Erin Update - 9:15 AM

Erin is having the abscess drained as I type. Rob and Steven are on their way. Deb said the ER doctor who has Erin's case and has been dealing with Dr. JAckel told her she thought Erin would be going back to Stanford and they would transport her. I am sure Dr. Jackel wants her where he can care for her.

Mackenzie, David and I are getting along fine. More when I know it. Love to all.

Erin Update - 7 AM - Not The Good News We Hoped For

About a half hour or so after my update last night, Erin vomited again. Deb was going to drive her to the ER but with Erin still getting sick and not knowing what really was going on with her, I suggested she call 911 to send an ambulance and paramedics. She did and then called the ENT on duty at Stanford, who then notified Dr. Jackel. Erin was sick again on the way to the hospital in the ambulance.

She has gotten good care at the ER at Sutter General (the hospital of choice of my parents when they were here so I suggested it to the paramedics). They did x-rays and a cat-scan. They have discovered the problem, come up with a plan to take care of the problem and have been consulting with Dr. Jackel all along as well.

She has an abscess (not sure of my spelling)and it has to be drained. They are admitting her to the hospital. Deb has of course called Ron and she was going to call Rob at 6:30 to have him come down. I will update as I learn more. Poor Deb has pulled an all-nighter at the hospital and is still there. I got 2 more hours of sleep than she did.

Erin Update -- 10:30 PM

Erin's day never got better. She never was able to eat anything other than a little applesauce, and a few sips of chicken broth. She has been good about trying to get water and Gaterade down. The good news is she only vomited the one time, but she has been uncomfortable all day and feeling achy. Shje neded up with a fever tonight of 102.1. Deb contacted the ENT on duty at Stanford and talked with her. The ENT talked with another doctor on duty and they felt after asking a lot of questiopns of Deb and then Erin, that the fever most likely was unrelated to the surgery. We started her on Tylenol and I bathed her with cool washclothes for a few hours until she felt comfoitrtable and the fever started going down. The last time Deb checked it, about 15 minutes ago, it was down to 100.6.

Not to alarm anyone but one of the things that can happen after this surgery is meningitis. Erin had it when she was alittlr girl so Deb knows the signs to look for. If we see any of those signs, or if her fever hadn;t gone down or goes back up and won't go down, we are to take her to the ER and they will probably do a spinal tap. We are encouraged though that the fever is going down as well as it is, and that Erin seems to be feeling alright other than having no energy as we do when running a fever and achy. We just keep encouraging her to drink water and try as hard as we can to get her comfortable.

We brought the recliner downstairs for her but she neded up not finding it as comfortable as she thought she would. She didn;t want to go back in the bed she slept in last night, so she is on the couch. She prefers to be sitting up and we have mahed that quite well. It's her lower back and rearend that get sore and has to keep trying to get in a more comfotable position. If she could just lay down comfortably I think she would sleep much better, but when she gets down (by removing one pillow at a time) she gets stuck and can't get back up.

We are of course hoping that by morning Erin will be feeling much better and we can get back to getting some food into her. Erin always functions better when she has a satisfied tummy.

I hope I have something more positive to report in the morning.

Erin Update - 2:15 PM

After such an amzing day yesterday Erin hasn't started this one off good. She woke early this morning with a migraine and a lot of uncomfortableness in the left side of her face. She also became anxious which didn't help her relax. She stayed in bed sleeping late, and then came out to the family room, and got comfortable on the couch, where she immdiately vomited. It could be the vicodin made her vomit since it will, especially if she doesn't eat with it. She has been dozing since then (a few hours I would say) and was sipping water here and there. I went grocery shopping and brought home Gatorade so we can hydrate her and bring her electrolytes back up after the vomiting. So right now it feels like we have taken a step backwards to liquids only, but this is expected when recouping form a surgery such as the one Erin had. Please say an extra prayer to get her through this bout quickly. I will keep you posted. Love to all.

You're Right Eileen, There's No Place Like Home......

Our drive to my home from Palo Alto went very well for Erin. She did great in the van and remained comfortable during the trip. She ate MacDonald French fries and drank a chocolate milkshake. We stopped once so I could put drops in her eye since it was feeling dry, and one other time for her to switch seats to one that reclined easier. At that time Deb fed Mackenzie a bottle since she started to melt down about 10 minutes before in the Bug. About a 1/2 hour out from home Erin became tired so she put her seat back and using a pillow to help support her neck slept until we were almost home. We were all excited that Erin did so well on the trip!

Needless to say we were all very happy to be here and out of the motel room. As Sarah Palin would say, I am not hoodwinking or bamboozling you. Okie Dokey? WINK (Couldn't resist) Erin settled herself on the couch and had a snack and rested. Mackenzie was excited to have new things to look at, Deb got their things organized in their bedroom and made phonme call she needed to make, and we all just kicked back for the rest of the afternoon, talked and watched CNN. Their non-bias politics central is great. It so so refreshing to see things presented that way so you can make clear independent choices without being bombarded with bias crap.

I gathered things from the freezer, what we had brought from the motel with us and the pantry and made a simple dinner of meatloaf, fresh zucchini baked in the oven topped with Parmesan cheese and mashed potatoes. Quick and comforting. It was very nice having Erin sit at the dinner table with us and not in bed, propped up with pillows and eating there as she was. She really has made wonderful progress in the last week. We are confident that this week before she sees the doctor again will also be filled with more amazing improvements.

