UPDATE....

I have received emails from some of you folks and I want to apologize for not keeping this updated. The following email was a draft that I thought was published.



Things were going fairly well for Myra at our house up until a week ago Friday, August 8th when we got a call from Dialysis. It was 5:30pm and they generally call to confirm a time for dialysis which was to happen the next morning.... but this call was a little different. They called to tell us to bring Myra to the hospital ASAP and that this couldn't wait until 10am the following morning.

During dialysis, they test for certain levels in the bloodstream. They discovered that Myra's INR levels (blood's ability to clot) were over 10 and normal is considered 2 or 3 for somebody who is on coumadin , such as Myra.

Myra was in complete shock. She's felt 'normal' and didn't see this one coming and quite frankly, wasn't too happy about a hospital visit.

Fast forward a couple of hours after we got to the ER. The doctor was very concerned about these levels. When they are this out of whack, a stroke or internal bleeding is almost inevitable. By this time (about 2 hours after leaving our house) she had the start of a headache and her neck was a little stiff. The doctor didn't much care for these symptoms and insisted on 2 bags of frozen plasma, which quickly drops the INR level. Followed up with a few shots of Vitamin K, which also aids in the drop.

Fast forward to Saturday when a team of doctors came in to analyze, poke and prod Myra. By this time, we've filled them in on all the surgeries and health problems she's had in the last 8 years, concentrating on the past year. This was very concerning to them and they decided to keep her through the weekend to give this situation proper attention.

The doctor who would become the primary physician started looking at things with a fresh set of eyes, and absolutely no knowledge of her history, other than what we had told the medical staff.
This was a bit refreshing to us because it never hurts to get a fresh, unbiased opinion of what might be causing some problems she's been having- mainly passing out from the blood pressure problem that has persisted ever since leaving ICU at St. John's 8 months ago.

After talking with the doctor over the weekend, he agreed that Myra's health situation is "too complex to be dealt with at home".

It turns out that this whole INR issue may have been a blessing. She needs a lot of physical therapy in order to regain the strength she had before the strokes. Because she left Bethesda and didn't transfer to a nursing home, there is no going back once you get home and decide you're not strong enough to be home.

This hospital visit in Mankato allowed us to get Myra placed in a nursing home for 100 days and it is all, 100% covered by insurance!!!! To us, this feels like a blessing because if she's going to remain at home, she needs to get stronger.

Another great thing that came out of this is a doctor in Mankato found something that he was able to change in Myra's medication and this has helped Myra make some great strides in the right direction.

After a week of me practically beating up the social worker to get what we needed for Myra, we found placement for her at a nursing home in Forest Lake. This is close to home so she can be near Curt and dialysis is available in the same town, which is greatly convenient.


Myra is doing great at dialysis and loves the therapy she is getting. As you know, Myra's attitude is everything and she is looking forward to all the therapy.

***************


Update from the New Year:

Myra is still at the nursing home in Forest Lake because she is experiencing some undiagnosed pain. She moved on from vicodin to steroids because of the pain.

She took a break from the therapy because of the pain but she's back at therapy and working on getting stronger.

She spent the last couple of months in and out of the hospital with a new team of doctors who are trying to figure out what they can do for Myra.

We were all able to spend Christmas together with Curt & Myra at the nursing home. We had a great lunch provided by the home and watched the kids open their presents.

And Curt is doing great too since his surgery. He has so much more energy and is back at work. When he's not at work, he's spending time with Myra at the nursing home.

I get emails and phone calls from some of you and pass them along to Myra as I get them. If you want to email me to get her phone number, she loves to know people are thinking about her!

adjusting

Myra has her new, voice-activated cell phone all ready to go. If you'd like to give her a call and visit with her sometime, email me at theratcliffs@charter.net and I will give you her cell number.

Today will be a test, she has dialysis. It's been really taking a lot out of her lately so we might have a bit of a challenge to get her up the few stairs to our house when they get back.

Curt is healing nicely and is still with Matt & Tess. Resting lots and slowly gaining his appetite back.

all settled

We have both Curt & Myra situated in their temporary homes.

Curt is sleeping in Derek's superman bed and he's getting lots of rest there. He's up and moving around but is very weak and tired yet.

