WARNING!! The following may be graphic, read at your own risk......
In the middle of June my husband, Steve, stared feeling like he had a UTI (urinary tract infection) as it burned when he peed. He delayed going to the doctor until he started having visible blood in his urine. He went to his PCP (primary care physician) and they did a rapid urine test and said there was blood in his urine so they gave him two prescriptions - one to numb him when he peed (called pyridium - not sure of the spelling - that turns the urine orange) and an antibiotic. Then a couple of days later the blood in his urine was worse so off to the ER we went.... The ER stated there was nothing they could do and referred him to a Urologist (and of course his urine sample was "clear" when he gave it at the ER even though all night at home it wasn't and he was also passing blood clots).
I went with Steve to the Urologist and the doctor ordered a CT scan and then after the CT Scan scheduled an in-office scope procedure (to be performed by the Urologist). The weekend before the CT Scan we went back to the ER since the blood in the urine was constant and the blood clots were getting bigger. Steve had a hard time passing a couple of the clots. Since we were worried we went back to the ER. The ER told us the same thing and told us to come back if something was blocking the urethra not allowing him to empty his bladder. qa
Steve had the CT Scan and got a CD of the scan to take to the Urologist. I went with him for the in-office scope procedure and Steve was in a lot of pain during the procedure. The doctor said the bladder was too "murky" so he couldn't visualize much and so he wanted to do a scope in the hospital, outpatient and under anesthesia. He also said the CT scan showed something in the bladder but he wasn't sure what it was and so that's another reason he wanted to do the outpatient procedure.
Steve was scheduled for the outpatient surgery on Monday, June 22nd (the day before we were to leave for the Tetons for our vacation).
We dropped off our puppy, Lily, at the Kennel for our vacation, on the way to Steve's Surgery. We got to the hospital and got him checked in and then waited.......and waited...... and waited some more. He was supposed to be there by 10:30 and we got there early, but he wasn't taken back for surgery until almost noon!
Hunter and I went to the cafeteria and got some lunch (we hadn't had anything to eat all morning and Hunter was acting like he hadn't eaten for days). We ate in the surgery waiting room. I watched tv, checked facebook on my phone and played on my IPod. Finally the desk clerk in the waiting room called my last name and took us to a conference room to wait for the doctor.
The doctor came in (after a few minutes that felt like forever) and sat down near me. He had pictures and one was labeled "prostate" that looked pink and healthy (if pink is healthy - which for internal organs it usually is) and then three pictures of the bladder and something that looked like colorless cotton candy. The doctor then explains the surgery went well but they did find something in the "corner" of his bladder. He took a quick sample and sent it to the pathologist for a quick confirmation of what he was seeing. He then told me that Steve has a tumor in his bladder, a splindle-cell sarcoma. He took a biopsy and sent it for full pathology so we could know more about what treatment options would be for Steve. He said that because of the CT Scan Steve had already had we could see that it hadn't spread anywhere else.
Because of the surgery the doctor wanted Steve to keep his catheter in until he told us to take it out. Before Steve was discharged the nurse taught us how to irrigate it and remove it.
The next morning, around 4AM, Steve woke me up telling me his catheter was leaking and he was in a lot of pain. I tried irrigating it but it just made it worse so off we went to the ER. They changed out his catheter (he had a 18 French in and they put in a bigger one - 20 French) and sent us home. WE ended up going to a 24 hour Pharmacy so I could fill his prescription for pain pills I wasn't able to fill the night before (the pharmacy I went to only had 4 pills and we needed 10) and Steve started saying he was in pain again and then peed his pants. He kept apologizing, but I knew it wasn't his fault. After getting the prescription filled we went back to the ER. They took Steve right back started to change his catheter to a larger size (24 Frrench - the biggest size they have) and they also irrigated the new catheter (and bladder) at the same time and were able to get a lot of blood clots out and by the time they finished irrigating it the urine was mostly clear - no longer tinged red from blood and clots.
We were supposed to go on our vacation that day but we postponed to see if Steve would feel better the following day (Wednesday) or any other day that we could go.
