HAPPY BIRTHDAY CONT.

Cory has always wanted to go on a hot air balloon ride so since it was my birthday, that was my surprise present. It was amazing...the desert was beautiful this morning. We topped the ride off with a delightful sparkling cider breakfast in the desert. Thanks Cory it was a surprisingly enjoyable and relaxing way to ring in my new year.

You CANT Make This Stuff UP & Happy Birthday

It's me again...Chaney's sister. Yeah, that bad. So Chaney's last blog said things were NORMAL, what she didn't know was that it would fall into the New Normal category.

This story begins the two days before Cory was released from the hospital. Chaney spent those two days preparing and learning everything she needed to know to bring her husband home and take care of him. Those two days were crazy and this nursing mother forgot ( or just didn't have time) to nurse or pump. After all she had plenty of milk stored for Scottie in the fridge so Chaney didn't give it much more thought.

I can already hear the groans of pain from all the nursing mothers...I too insert my groan of pain right here. AGHHHHHHHHHH

As Chaney mentioned earlier, she brought Cory home to a large Gifford Family Reunion. She was trying so hard to put on the brave face while helping Cory and staying interactive with the week long reunion that she put her own sickness and pain to the side and acted as if she was just fine. Here is where I insert my own personal OSCAR award to her. So Chaney spent week two of Cory's return just finding their groove and still pushing through her now very painful mastitis infection. By week three she was in so much pain that she was bed ridden and there was a large lump she just couldn't break down. She finally conceded and went to the doctor for herself (keep in mind she and Cory have been to so many doctor / therapist apptmts these 3 weeks, the last place she wanted to go was another doctors office).

Doctor Visit #1: Mastitis confirmed, antibiotics prescribed, off you go now.

Chaney takes her medicine like a good girl and after a weeks time has absolutely no relief at all.

Doctor Visit #2: Shot in the rumpkins and new antibiotics given, off you go now.

Now Chaney has a sore tushy to ponder as she is still sick as ever and the lump, not of much concern to the doctor keeps growing and causing greater pain. She only waits a few days this time to go back as the treatments have renderd ZERO relief.

Doctor Visit #3: Ultrasound of lump (tech freaking out), Dr. wondering how he missed the lump, and a referral to a specialist given, off you go now.

Chaney goes back the next day, a Thursday, and the specialist (surgeon) presents her with a syringe attached to a 5 in needle. Surgeon plunges needle into chest. Surgeon tells Chaney to breath. Chaney cant breath as she is sure her lung will be punctured. Surgeon trys to extract substance forming the lump. Nothing comes out. Surgeon sends Chaney to hospital for surgery.

Hospital Stay #1: Chaney was told that they would go in cosmetically to remove said lump. Chaney being the stubborn supermom is determined to continue nursing and tells the doctor to just go in at the site. All goes well with the surgery and I find myself sitting once again in a hospital room with Cory, his parents, and Chaney's good friend Chelsea. It seems we were all here just weeks earlier. The only difference this time is Cory and his walker are standing at Chaney's bedside. SIDE NOTE: I CURSE MYSELF FOR NOT GETTING THAT PICTURE.

The doctors wanted to keep Chaney until Monday for observation. Did I mention they didn't sew her up nicely and put a big band aid on. No she has a huge gaping hole packed with gauze that has to heal from the inside out. It is possibly one of the grossest thing I have seen. Chaney will have none of this. She is so D. O. N. E. with hospitals and doctors and surgeries, and medicines, and treatments. After just one night she convinces them that she will be fine and they release her Friday evening. I have to give a big shout out to my Dad right here cause this all took place the day after my mom and sister left for Utah for a week and I myself left out of town on Friday. So he and my brother Gabe took care of the girls so Cory could be with Chaney. Good job grandpa! I also have to mention that Cory, still in recovery got to take the girls the night Chaney was in the hospital and neither is sleeping through the night. In fact Scottie usually sleeps attached to said lumpy boob most of the night. I am not quite sure how Cory, gimpy Cory, pulled that off, but again good work daddy.

Chaney has a nurse come and dress her wound (did I mention the gross factor? Just checking) on Saturday and she was feeling good until that point. After the nurse left, Chaney started to go downhill again. Sunday she really wasn't doing well and by Monday night she spiked a fever, starting vomiting, and was generally in miserable pain.

Doctor Visit #4: Doctor and Surgeon send Chaney directly to hospital. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.

Hospital Stay #2: She has a serious infection and thanks to the biopsy results they have now learned it is MRSA! No wonder she couldn't get rid of that lump!!!!!!! And now the concern is that it could be in her blood. So they decide to do a pic line. I don't know much about this other than it requires an X-ray and an ultrasound to get the line of antibiotics directly to your heart. This is the best was to treat MRSA as it is resistant to most antibiotics. No wonder she wasn't feeling any better and only got a sore hinny as her booby prize!!!!!!!! (pun very intended) As soon as they started the pic, Chaney had an allergic reaction and they had to take it out.

So after 2 more days in the hospital and more failed attempts to treat her, she is released with her still painful gaping hole, the best antibiotics they could give her, hopes that it might work, the reality that she now had to stop nursing after all that, the fear that she could have given MRSA to her baby, the threat of a blood infection and the looming knowledge that if they confirmed the blood infection she would be returning to the hospital and staying until her blood was clean.

This brings us to this last week. She played phone tag with the doctors and as far as I know she still hasn't talked to them and is assuming her blood is clear. My mom, who I have seen take on the worst bodily functions, and malfunctions for that matter, changed Chaney's dressing only once and informed her that would be the last time. This brings me to today

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHANEY

YEAH FOR 23!!!!!

You will spend this morning at wound clinic. But after that Cory is taking the girls so we can get our toes done and go to lunch with Chaney's two besties. He also has something up his sleeve tomorrow as wound clinic interrupted his master plan on your actual day. We all love you so much and my personal prayer is that 23 is so good to you that you will call this THE YEAR OF BLISS. Cause heaven knows you deserve a break!