The last couple of days have been much better. Alicia walked around the room and even down the hall today. She found that she actually likes to sit up in the chair instead of laying down in bed, so most of today was spent sitting in a chair. She is able to get up out of the chair by herself and is much farther along than she thought she would be at this point. She is also starting to get use of her left arm again. She has been able to use it to turn the channels on the television which is a vast improvement over not even being able to move it on Tuesday. It helped a lot when they moved the IV from her left arm to her port.
She also had her first visitors others than me and Mom or Dad. Jeff from church stopped by first thing in the morning. Amy (and Stephen) and Denise from work stopped by later in the day. She is in room #4903 at Barnes-Jewish hospital.
Alicia is well loved at the hospital and even has a new nickname: "Sexy Lady Alice" given to her by one of the techs named Sondra. She will be released from the hospital tomorrow after 5pm.
She just wants to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers for her at this tough time.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
June 28, 2005 (by Greg)
Today was a pretty rough day. Alicia could really use your prayers. She is finding that the recovery from this surgery is a little tougher than she had imagined. She can barely move her left arm where the IV is inserted. Her thumbs and toes are still kind of numb. She had to cough earlier today and found it extremely unpleasant as well. The new fangled bed she was in, just wasn't working and it was eventually replaced today with the older style bed which is much more comfortable.
They heat the room in order to keep the blood flowing at the surface of the skin. However, the room has been almost too hot and has been holding steady at about 81 to 82 degrees, when the doctor said it needed to be around 78 degrees. The heat in the room is very unpleasant as well and is making things all the more uncomfortable for Alicia. We eventually convinced them to turn the heat down a bit and she was much more comfortable when I left this evening around 10pm.
On the bright side, everything is healing well. Just not fast enough for Alicia. The doctors are all pleased with the results of the surgery. Alicia is actually even ahead of schedule somewhat. She was scheduled to be confined to bed rest today. Tomorrow she was to sit up in a chair for about an hour. Thursday, small steps around the room, and Friday small trips around the hospital. She actually sat up in a chair today at least 12 hours ahead of schedule.
Alicia did start back on solid foods tonight. She also started taking Percocet tonight, which is a great help. The Morphine would make her groggy and put her to sleep, but when she woke up the pain would still be there. With the Percocet, she is able to go longer periods of time without pain.
All of the nurses and aides have been great, we want to thank: Lisa, Shirley, Beth, Sondra, Sharon and Latonya. All of the doctors: Drs. Brandt and Dietz as well as more assistants and interns than I can remember. Everyone has been great!
They heat the room in order to keep the blood flowing at the surface of the skin. However, the room has been almost too hot and has been holding steady at about 81 to 82 degrees, when the doctor said it needed to be around 78 degrees. The heat in the room is very unpleasant as well and is making things all the more uncomfortable for Alicia. We eventually convinced them to turn the heat down a bit and she was much more comfortable when I left this evening around 10pm.
On the bright side, everything is healing well. Just not fast enough for Alicia. The doctors are all pleased with the results of the surgery. Alicia is actually even ahead of schedule somewhat. She was scheduled to be confined to bed rest today. Tomorrow she was to sit up in a chair for about an hour. Thursday, small steps around the room, and Friday small trips around the hospital. She actually sat up in a chair today at least 12 hours ahead of schedule.
Alicia did start back on solid foods tonight. She also started taking Percocet tonight, which is a great help. The Morphine would make her groggy and put her to sleep, but when she woke up the pain would still be there. With the Percocet, she is able to go longer periods of time without pain.
All of the nurses and aides have been great, we want to thank: Lisa, Shirley, Beth, Sondra, Sharon and Latonya. All of the doctors: Drs. Brandt and Dietz as well as more assistants and interns than I can remember. Everyone has been great!
Monday, June 27, 2005
June 27, 2005 (by Greg)
The surgery is over. Alicia is doing great! Groggy, but great!
I'll try and recap the day for everyone, but it's late and it's been a long day, so I may skip pieces that I'll to put in tomorrow's update. Please be patient with me. The day started with us getting to the hospital at 6:30am, only to find out that we should have been there earlier. We were told 6:30am, but apparently, some wires got crossed and Alicia was rushed into pre-op for a 7:00am scheduled start. Jeff and Pat from church showed up and prayed for Alicia before the surgery started. Alicia was taken to surgery around 7:15am. (In case you weren't sure of what was to happen today, Alicia was scheduled for a bilateral mastectomy with a trans-flap (free-flap) reconstruction.)
I got my first update around 10:30am from Dr. Dietz, who came out and told me that the mastectomy portion of the surgery was over and that everything went great! She was able to get two sentinel lymph nodes from the left side that also will be sent away for testing. We should get pathology reports back sometime mid-next week. There is an outside chance that if the DCIS went clear to the edges that Alicia might need radiation on the right side still, but we'll know for sure after the pathology reports come back next week. She also told me that Dr. Brandt had started the trans-flap at the same time she started. Dr. Brandt's portion of the surgery is much longer, because of all of the micro vascular surgery involved. She told me that it would be a good time to go to lunch. I turned in my pager, left a cell phone number in case of emergencies and went to lunch.
