Weekend Wind Down

Good evening,

We don't have much to report but I can imagine you're all checking in and wondering so wanted to at least put up a new post. Kate is still in ICU and will be for probably 2-3 more days. The process of treating the Pneumonia and simultaneously weaning her off of the breathing tube is a very slow process. So she will remain in the ICU until the Docs are happy with the progress. It's really the best place for her right now and we feel most comfortable knowing she's being cared for 24/7 by an advanced critical care team.

While they have her somewhat sedated to keep her comfortable, she does know we are there and when she's awake we can chat with her and we get head nods and hand waves. Today we told her Albert decided to not shave until his Wife Kate returns home. And with that news her big brown eyes popped open to check out her Alby O. Dad's facial hair growth has also been a somewhat slow process, but as it continues to come in we plan to post pictures on the blog :)

On a final note, I just want to say thank god for all of our family and friends. Personally, I couldn't imagine dealing with this without the ongoing support and companionship of my Dad, 2 big brothers and loving sister in laws--we've really come together as one strong family unit. And to top it off, my nieces and nephews remind me every day what life is all about. And so each day I return to my Mom's bedside I'm able to bring her enough strength to cover the both of us so she can keep fighting. And right now, that's my only goal in life--to get my Mom back to herself and home with her family.

Stay tuned for more updates throughout the week. And once again, thanks so, so much for all of your love and support.

Much love,

jen

Weekend Update

Hi everyone,

We wanted to update you where things stand. Unfortunately Kate got moved into ICU in the middle of the night because her breathing continued to be labored and decline. They Drs confirmed last night that Pneumonia has developed which is the cause of her ongoing struggle to get enough oxygen.

The upside of the ICU is she is now being closely monitored around the clock and they are keeping her very comfortable. The Docs think she will be in the ICU at least through the weekend and possibly and day or two beyond.

Your prayers and sentiments are keeping us going. And this Ostrich flock has been huddled together since the morning and we plan to be through the weekend as we help Mom turn the corner.

Stay tuned, as things progress we'll keep you posted.

Much much much love to all.

jen

We made this for you in our front window. We Love you!!!!!
Love, Margaret and Marissa

Temporarily Down, but by NO Means Out!!

Hi all-

Just wanted to drop an update as we head into the weekend as it may be a long one for us. Kate is fighting and fighting hard and believe me, every note, post, email, text and card is keeping her fighting. But she has had 2 surgeries now and her body is still trying to adjust. So she is restricted to rest while the Docs watch her very closely to ensure she doesn't develop an infection or any other complications.

The immediate family plans to be by her side around the clock over the next few days--we're sitting with her in shifts to ensure we hear all that's going on and meet any of Kate's requests (ice chips are like gold so when she asks, we deliver!).

We will update the blog as we know more and please continue to check it. Please understand if we are unable to return an email, text or phone call right away--this is hard for everyone and we're really relying on the blog as the best way to keep everyone informed. We love hearing the support but sometimes, out of sheer exhaustion, we're just unable to get back to everyone. Our #1 focus is Kate so that's what we'll be up to for the next few days.

We truly can't thank everyone enough for the ongoing support. Mom has more cards and flowers in her room than anyone in the hall I think! And she loves each and every one of them. We will get through this, we have no doubt. We just need to keep the faith and the strength. And thanks to you, we're feeling both in spades.

We love you all!!!!!!

Albert, Jen, Jake, Stephanie, Lisa and Shawn

Back to Silverstein

Mom was moved out of ICU this AM and back onto the 12th floor of Silverstein Building, Room #1218. We're in a nice sunny room overlooking the busy intersection of CHOP & the new Penn Pearlman Center.

Mom is resting comfortably and doing great! I'm just hanging by her side as she sleeps--she's very tired. I'm so proud of her--it's been a hell of a 48 hours yet she still has her spunk. She already got after me to unwrap her flowers and see who they were from :)

Doctors are saying another week in the hospital and then we can move her home but she'll likely need some care there to keep her on track to 100% recovery. We'll keep you posted but for now rest assured that she's on the mend! And for now, that's good enough for me as my new motto is one day at a time.

