Take Them A Meal...Take Two!

Hi Everyone!

With Nicole back at home, we wanted to pick back up with the meal delivery ASAP. I had to create a new schedule, so those of you who had signed up previously will need to choose a new day for delivery. If meals could be dropped off around 6 p.m. at 5216 Boulware Ct., that would be great. Please count on 5 to 6 people for dinner, as friends and family will be visiting regularly.

Nicole is now cleared to eat pureed foods (soup, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, applesauce, etc.), so making one of your items something in that family would be appreciated, I'm sure, and it would allow Nicole to try some new things. 

If you would like to sign up, please visit the following link, and feel free to reach out to me with any questions at laura.m.ehret@gmail.com 

www.takethemameal.com

name: Studer

pw: 5216
Thanks so much!

November 10 - On My Way Out!!!

Hi everyone- It's Nicole and this is is my first personal post. I have  alot of good news so I wanted to write this one myself.   So, where to begin?  How about with my visits swith Lily.  As Tom said in the last update he brought Lily by for her first  visit...I had not seen her in over 30 days!  It is hard to describe the feeling when she walked in the door, but the tears started flowing. I was amazed at how well she handled her surroundings.  By her fourth visit she walked around like she owned the place.  She discovered the latex gloves amd played doctor and helped me get cleaned up. 

When I moved to the 6th floor I was practically breathing on my own with the help of the trach.  This past Tuesday my trach was capped which means it was closed and I was completely breathing on my own through my mouth and nose.  It was capped for 24 hours and the doctors decided to remove my trach yesterday afternoon!  I spent the day feeling very different and "hissing" from my neck but it was finally out! 

I had my third swallowing test this morning and it went really well!  I am now able to drink fluids and eat puree type foods.  I can now have my Coke . . . my hot tea . . . and a beer if I choose!!!

We received the best news of all yesterday afternoon when the Dr told me that I could go home today!!  He wanted to see how I did with the trach out for 24 hours.  I woke up this morning feeling great and anxiously awaiting the Dr's word.  This afternoon he stopped by to see if I was ready to go home.  After 46 days you all know what the answer would be!!  So I finish the post from the comfort of my bed and my first night at home in over 6 weeks!

 I want to thank everyone for their love and support over the last two months.  It has meant the world to me and my family!   I will continue to update the blog with my recovery progress from home!

Thanks again!  We love you all!

Nicole

October 31st - Update

Happy Halloween everyone - so it's been a few days since I last posted an update and that's because there hasn't been much to report.  Nicole continues to make progress.  They have given her a smaller trach and moved her off of the respiratory critical care floor and to a regular room.  We are hoping the next move would be home!  I did take Lily down to see her this past weekend and it proved to be good therapy for Nicole.  Lily handled it great (until she had to leave of course), and hugged and kissed mommy all weekend!  I will post another update in a few days.  Thanks again for all of your support!

Tom

October 21st - Update

Hello everyone - just wanted to let everyone know that Nicole continues to make a little progress every day.  They have taken he catheter out, one of the IV lines and she is continuously breathing on her own throughout the day with little support from the breathing machine.  They have her out of bed and walking as much as she can handle.  It has been very emotional for her and she misses Lily so much.  I am praying that they can see each other very soon. 

Tom

October 16th - Update

Hello everyone - Nicole has been taken off of the breathing machine for the most part. The put in a temp trach on Friday and she seems to be adjusting well. They moved her to the Respiratory floor and out of the CCU. She has started to get out of bed and walk around a little to get some exercise! She is still having trouble swallowing and moving her eyes but she is making progress! Compared to where she was a week ago she is doing so much better!

Tom

October 13th - Update

Hello Everyone - Nicole is still in CCU but continues to make progress according to the Neurologists that saw her yesterday.  They did take her off of the breathing machine briefly yesterday to see if she could handle it and it was pretty challenging for Nicole.  They put her back on the machine and have decided to give her a trach tomorrow morning.  This will be much more comortable for Nicole and she is really looking forward to getting the tube out of her throat.  Her spirits seem to be good and she is as spunky as ever!  We are just going to have to take it one day at a time and pray for continued improvement! 

Tom

October 10th - Update

Hello everyone - Nicole is still in the CCU and is definitely making progress!  Her eyes are wide open and her breathing is really good.  The Pulmonary Dr. told us today that he would like to get her off of the ventilator soon so we are hoping that will happen over the next couple of days!  We do have another neurologist from Wake Forest coming down to Charlotte to examine Nicole and review her case to offer an outside perspective.  In all of the research that we have done on GBS is that it just takes time for the body to recover.  We have seen some good progress over the last couple of days!  Again, thanks for all of your well wishes and prayers!