Saturday, July 4, 2015
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Puppy love
We've had our new puppy, Lily, for over a month now. She's a miniature dachshund, short haired, red colored, absolutely adorable. She is a very loving animal, and her bark is cute (at least it is so far as she doesn't bark too much), she is very playful (especially after 9 PM when we're trying to get her to wind down for sleep) but we are having some problems housetraining her (it's difficult to take her out when the snow is almost as tall as her), she is also biting a lot (even while I'm typing this post, my left hand has bitten a couple of times already) but the biting isn't very hard it's mostly her being playful.
I am going to buy some obedience/training classes so that Steve can take her to get trained. She needs the basics, except knowing her name - she already knew that when she came home with us. We picked out her name right after Thanksgiving and told the breeder what we had chosen. The breeder and her family started calling her Lily from that time on so she knew her name when we picked her up.
She is getting bigger every day and in less than a month she will be going in to the Vet's office to be fixed, microchipped and have her dew claws removed (they just get in the way and could possibly cause injuries). We have fallen completely and totally in love with her, as have most our family members. The first night we had her Steve and I had concert tickets (Voicemale in Ogden) and didn't want to leave her alone for her first night.....so she was "puppysat" by my mom, Missee and Violet.
I am going to buy some obedience/training classes so that Steve can take her to get trained. She needs the basics, except knowing her name - she already knew that when she came home with us. We picked out her name right after Thanksgiving and told the breeder what we had chosen. The breeder and her family started calling her Lily from that time on so she knew her name when we picked her up.
She is getting bigger every day and in less than a month she will be going in to the Vet's office to be fixed, microchipped and have her dew claws removed (they just get in the way and could possibly cause injuries). We have fallen completely and totally in love with her, as have most our family members. The first night we had her Steve and I had concert tickets (Voicemale in Ogden) and didn't want to leave her alone for her first night.....so she was "puppysat" by my mom, Missee and Violet.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Guilt and fault
I was able to take Hunter for quite a few hours today (almost 9) so that I could take him with me to my dad's Lagoon day. We had a lot of fun with his cousins (Hailey, Jax and Violet were the only ones there) and I enjoyed talking with my mom while all the kids (including "big" kids Mindy and Missee) went on multiple rides.
I told my mom at one point something that has been bothering me. I feel bad when I'm happy, or having fun while Steve is in the hospital. I feel like I should be sad and depressed the entire time he's not home. My mom told me that if I did that (and didn't have any fun or happiness) that I would probably end up hospitalized with Steve. That doesn't lessen my guilt when I have fun.
Hunter's mom doesn't want him to spend the night with us right now (Us meaning myself or Dale and Barbara - Steve's parents) and since the visitation rights are only for Steve she has every right to do this. She is upset since when Hunter found out about his dad being hospitalized he got upset and said it was his fault that he didn't take better care of his dad.
Tonight on the way home (to his mom's house) I talked to Hunter about it and said there was no "fault" in a situation like this. We can't blame anyone, especially not Steve. I told him how much his dad loves him and would want to be with him if he was well. I hope Hunter does understand. Mental illnesses don't discriminate. They don't usually happen for a reason (there can be drug induced psychosis). Mental illnesses are tricky buggers. They can be stabilized for years and years before the medication stops working or they stop taking their medication thinking they don't need it, or are "cured".
I wish there was a cure for MI and that the hospitals would have an abundance of psych beds available all the time.
Lagoon wiped me out, my feet and head both hurt. Part of me tried not to have too much fun so that when Steve comes home he won't feel left out and upset that he missed out on something so fun.
I told my mom at one point something that has been bothering me. I feel bad when I'm happy, or having fun while Steve is in the hospital. I feel like I should be sad and depressed the entire time he's not home. My mom told me that if I did that (and didn't have any fun or happiness) that I would probably end up hospitalized with Steve. That doesn't lessen my guilt when I have fun.
Hunter's mom doesn't want him to spend the night with us right now (Us meaning myself or Dale and Barbara - Steve's parents) and since the visitation rights are only for Steve she has every right to do this. She is upset since when Hunter found out about his dad being hospitalized he got upset and said it was his fault that he didn't take better care of his dad.