Curt and Matt brought Myra down to meet Dusty and I in Eagan today. We made the transfer just fine and we have just finished introducing Myra to the surroundings in her new bedroom.

We have two stairs that Myra has to climb to get in our house. She was a little stressed about those but handled them like a trooper! She's getting acclimated with her new surroundings and is enjoying a cup of coffee and the Twins game. Not sure if the Twins game is on for her or Dusty.

improvement

Today is the first day that Curt feels pretty decent. Doctors removed all tubes, including his oxygen.

He said the last two days were pretty awful and he was wondering if he'd ever feel human again. So he was pretty excited to have less chest pain today.

He was busy with therapy this morning and he has another session this afternoon.

As of today, it looks like he might be going home on Sunday. When he leaves the hospital, Curt will be staying with Matt & Tess until he's strong enough to go home. This way he'll have help with his recovery and meals and that sort of thing. Curt has discussed with his doctors the situation with needing to care for Myra when he gets home and that is just physically not an option.

Sooo.......Myra will be coming to stay with Dusty and I in Mankato. We've got her new room almost all ready. We were able to arrange for dialysis in a neighboring town (well, it's actually 45 minutes away but beggars can't be choosers).

She'll have a room on our main floor with a bathroom and of course the kitchen is there as well. Dusty works nights (for the time being) and I work during the day so it will work out pretty good. I have some flexibility at work which allows me to work from home or take time as I need to help Myra, so that is a relief.

This just seems like the best solution. Right now, they are paying out of pocket for nursing home care and then she has to take a cab to dialysis. We're not comfortable with relying on strangers to care for her.

You are more than welcome to visit Myra if you want to make a trip to Mankato, or to call her here on our phone. We love to have visitors! The same goes for Curt while he's with Matt & Tess.

Email me at theratcliffs@charter.net for contact information.

Until later....

Surgery went great

Curt had a successful double bypass. They did one on both the left and the right side of the heart. The surgeon did it that way so that both sides of the heart is operating. They were even able to bypass the part that was defected from birth.

The surgery took about 3 1/2 hours and he was back up in his room early afternoon.

I actually spoke with Curt this morning. He pretty much sounds like himself, but he wasn't quite up to joke telling. He said he was up quite a bit last night but is fairly comfortable. He's completely coherent. And, hugging the heck out of his heart pillow.

His nurse said that he is doing very well. He was removed from the ventilator yesterday and is still on oxygen, but his levels are great and normal. The oxygen is simply a formality right now.

They had him sitting up last night and he dangled is legs over the side of the bed. Today they will actually get him up and walking a few steps.

Curt thinks he'll be moved out of ICU today and into telemetry but the nurse wasn't quite so sure that would happen today. Guess it never hurts to have positive thinking, does it?

I'll be in touch soon....

Curt's turn

Well, I bring news about Curt this time.

Curt will be having double, possibly triple bypass surgery on Monday morning at St. Joseph's hospital in St. Paul.

Here's the condensed history with a disclaimer that I am describing what is happening the best I can and without any medical background. Suzie should probably dictate to me for future postings so that I can be as accurate as possible about the situation.

How this started...

Curt has been extremely tired lately, so tired that some days he can hardly keep his head up. His blood pressure has also been very high and hasn't been controllable even with medication.

In trying to diagnose the problem, doctors discovered that Curt has an aneurysm on the thorax, which leads to the heart. This aneurysm requires a surgery where they insert a stint to help ease the aneurysm and prevent it from going off (going off is probably not a proper medical term). This type of aneurysm is the same thing that John Ritter died of a few years back but his was undetected.

In preparation of this surgery, blockage was discovered which brings us to yesterday (7/12) when Curt went for an angiogram.

During the angiogram, the doctor discovered that the right side of his heart probably NEVER worked properly and more than likely has been 100% blocked since birth. However, there is no damage to this side of the heart because the heart developed collateral feeders on it's own. The input of these veins are all well developed.

The left side of the heart, also known as the "death artery" has two blockages. Because the blockage is in this side, it was considered too dangerous to perform an angioplasty yesterday, as death is probable if it doesn't go just right.

