Praying for My Mom: Knee Surgery & Aneurysm

[jenniferknapp]

Please say a prayer for my mom....she had knee surgery this past Thursday, and her recovery was going pretty well until yesterday. She was in horrible pain all day, and noticed some red flags, and finally decided to go to the ER. They did a doppler study and didn't find any blood clots, which was good... but then the night continued to get worse and she went to her doctor's this morning and he sent her about 45 mins away to a (good) hospital to see a Vascular specialist... and her tests didn't come back too great They found an aneurysm and are bringing her back into surgery to relieve all of the pressure in her knee.

She is only 53, and is very active.... I just prayer that she will be okay, and that she will also get full use of her knee back.

I am over an hour away at my job, and I have her/our dog at my house so that she wouldn't have to let him out... I hate being this far away, but her parents are with her, and my brother is going to go there tonight. I think I need to wait until the morning though (just because of my dog, etc) ....Thanks for listening

 

[janetupnorth]

Praying for her - a friend of ours had that after knee surgery and the pain was intense!!!! She will do much better after they go in and relieve the pressure. I'm glad they found the problem.

 

[krzymomof4]

She is in my prayers

 

[jrstephens]

I have said a prayer Jennifer for you and your mom.

 

[raebates]

You're both in my prayers. Please keep us posted.

 

[KellyTheChef]

Jennifer~

I am glad they figured out where all the extra pain was coming from. You are all in my prayers!

 

[quiverfull7]

I'm praying right now for both of you!

 

[jasonmva]

Gotcha covered in VA

 

[jenniferknapp]

Thanks everyone. I should know more tonight after the surgery, and will keep you posted.

 

[MissChef]

aneurysms can be so dangerous and deadly "silent"! So it's a really good thing that she had the pain and did something about it! The pain probably saved her life!
I will pray for her for a quick and speedy recovery and peace and I will pray for you peace too!
Don't fret all day, just praise God for her recovery. The fretting and fear will not help, just rest in the fact that God is on the scene and he has already answered your prayer and she is healed!

 

[jenniferknapp]

Thanks, I just talked to her.....on the way to the OR, my grandparents didn't make it there yet before she went in...

 

[tpchefrebecca]

I have said a prayer for her. I will keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[mommyhugz1978]

She is in my prayers.... I am sorry Jennifer !!

 

[jenniferknapp]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers. I just got a call from my grandparents that she is out of surgery and in the recovery room. The doctor said that it will be a long road to recovery, but he feels that he was able to do what he needed to. In the morning I will head to the hospital (about an hour and 20 mins away) to stay with her for a majority of the day.Thanks again

 

[yummybytes]

Thinking of you and your mom, Jennifer!! Lots of prayers headed your way.

 

[sslangley]

I will pray for a speedy recovery.

 

[pcchris]

hugs and prayers on the way!!

 

[janetupnorth]

Glad to hear she came out of surgery fine. Have a good day with her tomorrow.

 

[jenniferknapp]

Update:I talked to her this morning, she is on some good meds...and got the best night of sleep she's had since her first surgery! So that is good. I am bringing my dog up to my hometown to board him for the week, that will allow me to go visit her this week after i get out of work if I feel the need. So I will have about 2-3 hours of driving between bringing me there, then going to the hospital she is in....but she is worth it!The doctor was happy with the surgery, and had mentioned yesterday that he would re-evaulate everything, and maybe do another surgery today, but he was there this morning and decided not to...for now.They are planning to keep her until at least this weekend, we'll see.Thanks again, I am getting ready then heading out the door.

 

[MissChef]

Hey Jennifer!! Great news! I'm glad that she got such good sleep, that can only be good for her! I have an idea!!! Take some catalogs with you, and after that first day (cause you want to focus that first day on Mom!) start talking about your business and show catalogs to the nurses!!! They are such great customers! You might even book a catalog show, work that angle! And remember, if you do your business and talk about your business, you can write off the whole trip! Just an idea! Your Mother is the obvious, most important reason for going but why not have the trip be a write off too! I know my Mom would tell me to do that!
I will continue to lift both of you up in prayer and I will bring your mother into our prayer request time at my church life group meeting tonight!
Hang in there Jennifer! We love you!

 

[KellyTheChef]

Jennifer~

Thanks for keeping us posted! I am so glad things went well and now she can start to recover! Prayers going up for her!

