This is my Sister, her name is Carrie
For the last few days she had been ill thinking perhaps she caught a common flu, only it went from flu to pain and serious illness.
Last night was in severe pain and in the early morning hours was finally brought to the emergency room where it was found air and stomach contents were into areas they didn’t belong causing expansion and systemic infection.
She needed to be rushed to the operating room where she was incised from breastbone to about 12-14 inches down to clean the stomach products out of her cavities.
She made it through that high risk procedure and we are now onto battling the infections. She is allergic to most antibiotics on a serious level so it’s going to be a trial and error/wait and see thing for now.
Please send positive thoughts for healing and strength to my sister and for the Doctors and Nurses who treat her allow them a keen eye, skilled hand and healing power to help bring her through this.
A little history on my sister.
She is 37 years old and is a widow. Her husband took his life due to severe mental illness in 2001. She has no children. Her area of skill and profession was in working with juvenile offenders who were victims of child abuse, she was great at her job and was always well loved by her clients and co-workers. She left her field of working with child offenders after needing spinal surgery that left her with lifelong spinal pain and some nerve damage that affected her leg. She now works the business end of things at Verizon Wireless and is again loved by her co-workers. She hasn’t been able to return to her previous field, mostly due to the failing economy. Her battle with weight issues had lasted for many years a and finally after many professional programs it was decided her life was at risk and the bariatric surgery was necessary.
She had been doing perfectly for so long. There were complications mostly diet related and she needed supplements and medication to keep everything in control, but this came out of nowhere.
She is young, and full of life, She has been my side all my life. My mother was scheduled to be with her own sister as she goes through another round of chemo. My Uncle is of failing health and cannot assist her. My mom was due to leave this weekend but now must be at her daughters side to pray.
I can’t be there with my sister due to a serious lack of funds, I’m barely feeding my family, I can’t afford gas, my own car isn’t running, I’m borrowing one that shouldn’t be on the road, my fridge is dead, I can’t afford a cooler and we are trying to get by on an inadequate diet due to money and no fridge while me an my son are on medical diets. It has been a terrible last few months, our whole family has been suffering and now one lies with their life at risk.
The thread I have been hanging onto is beginning to unravel but it can’t….I must be strong for my sister. I only question am I that strong?
Update!
My sister passed her stomach test!
My sister did pass her upper GI test this morning and her new stomach is functioning. They are discussing possibly sending her home with home health care so my mother and son can care for her at home.
Her panic and depression are really bad and they feel perhaps if she were home she would recover better than in the hospital setting. I hope that works out well, because I know she really would recover best at home in her own room with her Mom and Nephew helping her. It will be a few weeks before she is up and around and at least a week before anything solid can go in her stomach. For now it will be just liquids.
My Goodness!!!! The prayers are working…she is around the bend. Today will be her first day out of controlled sedation to see how she will handle the pain without pain medications. You HAVE to be strong to handle a 14 inch incision and newly built stomach without strong pain medications.
My mother is feeling the physical and emotional stress of all of this, but if my sister comes home my son can help out and will pick up the slack. He would make a horrible bed nurse, but he can do practical things which can help.
Please keep those prayers coming, she is now officially STABLE and her tests were good today showing she is beating the infection. I am thanking all those sending forth the positive thoughts, I know when I was able to get there yesterday it helped. She had her sister, mother and Amy who she loves as a sister there with her and she needed that circle of support around her, and we had the power of all who are giving us the strength to give to her. She had a good night last night and there is a silver lining emerging in the cloud that hovered over her.