This means he will be having bypass surgery on Monday morning. The way I understand it, this will definitely be a double and possibly a triple bypass.

What we know so far...

• Doctors have performed this surgery 'millions' of times. Curt's doctor happens to be the chief of cardiology and has been in the cardiology field for 30 years, so that level of expertise and skill provides some comfort.
• the surgery is expected to last 4-5 hours
• at this point, Curt will be hospitalized for 7-10 days
• once home, he can't lift anything over 10 pounds
• no driving for 1 month

Because of these restrictions, Myra found some nursing home care for herself and is there now. She's at a presbyterian home in Cambridge and she is adjusting nicely. At this point, she'll be there until Curt is back on his feet and can help care for Myra again.

Myra will stay with Matt & Tess Sunday night. Matt and Myra will pick up Curt very early Monday morning. Curt has to get checked in and prepped at 5:30 a.m.

If you would like to talk to Curt or Myra this weekend, email me and I'll get you their phone numbers. I will keep this blog updated so you know how the surgery went, prognosis, etc.

P.S. If you're wondering why Myra can't stay at home this weekend, it's due to the fact that she still requires more physical care than Curt is able to provide this weekend and obviously after the bypass. For instance, she's at dialysis right now and that requires getting downstairs, into the car, into dialysis, back into the car, back home again and up the stairs.

Please put Curt & Myra in your prayers this weekend.

I'll be in touch.

6/2

Greetings!

Myra resumes her physical tomorrow, hopefully putting her a step closer to receiving a new kidney! I'll keep you posted as we know more.

Hope you all are having a nice summer. Can't believe it's June already.

5/6

Great News!


The transplant team agreed that Myra should be put back on the kidney transplant list!

She will resume the physical that is required for the transplant. If you recall, she started this physical in November and that is how the breast cancer was found.

Time lines are unknown right now but she has taken a step in the right direction!

5/5

I've got some potential good news to share!

Myra's medical files are being presented to the transplant team at Abbot Northwestern today. Both of her primary doctor's agree that she's 'stable' now and all of the instability was caused by the liver abscess.

I'll keep you posted!

Edited to add: Myra's name was removed from the list when her health declined earlier this year. The meeting today is for the transplant team to agree that she is a viable candidate and should haver her name put back on the list to receive a kidney.

5/2

I noticed its been over a month since my last post so I thought I'd check in and update you on Myra's status.

Myra is doing well! She's getting stronger and becoming familiar with the layout of the house again and feeling more comfortable with being home, and loving every minute of it!

She was fitted for a prosthesis this week. If you recall, she had a mastectomy in November.

She did have some blood work done today because she's having hot flashes and they can't quite figure out the problem. Let's just say she's beyond the point in her life that she should be having hot flashes. She didn't enjoy them the first time around and she certainly isn't enjoying them this time either.

She'll be going in for another MRI later this month to make sure the liver abscess is still healing.

That's about all. She is reading (books on tape) like crazy and would love a book recommendation if you have anything you think she'd enjoy. She's well read and likes everything from mystery to documentaries.

3/31

Mrya continues to be at home and is doing fairly well. She is not as strong as she wants or needs to be. She has 8 stairs to climb up and down and she can do 6 pretty easily but the 7th & 8th are really tough.

She also likes the home comfort foods that Curt makes her. Even though she enjoyed the food at Bethesda, its nothing like a home cooked meal.

She's been enjoying some books on tape lately.

3/26

Myra is home!

She went home late afternoon on Saturday, marking 4 months and one day in the hospital.

She was very excited today to be home. She checked in with her doctors and she is officially discharged from the hospital.

She's feeling a bit weak but is so happy to be home again!

3/19

Looks like Myra is still on track to go home this weekend! She will have a 'trial run' on Saturday night. If she and Curt feel like this is going to be something that they will be able to handle, then she will return to Bethesda Sunday to be officially discharged.

She will have a nurse visit her 3 days a week for in-home therapy.

She is absolutely thrilled and is trying to mentally prepare for living at home again. She is nervous about re-learning the floor plan. She has lost almost 100% of her vision since she's been hospitalized so she'll have to figure out where all the walls and door ways are again.

She can't wait to sleep in her own bed again!