 

[jenniferknapp]

New news...not so good of a day, she almost went in for a 3rd surgery today, which would probably delay her "months" of recovery to "a lot of months" recovery...and who knows what else it would do I just got home....I was at the hospital for about 12 hours today, and I am just exhausted. Hopefulyl working tomorrow, then probably heading back to the hospital tomorrow evening. Even though the surgery wasn't preformed tonight (at 11pm when the doctor was called in from home) ...nothing is to say that it won't happen tommorrow or the next day. We need to just pray for her body to start taking action and stop the bleeding, and where there is bleeding, stop the hemorraging (sp?). And the list could go on and on...anyway, we need some strong strong prayers coming her way. Thanks and good night...I will try and update you when I get a chance again.

 

[jenniferknapp]

Update....she is going into the OR in about a half an hour for her 3rd time... I probably did the worst thing I could do and looked in up online, and it is absolutely disgusting...they are going to do a traditional fasciotomy.... which skip the next few lines if you get grossed out with this stuff!!Where they make 2 12" cuts down either side of her calf and basically leave it open and let it "bleed out" ...and then they will do a skin graft and close it up once the fluid has drained.Please pray... this is such a nightmare I get out of work at 4:30 and will drive an hour to the hospital to wait with my grandparents, and I am sure that my brother will be there as well. Her 2nd sugery left her in the recover room for about 4 hours to control the pain; I am hoping that this one will go easier on her...she is such a strong person, but right now she is so upset and weak..and she is a registered nurse, so her background and knowledge is not helping her right now! Thanks again.

 

[janetupnorth]

Aw Jennifer...praying for her and you guys as a family to get some rest...

 

[ChefLisa]

Hi Jennifer!

I have kept up with this thread and I am keeping your Mom and your whole family in my prayers.

Please take care of yourself and stay strong.

Lisa

 

[KellyTheChef]

Jennifer~

That sounds like a horrible surgery...sorry your Mom is kind of "in the know" since she is a nurse. That would make it harder for her probably!

I am lifting her up in prayer and I am calling my church to put her on our prayer chain. We have some amazing "prayer warriers" that will bathe her in prayer! (I hope you don't mind..I didn't want to wait to get your OK about it since she is probably in surgery as I am typing this!)

{{{{{{{{{Hugs to you and your mom!}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

 

[sslangley]

Jennifer, I was thinking of you today. I'm glad you posted an update. You and your mom are in my prayer.

 

[jenniferknapp]

Thank you so much for all of the prayers I am optimistic that although this last surgery will lengthen her recovery by months, that it has actually worked! The pain is crazy, and now she has 2 huge open incisions on her leg, so we have to be soooo careful of infection, and the pain of changing the bandaging is horrific for her. But, I saw a decrease in the swelling last night, and even though the swelling hasn't gone down anymore since then, it hasn't increased either.When I talked to my mom this morning, she was feeling pretty good about it, but the doctor hadn't been in yet to give his opinion. I am actually going to take the night off from seeing her, the drive is a killer! and I have a lot of things to get done around here, and I will get my dog out of boarding and stay with him at her house for the weekend, and drive back and forth to see her as much as possible.Thanks again, prayer has an amazing power... and we will need it for a long long time through the recovery and physical therapy, she is such an active person, I hope that she doesn't get too discouraged with herself. And her passion in life is to help people (she is an AMAZING nurse) ...and I hope that her job won't displace her....I also hope that financially we will be okay, she has a mortgage and all of the bills of a single home owner, plus 10's of thousands of dollars of lawyer bills due to the lovely divorce that my dad has been raking her through! Maybe this will actually open his eyes a little bit and he will be willing to actually help her out in a situation like this....unlikely, but I will pray for that too. Okay, sorry this got so long!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Jennifer,

Thanks for keeping us posted - I have been following the thread and praying for your mom and you!
I will continue to pray - and pray that God will soften the heart of your dad too during this situation. The emotional situation of a conflict-laden divorce will only hinder healing - so I will definitely be praying for peace in that situation!

May God give you peace and rest this coming weekend!

James 1:16b - ......pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayers of righteous people have great power and wonderful results.

Holding fast to this promise for you!

 

[MissChef]

Jennifer,
It truely sounds like your Mom is absolutely wonderful and amazing! It's a shame that your Dad is doing this to her! I will pray for him too, because he obviously needs it if he's been putting her through a bunch of grief! I'm sorry that you have to witness that and that your Mom is living with it! But I do believe God can fix ANYTHING! I wll also pray for not only her healing but for her pain! She doesn't have to be in pain!!!! We all need to lift up your Mom and pray for her comfort and peace!!! I am starting with that prayer right now! Today is the National Day of Prayer and my church is open from 9-5 and I believe I am stopping in and I will pray for your Mom and your whole family! Also, Joyce Meyer is coming here to my city for a free conference starting tonight through Saturday and I will pray there for you and yours as well!
Continue to be her rock and don't fear, God has you and your Mom! God Bless you and your amazing Mother!

