My Life Could Be A Grey's Anatomy Episode

We got some good and bad news this week. Good news is that there is a very slight improvement in my blood clot compared to about 2 months ago. Bad news is the doctor had the interventional radiologist study the films and they have determined that it has been too long for the procedure we were hoping for to be affective. There is nothing the hematologist or interventional radiologist can do to help treat me. The next step, the doctor is referring me to a vascular surgeon. Hopefully, they will have an answer to take care of me. Otherwise, there is no telling how long this very large blood clot will take to resolve.

In other health news, Monday, the doctor sent me to the emergency room for some tests. For the last several days I have been having severe chest pains, and tightness. Making it hard and painful to breath. I have also had a lot of swelling in my arms and hands. At first it was an immediate worry that part of the clot may have broken off and traveled to my lungs causing a Pulmonary embolism. However that is not the case, thankfully. The doctor says I have a pleurisy. And the doctor says I probably have a blood clot in my arms. However, since my treatment would be the same as the treatment I am already receiving for the leg clot, they did not scan my arms. There is no treatment for pleurisy. You just treat the pain. I'm already on heavy pain medications so there was no reason to keep me in the hospital. They sent me home and I'm back to resting. I was told it takes anywhere from a few days to two weeks for the pleurisy to go away.

"What is pleurisy?

Pleurisy is swelling (inflammation) of the thin layers of tissue (pleura) covering the lungs and the chest wall.

The outer layer of the pleura lines the inside of the chest wall, and the inner layer covers the lungs. The tiny space between the two layers is called the pleural cavity. This cavity normally contains a small amount of lubricating fluid that allows the two layers to slide over each other when you breathe.

When the pleura becomes inflamed, the layers rub together, causing chest pain. This is known as pleuritic pain.

Pleurisy is sometimes called pleuritis.

What causes pleurisy?

In young, healthy people, an infection of the lower respiratory system by a virusor bacteria may cause pleurisy. Pleurisy usually lasts a few days to 1 or 2 weeks. In very rare cases, the virus or bacteria may spread and cause pleurisy in others.

Other causes of pleurisy include air leaking into the pleural cavity from a lung (pneumothorax), injury to the chest (such as a broken rib), tuberculosis or other infections, or a tumor in the pleura.

Other conditions may also cause pleurisy. These include rheumatoid arthritis,lupus, sickle cell crisis, pulmonary embolism, or pancreatitis. Pleurisy may also develop as a complication of heart surgery.

What are the symptoms of pleurisy?

The symptoms of pleurisy are chest pain and difficulty breathing. The chest pain usually starts suddenly. People often describe it as a stabbing pain and it usually gets worse with breathing. The pain:

• May always be present, but it usually gets worse when you breathe in. You may avoid breathing deeply to prevent the pain.
• Usually is on only one side of the chest.
• May extend to a shoulder or the belly.
• Is usually worse when you cough, sneeze, or suddenly move.
• May ease when you hold your breath or press on the painful area." (www.webmd.com)

Latest with Liz...

After seeing the Hematologist yesterday the doctor has ordered another scan. I will be going to the hospital this morning for this sonogram. Pray that they can see everything clearly as they need to make decisions on what to do next. The doctor is going to discuss it with the interventional radiologists to determine what procedures would be possible to clear out the clot. He discussed one option he was thinking of, but was unsure if too much time had lapsed already, for it to be an option. It would however require me to be in the hospital a couple days. Monday, I will go back to the doctor and we will discuss the findings, results, what my option/s are and decide what we will do now.

Surgery, Blood Clot & Bedrest

I have yet to explain what happened since my bile duct procedure. Turned out that after the first procedure to put the stint in I had a very bad reaction to the anesthesia. I had seizure like episodes and ended up in the Intensive Care Unit. Once I was stable and everything seemed to resolve they decided to wait three days and then take the stint back out and do the second procedure where they opened it up. So they kept me in the hospital and I was going to get to go home after the second procedure. Everything went great with the procedure and my stomach was feeling GREAT. Unfortunately, I got a very large clot in leg. Ended up in the hospital a few more days. Went home, and instead of things getting better with the clot..they got worse. This point I could barely walk, and was in tremendous constant pain. Doctor saw me, sent me immediately to the emergency room. The blood flow in my leg was 100% blocked off. I was admitted to the hospital that day and spent a couple weeks there, getting all sorts of medications and treatments for the clot and pain.

Finally, I was discharged to go home two weeks ago. I have been on bed rest. I have a walker to use when I do get up, but the only place I am suppose to go is to the doctors office. So really I'm just getting up to go the bathroom. And I cant lift over 10lbs. So that limits me a lot. The medicine makes me very tired, so I take a lot of naps. And to anyone who thinks I am lucky, think again. Being on bed rest like this is far from fun. But the wonderful part it, is I'm able to be home with Donny and the kids instead of being stuck by myself in a hospital bed. Before I was discharged I was told that it could be a matter of months and even up to a year before this all resolved. So I am being treated by a pain management doctor to control my pain the best possible, the hematologist and cardiologist to watch and treat the clot.

