I was pleasantly surprised to hear Myra sounding like her old self today on the phone today! She is in wonderful spirits and feels "great". She said her thinking is so much more clear today.
Her blood cultures and biopsy results have not come back yet. Not sure what the holdup is, but as Myra always said "don't get sick on the weekend or a holiday".
The doctor removed the drain hose from her mastectomy. Its healing nicely but there is a bit of drainage yet. 4 weeks is too long for the drain hose because its a way in for bacteria. Said she didn't feel a thing when they removed it.
She is going to start receiving Healing Touch. There is a medical term for eastern medicine practice, but its most commonly known as Healing Touch. She has received this in the past and had great results with it.
Healing Touch improves circulation and helps reduce pain points. This is touch-free and is done with hand movement over the body. It opens Shakras and moves them in the right direction, allowing negative energy to exit the body in the right way. They play nice music and talk in a soft voice while conducting this.
The first time Myra had this healing touch she was a little skeptical- wondering when the Dateline cameras were going to come out from behind the curtain but she had such positive results that she's ready for more! Both St. Johns & Bethesda have rooms dedicated to this service.
Her blood pressure and heart rate are at acceptable levels and her dialysis went very well today. She started receiving iron during dialysis and will continue to do so until they feel she's back normal iron levels.
She's looking forward to some chicken pot pie for her New Years Eve dinner and is considering a party dress and some dancing but will most likely be sleeping hours before the new year arrives :)
Have a wonderful New Years Eve!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 30, 2007
12/30 the weekend & a comment tip
Myra spent the weekend recovering from the battery of tests she had on Friday. Her specialists decided to just keep her at St. John's through the weekend and until the polyp results come back (hopefully Monday). Providing they check out ok, she'll be on her way back to Bethesda (where she really enjoys the food).
They also discovered she's low on iron, so they are going to give her some of that when she goes for dialysis on Monday. But....her blood pressure and heart rate are at normal levels- so this is good news!
She seems to be in much better spirits over the weekend than she had been a few days ago. Karen- it must have been your words of encouragement to her :)
Thanks for all the comments you've been posting on the blog- she's so excited that you are checking out her blog and thinking of her!
A tip for posting a comment: If you have problems posting comments to the blog and want to get messages to Myra, please feel free to email at theratcliffs@charter.net
I am more than happy to help post your comments if they get emailed to me, but in order for your comment to post directly to the blog, don't click on the box where the big red arrow points to in this example.
They also discovered she's low on iron, so they are going to give her some of that when she goes for dialysis on Monday. But....her blood pressure and heart rate are at normal levels- so this is good news!
She seems to be in much better spirits over the weekend than she had been a few days ago. Karen- it must have been your words of encouragement to her :)
Thanks for all the comments you've been posting on the blog- she's so excited that you are checking out her blog and thinking of her!
A tip for posting a comment: If you have problems posting comments to the blog and want to get messages to Myra, please feel free to email at theratcliffs@charter.net
I am more than happy to help post your comments if they get emailed to me, but in order for your comment to post directly to the blog, don't click on the box where the big red arrow points to in this example.
Friday, December 28, 2007
12/28 4 weeks ago today....
Today Myra has been in the hospital for 4 weeks. As if she hasn't been having enough fun, they performed a colonoscopy and endoscope on Myra to find out where the internal bleeding is coming from.
(when I posted the other day about her getting 2 blood units it was because they discovered internal bleeding)
The doctors removed some polups which is routine but found ulcers in the rectum as well as an ulcer in the location of a surgery she had earlier this year.
The preliminary answer from the doctors is they will treat the ulcers with antacids and give her more red blood as she needs it.
On a positive note, her blood pressure and heart rate are stable. If these continue to be stabilized through the weekend, she will probably go back to Bethesda before the weekend is up.
She is really tired today and will most likely sleep the rest of the day.
P.S. Please email me at theratcliffs@charter.net if you want to leave a comment to Myra but can't figure out how to do it.
(when I posted the other day about her getting 2 blood units it was because they discovered internal bleeding)
The doctors removed some polups which is routine but found ulcers in the rectum as well as an ulcer in the location of a surgery she had earlier this year.
The preliminary answer from the doctors is they will treat the ulcers with antacids and give her more red blood as she needs it.
On a positive note, her blood pressure and heart rate are stable. If these continue to be stabilized through the weekend, she will probably go back to Bethesda before the weekend is up.
She is really tired today and will most likely sleep the rest of the day.
P.S. Please email me at theratcliffs@charter.net if you want to leave a comment to Myra but can't figure out how to do it.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
12/26
Myra's spirit was a bit blah today. This is a bit of a change for her- she's been able to stay so positive, upbeat and humorous the last 3 weeks of this roller coaster.
Myra had dialysis today and it went well. They did discover that her hemoglobin has dropped a bit since Christmas Eve. It was at 8.2 and they prefer it to be at 9, so she received 2 units of blood cells.
