Wednesday October 29...1:00 pm

Whew! The stress test was not nearly as stressful as the stress of anticipating the stress test! It appears to have all gone smoothly. Now we wait for Monday when we get results from the cardiologist. Meanwhile, we met with Robert's primary care physician yesterday to talk over many things. The most important being the "bridging" to be done before his biopsy. (I may go for my nursing degree by the time we get through this...I've learned so many new medical words!) In order to have the biopsy done, the risk of bleeding must be diminished by bridging with a different drug than he is currently taking. I'm not sure there is an actual bridge, or that Robert goes across a bridge, or that any bridges will ever be seen during this process, but that is what they call it! And that process from start to finish takes at least 2 weeks, because after he is "bridged", he has to get "unbridged". That will affect his return to work, because the Dr. says he can't go back to work until he is completely re-stabilized - does that mean the bridge is unstable? Any way you look at it, it is complicated. I haven't even mentioned the scary high blood pressure, the unusually high weight gain, the scan report, or the vena cava filter. I feel sorry for his primary care physician - by the time we left him I thought we should give him a tip because we made his head spin.
Speaking of scan report, we will get one tomorrow when we go to see the surgeon. All our primary care physician could tell us was that it is unchanged. We are not real clear on what is unchanged, so hopefully tomorrow we will find out.
Rosanna let us know yesterday that she has started a blog of her adventures. You can find it at livingwithsteadfasthope.blogspot.com
Robert is resting right now after his tiring workout with physical therapy in the pool. He said he doubled some of his repetitions. He still notices the left side is weaker than the right...hmmm. Not sure why.

~Jeanette

Sunday October 26...11:30 pm

Robert would appreciate your prayers as he goes for his nuclear stress test in the morning. He is getting stressed thinking about the stress test! Pray that the Dr. will find everything he needs to properly diagnose and treat any condition regarding his heart. It would be wonderful to learn that there is no blockage...nothing that needs any attention.
Robert's stress level has increased following his visit to the urologist last week. He went to the urologist because of the kidney stones found by the scan in the hospital. The urologist is not going to pursue any treatment of the stones right now. However, since Robert was in a urologist's office, and since Robert's father and two uncles had/have prostate cancer, it seemed the right time to have an exam. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, the Dr. found a nodule and wants to biopsy it. His biopsy is scheduled for November 11. Prostate cancer is most treatable when found early, so perhaps the kidney stones led him down the path so that any problem there can be found and treated early - that would be the "fortunately" view point.
Medical bills continue to come in - and we are soooo thankful for the amount paid by our insurance. We will only owe a few thousand, while the insurance will pay, so far, close to $150, 000. The number of Dr's who worked on this case continues to rise also - 26 total! Amazing!

It took me awhile to figure out that though we have both been on journeys, our journeys have been quite different. Robert went on a physically traumatic journey, while I, and the kids, went on an emotional journey. The last couple of weeks have been spent getting each other caught up on our journeys. As we now face the possibility of prostate cancer and whatever results come out of the stress test tomorrow, we are on the journey together. I like that better.
Thanks for your care and support. Robert really enjoyed the visit to Whiteaker on Friday afternoon! Hopefully he will get back to work by the middle of November.


~Jeanette

Monday October 20...9:30 pm

Things continue to improve with Robert. He had a lot of energy on Friday and Saturday. When we went to pick up our van from the transmission shop, he drove himself home - and even stopped at Winco and shopped by himself! Well, Sunday was a crash day from overdoing...he spent the whole day laying down. Today he went for physical therapy in the pool, and will do that 2 more times this week. That should help get him in shape. We are waiting to hear about the scan he had last Thursday - no word from the Dr yet. Tonight I drove him to Salem for Bible Study - his first time this year. Dad found him a great pillow to carry with him that helps him to sit for longer periods - it even has a carrying strap. Bed sores sure do take a looong time to heal.
Rosanna has been in Nebraska a week already. All the reports we have from her so far are good. She is mostly going through orientation and training. Saturday she went horseback riding, an activity they use often with the teens.
As for the van transmission - it turned out to be a minor repair, as far as transmission work goes. The bill was just over $400 and God had already provided most of it. We are so grateful for that!
I am creating a spread sheet for our expenses for pancreatitis. This has proved challenging because I don't use Excel much. I'm sure with some help and some tweaking I will be able to track who wants our money, how much total is going out and what is the grand total. But for now, the most interesting fact I have noticed as I've entered the different charges, is that there were (so far) a total of 18 doctors that worked on Robert's case while he was hospitalized! Some of them I never met - some were radiologists that probably just read an x-ray. The different amounts charged by the different Dr's is quite interesting as well...I wonder what basis is used for determining their fees?!? It can not be the amount of time spent with the patient - some who spent very little time charged the most! One of life's mysteries that will probably never be solved.
Thanks for traveling with us.

