Taking Things Day By Day

Hi Everyone,

Lauren is doing about the same. Pain in her left shoulder and so puffy. She tries to get up and walk around some, but I don't think enough. Today she went outside with Ryan and walked down the street to the stop sign and back. Other than that, she has been sitting in the recliner.

Lauren had a lot of leakage at her incision site yesterday. She is so puffy from the waist down. She managed to go to the basement and step on the scale and what a shocker!! She has gained 29 pounds since her surgery. All water weight because she doesn't eat enough in a day to gain any real weight.

With the incision leaking and her being so puffy, I decided to call Dr. Sonnenday's office. His nurse called me back and after I told her everything, she said she was going to page him and come up with a plan. He wanted her to get labs at a local hospital, so he faxed an order to Mercy Medical Center in Canton. He also said to up her lasix to two pills per day. Mark was off so he drove us down and dropped us at the door. Lauren was afraid they wouldn't be able to find a good vein because nobody has been able to find one for a very long time. She put lidocaine on her wrists and in the bends of her arms so it wouldn't hurt when they started poking. The nurse was very patient and took her time to really look and wouldn't you know that she got a good vein on the first try!! Lauren was very relieved.

Dr. Sonnenday's nurse also said that he wanted Lauren to come to Michigan on Friday to have an ultrasound on her legs to make sure she has no DVTs (blood clots). He also wants to see her to check her over. So we will be going to Michigan tomorrow morning for her afternoon appointments. Another one of his nurses called today and said Lauren's potassium is low, so he was sending a prescription to our pharmacy. The pharmacy called and said they didn't have it in stock and it wouldn't be in until tomorrow so they called a few places trying to find some. I called a pharmacy and found it in powder form as he had prescribed. So I had to go to that pharmacy, go grocery shopping since I hadn't been home in two weeks, and go refill Lauren's prescription at her regular pharmacy.

I will leave you with a picture of Lauren and her pal, Penny. This was taken yesterday during a thunderstorm and Peanut is hiding in the blankets because he is scared. Lauren got her hair cut yesterday because it is falling out everywhere. We aren't sure why because she hasn't had chemo since February. Maybe stress from the surgery or something else. Who knows. Thanks for supporting Lauren in her journey to be cured of this cancer. Until next time...

Love,
-Pam