Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting. I will do my best to update the site with info as flows. However, this journey has many twists and turns, ups and downs. I hope our friends and family get the information.
January 30, 2018 - We had some high glucose levels and went to the ER where she was diagnosed Pancreatitis and they referred us to a specialist.
February 6, 2018 - We met with the specialist and he told us we did not have pancreatitis, but a cyst on the pancreas. He scheduled a endoscopy ultrasound.
March 9, 2018 - We had the endoscopy/ultrasound. Barbara had to be sedated for the procedure.
March 19, 2018 - We met the Oncology Surgeon in Anaheim. He told us the cysts were not concerning, but he found a tumor in the pancreas that tested positive for cancer and she was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer.
March 28-31, 2018 - Barbara went for a 6 hour surgery and the surgeon removed 3/4 of her pancreas and her entire spleen along with 48 lymph nodes. The surgery went very well.
April 11, 2018 - We met with our medical oncologist and he told us that some of the lymph nodes were positive for cancer and we are going to start Chemotherapy, then radiation in a few, months. We were told her immune system was going to be very low and we were told to stay away from any person who was ill as well as all animals. No raw foods, etc. Even lettuce must be scrubbed. She was devastated to learn she could not baby sit Brixton and Connor until her blood levels improved.
April 30, 2018 - We started Chemotherapy Infusion
June 26, 2018 - We finished two rounds of Chemo and was scheduled to start prepping for radiation.
July 2, 2018 - We went to the Radiation Center in Anaheim. It appears the cancer has spread into the abdomen and is now Stage 4, the Chemo was ineffective for this clone of pancreatic cancer. Radiation Therapy was cancelled and we were scheduled for a stronger type of Chemotherapy.
July 11, 2018 - She had a PICC Line inserted into left upper arm and started Infusion for 6 hours. Then they attached a Chemo-Pump for 48 hours of continual infusion. We went home with the pump.
July 13, 2018 - We had the pump removed from the PICC at 4pm then went to the mountains. Her pain was minimal when she wore the pump.
July 14&15, 2018 - We were win Big Bear and the pain started to get worse. She was sore and tired. She rested during the day. We went out on Friday (Maureen) Saturday (Braze's) - we came home early due to the discomfort.
July 16, 2018 - The pain was worse and she can't sleep.
July 17, 2018 - The pain was progressively getting worse, her abdomen was very painful. She was prescribed Fentanyl 12mcg/hr transdermal patch. NORCO and Morphine.
July 18, 2018 - Her doctor ordered more aggressive therapy for her pain as we tried to get her intestines flowing.
July 19, 2018 - Today we had an appointment with Palliative Care Team. The team was very nice and provided us with a new support group. We talked about many things from current care to possible future issues. I was a little emotional and so was Barbara. We are to keep the pain management we are currently using and work on constipation. Barbara experienced debilitating pain around 4:50 she could barely walk and went to the bathroom, she was sweating and pale. She started vomiting. After she was done I gave her a compazine. She held it down. I called my friend and she guided me through administering a fleet enema. Afterwards i put her on the sofa and she is feeling a little better. It has been a very rough afternoon. I am glad we have friends to call to assist us. They are enroute. At 8:50 she was having breakout pain in her lower abdomen and I gave her another NARCO, it worked. Our friends arrived and Denise helped take care of Barbara. This was the toughest day for us so far - it was not good for either of us, I feel so helpless when she is in so much pain.
July 24, 2018 - IN HOSPITAL Barb had a rough night, she could not get comfortable. Her ribs and abdomen made it hard to sleep. Her neck still has the lumps and they are sensitive when touched. She feels lousy this morning, the bloating makes her feel uncomfortable and she is tired. I am worried about her abdomen and the lumps on her neck, I called Meesha and left a message, she returned my call while we were in the ED. The pain in her abdomen makes her feel like her belly is going to pop. They are having issues drawing blood from the PICC line. They finally cleared the PICC line after several attempts. She seems to be clotting and her neck vein and other structures seem to be affected. She has developed aceites in her abdomen. The aceites is fairly large and filled with water that is pushing on her intestines and bowels. They decided to admit her to the hospital for a procedure tomorrow. The Dilaudid is incredible and has stopped her pain. She did not sleep well because of noise, pain was good.
July 25, 2018 Wednesday - IN HOSPITAL An ultrasound was conducted around her neck and arm, they found thrombosis (clots) in several places and all around the PICC line and have decided to remove the PICC. They started her on Heparin IV for the clotting. PICC removed. They are going to do a paracentesis to drain water from her abdomen today. She had dilaudid for pain this morning around 7:AM. We had a discussion with the doctor and she wants to start Lovenox twice a day (forever) to deal with clotting potential. Also, we may do a PICC in the right arm with blood thinners for ease of infusion.
