It’s after 10pm and we have to be up again at 5am, so this will be short & sweet, like us.
Today Kelly had only ONE MRI. Woo Hoo!! It was also the shortest one ever, only 25 minutes. That’s not counting the 2 hour wait, not that we’re complaining. One observation however. Putting Kelly and me in a room alone for 2 hours can and does often lead to strange and bizarre conversations. For example:
As I was helping Kelly change into scrubs this morning for her MRI, we had the following conversation.
Marla ~ “Hey, when you get off steroids and lose all your weight, I’m taking all your new clothes you just bought. I’ll have a whole new wardrobe!”
Kelly ~ “I just hope you don’t get them this Friday.”
Marla ~ “Yeah right. Like I’m gonna say, hey wait, before you take her away let me get those clothes off her.”
At this point we both burst out laughing hysterically, which turned to crying, which led to more tasteless comments from both of us which led to more laughing. Stress is a strange & yet wonderful thing ….. Or maybe you just had to be there.
Anyway, after the MRI we headed back to the hotel with Char & Theresa where we had breakfast and then went back to the room for a 2 hour nap. Then we ate lunch in the room, in bed of course! The grand finale to our day was dinner from Dominoes, in bed, while we watched one of our all time FAVORITE movies, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane!! A must see!!
One last thing. Seems Char put on a production of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane in high school. She was the producer and starred in the lead role……or something like that. Anyway, in the crux of the movie, Baby Jane, who is a REALLY scary Bette Davis character, breaks out in song & dance. It’s super creepy, scary to say the least. Right in the middle of the scene, I look over to see Char singing & dancing with Baby Jane. It gave me chills. Kelly laughed but I think she was actually terrified. We will definitely be sleeping with one eye open tonight.
Keep Kelly in your prayers. She has her angiogram tomorrow at 6am and then gets checked into ICU where she will rest until surgery at 7am on Friday morning.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Oompah Loompahs Unite!
So here is the latest on the Queen and her court. Today was a fairly slow day. It started with Char & I getting KJ into the shower. I cannot begin to describe this picture. Let’s just say, it would have been Funniest Home Videos million dollar winner if they accepted videos of two middle-aged women getting a naked middle-aged woman into the shower whilst slipping, sliding, harassing and harping on one another. Not a pretty sight but definitely pretty funny.
Then it was off to lunch, yes it took us that long with the shower, where we spent as much time laughing as we did eating. This is good since we need something to divert our attention from food these days. Seems stress brings out the voracious appetites in the Casas girls. Forget fruits & veggies. I’m talking JUNK FOOD BABY!
After lunch we picked up some medical records, printed off the rest of the weeks agenda in the business office and thought we better head back to our room so Kel could lay down. But not before stopping for ice cream, of course. Hey, it’s a long elevator ride to the fifth floor.
Once back in our room and with ice cream bellies, we attempted to get Kelly back into bed. This is when things often go south. Let me explain. Whenever it’s time to get into bed at night or out of bed in the morning, KJ can get overwhelmed. I think that moment or two she takes to prepare mentally for the physical hurtle she faces in regards to getting in & out of bed, can sometimes lead to her feeling emotionally swamped by all she is facing on a daily basis. Today was no different. As she prepared to get out of the wheelchair so we could hoist her into bed she said, “I’m starting to sink.” This means the tears are not far behind. She started in again about her weight, and feeling miserable, and hurting everywhere. It makes me mad at Cancer and sad for her every time this happens which is everyday. As I said before, I am not allowed to cry per orders of the Queen. So I did what any court jester would do. I began to sing the Oompah Loompah song from Willy Wonka. You know the one from the original Gene Wilder version. The one where Violet eats the bubblegum that makes her blow up into a giant purple ball. As I promised in song that we would roll Kelly to the Juicer in the morning to have her squeezed back to normal size, she started to laugh. I live to hear Kelly laugh these days.
So tomorrow we take Kelly to the “Juicer” aka another MRI. Then Thursday to her angiogram and Friday is surgery. Saturday is Valentines Day so it’s “Party in ICU!!” Be there or be square!
