Check out my new WHEELS!

I'm officially OLD. No, I did not turn 30 yet. I got a wheel chair! Thanks to this chair, I can get around in the downstairs of the house easily and go outside the house and to my appointments without passing out, from standing and walking with my walker. Whohoo!

There's nothing real pretty about it. Not exactly on the list of most fashionable accessories to add to your wardrobe. So to make it a little more me, I decided to decorate it with ribbon. So I made two bows to add to my chair. Now I'm styling.

(I'm exhausted and in pain, early bedtime tonight.) Look for current Health updates to come, from doctors visit, report from interventional radiology, ER visit, and more...

Do our kids have a blood clotting disorder? *UPDATE BELOW

That is the question. (In case you don't know, I have a blood clotting disorder called Protein S Deficiency).

"Protein S Deficiency (PSD) is a rare blood disorder that affects just a few thousand people worldwide. It is one of several known risk factors for thrombophilia and can increase the risk of blood clots such as Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) and Pulmonary Embolism (PE)."

Since the kids had their last doctor checkup the pediatrician has been doing some research and talking to some other doctors. He called today and told me that it is very important for us to get all the kids tested for this blood disorder. The doctor says there is a 50% chance that they have it. It is a genetic disorder. The doctor is going to be contacting my hematologist and speaking with him to make sure they do all the right tests. When he calls back they will set up some time to bring the kids in to draw blood on each one so they can run this test. Of course we are praying that none of the kids have this blood disorder. I would hate for any of our children to have to go through even one ounce of what I have been through with this deficiency. The doctor said that typically it stays silent during the younger years and the older you get the more likely it is to cause harm.

**UPDATE: The pediatrician and my hematologist both spoke over the situation and have decided the appropriate tests to be done. Once we can get all the orders in our hands we will be able to set up a time for all five to go by the Children's Hospital for the testing.

Back In The Hospital

Yes, you heard that right. I'm back in the hospital. Thursday afternoon I went back to the doctors office to get my blood checked once again, thinking things were going to be looking up. Turns out the blood clot is so large and has effected so much of my veins that there is complete occlusion of the veins in my leg. The doctor sent me to the emergency room, and i was admitted into the hospital that night.

"An occlusion is a blockage of a vessel. There are two types of occlusions: partial or complete.

An occlusion of an artery in the heart or in another area of the body may be caused by the buildup of atherosclerotic plaque, by plaque that has broken off from one area of a vessel and traveled to another part of the body, or by a blood clot. Partial occlusions limit, but do not completely block, blood flow. On the other hand, complete occlusions completely restrict blood flow.

Occlusions prevent organs and tissues from obtaining the oxygen and nutrients they need to survive. This, in turn, causes tissue death and serious conditions, such as a heart attack or stroke."

In turn this causes an extreme amount of pain, pressure to my entire leg. I am currently on bed rest, although, I can barely stand on my leg anyway. I have never really been a typical patient and usually am far from a textbook case so things don't always appear from the outside as they are on the inside, or vice-versa. It's just one complicated thing after another really. The good part though is, I now have an excellent team of doctors on my case that are all working together, communicating and trying to make the best, wisest and most safe decisions when it comes to my treatment. Apparently, things were not handled well originally when i was in the hospital, and I should not have been discharged as I was. But now, we have moved on and are dealing with the present situation the smartest way possible. As of last night they started me on an iv heparin drip, to help aid in the thinning out of my blood, and speed up the process of breaking up the clot. They have stopped Lovonox and I'm continuing on Coumidin as well. 

Last night a group of my girlfriends came up to the hospital to see me. We hung out in my room, chatted away, and enjoyed each others company. And even had some incredibly scrumptious cupcakes that Melissa brought. Mine was red velvet cake. Heavenly! Thank goodness I was aloud to eat food by then. Hehe! How wonderful it is to have friends who are so loving and caring and took time from their Friday nights to share some laughs with me. I am blessed!!

Logan has come up a couple times to see me, which was awesome. I love that boy so much! And Donny has brought all the kids up, and I got to take turns cuddling with each one in the bed. I'm thankful I got the time I did with them through this week, and got to see their excitement about their new school and all the new things they are experiencing for the first time this year.

Blood Clot Update

I have been experiencing a great deal more pain in my leg since I have been home from the hospital. Especially, in the last couple days. To the point where sitting is painful and walking is just plain baaddd. Hard to walk anyway, but the more I'm upright, the more intense the pain is. If I'm laying with my leg propped it helps, but any other position is not fun. I had another ultrasound yesterday, and they found that the clot has gotten worse, and is also up into my abdomen, so only makes sense that the pain has increased and not gotten better.