Tom

October 8th - Update

Hello Everyone - just wanted to provide a quick update as I have not been able to over the last couple of days.Yesterday the Neurologist diagnosed Nicole with a variant of Guillian Barre.GBS is an autoimmune disorder that affects the peripheral nervous system. Her doctors are 99% confident in this diagnosis. With that said, we are in the process of getting her records to other resources for a second opinion to confirm that diagnosis. The good news is, that if it is GBS, it is a treatable condition that just takes time to reverse itself. This could take days, weeks, or months. It affects each patient differently.Nicole will pull through this. I know she will. She is too strong to let this bump in the road bring her down! Again, we appreciate all of the prayers and well wishes. You have no idea how much they mean to all of us!

October 5th - Update

Hello everyone - well we are a week post surgery and they have Nicole in the Neurological ICU for close monitoring.  They have her sedated and on a breathing machine because of the amount of secretions she has been dealing with.  This is helping her rest comfortably.  They do bring her out of sedation every couple of hours to conduct neurological exams.  I had spent some time yesterday communicating with Nicole and her spirits seemed good as well as her attitude.  She kept on telling me (actually writing) that she "wanted a Coke so bad!"  Nicole is a very strong woman and I know she will pull through this.  We are really in the middle of a waiting game with some test results pending.  The doctors keep saying that it just takes time.  We appreciate all of the well wishes and prayers.  Please keep them coming.

Tom

Dinner Drop Offs - UPDATE

Hi Everyone - First of all, thanks to everyone who signed up to drop off a meal to Tom & Nicole!  Once Nicole gets home from the hospital, I know the meals will be a huge help. In them meantime, I spoke with Tom tonight and suggested that we hold off on the dinner schedule until she's home. I will post a note on the blog and will send a few of you emails when things are back on schedule. Thanks again and let me know if you have any questions.

Laura

Update - October 3rd

Hello everyone - this is the 5th day after surgery and Nicole's heart is doing great!  She is still in the hospital as other complications have arisen.  She is still unable to swallow and she still is having difficulty focusing.  They did an MRI of her brain and they did find a couple of tiny dark spots which would indicate a very minor, minor stroke.  The doctors here feel that her current symptoms are not related to the MRI results.  The doctors are trying to figure this out but have said they honestly have never seen this before after heart surgery.  Despite all of this, Nicole has a great attitude!  She is trying to smile as much as possible and stay positive.  Hopefully the doctors will have some answers soon and a course of action.  Thanks again for all of your support!

Tom

Update - October 1st

Hello everyone - a better night last night versus the previous one!  She did sleep more and seemed to be a bit more comfortable.  Her heart is doing great . . . great rythym!  They took the temporary pacemaker out this morning so the only thing she is hooked up to is an IV!  Nicole is still dealing with not being able to swallow.  They did an endoscopy yesterday and found that her esophogeal muscles are extremely tight and she cannot move them.  This could be because of trauma the tubes caused during surgery but the doctors said this will pass but they don't know when.  So, as you all can imagine, she gets fired up when she can't have her hot tea in the morning or her daily Coke! 

The goal for the day is to do a lot of walking and to take a shower (she's been limited to sponge baths for the last few days).  At this time, because of her swallowing challenges, we do not know when we will be able to take Nicole home but I will keep you all posted.  Thanks again for all of your support.

Tom

Visitation Times

Hello Everyone - Nicole and I want to thank everyone again for their well wishes and help!  We would not be able to get through this without all of you.  We would like to request that if anyone wishes to come to the hospital to visit to please wait until Sunday.  We've been told that the first couple of days following a major surgery such as this are very difficult.  Nicole did have a pretty diffcult night with little sleep.  So if we could just let Nicole get through Saturday, we would appreciate it.  Thanks again for all of your support!

Tom

Update

Hello everyone - A quick update: Nicole was moved out of ICU around 10 this morning. it is great to see her alert and talking! She is still feeling the effects of the anastesia and she cannot swallow because of the tubes that were in her throat. She is in a lot of pain but they are doing the best that they can to manage it with medicine. Hopefully by tomorrow the inflammation in her esophagus will have gone down and she can start to eat and drink. The next couple of days are going to be tough in terms of recovery but if anyone can handle it it is Nicole! She is one tough Jersey Girl!!!! I'll post another update tomorrow evening. Thanks again to everyone for your thoughts and prayers!

Tom

Watch out - she's awake!!

Hello everyone!  Just wanted to let you know that I spoke with Nicole on the phone early this morning!  She has a lot of discomfort but sounds great!  So much so that she is already telling me what to do!!!!!  Ha!!!!  Check back later! 