 

[jenniferknapp]

Thanks everyone, she truely is an amazing person. And so is her mother....and I've heard that "the gift" has successfully passed down to me....so that is always nice to hear!!Update for this morning - she is definitely down in the dumps about all of it, she loves to golf, kayak, and walks a few miles every morning with her best friend....and I don't think she will be able to do any of that this summer ...but, she was sounding a little better this morning, and they are going to try taking away the morphine and get her to loratab...so that she can start walking and stuff without falling asleep! She still doesn't have any feeling at all in the bottom of her foot or toes.... and the doctor said it may never come back. She will have to be very careful with it, so that she doesn't put too much weight on it and not realize it..and watch for blisters and stuff on the bottom since she won't feel those either. I know that she will start to feel better once she is up and out of that bed a little bit, and feel a little more independent...so hopefully today that can happen I have to head off to a meeting...I have a full day of them! Then I will head to the hospital to see her for the evening Thanks again for the prayers, but don't stop yet!!!

 

[Miss Cori]

Wow what a nightmare!! I will pray for her and you. You are keeping yourself together very well. I know how hard it is to keep yourself from falling apart and I just wanted to say way to go!!

 

[baychef]

Jenn,
My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family for healing and strength. My parents are 70 and 73. Last summer my Dad had some heart issues and then in July he had both knees replaced. His knees were so bad that he was literally months from a wheelchair. Although he doesn't do the activity that your Mom does...he is not one to sit around.

He did not have the complications your Mom is having but he did have other complications. With in the first 3 to 4 days, he had a mild heart attack and had a bad reaction to the anastesia (sp??) He was delussional (sp?) and for two days one of us was continually on either side of him trying to prevent him from ripping his IV out for the 5th time. He would have been SO embarassed if he saw himself.

At the time my Mom was going through medication adjustments that were making her almost like an Alzheimer's patient. Between PC, my main job and then helping them rent their camps (cleaning and everything else) I thought I was going to go literally crazy.

Here is the good part...Dad is back on his feet again, Mom is better adjusted and can even keep up on her housework. I recruited 2 people (one the day my Dad came out of surgery) and my team continued to grow. I too live 2 hours from any of the hospitals he was in.

Hearing what you are going through brought me back to that time. You and your Mother sound remarkably strong. Let her know that she WILL return to all that she loves one day. It will not be as soon as she wants it to be, but it will come to her. For both of you...take one day at a time and it will make life so much easier on you. That's all we are given, just one day at a time.

Hang in there. I too live in upstate NY (Alexandria Bay...100 miles north of Syracuse). Take care and stay strong.

 

[jenniferknapp]

Thank you all...And from another thread, thank you for the reminder of how lucky I am that this hasn't taken her life, and how much worse it really could be. I will continue cherish everyday with her and help her to see the positives instead of the negatives! And with time, we will get through this.

 

[tlennhoff]

Thank you all...

And from another thread, thank you for the reminder of how lucky I am that this hasn't taken her life, and how much worse it really could be. I will continue cherish everyday with her and help her to see the positives instead of the negatives! And with time, we will get through this.

I'll pray for her. May she have a speedy recovery and surprise everyone. Hopefully you'll find activities to do together while she is recuperating. Maybe now would be a good time for her to write her life story to share wiht her family. There are some great books out there that help someone do this and afterwards you could get it printed and bound.

 

[jenniferknapp]

Update:She is doing okay, they are thinking of releasing her tomorrow....we (the family) aren't sure if that is a good or bad thing. Of course it is nice to have her home, and she would be more comfortable, but with two 10" wide open incisions, it is a little scary! A few family members and family friends have been around to watch the nurses change the dressing, and so have I....so that we could hopefully manage at home. My mom, being a nurse, is actually more concerned about infection if she stays in the hospital...but I don't know if I am completely convinced yet. We will see....today will tell a lot, PT is supposed to get her doing stairs with her crutches before she goes home, which they haven't even tried yet! It hurts her so much to walk, and her heel doesn't even touch the floor when she walks, and she says it feels like a brick because her feeling hasn't come back in the bottom of the foot or toes. She is very discouraged, and not liking the idea of a such a long recovery...but that is expected, who would want that?? So, not sure what is going on yet... but keep on praying! Thanks

 

[jenniferknapp]

Update:My mom was discharged yesterday! I am still hoping that it isn't too early...but only time will tell. She is an RN for the local home health care agency, who will be coming in once a day to do dressing changes...so that will be good. She was doing 2-3 changes a day at the hospital though, I hope this is a good change...My grandparents are staying with her right now, with al ot of friends stopping in and out to give them breaks, and I am taking Friday off so that I can head home after work tomorrow to spend fri-sun with her.The doctor is estimating at least 4-6 weeks before she can get back to work...so we'll have to just work with and hope the healing goes smoothly. (Huge risk for infections with the size of the incisions)Thanks again and keep on praying!

