want to mess with emptying the drain of the wet dry.
Mom also took alittle trip down memory lane and ate some cream of wheat. The TPN drip is still on because she obviously cannot eat the nutrients that she needs. Her zinc level was low and they will be replacing that today as it is important for healing.
She reports a good night or sleep which for a normal person might not be good but with WWOM it probably means she slept a few hours and doesn't want to complain. She used the epidural drip a few times during the night and was able to take a walk this around the Surgical loop with her gown flapping in the breeze. Enjoying the scenery.

Hello Room Number 2204.







Doc said the Kidneys are back to normal.. Yeah for Kidneys.

Coming off the high...

Tonight she seems to be in more pain that before..she says she didn't realize how high they were keeping her. She has had to use her epidural more today to keep her pain in control.

She got three walks in, and I must say she is really booking. Watch out Megan she just may challenge you to a marathon.

She is still on a clear liquid diet, it took her two hours to drink some broth. But in the past she learned the hard way what food can do when you aren't ready for it. Thank goodness for root beer Popsicles, they seem to be the only thing that really tastes good to her.

Stayed tuned for another adventerous day of WWOM!!

Where is Frank when you need him!!

It's Tuesday morning and WWOM had a good night! When me and MG arrived she had already walked this morning. Her goal is to get 4 walks in today!

MG and I spoke briefly with the anesthesiologist's nurse this morning. They are going to try and wean her off some of the pain medication. During surgery they put in an epidural which has been amazing. This helps keep her abdomen numb since she has an open wound, but also they are giving her IV pain meds. The side effect of these is that they slow down the bowels..and since her's aren't working anyway we need to try and avoid these as much as possible. She can keep the epidural for awhile so we are grateful for that.

Since we took Frank home WWOM has been without her beloved "Franklin" planner. She asked the nurse for a pen last night and made some notes on the bottom of her tissue box to ask the Doctor this morning. One of her concerns was if she had sepsis, according to the Dr. she probably has a lower grade form of sepsis but they are watching that closely.

Hopefully today will be another day of continous progress for WWOM!

Monday..October 19th

Chances are if you are here you already know the long drawn out saga of the angry bowel. We are hoping to keep this blog updated on a daily basis to try and keep all of those wish to stay informed..well informed.

Saturday morning WWOM (Wonder Woman Our Mom) returned to the McKay Dee emergency room. Three weeks prior she had surgery to fix a paracetamol hernia, the weeks following had been some what miserable! Before leaving for the hospital, WWOM made MG (Mr. Goodey) prepared the soup she said she would make for homemaking.

After several hours in the ER it was discovered that surgery was needed to correct an abscess in her abdomen/bowel and she was in the early stages of kidney failure. After a very lengthy operation we learned that the abscess in her bowel had ruptured and infection had spread into her abdomen. The news the Doctor gave us that night was grime. He said that the next 24 to 48 hours were critical and that she may not recover. Needless to say we all left the hospital that night devastated at what might be.

We returned to the ICU on Sunday morning expecting to find WWOM still on a ventilator and sedated...much to our surprise she was awake and talking. As the day went on she continued to improve.

As of today...Monday she has been moved from the ICU. In fact she walked from ICU to her new room...hence the name WWOM. She is still on several antibiotics but her white blood cell count is lower and her kidney's are improving.

She has a long road ahead of recovery but we are amazed at the progress she has made over the past two days. We truly appreciate everyones love, concern and prayers. Today we truly do believe in miracles. Please continue to keep WWOM in your thoughts and prayers.