Not over yet

SO, here is the latest in case you've been wondering...

Trenna was able to come home on Sunday night. She is VERY tired. Her visit to Cedars Sinai had to be postponed due to all of the bruising on her arms from the intense weekend in the hospital. She has had so many IVs, tests, and shots that her body is very traumatized. Dr. Black wanted to give her a rest and let her body do some healing before having her come in to Cedars (where she will have an MRI, more tests, etc.)

On Monday Trenna will go to Cedars to see Dr. Black, and also to meet with a neurosurgeon and a seizure specialist to (hopefully) get some answers about what took place this past weekend.

Trenna went this week to see her primary care doctor and long-time friend, Dr. Schmidt, who has been such a help to her during this journey. He's taking very good care of her and helping to right some of the insensitive care that she received at Placentia-Linda Hospital (during the ER visit). Due to the long stay in the hospital, she developed a very intense bladder infection....not good. He also gave her a referral to visit a surgeon today to look at her tongue, which was quite damaged when she bit it during the seizure. When she showed up at the office today, they decided to stitch her up then and there--an extremely painful procedure that she hadn't been prepared for. She is restricted to a no-chewing diet for the next 7 days (although I reminded her that luckily, Thanksgiving is in 8 days--yaaay chewing!)

Spirits are low and exhaustion is high. It's strange to think that although the actual tumor-removal surgery went so smoothly, all of these other things have happened in the aftermath. Your continued prayers for this involved situation are comforting and appreciated.

Today is Mitch and Trenna's 20th Wedding Anniversary--God grant them many years!!!

-mary

Keeping a Close Watch

Trenna spent last night in the hospital, and she will be staying the night again this evening. I'm receiving all this info from Mitch via text, so hopefully I am communicating everything accurately. Her doctors want to keep a close watch on certain things...

Today has been a day of testing. Doctors took an EKG (Electrocardiogram) to check her heart, blood tests, and looked at troponin levels. Her troponin (a complex of proteins found in muscles, essential for muscle contraction) levels have been elevated, which is likely due to the seizure. Elevated troponin can be a pre-signal of heart attack, which is why the doctors are taking extra care in monitoring the levels, and having her stay another night. They want to rule out heart attack.

Trenna is very exhausted from everything that's happened. She's not in terrible pain, but is so drained and needing rest.

-mary

Today

What a day it has been...

Thanks to everyone for your plentiful prayers, and your well-wishes via facebook, text, email, calls, food packages, and visits to the waiting room. We've spent much of the last few hours sharing with Trenna all the love that is out there for her. When Mitch said "Honey, you're all over the internet!" she weakly replied "I....I can't use the internet" and seemed pretty bummed out that she couldn't currently partake in all the social media lovin'. :) We assured her that we would pass on her thanks and love to you all.

An ambulance came around 3pm to transfer Trenna to St. Jude's in Fullerton from the ER in Placentia. This is a very good development, because if things were seriously bad, she would've been taken to Cedars' Sinai for intensive monitoring. At St. Jude's a neurologist came to check in on everything, and then the floor doctor came for a short visit. He said there is no infection at the incision (very good because that area is susceptible) and no fever, etc. They will be monitoring her throughout the night and tomorrow. If she is seizure-free for 24 hours, she will be allowed to return home tomorrow (Nov. 12) afternoon!! If there is any fever, mental disorienting, or seizure symptoms, they will determine whether she's developed an infection or is experiencing another seizure, and will act accordingly.

Currently she is being given anti-seizure meds and Norco for pain. She is sore and very tired, and her tongue is giving her a lot of pain and discomfort (she bit down on it/through it very hard when her jaws locked during seizure). She is not having so much pain in her head, but she is still under anesthesia, which was given along with a sedative when she arrived at ER this morning.

A follow-up appointment with her brain surgeon, Dr. Black of Cedars' Sinai, had already been set for Monday. We will keep you posted with everything we can, and the results of the appt. We'll see what Monday reveals, but currently the doctors don't think this morning's seizure was directly related to the surgery or tumor. It was a horrible experience, but they've told us it is pretty typical for a first-time seizure.

Thanks again for all your love and support during this very scary day. We are truly thankful to have you all walking with her through this experience.

-mary

Surgery Setbacks

This morning, Trenna woke up and sat at the kitchen table with Emily and Dad. While they were talking, she forgot a word and couldn't think of it for about 10 minutes. When Emily asked her if she'd like ice for her drink, Trenna couldn't understand her multiple times. Emily asked her if she knew who my dad was, and sometimes she knew, sometimes she didn't. Then she started having a seizure, during which, she bit her tongue pretty badly. Alex called for an ambulance, and she was taken to the ER.

At about 9 a.m., I got a text message from my dad saying that she was being rushed to the ER, and that she might have had a stroke or seizure. He wasn't sure. In order to give her a CT Scan, they had to sedate her (I think because she was still having seizures?).

After the CT, the doctors said it wasn't from a brain bleed or stroke, but they still didn't know what was going on. They've been waiting for her to wake up and become a little more coherent, but she is having issues with short-term memory loss. She'll wake up, say her tongue hurts, ask what happened, and then fall back asleep. Moments later, she'll do the same thing.

The doctors have been on the phone with Dr. Black's office all day, and they've decided to transfer her to St. Jude's Hospital by 3 p.m. This is good because it means they don't think it's serious enough to transfer her back to Cedars Sinai for more intensive monitoring!

Please pray for her and for our family. This is a pretty scary day.


-Shannon

Thank you for the prayers!

Dr. Black came out of the surgery around 9:15 (a mere 30 minutes!) to announce incredible news: the tumor was not attached to any of Trenna's brain tissue...it was completely isolated and "floating" around. Amazing. They were able to remove it easily and quickly with no complications, and because no other areas were affected, she might even be permitted to return home TONIGHT!!

We are so thankful for the Lord's abundant mercies, and thankful for all of your prayers and support.

-mary

Second Brain Tumor Surgery

Trenna and my dad went in early this morning to prepare for today's surgery. The blood clot from the first surgery is still present, but the assisting doctor said it won't be an issue for now. At about 8:30 a.m. today, they took her in for surgery.

We will keep you posted on all the updates here and on her Facebook page.

-Shannon