Thankfully, at this point this change does not mean much, just continue on my blood thinning medicines and shots as I have been. My INR was still way low yesterday, so need that to go up asap, so no other clots form. With my history you just never know. Nothing ever seems to go the way any doctor says should be expected. So pray that the clot begins to dissolve, and the pain lessons, so I can get back to being super mommy. Daddy Donny has been filling in the gaps for me, and am so grateful for how he always steps up and takes charge and takes care of our family so well.

The kids had another great day at school! Logan even got to ride home on his scooter with Daddy. Good times!!

Home From The Hospital!

So my procedure for my bile duct turned up to be a big stay in the hospital. That was defiantly not what we had thought or had planned for. If you have kept up with Donny's blog and Facebook status, then you know how crazy this last week in a half has been. Instead of coming home after the first procedure, I ended up, staying for what ended up being a total of nine days in the hospital. 

The procedure itself went very well. However, immediately afterwards I ended up in ICU after having what they concluded as a negative reaction coming out of the anesthesia. I had several (seizure like) episodes, they could not stop, so ended up putting me back under. Later doing all sorts of tests. Scaring the heck out of my husband. All along I was unaware any of this was happening. I still have very little memory of my stay in ICU.

Couple days later, had the second procedure, and all went well. I was then going to be able to go home, but that all changed when it was discovered that I had developed a blood clot in my leg. Thus the treatment to dissolve the blood clot began. 

I'm home now! My stomach has never been better! I was laying in bed tonight, and realized, WOW, my stomach does not hurt. I can't remember the last time I did not have stomach pain. It has been something I have lived with for soooo long. I am not getting around much. My leg is still in pain, and walking is difficult due to the blood clot. Thankfully, we caught it in time before something tragic happened. Overall, I am doing well, all things considered. Thankful to be home in the warmth and comfort of my home!!

GI Procedure

Next Tuesday, I will be having a endoscopic procedure. The doctor will be placing a stent in my bile duct. If successful the following week I will go back in, and he will remove the stent. At that time he will correct the problem fully. If the stent does not correct the problem, the doctor will remove the stent the following week and leave everything be. We are hoping and praying that this will be our answer.

"The ERCP procedure involves passing a flexible tube (endoscope) through the mouth, esophagus, and stomach into the first part of the small intestine (the duodenum) where the drainage opening for the bile and pancreatic ducts is located.  The doctor then passes a small plastic tube (catheter) through a channel in the endoscope and out into view in the duodenum and inserts it into this small opening.  A contrast solution (dye) is then injected through the catheter into the bile and pancreatic duct system(s), and x-rays are taken. These can be viewed immediately so that the doctor can make a diagnosis.

The doctor may take specimen samples for analysis if the x-rays (and any previous tests) suggest the possibility of cancer.  Tiny wire brushes are used to scrape the duct lining and retrieve cells for microscopic examination.  Small pinching biopsy forceps can be used to take larger pieces of tissue.  Bile or pancreatic juice can be retrieved and sent to the laboratory to check whether there is any infection or to look for disturbance of the normal digestive constituents."

These are the treatments that will be used for this ERCP...

• Papillary stenosis and sphincter dysfunction. "Sphincterotomy (of the bile duct and/or pancreatic orifice) is used also when there is scarring of the papilla (papillary stenosis) or evidence of overactivity (spasm) of the muscular valve. This is called sphincter of Oddi dysfunction. Sphincterotomy is more hazardous in this context than when used for stones.
  
• Duct dilatation and stenting. ERCP x-rays may show partial blockage or narrowing of the bile duct or pancreatic duct. This narrowing can be stretched (dilated) using a sausage shaped balloon catheter. Often a small tube (stent) is left behind to maintain the stretch, and allows the duct to drain more easily." (www.digestivehealthnetwork.com)

Goodbye Flu Bug!

We're still here...just been fighting off illnesses that have been passed around the house. The kids all seem to be doing so much better now. Just a few upset tummy's every once and a while. Whatever this illness was it got to me earlier this week and I'm getting over it now. Whew! Glad that's over!! D is off on his first business trip since the new job. We are hanging out, enjoying the nice weather while he is away.

The Latest and Greatest...

I know it has been a while. First of all, thank you for praying us through this last unexpected surgery. (If you did not hear through the grapevine, I had another ovarian surgery) Thankfully, this time they were able to do it laparoscopically. It could not have been any smoother or easier. And with my experience that is very hard to come by. I'm doing very well in recovery, and should be cleared to drive again tomorrow at my post-op visit. Whohoo!