Tonight on the way home (to his mom's house) I talked to Hunter about it and said there was no "fault" in a situation like this. We can't blame anyone, especially not Steve. I told him how much his dad loves him and would want to be with him if he was well. I hope Hunter does understand. Mental illnesses don't discriminate. They don't usually happen for a reason (there can be drug induced psychosis). Mental illnesses are tricky buggers. They can be stabilized for years and years before the medication stops working or they stop taking their medication thinking they don't need it, or are "cured".
I wish there was a cure for MI and that the hospitals would have an abundance of psych beds available all the time.
Lagoon wiped me out, my feet and head both hurt. Part of me tried not to have too much fun so that when Steve comes home he won't feel left out and upset that he missed out on something so fun.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Steve.....
About 2 weeks ago Steve started having trouble sleeping. One night with only six hours of sleep followed with five hours the next day, four the next and finally no sleep the next night. That day he went to North Ogden to pick up his son for his Wednesday visit and then went to his parents house in Perry. When it was time to take Hunter home my father-in-law drove Steve to take Hunter home. After dropping Hunter off Steve made a drastic change from just holding it together to losing it. It got so bad that Steve's parents and his sister took him to the local ER so he could be assessed by a Crisis worker and then transferred to UNI for inpatient psychiatric treatment.
Since then he has been transferred to another inpatient treatment center nearby since he needed more care than UNI could give him. He has had two CT scans so far (both came back normal), and when he was first transferred to the new location he was in renal failure because he had become extremely dehydrated. He has since been rehydrated and his kidney function is back to normal.
They started him on ECT on Friday after having a family meeting on Thursday where we discussed the treatment options with his treatment team (A Social Worker, Med Student, Medical Resident, and the Psychiatrist). It was the Psychiatrist's recommendation that ECT would be the best treatment for him since medication hadn't worked for him yet. He had his first treatment on Friday and it went well. Steve called me tonight (a couple of times) and sound MUCH better. The only thing that I kept remembering from the Family Meeting on Thursday is that the Psychiatrist told us this would happen - he would "get better" and then slide back and that his progress would be "glacial"
I am hurting for Steve and that his mind isn't working the way it should. I know that when he "comes out" of this his self esteem is going to be damaged. He will feel bad about this "weakness" and being hospitalized again. I will try to explain to him that it wasn't his fault and that nobody will blame him and it doesn't make him any less of a man. It will take some time, but I hope that I will be able to convince him. I hope he will know how much everyone in my family and his family love him, how much Hunter loves him and how much I love him.
Monday, August 18, 2014
Something that has been bugging me....
I remember someone (I can't remember who and I hope she doesn't read my blog so I don't offend her) telling me that her fiance had offered to take her on a honeymoon after they married or use the money to buy her a new wardrobe. Now a new wardrobe sounds awesome....I would love it. But the reason for the new wardrobe was that they were getting married in the Temple (a Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) and she didn't have clothes that were appropriate to wear once she was married.
In my religion (also called LDS or Mormon) once you go through the Temple you start wearing garments. These garments you will wear underneath all of your clothes (except for, of course, swim suits) for the rest of your life. The garments cover your arms so that you wouldn't be able to wear tank tops or sleeveless shirts. The garments cover to your knees (some even go to your calf or ankle) so short shorts and mini skirts (at least to short) are not able to be worn anymore. It helps me wear modest clothes.
Anyway...back to what I was saying. It is so sad that there are girls that are planning to marry in the Temple, yet before they do they are wearing very immodest clothing so they have to buy whole new wardrobes after they start wearing garments. I would think that growing up in the church, and preparing for marrying in the Temple, they would at least have more clothes that are modest so they wouldn't need to get all new clothes when they get married.
I did own tank tops and mini skirts before I married my husband. The only difference was, the miniskirt came to my knee, the tank tops were worn underneath another shirt or over another shirt. I wanted to make sure that when I started wearing garments I had modest clothes to wear with them.
I know there might be some girls who are converts, or are inactive in the church until they get older and they have different standards. So when they are getting married they may have to buy all new clothes. I understand that. I'm just not understanding family's that are strong in the church who have daughters who are wearing short shorts and tank tops.
I really hope I don't offend anyone, I just am wondering why some girls do this when they know they wont be able to wear their clothes after they get married in the temple.