Of course, on my way back from lunch (around 11:30am) I got called from the OR. Dr. Brandt wanted to talk with me. I hurried back to the waiting room and get in touch with Dr. Brandt, who came out and told me that Alicia's arteries are a bit different. He was afraid they might have to do the older style trans-flap because her artery might be too small in diameter to properly supply the new tissue. I just told him that he was the expert and he should do what he thought was best for Alicia.
Around 3:00pm, I got another call from the OR. Debbie (the head RN) told me that one breast was complete, they were working on the second one and that the tummy portion was prepared and ready to be closed. She also said that Dr. Brandt determined it was ok to go ahead with the free-flap and everything proceeded as normal.
Alicia's parents and her Uncle Ken & Aunt Marge showed up around 3:30pm and finished the waiting with me. We were the last people in the waiting area...again. (Alicia seems to always get these super-long day procedures)
Dr. Brandt came out about 6:15pm and told us that the surgery was successful and that Alicia was in recovery. She was groggy and would probably be groggy the rest of the night. If all goes well this week should be getting out of the hospital on Friday. She should be walking in a few days, but probably won't be walking very far for about 3-4 weeks. She will be tired for quite a while too. The full recovery is going to take about 3 months. Just in time for the cruise in October...:)
I met Alicia when they brought her to her room around 7:30pm. She was groggy, but able to communicate, drifting in and out of sleep. She is still very drugged up and probably will be for a few days. She does have her morphine drip in case she needs it for the pain though. The nurse came in and used an ultrasound doppler device to listen to the blood flowing through the recently attached arteries/veins. That was pretty cool to hear the blood flowing. Alicia's parents also came up for a quick visit, but didn't want to overwhelm her, so they left quickly. They will come back later in the week for a longer visit.
If you are planning a visit to Alicia in the hospital, it would probably be best if you waited until late Wednesday or Thursday at the earliest.
I'm probably leaving out a whole bunch, but like I said it's late and it's been a long day. Thanks to everyone for their prayers today, it was definitely an encouragement to know so many people were praying for us today.
I'll try and recap the day for everyone, but it's late and it's been a long day, so I may skip pieces that I'll to put in tomorrow's update. Please be patient with me. The day started with us getting to the hospital at 6:30am, only to find out that we should have been there earlier. We were told 6:30am, but apparently, some wires got crossed and Alicia was rushed into pre-op for a 7:00am scheduled start. Jeff and Pat from church showed up and prayed for Alicia before the surgery started. Alicia was taken to surgery around 7:15am. (In case you weren't sure of what was to happen today, Alicia was scheduled for a bilateral mastectomy with a trans-flap (free-flap) reconstruction.)
I got my first update around 10:30am from Dr. Dietz, who came out and told me that the mastectomy portion of the surgery was over and that everything went great! She was able to get two sentinel lymph nodes from the left side that also will be sent away for testing. We should get pathology reports back sometime mid-next week. There is an outside chance that if the DCIS went clear to the edges that Alicia might need radiation on the right side still, but we'll know for sure after the pathology reports come back next week. She also told me that Dr. Brandt had started the trans-flap at the same time she started. Dr. Brandt's portion of the surgery is much longer, because of all of the micro vascular surgery involved. She told me that it would be a good time to go to lunch. I turned in my pager, left a cell phone number in case of emergencies and went to lunch.
Of course, on my way back from lunch (around 11:30am) I got called from the OR. Dr. Brandt wanted to talk with me. I hurried back to the waiting room and get in touch with Dr. Brandt, who came out and told me that Alicia's arteries are a bit different. He was afraid they might have to do the older style trans-flap because her artery might be too small in diameter to properly supply the new tissue. I just told him that he was the expert and he should do what he thought was best for Alicia.
Around 3:00pm, I got another call from the OR. Debbie (the head RN) told me that one breast was complete, they were working on the second one and that the tummy portion was prepared and ready to be closed. She also said that Dr. Brandt determined it was ok to go ahead with the free-flap and everything proceeded as normal.
Alicia's parents and her Uncle Ken & Aunt Marge showed up around 3:30pm and finished the waiting with me. We were the last people in the waiting area...again. (Alicia seems to always get these super-long day procedures)
Dr. Brandt came out about 6:15pm and told us that the surgery was successful and that Alicia was in recovery. She was groggy and would probably be groggy the rest of the night. If all goes well this week should be getting out of the hospital on Friday. She should be walking in a few days, but probably won't be walking very far for about 3-4 weeks. She will be tired for quite a while too. The full recovery is going to take about 3 months. Just in time for the cruise in October...:)
I met Alicia when they brought her to her room around 7:30pm. She was groggy, but able to communicate, drifting in and out of sleep. She is still very drugged up and probably will be for a few days. She does have her morphine drip in case she needs it for the pain though. The nurse came in and used an ultrasound doppler device to listen to the blood flowing through the recently attached arteries/veins. That was pretty cool to hear the blood flowing. Alicia's parents also came up for a quick visit, but didn't want to overwhelm her, so they left quickly. They will come back later in the week for a longer visit.