Thanks again for all of the comments on the blog and the cards, once Mom wakes up a bit I can't wait to read them all to her.

Love to all,

jen

A Setback.......

Hi Folks:

Sometimes in life it feels like you take two steps forward and one step back. Today was one of those days.

Kate had to go back into surgery this morning to repair a leak in the colon that was filling her abdomen with fluid and air. This could be a potentially very dangerous situation. Thankfully, they identified a problem overnight and she was first on the list this morning! Surgery took less then an hour and our fine doc, Doctor Drebin, said she came through with flying colors. She will spend one or two days in intensive care so they can keep a very close eye on her and then she will move back to 12 Silverstein (our home away from home this week:) She will most likely have to be in the hospital for another 5 to 7 days. We are looking forward to getting her home as soon as possible.

Keep the love and prayers coming. Every little bit helps! One day at a time has a whole new meaning for me.

We will be sure to post how she is coming along so check back soon.....

Hugs,
Stephanie

No news is good news!

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to drop a quick post to say we're still on the road to recovery. Mom's goals continue to be walking, sitting up as much as she can, eating and drinking fluids. So we're cheering her on around the clock and she's doing great!

Thanks for all of the comments--keep 'em coming!!! We'll continue to post as we have news, but if we skip a day no need to worry we're likely just getting some much needed rest ourselves :)

We're looking at a Thursday discharge but once we know for sure we'll let you know.

Thanks again and love to all!!!

jen

HOLD THAT SMILE

After four attempts teaching Dad how to use the iPhone camera, Mom was still able to hold a beautiful smile. It's great to see the team work of our family! Oh by the way, Chef Shawn is planning another round of 5 star cooking (on the grill) for moms return home.

Love you Mom,

SDO

Another Milestone Reached....

All I can say is, "WHAT A DAY"!

I arrived at the hospital early this morning to find out KO finally had a good nights sleep in her private quarters. After overdoing it a bit, she has been getting a lot of rest and it showed.

If progress was slow yesterday, today it was in overdrive! First up, out came the epidural. Time for good ol' IV pain meds. Next we said ba-bye to the catheter (sorry if thats TMI, but I gotta share the excitement). She was sipping on the water and taking little bites of Jell0. We were on a roll.....until Nurse Marta told us she had to get in the chair and later start walking.

KO was NOT happy about this but she pumped on the pain button and up she sat with her legs over the bed. After a few moments rest with some assistance from lovely nurse Marta she was officially in the chair. This was big! This was great! We were thrilled! But it was shortlived as we were told the next order of business was walking.

Ok now I have a problem on my hands. KO does not feel up to walking she tells me. She is having hot flashes, she is feeling nauseaus and lightheaded, she states that although she knows she has to walk she just doesn't think she can do it!! Oy vey I think to myself, what's a daughter in law to do??? All I can say is thank goodness for the IPHONE. It came to the rescue. With my handy application Pandora, I put on new age/spa music. I gave her a scalp massage We were breathing in through our nose and out through our mouth, we were thinking positive thoughts. In short we were in the zone and CHILLAXING!! Then the most amazing thing happened, Nurse Marta told us the time had come to make our move and KO got up and slowly, ever so slowly and started WALKING! She walked herself right out of the room and up and back down the hallway! I'm cheering, all the aides in the hallway are cheering as shouts of "you go girl!" were flying through the air! I was smiling, I was kvelling, I was thrilled to see what courage and determination look like! KO probably didn't hear/see any of this cause she was concentrating so hard on putting one foot in front of the other.

It was a joyous day! The little things mean a lot. I can't wait to see what tommorrow brings.

Until next time,

xoxoxoxo
Stephanie

Moving On Up!

Well, Dearest Jeremy is now truly the #1 nurse. Not only did he score us a recliner (makes all the difference for us visitors) but he was able to get Mom moved into her own room (#1211) so she could have less noise and interruptions sans roommate. Here is Mom happy in her new digs with her Albs and all her lovely flowers, cards and pictures.

We're settling in now, her and me, with some quiet time and TV. Me in my recliner and Mom in her cozy bed.

Tomorrow we gear up for another trip out of the bed!