~Jeanette

Thursday October 16...11:30 pm

Robert saw a Urologist today. He was referred to one because of the kidney stones that showed on the scans taken in the hospital. He does have one quite large one (1 cm), but the Dr. doesn't think it will move - in fact, it appears to be embedded in the "meat" of the kidney, much to the surprise of the Dr - he acted like he hadn't seen that before. The smaller ones will probably pass - hopefully painlessly. He did order an X-ray and Robert will have a follow-up appointment with him next week.
After we went home, he learned his CT scan needed to be done this afternoon, so Robby drove him back to Salem for that! Some days all he does is go to appointments and figure out how many carbs he has eaten. Robert almost spent as much time in Dr's offices and X-ray rooms as I spent working today. He had to drink some awful liquid for today's scan, but fortunately it was a little more tasty than the "vanilla smoothie" he had last time.
The best part of going to see the urologist today was when he asked if we had ever seen Robert's pancreas during this pancreatitis episode (he was looking at the scan taken back on Sept 6). We said no, so he showed us what he called an "incredibly inflamed" pancreas. Finally we saw the BEAST that caused all this trouble. To be honest, we either aren't easily impressed at this point in time or we just don't know how to "read" scans...we were impressed, however, with how impressed the Dr was with it all. He could not stop talking about how large the pancreas was and how amazing it is that Robert is doing so well.
Yesterday Robert saw his endocrinologist. He was quite impressed with Robert's blood sugar levels and especially with Robert's careful documentation of them. He only made minor adjustments to his insulin doses. The only bad news from his office was learning the syringes Robert uses do not come with shorter needles! Oh, and the other bad news: he probably won't be getting an insulin pump because of the high doses he has to take - he would have to refill the pump too often.
Tomorrow Robert has a physical therapy appointment and sees his primary care physician. Included in that visit is a blood draw to check the levels of a whole bunch of things.
Robert is getting around so much better and gaining more strength. He actually drove a short distance today...Robby was with him and after making one stop he convinced Dad he wasn't quite ready to drive to Salem, so Robby took over! I think "Dad's" driving made Robby nervous! Oh well, Robby's driving has made dad nervous plenty of times too.
And so life goes on at the Danielian house...in some ways it is simpler and I think I like it.
Now, to just keep it that way...

~Jeanette

Tuesday October 14...10:30 pm

Robert saw his surgeon yesterday and expected to have an ultrasound of his pancreas. The Dr. was hopeful with what he felt in Robert's abdomen - enough so that he said he wanted to see the details on a CT scan instead of an ultrasound. So, Robert will have an CT scan sometime this week. Meanwhile, since we know Robert also sees a urologist this week regarding the kidney stones revealed by the scans in the hospital, we are trying to combine "scans" so both Dr's will get the readings they need from one scan! When the Dr's get their requests coordinated, the scan will be scheduled.
Tomorrow Robert has physical therapy EARLY in the morning, 7:15 am, and then sees his endochronologist (sp?) later in the morning. He is hoping for shorter needles for the syringes he is using to give himself insulin. :)
After a long day of packing yesterday (including most of the night) Rosanna finally got all three bags to weigh less than 50 lbs each. It took a lot of sorting and resorting. Robby and I took her to the airport EARLY this morning - we arrived at the airport at 5:30 am. and saw her through security. Then I got some coffee and Rob a doughnut, and we were back home by 7:45. I had a hard time staying awake on the drive home and at work today! Rosanna was in Henderson, Nebraska by 3:30 our time...it was raining there when she arrived. Our house was a little quieter tonight.
Life is full of transitions...most of them involve some challenges and adjustments...why is it "change is always perceived as loss", when in reality there is much to be gained through expanding our relationships and experiences??? I'm very proud of you, Rosanna, for following the Lord's leading and your heart...you are demonstrating courage in taking a risk, and you are trusting that God will equip you as you follow His call. Now, start your own blog and keep us posted on what you are doing!
Good night.