Latest Update: Saw the doctor today. They tested my heart and it is great. The Doppler on my leg showed no change in the blood clot. It has not gotten any smaller, nor has it grown or moved. My INR levels were pretty high today. All in all, the doctor wants to see things are in a month, and if there is not much change, he wants to see about taking another look, seeing if another approach to treat the clot may be more advisable. Great news is the procedure on my bile duct seems to have been a huge success. I have had little to no pain or attacks in my stomach like I was all the time, before the surgery. I am so thankful it worked!

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.

Huddy Got His Special Bracelet!!

Hudson had a great appointment at the orthopedic doctor yesterday. He got his leg brace, and it fits perfect! He was such a trooper and did so well wearing it all day, and did not complain. We are so proud of you Huddy! We tried to make it a very special thing, so we told him and his siblings that it is his special bracelet he gets to wear. Of course, the girls are all wanting to know when they are going to get one. Haha! :) I can already tell it is going to be a huge help in his walking and running! Yeppie! 

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!!

What's up with Hudson?

Last week we had a long awaited appointment for Hudson with the orthopedic specialist. You may have hears about the not so great experience we encountered from the doctor who was less than professional, or have seen some remarks I made about it on Facebook.  But despite all that, we did actually get some actual diagnosis and reasons to explain the issues that he does have. The layman's terms of it, Hud's left leg is shorter than his right leg because his his brain is not telling his leg to grow at the same rate due to his grade 4 brain bleed at birth. Also, his hip turns out when he walks. We did get an official diagnosis of cerebral palsy.

"Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders characterized by loss of movement or nerve functions. Cerebral refers to brain and palsy to weakness or poor control of muscles. Cerebral palsy is caused by abnormal brain development during fetal development or by injuries to the brain from birth through the first three years of life.

A person with cerebral palsy can have mild to severe physical disabilities. Some people have only a slight limp or an uncoordinated walk. Others have little or no control over their arms and legs or other body part."

So that just confirms what we already thought. He has some issues with the use of his left arm/hand, which we are told there's nothing he can do now, that he's not already doing, besides trying to find an interest that would require him to use his arms like martial arts, dance, playing an instrument. To help with his leg issues, he is going to be put back in a orthopedic brace. 

"For children with cerebral palsy, muscles do not grow fast enough to keep pace with lengthening bones. The resulting contracture can disrupt balance and trigger loss of abilities. Special braces (orthodox devices) combined with physical therapy and other interventions may prevent this complication by stretching spastic muscles."

This time, this one he may need for years to come, or possibly the rest of his life. But hey, we aren't going there, cause this boy has come leaps and bounds. Who knows what amazing things God has in store for this precious little boy. Anyone who knows him, knows what a happy, sweet, loving boy that he is. He just loves life, loves to laugh, and loves to love!

One More Piece To The Puzzle

As many of you have heard, we received a unofficial diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy for our son Hudson. This really came as no surprise to me, seeing that I have thought this was the case for years. Just based on watching Hudson, my own personal research on Cerebral Palsy and what doctors have said in the past. Granted no one has wanted to label him like that. Maybe thinking it would cause fear in us as parents or just to keep from the worry. Or just plan because no one really fully understands this diagnosis and what it could mean for the child. Seeing that each and every child has different types, and degrees of CP, it can be complicating to diagnose.

The recommended action for a child with Cerebral Palsy can and will vary a great deal as "Cerebral Palsy" is used to diagnose a vast range of problems having to do with brain damage/trauma. We do not know what exactly the future holds, but then who does? All having a Cerebral Palsy diagnosis means is that we now have answers as to why Hudson did and does certain things. It means sometime his brain experienced trauma; in his case it was a grade IV brain bleed a few days after he was born. It means the control he has over his muscles isn't the same as what you and I may have. It means some things are harder for him to do. It means he may need help doing things that others take for granted. There’s no clear cut answer to how this will indeed effect him as he gets older. We do know that Cerebral Palsy never gets worse. You just notice other things with age. After the brain bleed, we were told Hud would prob not survive. And he did! Then later we were told he may never walk, and he walks! Hud is an amazing kid! He’s a handsome, sweet, caring little boy with the greatest smile.

For many, getting a diagnosis may mean the start of some serious life changing things, (possibly among them Occupational, Speech, Physical, Surgery, Medications, etc.) In his case he has already been receiving occupational, speech and physical therapy since birth, and has had heal toe cord surgery as well. We are doing everything we can to get him the help and or assistance that he needs to be the wonderful boy that he is. We will see what is to come. I can only see a bright future ahead of him. We can only live each day to the fullest, and keep track of anything that is out of the ordinary. We also need to be the best parent advocates we can be; our children need us. Talk with each other and share our stories. We will get through this. We just have to stay strong and be there for each other.