Tom

Surgery Update

Hello everyone - we just wanted to let you know that Nicole's surgery went well and she is resting in the ICU at Presby.  The surgery started around 8:45 this morning and finished around 2:30 this afternoon.  We did get to go back and see her.  While she is still under the anastetic, she has started to breathe a little on her own and the hope is to have her out of sedation and completely breathing on her own sometime tonight.  They anticipate her being awake and alert by the time we get to see her at 10AM tomorrow!  We want to thank you for all of your thoughts and well wishes!  You have no idea how much they mean to us!  We love you all!  Check back tomorrow for another update!

Tom 

A Little Change

Hi everyone, so we met with Dr.Chan today who will do my surgery...really like him. Things all went well with my cath and no blockages. Later in the day he and some other doctors reviewed my chest MRI and found that my actual aorta is enlarged. A 5 is usually when it is replaced and I am a 3.9. What they were trying to decide was how that was relative to my size...is a 3.9 in me equal to a 5 in another person. Issue is anything above normal is considered an aneurism and has potential for danger. So question was replace now or wait. We have decided to replace now with the bicuspid valve. It adds a level to the surgery and time, so now looking at 4-5 hours. So not at all what thought I would be facing, but you have no idea how I appreciate the texts, calls and emails. They mean so much. Hard day, but nothing more to do but go for it. Love you all....

Surgery Scheduled for 8:30 tomorrow morning

Hello everyone - just wanted to let you know that Nicole's surgery has been scheduled for tomorrow morning at 8:30.  She is having her Cath procedure done today and will stay overnight at Presbyterian.  Check back tomorrow for more updates.  Thanks for all of your support!

Tom

Take Them A Meal...

Hello everyone -

Knowing that Nicole & Tom could use a little relief from cooking the first few days she's home from the hospital, I set up the following website for anyone interested in dropping off dinner for a few nights. Following is the link and how to find their schedule.

 Here is a link to your new meal schedule: http://www.TakeThemAMeal.com/meals.php?t=ZRAM5510

Or visit: http://www.TakeThemAMeal.com
Recipient Last Name: Studer
Password: 5216

Let me know if you have any questions or trouble by emailing me at laura.m.ehret@gmail.com or calling 704-906-4097.

Thanks in advance for helping out!

Laura E.

The Heart of the Matter....

I think that's a Don Henley song. So my very good friend Laura set up this blog to help share the craziness that is my life over the next few weeks.  As most of you know, I will be heading into surgery to have a valve replaced in my heart.  Long story short, I was diagnosed when I was three years old and have lived with aortic stenosis my entire life...mainly sympton free. Over the last year, I started to experience some different things such as a lot of dizziness and fatigue.  As most of you know...especially my co-workers...I just kept going on with life. :)  It finally really hit me over the last few months and in August I was told I would need a valve replacement and should not wait more than a month. Shock is not the word.  For the last few weeks I have been talking to several doctors and trying to make the life changing decision of what to do...tissue valve...go ahead with the cow and pig jokes ....or mechanical.  Both have their pros and cons.  In a nut shell, with tissue I am  faced with a second procedure in about 10 years and with mechanical I would be on coumadin the rest of my life.  Ah decisions.  After choosing the valve, then I had to decide where and who and what procedure.  I think I have earned my PHD at this point. So decisions were made and surgery was set for 10/14. I went to my local  doctor here in Charlotte at Presbyterian on Wednesday, 9/23 and he basically told me it would not be wise to wait until the 14th  and I am now having surgery in Charlotte and as early as Wednesday, 9/28.  I had an MRI and MRA of the chest on Thursday night and I'm scheduled for a catherization on Tuesday morning at 6am. They have asked if I am mentally ready, would I want to do the surgery on  Wednesday. Well, I don't know if I will really ever be mentally ready, but sure I don't have any plans that day.  Honestly, now that the decision has been made and things are moving foward, I actually feel better than I have felt in a few weeks. I know anxiety was getting the best of me...good thing I have  blood pressure machine at home.   It has been a whirlwind few weeks to say the least, but I have to say that I am so lucky and blessed...the support I have received from my friends and family including phone calls, emails, texts...it all means so much to me and to Tom.  I've always known how lucky I am to have made the friendships I have today and to come from such a loving family.  So thank you for all of the support.  

Hopefully this site is helpful...

So I've set this up to help keep everyone up to date on Nicole's surgery. Hopefully it will make things a little easier when sharing all the details and updates. Posts will likely come randomly and from a few different people, but feel free to share the link with other friends who want to keep up with Nicole along the way. You can also subscribe to it, then anytime there is a new post, you will get a note.

And feel free to leave comments...I'm sure everyone would like to read them.

Laura E