We've stayed busy these past 36 hours so I have not had an opportunity to post anything. Tim has made lots of progress over the past 2 days. His meals have gone from an icy and some jello to full liquids including pudding, applesauce, nutrient shakes and pureed chicken noodle soup. He has also gone from eating just a spoonful or two to eating almost all of each.
Due to a little teamwork Tim was also able to have a shower and he looks (as well as feels) much better. He has also been up and walking around the floor making as many as 2 laps at a time. Sitting up in a chair has become a regular occurrence and he is even managing to get himself up and out of chairs and the bed only using people as support rather than helping to pull him out.
He and Steven have been competing with NCAA 2010 Football on his new PlayStation 3 and there was a Trivial Pursuit competition on there earlier today with Tim & Steven completing against Mr. Bright & my dad. We've also been experimenting with the SceneIt game and may even play a little Sonic later.
Unfortunately it is not all good news. We did get some preliminary tests results back late yesterday afternoon which suggested that the cancer may not have been confined to the colon. Right now is just a waiting game for us until we can go meet with Tim's oncologist on Monday so we really have more questions than information right now. We are just taking this one step at a time and your continued thoughts and prayers are very much appreciated by us all.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
2 Days After Surgery
Hope everyone is staying warm and dry in this nasty weather. Today has been a very long but productive day for Tim. He got up out of bed again this afternoon where he stood for about 20 minutes while his sheets were changed for him. The second time he got up seemed to go much more smoothly than the first as he was more comfortable with the process.
During lunch & dinner today he discovered the true definition of hospital food. He managed to get a few spoonfuls of chicken broth down at lunch but barely took a sip of the beef broth at dinner before he decided that it just wasn't up to his discerning tastes. He ate part of another Luigi's icy at lunch and actually managed to finish one at dinner. Although he told me repeatedly just how amazing they are and how much I needed to get one, I'm thinking that he will never want to see another Italian Ice once all of this is over.
One of the nurses suggested that watching the food network sometimes will help get your stomach moving and growling again which can, in turn, help the rest of his digestive system get a jump start. Needless to say I was pretty happy with that determination since it means it was "medically necessary" to keep the TV off of ESPN and we (or I) just happened to be lucky enough that he changed it over right as Paula Deen (my favorite) came on. This also brought an additional benefit to Tim, he got a nice long 2 hour nap in this afternoon. He has mentioned feeling some spasms in his abdomen so who knows, maybe this "medicine" is actually working.
During his vital check this evening his PCT helped us to come up with a plan to start backing him down on his morphine pump. Now instead of hitting his button every 12 minutes he is hitting it every 30. This is still managing his pain just as much but is allowing him to sleep much more soundly (he is snoring loudly in the background as I write this) and from what we understand will help speed up the healing process both now and later as he begins to switch over to pain tablets rather than the pump.
Thank you all for your encouraging notes on this site. I make sure that I pick out a few to read to him each time he wakes up. He is absolutely astounded that so many people are in his corner and each time mentions how amazed he is about all of you that are following his progress. Although the doctors are working on healing his body right now I really believe that all of you are helping to heal his spirit through all you have done and continue to do for him.
One more note, that I can't believe I forgot to mention earlier today (pbly has something to do with hearing the news at 4am), but Dr. Robbins informed us that the results of Tim's blood work came back completely clear. Although we are still waiting on path results to find out if the cancer spread to his lymph nodes, it was excellent news to know that they didn't find any signs of it in his blood and helps add to the hope that it was contained within that one spot within his colon.
During lunch & dinner today he discovered the true definition of hospital food. He managed to get a few spoonfuls of chicken broth down at lunch but barely took a sip of the beef broth at dinner before he decided that it just wasn't up to his discerning tastes. He ate part of another Luigi's icy at lunch and actually managed to finish one at dinner. Although he told me repeatedly just how amazing they are and how much I needed to get one, I'm thinking that he will never want to see another Italian Ice once all of this is over.
One of the nurses suggested that watching the food network sometimes will help get your stomach moving and growling again which can, in turn, help the rest of his digestive system get a jump start. Needless to say I was pretty happy with that determination since it means it was "medically necessary" to keep the TV off of ESPN and we (or I) just happened to be lucky enough that he changed it over right as Paula Deen (my favorite) came on. This also brought an additional benefit to Tim, he got a nice long 2 hour nap in this afternoon. He has mentioned feeling some spasms in his abdomen so who knows, maybe this "medicine" is actually working.
During his vital check this evening his PCT helped us to come up with a plan to start backing him down on his morphine pump. Now instead of hitting his button every 12 minutes he is hitting it every 30. This is still managing his pain just as much but is allowing him to sleep much more soundly (he is snoring loudly in the background as I write this) and from what we understand will help speed up the healing process both now and later as he begins to switch over to pain tablets rather than the pump.
Thank you all for your encouraging notes on this site. I make sure that I pick out a few to read to him each time he wakes up. He is absolutely astounded that so many people are in his corner and each time mentions how amazed he is about all of you that are following his progress. Although the doctors are working on healing his body right now I really believe that all of you are helping to heal his spirit through all you have done and continue to do for him.