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Summer Vacations......Part 1
Summer is coming to an end. Kids start school soon. Both my stepson and niece start school on August 20th (which also happens to be my niece's 7th birthday). So that means summer is ending, right?
In the past three weeks we went on 2 separate vacations. The first was with my family. Steve, Hunter and I went camping in Hobble Creek Canyon in Springville, Utah, with my family. Everyone was there (except for my dad of course who comes up for one day only each time we go camping, but he never stays for a night).
The first night it was just my mom, sister (Missee), niece (Violet), family friend (Missy), Steve, Hunter and I. My sister-in-law Mindy was helping bring stuff to the campground since my mom's car wasn't big enough to fit everything in it. She brought one load and then she and her daughter (another niece Hailey) left to get one more load and she left her son, Jaxon, at the campground to play.
My mom and Missy decided to go down to Macey's and get some groceries (not enough room in the fridge at home). Missee and I decided to go down to Walgreen's to get some items. I wanted to buy some prizes for a scavenger hunt I decided to plan to make for the kids the next day. Missee was emptying out some boxes of firewood from the car so we could take Violet with us. She passed by something twice before knowing it but when she noticed it we all noticed it.....a snake. I HATE SNAKES! I got as close as I dared to get and checked and noticed what looked like (to me) a rattle. I said that it looked like it had a rattle on it and we all stepped back a little further trying to decide what to do. A couple of seconds after I said that I thought it was a rattlesnake Violet (who was standing next to me) screamed at the top of her lungs and the snaked "flipped out". The best way to explain it is that it kind of did a somersault type action. It didn't really move again after that, but we weren't sure if it was dead or alive and none of us wanted to get to close to it to check. Violet was FREAKING OUT and screaming that it had bit her (it didn't). We drove the the Campground Manager's location and he wasn't there. We went back to the campground (snake still at the same location), Mindy and Hailey returned a short time later. They didn't know what to do either since the Campground Manager was nowhere to be found.
I went and woke up Steve and asked him for help. We asked him to kill it by throwing a rock at it. He threw a couple of rocks at it (he's not very good at aiming) and when he finally hit it we noticed that it didn't move. We decided that since we hadn't really noticed it moving since Violet screamed that she must have given it a heart attack or something.
When everyone else arrived on Thursday we would show them the dead snake and BJ (youngest brother - who moved to California recently) finally told us it was probably a rattlesnake and not one of the snakes who has a fake rattle to make other animals think they are rattlesnakes.
Here's a picture of the snake:
Steve and I have OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) and use CPAP machines. I can go for a night or two without my CPAP. I don't get the best of sleep - but I can survive. Steve on the other hand......doesn't. If he doesn't use his CPAP when we go camping his uvula (thing in the back of the throat) swells and he keeps choking on it. If he tries to talk he dry heaves (since he hasn't eaten anything he can't throw up). This year we rented a battery that he could use for his CPAP so he wouldn't have that problem this year. (It makes him VERY ONERY the whole time we are camping) The battery worked awesome the first night but it only worked for a couple of hours the second night. We figured one of two things happened. 1. He forgot to turn the battery off the first day so it stayed on all day, or 2. It wasn't fully charged when it was sent to us.
When we originally decided to go camping with my family we decided to go for 3 days (staying 2 nights) from July 23rd to July 25th as we had a family reunion for Steve's family on Saturday July 26th. We were going to get up Friday morning, pack up our tent, then our car, then hang out until the late afternoon. We would then go home and shower and relax and go to bed early for the party the next day. When we woke up on Friday morning and Steve said he hadn't slept very well and his uvula was pretty swollen and he kept dry heaving every time he tried to talk, we decided to pack up and leave right then (around 9:30ish).
We packed up quickly, went home, showers, took long naps, and relaxed for the rest of the day.
In the past three weeks we went on 2 separate vacations. The first was with my family. Steve, Hunter and I went camping in Hobble Creek Canyon in Springville, Utah, with my family. Everyone was there (except for my dad of course who comes up for one day only each time we go camping, but he never stays for a night).
The first night it was just my mom, sister (Missee), niece (Violet), family friend (Missy), Steve, Hunter and I. My sister-in-law Mindy was helping bring stuff to the campground since my mom's car wasn't big enough to fit everything in it. She brought one load and then she and her daughter (another niece Hailey) left to get one more load and she left her son, Jaxon, at the campground to play.
