Latest Dr. Orders

Dr. Ott has now cleared me to eat what I can and just take it easy. I still cant eat anything heavy or it comes right up but I am expanding my diet every day and it is getting better and better all the time.

My next step is a meeting with the Doctor panel next Tuesday to decide what my next treatment will be. I will update you all when I have that visit and find out what we are going to be doing.

Thanks again for all your support. Together we are going to get through this and I plan on living a long life.

Evan

The Joy of TOAST !!!!

Ah, Toast, what a wonderful food.

I was able to eat my first food today and it was a Toast. It never tasted so good before. I am feeling better every day and today they are going to remove my PIC line so I will not have the TPN any more but will be eating regular foods going forward.

I am so thankful for all of the support that we have received during this trial that we have faced. I don't know what we would have done without all of you.

Food Glorious Food!!

Today we went to see the doctor and he pulled Evan’s JP drain. Yipppyyyyy!!! This means that Evan will now be able to start eating clear liquids but he can only have a total of 3 cups for the whole day. He is still getting fed TPN through the PIC line but the doctor said that perhaps on Monday morning we can have the PIC line pulled, it all depends on how well Evan does on the clear liquids. We talked with the doctor a little bit about the chemo and he said that we will need to meet with the panel of doctors on the Tuesday after next to see when they want to start him or if they want to watch him for a little while first.

On to another subject…

I went out into the garage a couple of days ago and just started laughing. Our son, Cody, had taken all of the gardening tools and organized them in the middle of the floor. I just had to take a picture. He was so proud of his organizational project and was pleased to tell me why he had placed each tool in its place. It was so hard to keep a straight face as he so proudly explained the details. (Notice how the shovels are in order by size) He has a way of lifting the grey clouds that seem to find us.

Random…

In effort to get my house in order, I turned on the auto cleaning on my oven so it can clean while we are sleeping. Boy does it smell bad!! Now when I have my neighbors over to help me tomorrow morning my house is going to reek. I have been working so hard today that now all I can think about is my pillow.

Love to you all
Evan & Julie

A Step Back

For some reason, Evan started to throw up again on Friday morning and continued through the weekend. When this all started up again it seems that he must have torn something because he started getting blood in his JP drain and it appeared that there might have been some blood in his stomach too. So as you probably can guess, Evan didn’t make it up to East canyon with me but he is starting to feel better again. He has been able to keep his stomach at bay and there is no longer any blood. The doctor has been out of town but will return on Wednesday so there is still no word on when he feels Evan can start eating again. It has been hard to keep the smell of food down so that it isn’t a struggle for Evan. My sweet daughter had Cody and I over for Sunday dinner so that I didn’t have to cook anything at home. She has become quite the little homemaker and is having fun decorating her new little apartment. They are living in the basement of Matt’s parents home while they are gone. Matt’s dad got a job in Pennsylvania and will be there for the next 9 years so Matt and JayDee have a long time to save for their own home before they have to move.

We are still having a struggle in selling the construction house in Riverton and so it is looking more and more like we are going to have to put our own home on the market. The bank is saying that we must have the construction house sold by the end of this month or they will foreclose on both houses. This Saturday some of our sweet neighbors are going to help me de-clutter our home and get it ready to sell and I am going to put up the signs. The plan at this point is if we can sell our house then we would move into the construction house and continue to try to sell it. Once it is sold then we would see if we can find a small home or condo to buy. This is something that we had hoped would never have to happen but unfortunately it is not our will but the Lords will that must be done. We know that it is going to be for our good and growth somehow, we just have to let the Lord take control and follow his lead.

Hair Cut

Today Evan felt well enough to go get his hair cut, he even drove the car for the first time since his surgery. It is good to see him doing more and more everyday but at the same time he needs to be careful not to do too much. His little trip to get his hair cut took a lot out of him so it was back home for a nap. The doctor said that his body is burning calories as if he were running a marathon everyday because everything is concentrating on healing. This morning he weighed in and found that he has lost 20 lbs so far.