If you are planning a visit to Alicia in the hospital, it would probably be best if you waited until late Wednesday or Thursday at the earliest.
I'm probably leaving out a whole bunch, but like I said it's late and it's been a long day. Thanks to everyone for their prayers today, it was definitely an encouragement to know so many people were praying for us today.
Sunday, June 26, 2005
June 26, 2005
Just a quick update before my surgery tomorrow.
Had a wonderful long weekend with all of my extended Altman family. It was the first time in, I think, 18 years that we were all in the same place at the same time. It was truly a blessing to be with them just before this time in my life. I cry when think about how special this weekend was to me. Grandma and Grandpa Altman would have loved to see us all together again!
Had a wonderful long weekend with all of my extended Altman family. It was the first time in, I think, 18 years that we were all in the same place at the same time. It was truly a blessing to be with them just before this time in my life. I cry when think about how special this weekend was to me. Grandma and Grandpa Altman would have loved to see us all together again!
The Altman Clan, together again after 18 years!
A collection of balding Altman's(l to r: Cuz Thom, Uncle Ken, Uncle How, me, Bro Scott, Dad George, and hubby Greg)
Last weekend, I got to walk in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. I had the privilege of enjoying the day with BC survivor Karen, and her sisters Denise and Sandy. Their mother in Colorado has survived BC for 44 years! That is so AWESOME!! She gives me more hope to keep fighting this disease.
Please pray for me tomorrow! I need lots of prayer, cause this surgery is major. For the first two days I will be pretty much out of it (mostly medicated.) By Wednesday, I should be more awake. I'll have Greg post more information as I recover. Surgery will probably start about 7:30 am and be ending around 3- 3:30 pm. I know everyday I will get better!
I know my Lord is with me, and I am with Him.
Lots of love to you all....Alicia
Last weekend, I got to walk in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. I had the privilege of enjoying the day with BC survivor Karen, and her sisters Denise and Sandy. Their mother in Colorado has survived BC for 44 years! That is so AWESOME!! She gives me more hope to keep fighting this disease.Please pray for me tomorrow! I need lots of prayer, cause this surgery is major. For the first two days I will be pretty much out of it (mostly medicated.) By Wednesday, I should be more awake. I'll have Greg post more information as I recover. Surgery will probably start about 7:30 am and be ending around 3- 3:30 pm. I know everyday I will get better!
I know my Lord is with me, and I am with Him.
Lots of love to you all....Alicia
Monday, June 6, 2005
June 6, 2005
I am feeling great! I am heading back to normal! I slipped past the last round with manageable side effects. Had a couple days on the couch because of body aches from the rebounding red blood cells. Other than that not too bad. My mom stayed with us a few days after my treatment. It was very nice to have her around to keep me company.
I had a few days a week or so ago just dealing with the emotional side of chemo. You spend so much of your energy dealing with just healing, that you push aside many emotions. They all came around last week. I gave over to God a lot of my anger toward all of this. I am praying that my anger will not turn to bitterness, and that I will not longer see chemo as "a big, black hole" in my life, because there is light in all of this.
I had a great time at the Relay for Life this past weekend. I got to walk with some BC survivor friends in the opening survivor's walk. It was a very strange, humbling feeling being the one on the track, instead of the one in the stands clapping for others. Interesting where God puts you! All of the survivors got a goody bag and a great catered dinner. Thanks to the Evans & Cierpot families and Elaine for all of their hard work putting our team together and decorating our AWESOME tent.
Good news! I think my hair is starting to come back! It's very thin and soft, but it is there! :)
Here is an article someone gave me at work I wanted to share with you. Had hold back some tears in some places and had to keep from laughing in others. All in all, it hits the head on the nail. I have learned how to show my inner cleavage! :) AB http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7103349/site/newsweek/
I had a few days a week or so ago just dealing with the emotional side of chemo. You spend so much of your energy dealing with just healing, that you push aside many emotions. They all came around last week. I gave over to God a lot of my anger toward all of this. I am praying that my anger will not turn to bitterness, and that I will not longer see chemo as "a big, black hole" in my life, because there is light in all of this.
I had a great time at the Relay for Life this past weekend. I got to walk with some BC survivor friends in the opening survivor's walk. It was a very strange, humbling feeling being the one on the track, instead of the one in the stands clapping for others. Interesting where God puts you! All of the survivors got a goody bag and a great catered dinner. Thanks to the Evans & Cierpot families and Elaine for all of their hard work putting our team together and decorating our AWESOME tent.
Good news! I think my hair is starting to come back! It's very thin and soft, but it is there! :)
Here is an article someone gave me at work I wanted to share with you. Had hold back some tears in some places and had to keep from laughing in others. All in all, it hits the head on the nail. I have learned how to show my inner cleavage! :) AB http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7103349/site/newsweek/
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