Before all this unexpected surgery came about I had been seeing a thoracic specialist. The last year I have been going through physical therapy and had multiple tests and injections to treat my thoracic problems. Now the time has come and It looks like I will be having thoracic surgery next week. I'll be seeing the two different surgeons this week who will both be involved in my surgery. All the blood work will be done the next day. And the following day, Thursday the 22nd I will have the surgery. Please be in prayer for a safe and successful surgery. If the surgery is successful it will change my life. (Chronic issues, pains and numbness I deal with daily would go away). The surgery involves dividing a muscle in the neck and removing a portion of the first rib. It is a 5 hr surgery. Pray for D, at this point, he will be at work at his new job that day. :) (Yes that's right D got a new job! Well, actually he has been offered two positions, he accepted one...and if the background check comes back good he is in and starts next week. But we will see cause he has also had several interviews since for other companies and is one of the top candidates for another position with another company and will be meeting with them again Monday. So if he gets a job offer from them, that may change the direction he will go. Only God knows, and we will find out. But D hit the ground running looking for a job and has kept busy at it, and it is paying off. Yeah for Donny!!) As of today my blood levels were right where they need to be and I started on Lovinox shots. This is the last big medical issue I have been dealing with as a result from complications after the quads. So hopefully...after this I will be sitting pretty!

We appreciate your prayers!

Health Updates

Here we go again...It's official. All five kids went to the doctor today, and as nature would have it, they all have a sinus infection. Madison and Candice both have what could be strep throat, but we don't know for sure, cause they did not run a test. The antibiotics the doctor was prescribing for the sinus infection for everyone would work for strep as well. So it was not necessary. At least we have proper medicine and hopefully they will be back to full health very soon.

Mommy had her post op appointment this morning and passed with flying colors. Whohoo! The incision is healing up nicely and there is no infection present anywhere. I'm now taking very little pain meds if any. I'm seeing the ENT next week about my ear, for further consult.

In other health news...Candice's sedated hearing test was finally rescheduled and that will happen on December 2nd.

Germs, Germs, Everywhere!!

This is a long weekend for us. The quads were out of school on Friday and there is no school on Monday for Fair day. Unfortunately, we are unable to enjoy the extra family time, cause we have a house full of sick people. All five kids are sick. Logan is the better of the five, for now anyway, but the quads have some nasty bug. It is not pretty in no shape or form. I've had a lot of trouble sleeping at night the last several nights. Sorry Donny! Between recovering from surgical pains, my body reacting the medicines that I'm on, and an ear infection (well, it's not really an infection, but I really don't know any other easy way to say it). There's an problem with my ear that's causing major ear pain, as if I had an infection. In order to not bother Donny any more than I already have, I decided to go lay in the other room for a while. Soon as I got up I heard crying from the upstairs, and I listened and heard a cry for mommy. Then more crying. I went upstairs, Sam and Maddy were both in bed asleep, crying and Sam was the one calling my name. It was so sad. But yet so precious. I got them out of bed one at a time and held them for a while, wiped their tears, gave them so medicine and put them back down. I feel so bad when my babies don't feel good. :( Poor munchkins! Logan came home from a friends birthday party yesterday not feeling well...and the quads were, let's just say, a mess yesterday. Not much has changed. We are not going far. We are stuck in this germ infested house.

Down With The Dixon's

We had a nice restful weekend. I even felt well enough to get out of the house for the first time since being home from the hospital, and went to church with the family. It was probably a little much, but I'm glad I went. I had really been missing worship the last couple weeks while I have been in and out of the hospital. We had long list of things to get accomplished after church... but did not get to. I was in major pain and feeling sick after a long morning and had to take the rest of the day to recuperate. I felt much better this morning, (or afternoon, I should say, seeing that I slept in and did not really start my day till early afternoon) and have done pretty well all day. We got a couple things done and I'll have to get to the other things later this week. Big thanks to my hubby for getting the kids up and ready for school and bathed and ready for bed this evening. It's so nice to have him in town this week! I really do appreciate you Hun! More than you know. :) I know he will be ready for me to be back to full time mommy a.s.a.p., and I as well am looking forward to that. It really is hard for me to sit back and watch the kids be taken care of and not be the one involved. It's my God given job after all. Every once in a while I get spurts of energy and then I get really burned down. So as I know from experience it will take a while before I'll be back to full speed. I do however feel so much better health wise, and I'm thankful to have that health bump behind me. Now my concerns are much less trivial. I'm having fashion issues right now. My clothes just don't fit me. Well, at least not comfortably. Due to the surgical site I can't wear anything that buttons or zips or is tight around my waist. That pretty much eliminates most all my wardrobe. Except, for my pajama pants, sweatpants, and dresses. In other words, if you happen to see me about in the next couple weeks, I may just look like I am going to a slumber party, am headed to the gym, or am going to a funeral. Until next time... Goodnight and God Bless!!