Keep your fingers crossed and say your prayers that everything goes well for Myra's sleep over at home on Saturday!

3/16

Well, it looks like Myra will be going HOME on Friday, March 20, which also marks her 4 month anniversary of hospitalization.

She is obviously looking forward to going home but is also a little frightened of falling both physically and figuratively. She has high expectations for herself and doesn't want to fall short of those.

She had a CT scan Thursday and the liver abscess is shrinking, but still present. It's reduced from 7 mm x 4 mm to 6 x 2.5 mm. She remains on antibiotics to treat this until it is completely gone.

She does still have the drain from the mastectomy and the doctor wants that removed before she goes home. Its a little unexplained why it is still draining. Some days there is a decent amount of draining and the next day there is nothing. They are hoping for that to clear up soon!

She will be having a nurse come in and check up on her when she is at home and will be an outpatient for dialysis.

Let's pray for a great week for Myra so that this time next week, she's sitting in her chair at home instead of the hospital!

3/13

I have great news to report! Myra's therapy is going very well. Well enough that doctors are speaking with Myra about the possibility of transitioning into either a nursing home or HOME within the next couple of weeks!

Tuesday was her first bad day of therapy. Up until Tuesday she's been superwoman at therapy. Tuesday she had a bit of a problem walking and was running into the walls . Other than that she's been doing great with therapy. Myra's therapists are very enthusiastic about her progress. They did not plan on her to be walking this soon.

She is really working on gaining her strength and has been working her arm muscles. She started out with 2 pound weights and has graduated to 3, 4 and 6 pound hand weights. The point is to build endurance and to not hurt herself.

She is finding that her core stomach muscles are the weakest and she is doing special exercise to help strengthen the area.

She is hardly in bed at all, except to nap between therapy sessions. She spend a lot of time sitting in her chair.

The next 2 weeks will be CRUCIAL for Myra. It will be important that she stave's off infections as well as continues to progress nicely with her therapy. Her doctors will then decide if she needs to transition to a nursing home, or has enough strength to go right home.

Of course, she wants to go home but understands and accepts that she may need to transition to a nursing home first. She's 'fine' with that as long as the nursing home stay is therapy oriented.

3/6 Update

I am SO sorry I've not updated the blog for a couple of weeks. Our laptop needed a repair and we were without it for 2 weeks. It's tough to be so disconnected from the world wide web! I'm back online and ready to report some GREAT news!

Myra successfully fought the infection and is back at Bethesda and gaining lots of strength! She is walking during PT- yesterday she walked 1900 feet!

Today her test was to climb three stairs and she was able to climb TWO! Slowly but surely, she's gaining strength!

Yesterday she had a small procedure with a scope down her throat (this s considered small if you're explaining the procedure and not the one actually going through it :) to find out about the ulcer in her stomach and in a few weeks she will have a colonoscopy o check on the ulcer in the colon. She's not so excited about that one, as you can imagine.

That's about all for now. I'll be in touch and continue to report the wonderful progress Myra is making!

2/23 Saturday

Myra will be going back to Bethesda on Sunday afternoon. She will get to make the transfer in a wheelchair, rather than the usual stretcher. She's super excited about this!

Little by little, she's getting stronger. This is very good news that she has the strength to sit up long enough to make the trip!

Friday (which ,marked 3 months in the hospital) she was able to stand up and sit down 3 times, with the help of nurses. This has really given her some confidence and she looks forward to getting back to some PT at Bethesda.

They have inserted a drain into the the area where the breast was removed because of a recent fluid build up.

The infection that she's had is being treated with IV antibiotics. They used to give it to her in large doses for a half hour at a time and they figured that is what was causing her hallucinations. They are now stretching this out over a 24 hour period and tomorrow she will start oral medication.

She's really excited to get back on the healing path at Bethesda!

2/17 Sunday

Myra's not as confused as she was yesterday and her thoughts are more clear today.

Now the Disease doctor isn't sure she has MRSA, so we're not exactly sure what is going on and we don't know what's causing the confusion. I guess we just put our seat belts on and see where this episode takes us.

She did have some scans of her head to rule out anything more serious that could be causing the confusion but the results were negative, so we're happy about that. Except we don't really have any other answers at this point.