Good night and love to all!!

jen

Weekend Prescription: REST

Nurse Jeremy (known as Dearest Jeremy) says Kate needs less chatting and more rest :) So while she loves her visits and phone calls and seeing and hearing from everyone, this weekend we're going to keep that to a minimum so she can catch up on some much needed sleep.

She does love hearing the emails and blog comments so feel free to send a message...we read them to her each day. For now we're likely here until Wednesday or so but our exact discharge date is still TBD while we see how the next few days go.

The Drs all say she's right on target and doing great. We just need her to rest up so she heals and builds her body up for the next fight.

I can't say enough that your ongoing support and love is so amazing. It's keeping us all going for sure.

Much love,

jen

THE FIGHT

Mother, an inspiring person once told me you have to "fight the fight". Well we are fighting and are almost through round one. After getting knocked down hard, you got back up! Soon we will be thinking about round two. I want you to know i will never leave your corner. No matter how many times you get knocked down i will be there to help you get up.

Love Shawn

Kate's first "walk"

Today has been a good day! I can't believe how much better my Mom looks--it's remarkable. Her color is back and today she even got up outta bed!

I arrived about 7am to enjoy my hot tea with her. She was wide awake and feeling good. We chatted up a storm and soon after we met her day nurse, Jeremy. Well with one look at him (in the pics with mom) Mom and I decided it'd be best I hang around for the day ;) Sadly he's married but Mom has voted him as best nurse yet because he let her have a few sips of lemonade...so his nickname is now "Dearest Jeremy" :)

So Dearest Jeremy came back this afternoon to get Mom up for her first "walk." He said if she only sits or stands up that would be great but she walked across her room and did good as you can see in the picture. Tomorrow we try to get out into the hall, but we'll see. Baby steps.

Dad is here now and Jake, Lisa and Erin just left. Shawn is headed down this evening. I stayed with my friends Steve & Rachel last night, they had a bottle of my favorite wine waiting for me and it was nice to be with friends and to be back in my city!

That's about all for now. Stay tuned...hopefully this weekend Kate will start on regular fluids and maybe some solid food by Sunday.

Love to all,

jen

She is a CHAMP!

Sitting here with Dad in my Mom's room watching her rest as they manage her pain. We had a bit of a mishap with the pain dispensing machine at first but now things are worked out and she's nice and comfortable.

Kate's already telling the nurses what's up and I've got the whole station checking on her :) Dad and I laughed that of course she's on the top floor, the person who hates heights. But all in all, things are good.

Today we celebrate today. She got through the surgery wonderfully.

Tomorrow and thereafter we'll determine her treatment to kick the rest of the Cancer's A**!!

It's been a long day, signing off for now but will keep everyone posted throughout our stay.

Oh, and below is the hospital info for those of you who asked:

Hospital of University of Pennsylvania

Silverstein Building, Room #1203B

3400 Spruce Street

Philadelphia, PA 19104

Thanks and love to all....we truly couldn't do this without all of you.

xoxo,

jen

Headed to Recovery!!

Dr Drebin, Mom's surgeon, just came down to say she made it through the surgery with flying colors! It was done within an hour, she lost very little blood and there have been no other complications. We're THRILLED.

We are waiting for her to get moved to recovery and probably won't see her until this afternoon so we'll post more then.

For now, thank you so much for all of the comments, texts, etc. Mom has so enjoyed hearing from everyone--those near and far.

We love you.

jen

Donuts & Tea

Mom went through her PET scan with flying colors, despite her hatred of "tubes and tests." So to celebrate we just enjoyed some donuts with a hot cup of tea. Mom said "that hit the spot!"

Now we wait. Wait to hear when our surgery time is tomorrow. Wait to hear more test results. Wait for her surgery to be done.

As we learn more we'll let you know.

As of now, we're just excited to have the afternoon home to relax and watch All My Children together.

Stay tuned--thanks for all the followers and comments!

Much love,

jen

A beautifying day

Greetings!!