On The Road To Recovery

My doctor released me from the hospital this afternoon. So goodbye hospital gown! No infections and cyst free!!! My abdomen is pretty swollen right now, and the surgical site burns to the touch, so it makes wearing normal day clothes a bit difficult. So for a while anyway...I'll just be dressing for comfort and not style. I'll see the doctor for a check up in a week. I'm very limited to what I can do for the next several weeks. So I know that will be a challenge. I'm not one of those kind of people that do good at doing nothing. My mind is running this constant checklist of things to be done, projects to start, projects to finish, or preparing for whatever is next on the checklist. Overall, I feel good. I mean, I'm certainly in pain from the surgery. I had the majority of my abdomen cut open, but the pain medicines help a lot and I don't have to deal with the horrible pains I was having before surgery. I know this pain is only temporary and part of the course, so I can deal with this. I am on the road to recovery and going to back to being a fun, young, stylish mommy of multiples in no time. Let's get this party started!

Off To The Hospital

Today is the day. Donny is on a plane right now, headed back to Dallas. Nana and Pops are also on a plane headed here. Donny will be back just in time to come see me before I go back for surgery. Nana and Pops should arrive close to 5pm. I'm dressed and getting ready to get picked up to go to the hospital. They have a lot of prepping to do to get ready for surgery. Placing a central line, blood work, starting antibiotics and such. I did get some sleep last night. But had horrible night sweats. Well, I'm still sweating, so I guess it's really not night sweats. I cried allot yesterday. I really just wanna see my hubby and know that everything is going to be ok. Hopefully, next time I write, I will be feeling better. I don't know how long I will be in the hospital, so we will see. Thank you for your prayers! Until, next time...

Tomorrow Is Surgery Day

It's already been a long day. Mostly cause I barely slept last night. And spent the entire morning in the doctors office. It's official. I am having surgery tomorrow. I will be going in for a laparotomy at 1pm Wednesday. My options were either to wait a couple more weeks, then have the surgery or go ahead and get it done. I'm choosing to not wait for the inevitable and get it done asap so I can be as pain free as possible and well as soon as I can, so I can go back to my normal life with quads plus one. :) There's nothing I hate more than being here but not being well enough to do things with my kids. It makes me sad. I wanna be the superhero mom that everyone talks about.

Please pray for my family while I am in the hospital. Pray that they are well taken care of and for all my babies to know how much I love them. (That includes my Big baby, Donny). I hope to be back and at very soon. So stay tuned for more blogs soon as I can get home and type. Until then I'm sure that my hubby with keep you posted about our family at http://dixonstadium.wordpress.com/.

Doctor, Doctor, Give Me The News...

I saw the doctor today. The MRSA infection has healed up well. Meaning that it is no longer active in my body. Whohoo! I've been given some burn cream to help heal my arm. Unfortunately, the pain I have been experiencing has not gone away. It continues and is at it's worst. I am getting little sleep and not able to eat normal. I've spent most the day curled up in a ball. I talked to the doctor tonight, and he is going to see me first thing in the morning. I'll be getting an ultrasound and then go to get my blood checked. We will see where we are at after the doctor can see what is going on.

Back To The Blogging World

We have a new place to call home. We have settled into our new house and are enjoying life here. Don't get me wrong. There are still plenty of boxes to be unpacked, or stored somewhere. Just don't look in the garage. We have enough of the essentials in place that a few more weeks won't hurt the unopened boxes. There has been little time for unpacking between school and church events and business trips. Shortly before we sold our home, we found a new home church. God has opened so many doors through this church and we are loving every minute of it. I look forward to telling you more about that later. The quads are riding the bus again this year, and are in school three hours each morning. It's going great! Logan is in a new school and is loving it! He has already learned so much and the school year has just begun. Most recently he has come home reciting scripture verses and telling us about the Trinity. I mean seriously! I could not be more proud. Today, Logan came home from church and has been singing "The B-I-B-L-E." How cute is that. I remember singing that as a child. It use to be that, if I went a while without writing on the blog, then that was a sign that something was wrong. However, for some time that has not been the case. Until recently, the Dixon fam has been wonderful and we have been enjoying life in the most normal way that we possibly can. I say until recently, due to the fact that as some of you may be aware of, I was hospitalized a couple weeks ago (after a surgery) and have been sick and trying to recover. I got a skin infection following a laparoscopic procedure. Some of you may have heard of this not so nice infection, MRSA. I am on heavy antibiotics trying to fight it off. Also, I have a ovarian cyst that continues to grow and get more and more painful each day. I'm on lots of pain meds to deal with that until it bursts, or my MRSA goes away and I can have surgery to remove it. We will see. So many friends and family have reached out to us and helped us with meals, laundry, babysitting, and cleaning and we are so grateful. You guys are awesome!! We love you!!