Then it was off to lunch, yes it took us that long with the shower, where we spent as much time laughing as we did eating. This is good since we need something to divert our attention from food these days. Seems stress brings out the voracious appetites in the Casas girls. Forget fruits & veggies. I’m talking JUNK FOOD BABY!
After lunch we picked up some medical records, printed off the rest of the weeks agenda in the business office and thought we better head back to our room so Kel could lay down. But not before stopping for ice cream, of course. Hey, it’s a long elevator ride to the fifth floor.
Once back in our room and with ice cream bellies, we attempted to get Kelly back into bed. This is when things often go south. Let me explain. Whenever it’s time to get into bed at night or out of bed in the morning, KJ can get overwhelmed. I think that moment or two she takes to prepare mentally for the physical hurtle she faces in regards to getting in & out of bed, can sometimes lead to her feeling emotionally swamped by all she is facing on a daily basis. Today was no different. As she prepared to get out of the wheelchair so we could hoist her into bed she said, “I’m starting to sink.” This means the tears are not far behind. She started in again about her weight, and feeling miserable, and hurting everywhere. It makes me mad at Cancer and sad for her every time this happens which is everyday. As I said before, I am not allowed to cry per orders of the Queen. So I did what any court jester would do. I began to sing the Oompah Loompah song from Willy Wonka. You know the one from the original Gene Wilder version. The one where Violet eats the bubblegum that makes her blow up into a giant purple ball. As I promised in song that we would roll Kelly to the Juicer in the morning to have her squeezed back to normal size, she started to laugh. I live to hear Kelly laugh these days.
So tomorrow we take Kelly to the “Juicer” aka another MRI. Then Thursday to her angiogram and Friday is surgery. Saturday is Valentines Day so it’s “Party in ICU!!” Be there or be square!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Roll Over Minutes in Heaven
As I wrote the title for the latest update I thought, “I bet I could make millions with this. Tell me it doesn’t sound like a country western song!”
So the latest, as you know from David’s blog last night, is that
the surgery was postponed. Kelly met with the surgeons nurse today for the latest info and here it is.
Thursday, we will walk Kel across the street to St. Lukes for an angiogram. This is not like a candy gram even though it is almost Valentine’s Day. Kel has had one before so she seems to be pretty calm about it. Char & I talked it over and decided we would both be dead by now if we were Kelly because we are cowards and would have refused to go through 1/10 of what KJ has endured. Kelly is definitely the brave one in this family.
Once the angio is done, an ambulance will take Kel back across the street to MDA where she will be checked into the hospital. Surgery will take place the next morning at approx 7 am and last 12-14 hours. NOTE: Friday is the 13th!! I cannot begin to tell you the fun we are having with this new fact. Other than Kelly crying when she first realized the date, we have had nothing but tasteless hysteria since. We informed her she didn’t need to cry because it is only a bad date if she was a witch. We then had to clarify since she was not officially a card carrying member of a Wiccan coven she wasn’t “technically” a real witch. She bought it.
So there is the latest. Oh yeah, regarding the blog title. When people found out the surgery was postponed we heard this,“ I have my whole church praying TODAY for you.” This, of course, was perfect new material for us. So does that mean there are no roll over minutes in heaven? Pray today pay today only? Just in case that is right, pray everyday for Kelly.
So the latest, as you know from David’s blog last night, is that
the surgery was postponed. Kelly met with the surgeons nurse today for the latest info and here it is.
Thursday, we will walk Kel across the street to St. Lukes for an angiogram. This is not like a candy gram even though it is almost Valentine’s Day. Kel has had one before so she seems to be pretty calm about it. Char & I talked it over and decided we would both be dead by now if we were Kelly because we are cowards and would have refused to go through 1/10 of what KJ has endured. Kelly is definitely the brave one in this family.
Once the angio is done, an ambulance will take Kel back across the street to MDA where she will be checked into the hospital. Surgery will take place the next morning at approx 7 am and last 12-14 hours. NOTE: Friday is the 13th!! I cannot begin to tell you the fun we are having with this new fact. Other than Kelly crying when she first realized the date, we have had nothing but tasteless hysteria since. We informed her she didn’t need to cry because it is only a bad date if she was a witch. We then had to clarify since she was not officially a card carrying member of a Wiccan coven she wasn’t “technically” a real witch. She bought it.