~Jeanette

Saturday October 11, 2008...10:30 am

Ahhhh, we had a relaxing two nights at Devils Lake in Lincoln City!
Rosanna had one request before she moves to Nebraska - to go to the coast! She will not see the ocean for a loooong time! A friend let us stay in their house. Robert was able to go up and down stairs!!! Slowly, holding tight to the rail...and if he forgot anything we ran up and down for him :) We had all kinds of weather - rain, hail, fog, sun. Rosanna, Robby and I actually made it onto the sand, to walk and take some pictures. But it was absolutely freezing!

On this past Wednesday, he did have his first appointment with physical therapy. It was mostly an evaluation. We were able to go to the beach because his appointment with the surgeon on Thursday was rescheduled for Monday. So, on Monday we will learn how the pancreas is healing. It has been 3 weeks since he had his last scan, so we are anxious to get a report and hope that it is shrinking, without any complications. Robert still tires very quickly and is still having trouble getting good sleep. Sometimes this is due to congestion in his throat when he lays down. The muscles in his throat are still quite weak - amazing how long it takes to heal.
Thanks for the continued prayers.

~Jeanette

Tuesday October 7th...11:30 pm

Adoption Day
Sometimes our trials come through our physical bodies, like, pancreatitis for example. Sometimes our trials come through broken things, like, VANS for example. Yesterday Robert and I ran some errands in Salem and on the way home our transmission stopped working, out on the highway, right about 5:30 pm when the traffic was very heavy. I pulled over onto a very narrow shoulder, with vehicles whipping past us at 65 miles per hour. After the warning light did not go out, we determined we should not drive it, and we called for a tow truck. Besides seeing dollar signs floating before my eyes, the worst part for me was the large Starbucks ice tea I had finished about an hour earlier. I got out and seriously looked for a tree to hide behind, but (fortunately for me) the poison oak has started to turn red and was obvious around every tree, so I decided there was no safe spot. We had the van towed to our mechanic (who does not work on transmissions) and after checking it out today and discussing it with his favorite transmission man, and the warning light stayed off, he decided it was working fine...for the time being...but advised us against leaving town in it, just in case it would happen again. So off I drove and I stopped at the store on the way home and it was working fine. But after leaving Safeway, when I slowed to turn onto our street, it shifted with a clunk...and the warning light came back on. :(
I think this means now we tow it to the transmission shop in Salem. When Robert was in ICU, in the midst of a serious illness, my faith kicked in, and I "rested" in my Sovereign God - I trusted Him to take care of everything and everyone. I believed He could meet our every need. In fact, 2 days ago I blogged about how God HAS met our needs. But when our van suddenly needs a major repair, I fall apart. I instantly started worrying...wondering how in the world we will pay for another bill. And right now I want to say "enough".
Then I remembered what day this is - October 7th - Adoption Day..."Celebration Happy" day. The day, 17 years ago, we went to court to finalize the adoption of our 2 kids. The day when the judge declared us to be the legal parents of Rosanna and Robby, and birth certificates were issued, reading the same as if they had been born to us. We call it “Celebration Happy” day because, just hours before guests arrived, five-year-old Rosanna told me she wanted to sing a song at our Adoption party. When I asked her what song, she hesitated a moment, then on the spot started to sing (to the tune of Happy Birthday) “Celebration Happy, Celebration Happy, Celebration, I’m adopted, Celebration Happy!” Today was a day to remember the special relationship we share with our children, all because of the legal action of a judge.
Today makes me remember the special relationship I have with my Creator, who by His Son, has made it possible for me to be His child. I am adopted, all because of the legal action of The Judge - He has declared it to be so. And because of my relationship, based on faith in Jesus, I can enter into my Father’s presence and say “daddy, I’m scared” …”daddy, it hurts”…”daddy, how much more?”
And I hear my Father say: “…for you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance” - and - “For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” - and - “…keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.”
As I listen to His Words, I feel the anxiety draining from me and find myself relaxing in the arms of my Father and once again I rest in my Sovereign God…and sing "Celebration Happy" with joy!