"God only gives us things he knows we can cope with. We may stumble and fall but we will get there in the end"

Thoracic Thursday

Tomorrow morning, I will be undergoing the surgery I spoke of recently. It is called thoracic outlet surgery.

"Thoracic Outlet Syndrome is a complex condition involving compression,
irritation or direct injury of major structures within the thoracic outlet such
as the subclavian vein, subclavian artery and the Brachial Plexus. TOS can be
very painful, debilitating and sometimes life and limb threatening."

I'll be in the hospital overnight and then be home recovering. Overall, recovery is a month. I won't be able to lift my arms up for a whole month. That's the crazy part. Wondering how I'm going to figure out to do simple things like wash my hair, dry my hair, etc. Hmm! The hardest part will be fighting the urge to lift of my hands in church during worship. Makes me
very thankful for my arms. I'm sure I'll be back on the blog, but It will be a bit difficult typing with one hand. Well, slower anyway. :) HEHE!



Thank you for your prayers!

Candice's Praise Report & The Troll

Wonderful news!! Candice had her ABR (sedated hearing test) yesterday and she did great. Everything went very well, and best news of all, the test showed absolutely no hearing loss. In fact she has perfect hearing! So now we know everything from this point is developmentally, or vocal cord related. Thanks for your prayers!

(I had every intention on posting this update last night, but as I got online I was taken back by messages I had received. There is someone out on the Internet posing as the mother of our children. She has stolen pictures of our kids and is living in a pretend world of her own lies. Apparently, this troll has been up to no good for some time now and has taken advantage of many multiple birth families. I am working with some others to get her shut down).

Candice's ABR Test

On Monday, Candice is having a sedated hearing test. This will determine if Candice has any hearing loss. She has failed all her previous hearing tests and due to her age and still not having a clear answers, she will undergo this test and we will be able to determine if there is a hearing loss. She was suppose to have this test done earlier in the year, but due to sickness and conflicts that occured with the hospital, we are getting it in right before the end of the year.

It is called an Auditory brainstem response (ABR) test.

"An infant is sleeping or sedated for the ABR. An infant may be sleeping naturally or may have to be sedated for this test. Additionally, older, cooperative kids may be tested in a silent environment while they're visually occupied. Tiny earphones are placed in the ear canals. Usually, click-type sounds are introduced through the earphones, and electrodes measure the hearing nerve's response to the sounds. A computer averages these responses and displays waveforms. Because there are characteristic waveforms for normal hearing in portions of the speech range, a normal ABR can predict fairly well that a baby's hearing is normal in that part of the range. An abnormal ABR may be due to hearing loss, but it may also be due to some medical problems or measurement difficulties."

We should have answers that day, so come back and visit for updates.

PINK EYE!!!!!!!

Hudson and Candice had to stay home from school today. Instead, they got to take a trip to the doctor to get an official diagnosis and meds. Pink eye it is. Or bacterial conjunctivitis for a better medical term. Not that I did not know what was coming...but needed the prescriptions so we can get them better. And hopefully before they spread the love to the other kids. The doctor was nice enough to give me extra, just in case one or more of the other kiddos started showing symptoms. Usually, they are less kind about this sort of thing, and want them to come in as well, but today this doctor decided to have a heart for this mommyofmultiples. Apparently, everyone thought I had my hands full this morning with the two of them. Comment after comment was made to that affect. I almost wanted to laugh. This was a walk in the park. If they only knew, I had three more at home. Most assumed they were twins. So for a brief moment in time having twins felt like a piece of cake! (For all you twin moms out there, I'm just joking around, we all have our own battles and struggles, no matter if we have twins, triplets or quads. Just as do the moms of singletons! I love you all, and keep on keeping on!!)

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.

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!

Don't you just LOVE hospital gowns?!

I usally don't tend to get anxious or nervous about medical procedures. But for some reason I had been very emotional and nervous about it this time. Thanks to your prayers and support, all nervousness and weakness went away. God made Himself very present through our friends and family. My heart was touched by your words, prayers, hugs, and love. My surgery went VERY well yesterday. The doctors were able to do everything they needed to do, remove the cyst, save my ovary and do a little repair to some previous abdominal scaring. No complications. PTL! My colon was attached to my ovary so it could have been really bad. But, God gave perfect guidance to the doctors and answered our prayers. All previous pelvic and abdominal pain has gone away. They removed my catheter this morning, I got out of bed for the first time and had a small walk down the hall, and even got a quick shower in. I'm in much more surgical pain today, (to be expected) but I know that is just a part of the process. That pain will improve with time as the abdominal adhesion heals. I'll be here in the hospital again tonight. I should be able to be released sometime tomorrow. :)

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!!