One more note, that I can't believe I forgot to mention earlier today (pbly has something to do with hearing the news at 4am), but Dr. Robbins informed us that the results of Tim's blood work came back completely clear. Although we are still waiting on path results to find out if the cancer spread to his lymph nodes, it was excellent news to know that they didn't find any signs of it in his blood and helps add to the hope that it was contained within that one spot within his colon.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Day After Surgery
Last night was a pretty good one for Tim. He surprised me by how alert and lively he was last evening and stayed awake off and on until about 1 this morning. He finally figured out how to fall asleep without setting off his Oxygen alarm around 2 and slept as well as anyone could expect when being poked and prodded every few hours. So far we have seen 2 doctors this morning, one from Dr. Robbins practice and most recently Dr. Robbins himself. Both said he was looking great and they expect him to get up and walk around the wing today. He has been upgraded to clear liquids so they brought him a wonderful breakfast of apple juice, tea, green jello and a Luigi's lemon icy thing. Tim choose to only eat the icy and I can't say I blame him at all. After he ate he burped twice which is a great sign that his digestive system is getting itself started back up. I just helped the nurse place him into a chair where he has been sitting for about 30 minutes now and is doing great. He was also able to brush his teeth and was given a sponge bath. Not exactly the hot young nurse that he had originally envisioned but she had a great personality :) Overall he is doing a fantastic job and I couldn't be more proud of him. He still has a long road to a full recovery but is taking some amazing strides at getting there.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Post-Op
We've gotten so much needed good news today. Dr. Robbins performed Tim's resection which only took about 45 minutes. After about another 45 minutes to an hour he came out to speak with us and informed us that the surgery went very smoothly and that Tim was doing very well after. He went on to tell us that the tumor was about the diameter of a quarter and they had removed a ft of Tim's colon and put everything back together again. We still have about a 5 day wait on the pathology results to see if the cancer has reached any of his lymph nodes but overall he seemed optimistic about what he had seen and found while he was operating. We couldn't be more excited about what we've been told and are so thankful for how smoothly the operation went.
Tim is now resting as comfortably as possible and is getting awesome care from the nurses here at Memorial. Thanks for all of the prayers, they are working! :)
Tim is now resting as comfortably as possible and is getting awesome care from the nurses here at Memorial. Thanks for all of the prayers, they are working! :)
Surgery Prep
Just wanted to give everyone a quick update. We got to the hospital around 11:30 and Tim was immediately taken back for prep. He was in great spirits this morning and much more concerned about signing day and if Carolina was going to get any surprise commitments. He suggested that I go ahead and get something to eat so we stopped through the McDonalds drive through and I had the most guilt-filled cheeseburger I've ever eaten as Tim stared enviously at me the whole time.
He is back in prep now and goes into surgery at 2:30, so far it seems like everything is on schedule and I'll post another update once we hear something back after surgery and get Tim all settled into his room tonight. We've run into another family in the waiting room whose has a son that Tim used to coach. Its been nice getting to speak with them and it has really helped the time move along quickly!
He is back in prep now and goes into surgery at 2:30, so far it seems like everything is on schedule and I'll post another update once we hear something back after surgery and get Tim all settled into his room tonight. We've run into another family in the waiting room whose has a son that Tim used to coach. Its been nice getting to speak with them and it has really helped the time move along quickly!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Marcus Lattimore
Tonight I came back home from work to hear girlish screams coming from the inside of our house. I walked in to find out that it was Tim & Steven who were excited about Marcus Lattimore commiting to Carolina. That was about the most exciting part of Tim's day today. Otherwise he has just been hanging out at the house doing his laundry and finishing up his cleaning. I highly doubt he will ever ask me to keep everything normal again.
We're now watching Jeopardy and getting ready to do some packing and last minute errands before heading off to sleep until we leave for the hospital tomorrow morning.
Thank you all so much for all of the kindness and support over the previous week. You all have helped us tremendously and we really appreciate it.
We're now watching Jeopardy and getting ready to do some packing and last minute errands before heading off to sleep until we leave for the hospital tomorrow morning.
Thank you all so much for all of the kindness and support over the previous week. You all have helped us tremendously and we really appreciate it.
Pre-Op
Today I went to pre-op for a couple of tests the doctor wanted run before I go into surgery on Wed. They only ran 3 tests today while I was there. They took a blood sample, hooked me up to an EKG machine, and took chest X-Rays. I thought I was going to have to have a CT Scan but they said that one was not ordered. The whole process took much less time than I thought it would.
I told Jenny when I first was told about colon cancer that I wanted to act like nothing is wrong, so today when we got home from the tests and errands we had to run she put me to work cleaning the house. I quickly regretted making those comments a week ago.
Tonite we had my brother and Haley over for dinner and to watch some friends on Raw. John and Christy came by after we ate and we had a good time just hanging out.
Tomorrow is prep day so I'll pretty much just be hanging out at the house. Jenny is planning on going to work for the day so I will be finishing up all of the laundry. We will pack up tomorrow night and try to get a good nights sleep before Wednesday.
I told Jenny when I first was told about colon cancer that I wanted to act like nothing is wrong, so today when we got home from the tests and errands we had to run she put me to work cleaning the house. I quickly regretted making those comments a week ago.
Tonite we had my brother and Haley over for dinner and to watch some friends on Raw. John and Christy came by after we ate and we had a good time just hanging out.
Tomorrow is prep day so I'll pretty much just be hanging out at the house. Jenny is planning on going to work for the day so I will be finishing up all of the laundry. We will pack up tomorrow night and try to get a good nights sleep before Wednesday.
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