Sunday October 5...9:00 pm

After Robert had two days more active than usual, he crashed on Saturday! He will need to learn to pace himself and not over do it. His itching had gotten better, but now he is getting welts to replace the rash. Hmmm, not sure what that is about. Today we were given a fantastic gift. Three of Robert's friends from college days, delivered two dump truck loads of gravel and then, using a tractor, they spread it out along the side and front of the house! Wow! Now we won't have a mud bowl on the side of the driveway this winter. We had started the project before Robert's attack. It was supposed to be a simple spread gravel project...but that led to replacing the drain pipe from the downspout to the street...which meant digging a 10" ditch along the concrete driveway, 48' long, through gravel and river rock. In fact, if strenuous activity can trigger pancreatitis, then that is what did it for Robert. He had a few feet to finish when he went into the hospital. My dad and Robby finished the ditch and laid the pipe. Then John, Glen and Dave came and now the project is all done! Wonderful.
We have been extremely blessed by the generosity of many people. We continue to be grateful for the money, food, cards, and now gravel project. It is amazing how God, through many different people, provided all of the money we lost in income for the month of September.
We also are extremely grateful for good insurance because the bills are starting to arrive. We haven't received all the bills yet, nor do we know the total we owe. But since Robert has gone over the maximum for one year, we already know the hospital bill of $123,000+ is completely covered!!! His pharmacy bill alone was over $18,000 for 19 days - who knew you could receive almost a thousand dollars worth of medications a DAY?!? No wonder he is still itching...and $42,000 seems a little steep for room and board when he only ate food 4 of the 19 days!
The only bad news is the school district changed insurance plans October 1st, so we start meeting new deductibles and working on his maximum expenditures all over again. We can only hope the most expensive medical care is all behind us!
This week he starts physical therapy and sees his surgeon. He will do an ultrasound to see how the pancreas is healing. Pray that it is shrinking without ANY complications.
Thank you for sticking with us.

~Jeanette

Friday October 3rd...8:00pm

Yeah! Dad is getting better and better. Dad went to his Dr.'s appointment today. Blood sugar looks good, minor adjustment in medication, and bed sore is a tad bit better. He'll start physical therapy next week. He likes to get out of the house as much as he can. Yesterday I took him out twice...once to Walmart and then later to the movie store and Safeway. He's getting stronger and doesn't get tired as quickly as he used to. Mom and I were both busy today so Robby took Dad out to do some errands.
I finished working both my jobs this last Wednesday. It's been nice to be home to take Dad out, and to be with my family. We've spent more time together this last month than we have in a while because we were all so busy before. Now we realize how precious our time together is and other things just don't seem as important. I have especially appreciated our time together since I will be leaving October 14th to move to Nebraska to start a new job. Mom can't wait to have my room. She wants to turn it into an office. I never realized how much time it takes to move...especially out of state. This will be my first time moving out of state, and I will be flying so I can't take everything with me. It's becoming quite a chore going through all my stuff and deciding if it is worth keeping, taking with me, or storing for the time being. I am excited about going and looking forward to this opportunity God has given me to work with youth. I will be a care provider in a residential home for teens. I am really going to treasure this last week I have with my family.
Continue to pray for peace and patience for all of us, and for God to continue healing Dad. We praise God for all He has done so far, and we know that He is in control of all things.

~Rosanna

Wednesday October 1...11:00 pm

Robert continues to improve, which is obvious by the way he is getting more and more restless. Yesterday Cliff Mosher came to visit Robert and brought him a BSF lesson! We are looking forward to the day he can go to BSF. Thanks for the visit Cliff - you really cheered him up. In fact, anyone who wants to come and visit or take Robert out of the house is welcome to do that! He has never enjoyed being home all day...let alone home all day after day after day after day. I am back to work and that means less time to spend with him. He still is not sleeping well. Something must happen to the internal clock when in an induced coma like he was...he can doze off and sleep for short stretches, but not all night long. One of the biggest challenges continues to be controlling his blood sugar levels. Perhaps better sleep will help that too.
The last few days, Robby and I scrapped and painted the lattice structure over our patio. We rushed to get done before the rain started tonight...and the drops started to fall as we swept up the last of the paint chips. Our necks and arms hurt. Robby asked why we were doing a job that should take weeks in just a few days…hmmm, I wonder that too, Rob! At least we got a coat of primer on all the bare spots.
As he listens to the rain, Robert wonders if I’m going to make a big pot of soup… I think fall has arrived. Robert has really enjoyed the cards in the mail and the comments on the blog and the phone calls. It adds a bright spot in his long days and gives him a break from watching his OLD videos.
Thank you all.

~Jeanette