So there is the latest. Oh yeah, regarding the blog title. When people found out the surgery was postponed we heard this,“ I have my whole church praying TODAY for you.” This, of course, was perfect new material for us. So does that mean there are no roll over minutes in heaven? Pray today pay today only? Just in case that is right, pray everyday for Kelly.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Surgery Postponed
Dr. Weinberg just called and postponed the surgery. Her tumor is located on the main vein that's splitting the left and right sections of the brain. Initially, they thought the tumor had not invaded the artery, but he got two radiologists to review her scans and now they think the artery is clogged, which is actually good news. If it is clogged, then there will be less damage to the brain when they remove the tumor. If it were not clogged, the surgery would be much harder and chance of injury greater.
They're sending her to a specialist tommorrow Feb 9th, to do an angiogram. He's still trying to perform the surgery this week, but does not know when. We will keep you updated.
Meanwhile, Kelly has to walk around with plastic dots (about the size of quarters) on her forhead and top of her head. They are really attrative and I think she's starting a new fashion trend. I would have posted a picture but she would have none of it. Thank You - David
They're sending her to a specialist tommorrow Feb 9th, to do an angiogram. He's still trying to perform the surgery this week, but does not know when. We will keep you updated.
Meanwhile, Kelly has to walk around with plastic dots (about the size of quarters) on her forhead and top of her head. They are really attrative and I think she's starting a new fashion trend. I would have posted a picture but she would have none of it. Thank You - David
Saturday, February 7, 2009
THE VERBAL BERMUDA TRIANGLE ~ BE AFRAID ~ BE VERY AFRAID
All the test results are in and Monday’s surgery is a go. Kelly’s heart looks good and her potassium deficiency has been addressed. After lots and lots of discussion, Kelly seems more at peace with the decision to go forward with this. Well, as much as any person could be at peace facing a life-altering surgery such as this. Her spirits are good, she is reading the blog comments and emails daily and feels encouraged by you all.
Now, for the nitty gritty of hanging with the Casas girls. Yesterday, the three of us were on our way to another MRI when two of us, (I won’t say which two however one of them was NOT me) got into another verbal altercation. How these things start I will never understand. I am beginning to believe they are some kind of Verbal Bermuda Triangle. Kind of like this: you are walking along with your sisters having a nice sisterly conversation when all of a sudden……and I mean out of the blue……..one of us says something that sends all three of us into THE VERBAL BERMUDA TRIANGLE! Things go ugly real quick. We all seem to be speaking a foreign language, the volume becomes ear-splitting, nothing makes sense and we go into hysterical laughter as the conversation nose-dives into the great abyss of the abnormal.
So, like I said, the three of us were on our way to another MRI when two of us got into another verbal altercation. It went something like this:
KJ ~ “That’s stupid.”
Char ~ “You’re just mean.”
KJ ~ “Marla, would you rather be stupid or mean?”
Me ~ “Well, mean you can change but stupid is forever.”
Making the fatal mistake of allowing myself to be drawn into this VBT conversation has the dire consequence of uniting the two of them against me. A common enemy is an amazing unifier. Of course, the entire thing ends with the three of us laughing until we are crying. I am sure MDA has hired extra security while we are on the premises.
Well, Kelly is threatening to take the mirror off the wall and throw it at Char if Char looks in it one more time. This is my cue to go. I must do all I can to save them from THE VERBAL BERMUDA TRIANGLE.
Now, for the nitty gritty of hanging with the Casas girls. Yesterday, the three of us were on our way to another MRI when two of us, (I won’t say which two however one of them was NOT me) got into another verbal altercation. How these things start I will never understand. I am beginning to believe they are some kind of Verbal Bermuda Triangle. Kind of like this: you are walking along with your sisters having a nice sisterly conversation when all of a sudden……and I mean out of the blue……..one of us says something that sends all three of us into THE VERBAL BERMUDA TRIANGLE! Things go ugly real quick. We all seem to be speaking a foreign language, the volume becomes ear-splitting, nothing makes sense and we go into hysterical laughter as the conversation nose-dives into the great abyss of the abnormal.