2/15

Myra has a new infection called MRSA. This is an infection that is resistant to antibiotics and is extremely viral. Myra is in isolation because of the MRSA.

The doctors think this MRSA has caused her abscess infections to return to her liver. Its also formed in her lung and doctors were going to remove the lung fluid today.

She's had a low grade fever due to the infections and some of the medication she is on for that is causing some 'reality issues'. She's been a bit confused but seems more clear today.

2/14 St. John's Again

Well, turns out the abscess has returned in Myra's liver. As Myra told Curt today, its just the "usual medical fiasco".

What was supposed to be a quick trip to St. John's and back today turned into an overnight stay at St. John's. This is due to communication problems at St. John's and is unrelated to Myra. She will have the procedure to insert the drain back into her liver tomorrow and should be back at Bethesda by Saturday night at the latest.

Her INR levels (clotting agent) were high, which required a plasma fusion today.

She will also be meeting with Infectious Disease specialists tomorrow to figure out why this infection returned.

This little field trip to St. John's means that Curt has to go remove all of Myra's belongings from her Bethesda room because the room may or may not be given to another patient.

Myra is in her old room at St. John's and her nurses are happy to see her again. They think Myra should win some sort of award for the most nights stayed.

2/13

The fistula problem Myra was having last Friday seemed to work itself out. Doctors let the area breath and rest a bit over the weekend. They re-inserted the fistula Monday and had a successful dialysis.

The removal of the fistula did irritate the area a bit so she was medicated with Vicadin over the weekend and was a bit foggy and slept most of the weekend.

Myra's Bethesda doctors and nurses met with her, Curt & Dusty today to discuss a plan for Myra to go home. They mentioned transitioning from Bethesda to a nursing home for further recovery. Once she transitions out of Bethesda, she will resume dialyisis as an outpatient in Forest Lake, which is what she has been doing since February of '07 up until she entered the hospital in November.

Myra has a list of goals she'll need to achieve before going home is an option. These goals could take weeks for Myra to accomplish, but it's encouraging for the family to hear that going home is an option!

The goals that the doctors presented to Myra today act as a dangling carrot for Myra. Going home depends on several things. One goal being that Myra gains enough strength to get out of bed and walk on her own. She still is not able to get up out of bed on her own, so she needs to gain lots of strength back (from being in a bed for 2 1/2 months).

We'll keep you posted!

2/9

Friday marked 10 weeks. During dialysis, it was discovered that the fistula was infiltrated and stopped working. Dialysis was cut to an hour and unable to finish, her kidney specialist was called to Bethesda.

They are going to try again Monday and if the fistula doesn't work, Myra will go back to St. John's for a new catheter in a new location.

This has really bummed her out because this next week the doctors wanted to discuss a transition plan for Myra to go home in 2-3 weeks, depending on how the progress goes.

They have her pretty medicated today so she's real groggy. Because of this, she didn't have PT today and tomorrow is an off day.

One step forward . Two steps back.

2/6

Myra seems to be doing very well! Yesterday she took 4 steps during PT! She's also off her blood pressure medication and her body has done a great job of maintaining a healthy and acceptable blood pressure all on its own! Even during dialysis, which is where she usually runs into trouble.

She's in very good spirits!

Back @ Bethesda

Myra made it back to Bethesda today!

Her fever and infection have gone away. The drain tube in the liver was removed, as they were able to get all the infection out.

She got up 3 times today, the first two times going much better than the last time. Myra is really, really anxious to gain her strength back. You can imagine how laying in a bed for 2 months takes a toll on muscle strength and endurance.

She has had 2 sessions of Healing Touch this week and thinks its helping. Curt sat in on both these sessions and is still a skeptic of this process but if Myra thinks its working then he'll deal with his feelings :)

If you want to learn more about Healing Touch, please refer to the post on 12/31 which gets into more detail.

Myra really feels like your prayers are working- once again she's getting better and is very strong willed and determined to continue this progression of healing. She wants to go home!!!

8 weeks| two months| 57 days | 1320 hours

Today marks 2 long months for Myra in the hospital.

She's a little bummed that she's been in the hospital so long and is really getting sick of this whole business.