 

[tlennhoff]

Thanks for the update. May she have a speedy recovery.

 

[pamperedharriet]

So glad to hear that your mom came home JK. I hope she has a speedy recovery!

 

[KellyTheChef]

JK~

Thanks for the update! I will keep praying for you and her...and all of your family and friends that are helping out!

 

[Lisa/ChefBear]

Jen,
Hugs to you and your mom and all the prayers will continue. I'm going to add her and the entire goings on to our church prayer chain and 2 other local churches.

Would she like some cards from your PC family??? I know I'd send her a card and I'm sure my girls would love to draw a picture for someone who's not feeling well!!

My sister is also a nurse and also feels MUCH more confident in her own home than the hospital, so must be a nurse thing.


HUgs,
Lisa

PS,
You also need to make sure you're not getting run down too!!

 

[jenniferknapp]

Jen,
Hugs to you and your mom and all the prayers will continue. I'm going to add her and the entire goings on to our church prayer chain and 2 other local churches.

Would she like some cards from your PC family??? I know I'd send her a card and I'm sure my girls would love to draw a picture for someone who's not feeling well!!

My sister is also a nurse and also feels MUCH more confident in her own home than the hospital, so must be a nurse thing.


HUgs,
Lisa

PS,
You also need to make sure you're not getting run down too!!

She isn't quite in to the PC thing much, but I am sure that she would appreciate it! and kids pictures always bring a smile to your face!

I think that nurses know first hand how many more germs are in hospitals...and how they spread so horribly fast!

I actually took the past few nights off from driving every night to see her, so I am feeling much better myself. (physically) ....Last week exhausted me out...

Thanks again

 

[Paula R. Lewis]

Jennifer,
I'm glad to hear that your mother is doing as well as she is. Try not to worry that she was discharged "early". This is where her nursing "knowledge" will be a blessing, really, because she is all too aware of the dangers of infection, and will probably be alot better about taking care of herself where that is concerned than perhaps you or I would, simply because she has been trained for it.
Thanks for allowing us to share this time with you. I lost my mother 20 years ago, at the young age of 51, so I definitely encourage you to relish every day you can with her. Make lots of memories, even if it is a long drive to see her!! I know you'll never regret it!!!

Blessings,
Paula Lewis

 

[jenniferknapp]

Update:
The day to day progress hasn't been advancing as well as we had hoped, and last night was a tough night with a lot of cramping, and then some swelling in the knee. My mom is at the hospital getting an ultrasound and then seeing the vascular surgeon as we speak. Prayers are appreciated, hopefully no blood clots or any other complications....Thanks and I will update as soon as I know more...

 

[SilverCeladon]

I'm so sorry Jennifer. I'll be thinking of her!

 

[jenniferknapp]

Update:No blod clots.... but, instead of that there was a lot of bleeding...so the doctor tapped her knee to drain the blood. Yuck! It is still a little puffy today, but she has a better range of motion today then the past few days...And to top it all off, my grandparents (her parents) who have been staying with her every night, ended up at the ER themselves this morning ...My grandma had a really fast heart rate throughout the night, and so they called the ambulance to get her, so they are at the hospital now... man, when it rains, it pours!

 

[jenniferknapp]

Update:We spent about 5 hours in the ER last night after another huge cramp and internal bleeding within her knee ....I came home to get a few hours of sleep + take care of our dog, and then will head back down to the hospital to see her. We are hoping for answers of why these cramps + bleeding keep happening, and of course for relief of the pressure that she has from the bleeding.... thoughts and prayers are appreciated, yesterday was 1 month from the initial "easy" surgery that started all of the complications...so we also need to keep her spirit up as well, she is very frustrated.Thanks.

 

[chefkristin]

Jennifer

I just read this whole thread. I am so sorry your mom is going through this.
I know first hand what it is like to almost loose your mom. It is so scary. My mom had a stroke when my son was only 4 months old. She has recovered 100% thankfully. But I will never forget the feeling of her being sick. If you want to talk or vent send me a private message. I will say some prayers for you all including your grandparents. UUGGHH!! (((HUGS)))!!!

 

[yummybytes]

Jennifer
Praying and thinking of you all.
All the best,
Jenn

 

[pamperedharriet]

JK--I just heard about your Mom and hope everything works out for her. I will keep her and you in my prayers. Take care.