So, like I said, the three of us were on our way to another MRI when two of us got into another verbal altercation. It went something like this:
KJ ~ “That’s stupid.”
Char ~ “You’re just mean.”
KJ ~ “Marla, would you rather be stupid or mean?”
Me ~ “Well, mean you can change but stupid is forever.”
Making the fatal mistake of allowing myself to be drawn into this VBT conversation has the dire consequence of uniting the two of them against me. A common enemy is an amazing unifier. Of course, the entire thing ends with the three of us laughing until we are crying. I am sure MDA has hired extra security while we are on the premises.
Well, Kelly is threatening to take the mirror off the wall and throw it at Char if Char looks in it one more time. This is my cue to go. I must do all I can to save them from THE VERBAL BERMUDA TRIANGLE.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
The Latest News From Houston, Y’all
Here is an update on Kelly per Kelly‘s request written by Marla. Now that you have the disclaimer, shall we proceed?
The last four days have been wall to wall appointments, testing, doctors and needles. There were blood draws, ultrasounds, CT scans, echocardiograms plus meetings with Doctors galore. Tomorrow it’s MRI’s and Anesthesia Assessments plus a planning meeting or two. Her potassium is low so they are pounding her with pills hoping the surgery won’t be postponed. There is also a question regarding her heart, so we are waiting for test results.
If all goes as planned and test results are as hoped for, surgery will take place Monday morning. Dr. Weinberg will remove the entire brain tumor . Dr Hanasono will then take over once the tumor is gone and complete the surgery. The entire surgery should be 10-12 hours. Kel will be in ICU for 1-3 days and in the hospital for several weeks at least. Within the first week they want to begin therapy to get her up and moving and learning how to work with what she has. The best news is they will be weaning her off the steroids which will bring her weight down and stop destroying her bones, skin and internal organs.
Kel, Char & I have had an interesting week to say the least. We have had our usual sisterly bickering and bantering. More importantly, we have been brutal with one another as we always are in stressful situations leading to absolute hysterical laughter. Some people are touchy feely. Others keep their emotions buried deep inside. We beat the snot out of one another verbally and feel better. Look up dysfunctional. This will all make sense.
One example, just in case you still don’t get it. We were all in the plastic surgeons office. Dr. Hanasono will be doing the closing of her wound. He will need to take a muscle from her back, a vein from her leg and skin from the other leg for grafting. He then began explaining how they will “teach” me (Marla) how to keep all this clean. I am pretty sure at this point all three of us girls were feeling rather light-headed ……. Especially Kelly (no pun intended)
This is when we got the great idea to suggest they might use skin from her buttocks as she could be quite a butthead at times. This sent the three of us into hysterics. I am pretty sure that is why a behavioral psychologist has been added to the schedule of appointments. We all need help ……. Obviously!
Most of the rudeness can’t be shared because, well, you needed to be there to get it and maybe even then you wouldn’t. We are just a weird set of sisters. I can say, I have never seen a Dr. laugh the way we had Weinberg laughing one day. The dude was howling!
The truth is Kelly is scared and Char & I are heartsick for her. Proverbs says, Laughter can conceal a heavy heart, but when the laughter ends, the grief remains. That pretty well sums it up.
The last four days have been wall to wall appointments, testing, doctors and needles. There were blood draws, ultrasounds, CT scans, echocardiograms plus meetings with Doctors galore. Tomorrow it’s MRI’s and Anesthesia Assessments plus a planning meeting or two. Her potassium is low so they are pounding her with pills hoping the surgery won’t be postponed. There is also a question regarding her heart, so we are waiting for test results.
If all goes as planned and test results are as hoped for, surgery will take place Monday morning. Dr. Weinberg will remove the entire brain tumor . Dr Hanasono will then take over once the tumor is gone and complete the surgery. The entire surgery should be 10-12 hours. Kel will be in ICU for 1-3 days and in the hospital for several weeks at least. Within the first week they want to begin therapy to get her up and moving and learning how to work with what she has. The best news is they will be weaning her off the steroids which will bring her weight down and stop destroying her bones, skin and internal organs.