She has been able to string 3 good days together and right now seems to be doing 'better' . She's had good blood pressure and heart rate. Dialysis has also gone well and she's gaining an appetite. The infection is still there but she is starting to feel better.

At this point, she'll be at St. John's for at least another week to make sure she kicks the infection. Hopefully the next stay at Bethesda will last a little longer, meaning she won't be back at St. John's with new issues.

Again Myra would like to extend her gratitude you've shown her and Curt with all your cards and prayers- they are so thankful for your thoughtfulness! I read her every comment on the blog and she loves hearing that people are thinking of her and always responds with "that was so sweet".

Myra got a 4am wake up call for a bath and CT scan. It took them all day to get around to doing the CT scan- they started at about 5pm and are still waiting for the Infectious & Disease Control Doctor to draw a conclusion.

When this Dr. first discovered the infection in the liver, they pulled out 150 cc's of infection. She is still draining about 40 cc's but is now the color of the drained liquid is the more like bile rather than the color of an infection. This is puzzling to the doctors and Myra still has a fever and feels icky because of that.

Like all of the obstacles Myra has encountered, she's not getting too excited about this latest setback until the doctors know what the problem is.

Sunday

Myra's fever has subsided now that they've put the drain tube into her liver. She is doing well and back in telemetry. She's even in a room that she's been in before. You know your hospital stay is too long when you start repeating rooms!

The nurses are happy to have her back- she's been such a joy and humorous bright spot for the nurses that help Myra.

The doctors are going to attempt to clean up the fistula that is in her arm. The fistula is where they go in for dialysis and was thought to be the source of infection. Turns out the liver is the source of infection but the fistula was very dirty.

If they can successfully clean the fistula up they can continue dialysis from that port. If not, they have to insert a new fistula into her chest. Pray they can clean it up so she doesn't' have to have another procedure!

Thursday

Myra had her procedure to insert the drain tube into the liver. It went well and everything is in place! They were able to drain 5 ounces of infection out of the liver. The drain tube will be in place for 1-5 weeks, depending on the drainage and how the area heals.

Myra was not put out for the surgery (she would have preferred to have been) but they did numb the area. She was quite anxious leading up to the procedure, as she was fearful of pain. Luckily, it was fairly simple and pain-free.

She was quite hungry after all this business because they intended to do this yesterday but couldn't due to her clotting levels. So, she didn't eat yesterday or today, well for a couple of ice chips but what good is that :)

She enjoyed a nice dinner and a big, fat nap after all was said and done.

Please pray for a quick recovery from this and that she feels better once the infection is removed from her body.

Update

Myra's spirit has been a little low the last couple of days. She's getting "sick" of infections and other things that set her back.

The doctors think they've discovered the source of her infection. A PT scan shows that there is an abscess in her liver. They wanted to operate today to insert a drain today but her INR levels were bad. Not sure what INR technically stands for, but it means her blood clotting abilities. Unfortunately her levels were unacceptable for surgery. She received 2 bags of frozen plasma to help thicken her blood.

If her clotting levels rise tomorrow then she will have surgery to have the drain placed.

She did have dialysis today and that was successful.

Monday

Myra felt a bit better today. Her temp is still high at just under 100 degrees. The doctors inserted a new dialysis catheter inserted into a new location so she can receive dialysis. The area that the original dialysis catheter was in her arm tested negative as the source of infection.

She also began working with a doctor from Disease Control so they can begin to fight the blood infection that she has.

6 Weeks

Friday marked the 6th week of Myra's hospitalization.

Myra had a rough weekend. She's had a fever the last two nights and is testing positive for an infection. Her fever was at 102.9 today. Because of the infection, the doctors removed the dialysis catheter that was placed in her arm the same time they did the mastectomy Its been a convenient point of entry for the dialysis, but because its an opening to her body this means that its also an open door for infection. They removed the catheter in hopes of getting rid of the infection.

With the high fever came some confusion today. She had no appetite and spent most of the day either shivering cold or sweating.

Her blood pressure was also pretty low this weekend- with the top number bouncing between 70 and 80. That also contributes to the confusion she experienced today.

Her heart rate was increased as well and is hopefully a side effect of the fever.

Her kidney specialist has ordered some meds that will help elevate the blood pressure.