My mom and Missy decided to go down to Macey's and get some groceries (not enough room in the fridge at home). Missee and I decided to go down to Walgreen's to get some items. I wanted to buy some prizes for a scavenger hunt I decided to plan to make for the kids the next day. Missee was emptying out some boxes of firewood from the car so we could take Violet with us. She passed by something twice before knowing it but when she noticed it we all noticed it.....a snake. I HATE SNAKES! I got as close as I dared to get and checked and noticed what looked like (to me) a rattle. I said that it looked like it had a rattle on it and we all stepped back a little further trying to decide what to do. A couple of seconds after I said that I thought it was a rattlesnake Violet (who was standing next to me) screamed at the top of her lungs and the snaked "flipped out". The best way to explain it is that it kind of did a somersault type action. It didn't really move again after that, but we weren't sure if it was dead or alive and none of us wanted to get to close to it to check. Violet was FREAKING OUT and screaming that it had bit her (it didn't). We drove the the Campground Manager's location and he wasn't there. We went back to the campground (snake still at the same location), Mindy and Hailey returned a short time later. They didn't know what to do either since the Campground Manager was nowhere to be found.
I went and woke up Steve and asked him for help. We asked him to kill it by throwing a rock at it. He threw a couple of rocks at it (he's not very good at aiming) and when he finally hit it we noticed that it didn't move. We decided that since we hadn't really noticed it moving since Violet screamed that she must have given it a heart attack or something.
When everyone else arrived on Thursday we would show them the dead snake and BJ (youngest brother - who moved to California recently) finally told us it was probably a rattlesnake and not one of the snakes who has a fake rattle to make other animals think they are rattlesnakes.
Here's a picture of the snake:
Steve and I have OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) and use CPAP machines. I can go for a night or two without my CPAP. I don't get the best of sleep - but I can survive. Steve on the other hand......doesn't. If he doesn't use his CPAP when we go camping his uvula (thing in the back of the throat) swells and he keeps choking on it. If he tries to talk he dry heaves (since he hasn't eaten anything he can't throw up). This year we rented a battery that he could use for his CPAP so he wouldn't have that problem this year. (It makes him VERY ONERY the whole time we are camping) The battery worked awesome the first night but it only worked for a couple of hours the second night. We figured one of two things happened. 1. He forgot to turn the battery off the first day so it stayed on all day, or 2. It wasn't fully charged when it was sent to us.
When we originally decided to go camping with my family we decided to go for 3 days (staying 2 nights) from July 23rd to July 25th as we had a family reunion for Steve's family on Saturday July 26th. We were going to get up Friday morning, pack up our tent, then our car, then hang out until the late afternoon. We would then go home and shower and relax and go to bed early for the party the next day. When we woke up on Friday morning and Steve said he hadn't slept very well and his uvula was pretty swollen and he kept dry heaving every time he tried to talk, we decided to pack up and leave right then (around 9:30ish).
We packed up quickly, went home, showers, took long naps, and relaxed for the rest of the day.
Sunday, July 27, 2014
20 Things
I was recently tagged on Facebook to give a list of 20 things about myself and I thought I'd share it here:
1. I am afraid of crocodiles and alligators...all because I've had dreams of them chasing me.
2. I love cotton candy, even if its just cotton candy flavoring - taffy, ice cream, etc.
3. I love to travel but haven't been able to go many places - so far I've only been to a couple of states: California, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, Kentucky and Louisiana.
4. I love wearing dresses and skirts - I'm a girly girl
5. I know WAY too much about TV shows, movies and celebrities.
6. I love to read....once I read an entire book in less than a day (it was Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I started reading it at 1 am - after picking it up at a midnight sale - and finished it at 11 am in time for Missee to read it)
7. I dislike fads and try not to follow what everyone else is. That is why I was so late to the Harry Potter, Twilight, Hunger Games, and many more fandoms because I didn't want to be a "follower" just because it was popular.
8. I like writing (as if this list didn't show you that) and have even written some stories (still haven't finished one yet) but my dream would be to actually finish a novel and publish it (even if it was only 100 copies that was published - that would be awesome).