Tomorrow we will get to go on a little adventure. It is my families reunion up in East Canyon and we have decided to just go up for a little while on Saturday. It will be nice to get out of the house for a little while. We will take up our nice little lounge chairs so that Evan will have a place to rest and take his naps when he needs them. We look forward to visiting and being up in the mountains.

He still has to get hooked up to his TPN daily for his nutrition which means he still can't eat anything yet. We will talk to the doctor again on Monday to report in and see if he feel like Evan has made enough progress to allow him to start eating a little bit. He will have to remain on the TPN for a few days after he starts eating just to make sure he is getting the nutrition his body needs.

Well, I guess that's all for now.

Evan & Julie

The Wait Continues

Well, I am feeling great other than I am waiting for the Doc to give me permission to start eating again. It is driving me crazy not being able to eat. In fact, the past several nights I have had dreams that I am eating and it is so good. Last night was a dream that I was at the White House and I had 7 hamburgers with Bill and Hillary Clinton for some reason. They were real good Burgers but I knew I was going to pay for eating that much. Good thing that I woke up and it was all a dream. But it hasnt made it any easier to not eat. I had tried some Chicken Broth but the Doc says that it will be better if I wait so I guess I cant even do that.

They are waiting for my drainage to slow down a bit more and then I will be free to eat. It is amazing how much you crave what you cant have.

Other than that, I feel fine, I am in NO pain and havent had any since two days after the surgery. I credit that to an answer to my prayers. I was really worried about pain and didnt want to worry about getting addicted to pain killers. That just hasnt been the case. No Pain is a Good Thing.

I will keep you updated as time goes buy but for now it is just a sit and wait day by day kind of thing.

Evan

Finally Back Home

Yes, today is Sunday but I got back home on Friday. I am starting to feel like I have turned the corner. I am feeling like the worst is behind me at this point.

I cant explain how grateful I am for my wife to keep all of you updated as I have not been able to do so for a while now. It feels good to be back where I can update you.

I am still on the TPN which is feeding me via an IV. that is all I get but it is working out okay right now. I don't think it will be long before I can start drinking liquids and eating Jello and starting back to some clear foods. I cant wait. it has been three weeks and that is a long time to go without anything yummy.

Well, I will update you more as time goes by but for now know that I appreciate all of your support and prayers. I have been truly blessed to not have any pain. I know it is the prayers that have been answered and I can tell you that it has been a blessing that I couldn't live without.

Thanks,

Evan

Roller Coaster

Are we at Lagoon? It sure feels like I am on the roller coaster or more exactly the Colossus. Evan was supposed to come home today but he took a step back again. For some reason we can’t seem to keep him from vomiting. He isn’t eating anything but his stomach is still making bile and instead of having it move through his system, it stays in his stomach until he throws it up. I know this is more information than you really wanted to hear but this is the reason he is still at the hospital. The doctor has taken several x-rays to see why he isn’t processing anything but we haven’t gotten the results back yet. I have come home for the night and Cody is with me. I really hate having to pawn him off on others and he is getting tired of not being at home with his stuff and his friends close around him. I will return to the hospital again tomorrow with high hopes of returning home with my sweetheart. With all of this going on, it seems that life is at a stand still and I can’t seem to think past the door of Evan’s hospital room. I received a phone call from Evan’s oldest sister, Coleen, and I was reminded that her son was getting married tomorrow. Though my life seems at a stand still, it would appear that the world is still spinning and life is moving forward. Coleen, please tell Leo and Jamie congratulations and let them know that I have mailed them their gift. I am so sorry that I will not be at the temple to share in their joy tomorrow.

Again, I would like to take some time for thanks……to our ward members, thanks for the meals that we have enjoyed. I will have to get the recipes for all of the yummy dishes. Words can not express how important these sacrifices have been to me. I am burning the candle at both ends and it is so nice to know that I don’t have to worry about dinner.