We're always happy to have a positive dialysis because its during dialysis that she encounters the extremely low blood pressures and that is when things become 'hairy' for her.
Myra had dialysis today and it went well. They did discover that her hemoglobin has dropped a bit since Christmas Eve. It was at 8.2 and they prefer it to be at 9, so she received 2 units of blood cells.
We're always happy to have a positive dialysis because its during dialysis that she encounters the extremely low blood pressures and that is when things become 'hairy' for her.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
12/25 Christmas Day
Myra was pretty tired today and slept most of Christmas away but did enjoy a visit from Matt & the kids.
They moved Myra to a new room that has an overhead lift. This makes it easier for her to get out of bed because it can do some of the work for her.
They moved Myra to a new room that has an overhead lift. This makes it easier for her to get out of bed because it can do some of the work for her.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
12/23 The weekend
To bring you up to speed on Myra's ....she was transferred to Bethesda in St. Paul on Thursday, December 20th.
A selling point for Bethesda is that she is able to take her dialysis laying down, which is important for Myra's condition. She tends to pass out when she is in a sitting position so this is a blessing for them to be able to do this laying down!
Bethesda also has a tilt table that they may try out on Myra during dialysis which will tilt her at different degrees, re-training her veins to constrict at the appropriate times. The goal is to strengthen her veins and the long term goal is to get her to stop passing out.
Saturday
Myra was able to get out of bed today and spent a couple of hours sitting in a chair. She said it felt great to "up and about" and never so happy to sit in a wheel chair.
However, her heart rate was high (130's) for most of the day. Bethesda is in constant contact with all of her specialists at St. John's and when her kidney specialist caught wind of the heart rate, he had her transferred back to St. John's in Maplewood, as Bethesda just isn't equipped to deal with this type of situation.
Sunday
Myra had a pretty crummy day today . She tired quickly after sitting up in the chair for breakfast and taking a few steps in her room. She ended up passing out again today. Sometimes when she passes out, it really takes a lot out of her, and it did today so she's spent most of the day recovering from that.
Her cardiologist and kidney specialist paid her a visit today and said that what she's been through in the last 3 weeks have been a sin and they are going to conduct further research for treatment options. So for now, she will remain at St. John's in the telemetry unit. When she becomes more stable, she will be moved back to Bethesda.
She has dialysis tomorrow and will need her strength for that.
A selling point for Bethesda is that she is able to take her dialysis laying down, which is important for Myra's condition. She tends to pass out when she is in a sitting position so this is a blessing for them to be able to do this laying down!
Bethesda also has a tilt table that they may try out on Myra during dialysis which will tilt her at different degrees, re-training her veins to constrict at the appropriate times. The goal is to strengthen her veins and the long term goal is to get her to stop passing out.
Saturday
Myra was able to get out of bed today and spent a couple of hours sitting in a chair. She said it felt great to "up and about" and never so happy to sit in a wheel chair.
However, her heart rate was high (130's) for most of the day. Bethesda is in constant contact with all of her specialists at St. John's and when her kidney specialist caught wind of the heart rate, he had her transferred back to St. John's in Maplewood, as Bethesda just isn't equipped to deal with this type of situation.
Sunday
Myra had a pretty crummy day today . She tired quickly after sitting up in the chair for breakfast and taking a few steps in her room. She ended up passing out again today. Sometimes when she passes out, it really takes a lot out of her, and it did today so she's spent most of the day recovering from that.
Her cardiologist and kidney specialist paid her a visit today and said that what she's been through in the last 3 weeks have been a sin and they are going to conduct further research for treatment options. So for now, she will remain at St. John's in the telemetry unit. When she becomes more stable, she will be moved back to Bethesda.
She has dialysis tomorrow and will need her strength for that.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
12/22 The Latest....
We'd like to use this blog as a way to keep you all informed about Myra's health. Each day seems to bring us something new and this seems to be the easiest way to keep you all up-to-date.
Curt & Myra so appreciate all your prayers, visits, phone calls and cards.
Please feel free to continue to call Curt to say hi and check in. He really appreciates hearing from you!
We also encourage you to leave comments on this blog for Myra- she is pretty excited to part of the blogging world and we will read all of your messages to her!
Curt & Myra Ratcliff
Matt, Tessa, Karissa & Derek Ratcliff
Dusty & Kelly Ratcliff
Curt & Myra so appreciate all your prayers, visits, phone calls and cards.
Please feel free to continue to call Curt to say hi and check in. He really appreciates hearing from you!
We also encourage you to leave comments on this blog for Myra- she is pretty excited to part of the blogging world and we will read all of your messages to her!
Curt & Myra Ratcliff
Matt, Tessa, Karissa & Derek Ratcliff
Dusty & Kelly Ratcliff
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