Kel, Char & I have had an interesting week to say the least. We have had our usual sisterly bickering and bantering. More importantly, we have been brutal with one another as we always are in stressful situations leading to absolute hysterical laughter. Some people are touchy feely. Others keep their emotions buried deep inside. We beat the snot out of one another verbally and feel better. Look up dysfunctional. This will all make sense.
One example, just in case you still don’t get it. We were all in the plastic surgeons office. Dr. Hanasono will be doing the closing of her wound. He will need to take a muscle from her back, a vein from her leg and skin from the other leg for grafting. He then began explaining how they will “teach” me (Marla) how to keep all this clean. I am pretty sure at this point all three of us girls were feeling rather light-headed ……. Especially Kelly (no pun intended)
This is when we got the great idea to suggest they might use skin from her buttocks as she could be quite a butthead at times. This sent the three of us into hysterics. I am pretty sure that is why a behavioral psychologist has been added to the schedule of appointments. We all need help ……. Obviously!
Most of the rudeness can’t be shared because, well, you needed to be there to get it and maybe even then you wouldn’t. We are just a weird set of sisters. I can say, I have never seen a Dr. laugh the way we had Weinberg laughing one day. The dude was howling!
The truth is Kelly is scared and Char & I are heartsick for her. Proverbs says, Laughter can conceal a heavy heart, but when the laughter ends, the grief remains. That pretty well sums it up.
Monday, February 2, 2009
You're Not The Boss Of Me
So here is the latest conversation between the two “intelligent” ones.
Queen F&M: “I mean it! You need to listen to me.”
Old Gal: “No I don’t. I’m the big sister.”
Queen F&M: “Yes, you do too! A, I’m the boss and 2, you’re not.”
By now I am laughing hysterically with Kelly joining in heartily. This irritates the fire out of Old Gal, who makes the comment, “ and YOU better not blog this!” I believe this was followed by something about me being a “blogging wench” or some such thing. Family. Good times!
Next subject ~ I am getting ready to give Kelly a shot in her stomach. She hates it and I wish I didn’t have to do it. Actually, I don’t mind giving the shot, I just wish she didn’t have to have them. I think she is a bit nervous about me administering this hypodermic cocktail. I have tried to comfort her with the knowledge that this is not the first time I have given someone a shot. I have given many a jab into the neck of our horses. I even helped with the amputation of one of our goats legs. I threw that in just so she would relax should I need to do something about “Lulu” (the name of her right leg}
Final thought for the day ~ David called and was concerned not everyone knew how to get to the comments people leave regarding Kelly’s blog. In case that might be true, here are the directions:
Read the blog. At the end you will see this: Posted by Kelly at (time) (#) comments Links to this post . Click on the part that says comments. Read the comments. Post your own comment. Any questions?
Queen F&M: “I mean it! You need to listen to me.”
Old Gal: “No I don’t. I’m the big sister.”
Queen F&M: “Yes, you do too! A, I’m the boss and 2, you’re not.”
By now I am laughing hysterically with Kelly joining in heartily. This irritates the fire out of Old Gal, who makes the comment, “ and YOU better not blog this!” I believe this was followed by something about me being a “blogging wench” or some such thing. Family. Good times!
Next subject ~ I am getting ready to give Kelly a shot in her stomach. She hates it and I wish I didn’t have to do it. Actually, I don’t mind giving the shot, I just wish she didn’t have to have them. I think she is a bit nervous about me administering this hypodermic cocktail. I have tried to comfort her with the knowledge that this is not the first time I have given someone a shot. I have given many a jab into the neck of our horses. I even helped with the amputation of one of our goats legs. I threw that in just so she would relax should I need to do something about “Lulu” (the name of her right leg}
Final thought for the day ~ David called and was concerned not everyone knew how to get to the comments people leave regarding Kelly’s blog. In case that might be true, here are the directions:
Read the blog. At the end you will see this: Posted by Kelly at (time) (#) comments Links to this post . Click on the part that says comments. Read the comments. Post your own comment. Any questions?
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