We love each and every one of you, thanks for caring so much.
Evan & Julie

Great Progress!!

Today was a much better day; Evan is making great progress and is doing so much better. We saw the doctor this morning and he said that Evan will get a new PIC line Wednesday morning and then he will be released from the hospital on Thursday. They have him on a very strong antibiotic that if it is given too fast it will make him deaf and mess up his kidneys. Of course they are being very careful, he can still hear me (poor guy) and they are watching his kidneys. He has been draining a lot of infection from his pancreas but it has slowed down dramatically and we are hoping that the drainage will completely stop soon. Once the drainage stops, Evan will be able to eat food again and the PIC line can be removed a few days later. The goal is to be eating again by Monday. We told the doctor that there were several people fasting on his behalf and he said that the fasting helped Evan more than he as a doctor could. This has been an amazing, testimony building experience for our family. Evan has been showing a lot more energy now that the infections are being treated and is taking laps around the 10th floor. They say that 10 laps equals a mile and today he has taken 8 ½ laps. He will probably take a couple more tonight just to say he walked a mile. He was even up to playing a game of rummy with me, of course he won but I’ll get him next time. Does anyone know a good way for me to cheat?? Teehehehe

Love to all,
Evan & Julie

Here we go again

Well that was fun, NOT!! It looks like Evan will stay in the hospital until Wednesday or Thursday. The CT scan showed that there was an area near the pancreas that was inflamed and the doctor wasn't sure if that was the reason for the high fever or if there was an infection in the PIC line. Either way, they have to treat it the same way with antibiotics. They removed the PIC line and so now Evan will be without any nutrients for the next two days until they can put in another PIC line. He still can't eat anything so the only thing he will get is IV fluids. It wasn't until nearly 2:00am before they had us set up in a room, we were both so exhausted. The Doctor said that this time when we go home, Evan will be doing much better than the first time. He will feel like a new man by Wednesday or Thursday. I think we just got released before Evan's body was ready the first time. We are feeling a little discouraged with this set back and Evan hates having to be back in that miserable bed again but I feel relieved that the pressure is off of me for a little while. I will continue to be with Evan while he is in the hospital so I will not return back to work until next week. Cody is back over to my sister's house so I know he is in good hands while we are gone. Thanks Heather for your sweet offer to help us with Cody. I also wanted to thank those that fasted on our behalf yesterday. I don't know what we would do without all of the love and support that we have received, we truly have been blessed.

Love Evan & Julie

Back in the Hospital

We are back in the hospital again after Evan began to have a fever every night but this morning and then again tonight it got up to 101.5 and so the Doctor wanted us to run to ER and get his PIC line pulled and get a CT scan. I don't have any more information at this point other than we are in room 1001. I'm sure we will find out more once the doc comes in. It is still the middle of the night so I will post the latest once we hear anything. I hope that we will not have to be here for very long. Bummer!!

Difficult Night

The last couple of nights were difficult for Evan. Yesterday we found out that one of the meds that Evan was on was lowering his blood pressure too much and it was making him dizzy when he stood up so it made him sick to his stomach for the majority of the day. After talking with the doctor, we didn’t give it to him last night but still he had a difficult night. He was up throwing up throughout the night and he started into a fever. We have been able to control the fever so far today but as a result of the night, he is having pain when he breathes. He feels that if he lies down he can’t take in enough air, and when he does, it causes him some pain. I think that it is just because of his muscles being used to throw up so much. My neighbor came over and checked his blood pressure this morning and said that he was okay there but that his heart rate was up just a little. Evan was a good sport today and went with me to do some running around even though he really didn’t feel well enough to travel. It took a lot out of him to do this but I still don’t feel comfortable in leaving him alone and I really needed to get some things done. I worry about having to leave him on Monday when I go back to work. I have a very sweet neighbor that is a nurse and she is going to come in and give him his shot and get him hooked up to his TPN on the days that she doesn’t have to work. On the days that she can’t do it, I will have to take some time away from work to come home and take care of him.