She had more blood cultures today and will have additional blood tests tomorrow, so please pray for a negative result for infection. At this point, they will not do dialysis tomorrow. Hopefully her condition will improve over the next 24 hours and they can do dialysis on Tuesday.

On a side note, Shirley and Conrad who are friends of Curt & Myra have been keeping some friends that live in Harris updated on Myra's condition. That friend was at church 2 weeks ago and asked the congregation to pray for Myra's recovery.

Curt & Myra were very touched by that gesture. So thank you Shirley and Shirley's friend in Harris!

Friday- A Roller Coaster

Just when things were looking up for Myra......she got a blood infection and was transferred back to St. John's on Thursday where she is being treated with antibiotics.

She was able to take dialysis yesterday and her heart rate and blood pressure are both looking good.

Monday & Tuesday

Myra is feeling pretty good the last two days. She had dialysis on Monday along with 2 sessions of physical therapy.

Tuesday she had more therapy and she is really, really sore from starting to use muscles again. She said everything hurts, including her neck where she had whip lash years ago. Going from lying flat on your back for 5 1/2 weeks to slight movement will do that to a person.

Her blood pressure dipped in the middle of the night and "Dr. Myra" thinks its because she's getting too much insulin. She and her doctor consulted and he concurred with her that she is possibly getting too much insulin, so they've cut back slightly.

I say "Dr. Myra" but with a level of seriousness. She really is her own advocate and knows her body best. If we had listened to one of her kidney specialists who suggested to stop dialysis only 3 weeks ago, she probably wouldn't be with us anymore. Myra said "Everybody keeps telling me I'm getting worse, but I feel better and I want to fight".

Fight Myra,Fight!

1/6 Weekend Recap

Myra had a pretty good and stable weekend. She's adjusting nicely to Bethesda. She has been working on trying to stand up and was able to do so today. She can only last a few seconds on her feet but she's so happy to be able to do that.

We noticed a nice progression in her eating. Up until last week, she could really only manage to eat a few bites and would tire so quickly that she could hardly chew during the end of her meal (which consisted of eating about 1/4 of her plate and Curt happily cleaning up the leftovers.)

This last week we've noticed she's able to finish most of her plate and does so without tiring too much or needing a nap after her meal! She was even able to take down two "Dusty sized" tacos at dinner tonight. Now that's some improvement!

1/4

Myra made it safely to Bethesda today. They moved her on a stretcher by ambulance. The nursing staff at St. John's all lined up to see her off and Myra really enjoyed that.

She had a successful dialysis and enjoyed "Tilapia Friday" at Bethesda. She also had tator tots with her fish and said they were just delish....she hasn't had a tator tot in months and was happy to find tator tots to be on her diabetic menu.

She also saw Dr. Poor who was doing rounds at Bethesda. Dr. Poor is one of her kidney specialists that was with Myra during her most critical days in ICU. After she commented to him that she is still here, he replied with "you are one determined lady, Myra and I'm so glad!"

Still waiting to hear about the second opinion on the blood sample from the Mayo Clinic.

1/3

Myra's heart rate and blood pressure have been stable for the last couple of days.

She has also been able to get up for a bit (with lots of assistance) and sit in a chair and even take a few steps around the room! She said it was the most wonderful feeling to be able to do that!

Her blood results have not come back yet (and we don't know what the hold up is) but the doctors do know that she has an infection in her blood. At this point, they don't know where it stems from but an additional blood test yesterday will help determine that.

She's also been working more with her kidney specialist that she's been with for years. He has changed her medications and so far so good. She's been on extra meds since she entered the hospital and he wants to give her body a chance to heal, so he's removed some of the meds and she is in the same medication boat as she was when she first went into the hospital.

She has continued with physical therapy and yesterday they taught her a leg muscle. She said she can really feel that one!

She said she's seen a change in how she feels. Her speech is better. Her hearing has been regained and she is so much more clear.

She also has higher energy levels and thinks this could be a result of the iron infusions she's been receiving.

Friday, if all is well, she should be on her way back to Bethesda.

Thanks again for all the nice comments you've sent her way- I read her every comment and she always says "well that was sweet"....so please, keep them coming!