9. I can be very sarcastic. Sometimes my husband can't tell if I'm being sarcastic or not.
10. I am obsessed with Princess Belle from Beauty and the Beast (Disney version OF COURSE). I even dressed up as her for Halloween one year. I have toys, socks, jewelry, a purse, clothing, pictures, salt & pepper shaker, a cup and even dolls of Belle.
11. I have a temper and if I lose it...look out! I am not fun and sometimes swear (only when angry though)
12. I have not seen a R rated movie for probably over 3 years. I stopped watching them because my church has said not to watch them.
13. I love my in-laws. I am always telling my husband and my family that I won the in-law lottery. My mother and father in-law are awesome as are all my husband's siblings spouses.
14. I am a pretty good speller and can't stand seeing misspellings. On the other hand, my (written) grammar isn't the best. If I had to diagram a sentence to save my life.....I'd be dead.
15. I love dachshunds and want one. I love the red coats and short haired ones, but am in love with any version. Every time I see one I squeal and want to hug them.
16. History is very interesting to me as is greek mythology. I really enjoy learning about history and mythology.
17. I love singing in the shower and along to the radio, but have WAY too much stage fright to ever be able to sing in front of a bunch of people unless I am in a group.
18. I like Blogging and have my own blog but forget to blog as often as I can.http://thestevenschultzfamily.blogspot.com/
19. I dropped out of high school and ended up getting my GED. I passed on my first try and most of my scores were in the college range (except math and science, I am a stereotypical girl who hates math and science).
20. I love magic - reading books about it, watching movies and tv shows about it, daydreaming I have magical powers.
1. I am afraid of crocodiles and alligators...all because I've had dreams of them chasing me.
2. I love cotton candy, even if its just cotton candy flavoring - taffy, ice cream, etc.
3. I love to travel but haven't been able to go many places - so far I've only been to a couple of states: California, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, Kentucky and Louisiana.
4. I love wearing dresses and skirts - I'm a girly girl
5. I know WAY too much about TV shows, movies and celebrities.
6. I love to read....once I read an entire book in less than a day (it was Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I started reading it at 1 am - after picking it up at a midnight sale - and finished it at 11 am in time for Missee to read it)
7. I dislike fads and try not to follow what everyone else is. That is why I was so late to the Harry Potter, Twilight, Hunger Games, and many more fandoms because I didn't want to be a "follower" just because it was popular.
8. I like writing (as if this list didn't show you that) and have even written some stories (still haven't finished one yet) but my dream would be to actually finish a novel and publish it (even if it was only 100 copies that was published - that would be awesome).
9. I can be very sarcastic. Sometimes my husband can't tell if I'm being sarcastic or not.
10. I am obsessed with Princess Belle from Beauty and the Beast (Disney version OF COURSE). I even dressed up as her for Halloween one year. I have toys, socks, jewelry, a purse, clothing, pictures, salt & pepper shaker, a cup and even dolls of Belle.
11. I have a temper and if I lose it...look out! I am not fun and sometimes swear (only when angry though)
12. I have not seen a R rated movie for probably over 3 years. I stopped watching them because my church has said not to watch them.
13. I love my in-laws. I am always telling my husband and my family that I won the in-law lottery. My mother and father in-law are awesome as are all my husband's siblings spouses.
14. I am a pretty good speller and can't stand seeing misspellings. On the other hand, my (written) grammar isn't the best. If I had to diagram a sentence to save my life.....I'd be dead.
15. I love dachshunds and want one. I love the red coats and short haired ones, but am in love with any version. Every time I see one I squeal and want to hug them.
16. History is very interesting to me as is greek mythology. I really enjoy learning about history and mythology.
17. I love singing in the shower and along to the radio, but have WAY too much stage fright to ever be able to sing in front of a bunch of people unless I am in a group.
18. I like Blogging and have my own blog but forget to blog as often as I can.http://thestevenschultzfamily.blogspot.com/
19. I dropped out of high school and ended up getting my GED. I passed on my first try and most of my scores were in the college range (except math and science, I am a stereotypical girl who hates math and science).
20. I love magic - reading books about it, watching movies and tv shows about it, daydreaming I have magical powers.
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