We came home to find beautiful 80 degree weather and no wind. Mackenzie and I took a walk through the garden paths while dinner was in the oven. She loved the sound of all the water fountains in the yard and looking at the different plants and trees. She really loves the outdoors.

It was nice to be greeted by the love of my four 'babies' when I walked in the door, showing me how much they missed me. Funny how much I miss them too when I am away. They are such sweet kitties.

We are considering going out grocery shopping tomorrow. We do have the wheelchair here if Erin finds she gets too tired walking. I am just going to throw it in the van. Erin, Deb and I also want to check out the baby and childrens clothes at Mervyn's since they are going out of business and everything is on sale. It will be very nice for all if us doing something normal together. We shall she how we all feel in the morning. Right now Deb and I are exhausted and I am sure Erin is tired as well. Boy, getting old sure creeps up on you. On that note this old lady is making her way to her own bed (so long cot) at the early hour of 8:15. The way my body feels I would swear it is midnight....................

PS -- Thank you David.

Erin's Doctor Appointments - We're heading Home to My House

Erin had her appointments with Dr. Harsh and Dr. Jackel this afternoon. It was a long and tiring time for her, taking 4 hours including driving time. (Mostly waiting around.) Everything heard was GOOD NEWS!!!!

She can travel to my house tomorrow; lay flat, eat anything she wants, turn her head and start doing jaw and facial exercises. Her only limitations at this point are lifting and straining. They also removed her staples. She is having an x-ray early tomorrow morning so Dr Harsh can see if she needs the metal plate or not to hold her head up. It doesn;t appear that she does looking at her but he wants to check and will let them know. She will be having the injection to her vocal cords sometime soon. Dr. Jackel would like to get to that sooner than later. She sees both doctors again a week from today. Oh happy days!!!!!!!

Erin showered and dressed for her doctor appointments.

Cooking in the kitchen here has been a bit primitive -- above is our garbage disposal and there isn;t a microwave oven, so heating leftovers made dirty pots and skillets which wasn't fun. The sink would back up if you got anything other than water down it so I developed the place water in dirty pan put on hot burner, scrap up everything with a spoon or spatula, and then dump whole mess down the toilet....um I mean garbage disposal. I have to admit I am looking forward to being back in my own kitchen. Erin said tonight she wanted to buy whatever I needed at the grocery store to cook my recipes for her. she is so ready for real foods, though she did eat mac and cheese tonight and two nights in a row had Acme bread herd slab and Brillat Savarin.

Views of our room......

Really not a bad kitchen for a motel room, but all the plates were melamine so they couldn;t go in the oven to reheat food, and the 1 skillet was huge and didn;t fit in the oven. The kitchen was stocked with what one needs to get by so I do give them that.

Dining table, office desk............

While Deb and Erin were at Stanford for the appointments this afternoon I stayed with Mackenzie at the motel. I snapped these shots of her......

Well, the next time I make a post it will be from home. YAY!!!!!!!! Erin will be traveling in my van and Deb will drive Erin's VW Bug back with Mackenzie. It's about a 2 - 2 1/2 hour drive to my house from Palo Alto. I know that all of us are going to feel so much better being at my home with more space to move around, washer and dryer, fully loaded kitchen, sofas to sit comfortably on to watch TV, and our own bedrooms. It's going on 10 PM and I am exhausted I have to admit. I'm off to get the cot down and made up so I can fall into it. And fall into I do. You sink into it, and my legs are so short it is a challenge to get out of it. It cracks Deb and Erin up when they watch me. Love to all nighty night.........

An Angel Visits and Other Moments

Kathy's visit last night was medicine for all of us. We had such a wonderful time seeing her and talking, and Deb, Erin and Kathy enjoyed getting to know one another better.

Erin and Kathy.

Kathy has been an angel to our family during this whole process, helping Erin and Rob when they made pre-surgery doctor visits by watching Steven, visiting in the hospital, and having lunch with Rob one day.

Sitting poolside enjoying a glass of wine and cheese and bread.

Last night while we sat in the kitchen talking she gave Erin a foot and calf massage. she is such a dear friend and so thoughtful and giving. Today Erin and I were talking and we both thought she would make such a wonderul volunteer in the Big-Sister foundation. She would be such an amazing mentor and role model for a young girl.

More of that wine and goodies.

I have alwasys known I was blessed to have Kathy in my life, and now my family feels the same way. How do you thank someone properly who has given so much of themselves to you and and then treats your family as if it is her own? I am not sure there are any words.

Erin eating Gerber Graduates Finger Foods Sweet Corn Puffs. We all decided we like them and they melt right in your mouth so they are a breeze to swallow.

OTHER MOMENTS -- This monkey is very special to our family. David had it with him when he had his major sinus surgery back in the early 90's. He passed it on to Erin when she had her first tumor surgery in 1997. She was going to send it back to her Uncle David when he had his heel surgery the beginning of June, but she was having her dizzy spells at that time and didn't venture out of the house much. Monkey is with her through this surgery and recovery as well. He is a special little guy and makes recovery just a little bit easier.

Deb checking her emails. This is where we blog from right now; the table in the motel kitchen.

My bed. Deb and I had such a time getting it together that we decided not to unfold it every night, but to just stand it up in a corner of the kitchen. It has worked well, and much easier getting the cot ready to sleep in each night.

A Mommy and Mackenzie moment.