Not to get too much into the nitty gritty of the day-to-day, but wanted to blog about the lovely afternoon I had with my mother-in-law, Kate, today. The big surgery is two days away and those of you who know Kate will know she would never embark on a hospital visit without nails or hair being just right....so off to the beauty salon we went for cut and color. About 2 hours and a quite a few laughs later, she came out looking like a million bucks! Of course it wouldn't be a day out with KO (as we lovingly refer to her...that's a story for another time) without lunch, we are definitely "ladies who lunch" :)

We did talk about the upcoming surgery, which I know she is nervous about. I was surprised to learn this will be her first hospital stay, other than having her 3 kids. I'm not sure if she's more nervous about the surgery or getting there via the Schuylkill expressway--oh how she hates that road.

On a more serious note, I must say the way our family has come together in support and love of one another has been amazing. I am so proud to call Kate, Albert, Jen, Shawn, Lisa and (of course) Jake my family. Individually, we are all pretty great :) but together we are one powerful force!

KO, we love you and I look forward to having you beat me on the golf course in the near future (I'm really not that competitive, ha ha :)

Love to all those I know and those I've yet to meet.

Stef O

Out & About

I thought everyone might enjoy hearing some things we've been doing other than doc appointments and tests!

This past weekend Shawn and I took Mom to see Margaret's swim meet--she came in 2nd place in her free style, boy was she fast! Here is a pic of her and her Nanaleen.

Yesterday Mom was feeling up for a quick trip to the Mall so Dad could spoil her with a new, long, extra warm North Face jacket to get her through these cold winter days. That sure put a smile on her face :)

And then today Mom and I did two of our favorite things together--got our nails done and enjoyed lunch at Chili's. Chef Shawn took a meal off and joined us which was nice.

This weekend we also enjoyed a few visits from some close family members which helped to make all the difference for Mom's spirits.

Thanks for the continued love and support. I show Mom the blog each day so it's exciting to see everyone following along. Now we're off to dinner at Shawn's, we requested a low key meal--good ol' pizza.

Talk soon!

jen

Surgery Update

Hi everyone-

Now that we've introduced you to our blog, we wanted to begin with our informative updates.

Kate is scheduled for surgery to remove the mass in her ascending colon this Thursday 1/21 (time still tbd) at Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She is expected to be in the hospital for 5-7 days. The surgery is rather "routine" and we have the head of surgery for GI at Penn performing it, Dr. Jeffery Drebin, who comes highly recommended. It's a very simple part of the colon to remove--she should recover fine and will not need any special care for her colon.

We're anxious to get the surgery done quickly with the hopes she'll be more comfortable and most importantly, we'll have "removed the source" of the Cancer. From there we will need to do Chemotherapy, how much and how often etc is all still TBD. We'll need to wait 4-6 weeks post surgery before that begins. That's all the info we have on that so far.

So for now we are enjoying lots of family time. Shawn has become the resident Chef and Jen, Steph, Lisa and Jake help prep and clean. We've been doing family dinners together since we got the news which we find helps everyone, especially Kate. Albert (while already a bit spoiled) is enjoying the home cooked meals-but of course nothing is like his Kate's meals :)

We'll continue to share what we're up to and of course check back after Thursday for the post surgery update. Once we're in the hospital and have more information on visitation etc we'll update the info here.

Thanks,

Ostrich Crew

Welcome

As you most likely know, this has been a rough few weeks for Kate and her family. But as you also know, it takes a lot to knock down my mom, she's a fighter. And with all of us by her side, we're confident we can win this fight.

We created this blog as a place for loved ones and friends to come and hear updates, share and post comments or questions and stay informed. As I'm sure you can imagine, the phone is ringing off the hook and it's a bit overwhelming as we're all still adjusting to the news ourselves while also trying to get the treatment plan in place. But we promise to keep this current so you can stay informed. Your strength, positivity and love, mean the world to us, even if we're unable to speak to you each day.

So check back often for updates and news. Mom asked that everyone refer to this vs emails as she's overwhelmed at the idea of having to reply to emails and return phone calls. As a collective "ostrich crew" we promise you'll know as much as we know.

Thanks for all of your love and support. We SO appreciate it.

Stay tuned! Love, Jen, Albert, Shawn and Lisa and Stephanie and Jake