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From Mom: Sorry for the delay. It has been a busy morning and finally getting chance to sit down and give some updates.

With the help of amazing doctors, nurses, family, friends, prayers, and hugs it appears we may start making the turn we need.
In your White Blood Cells ( I call WC or White Count) there is a number they call the ANC. This is the actual part of the cell that fights off infections. That number had to be over 500 before they would ever ever consider sending her home. Today it is at 700.

Now that doesn’t mean she is packing her bags. It does mean with that number up, she is in better position to fight off the infections. It also means her bone marrow is rebuilding itself.

She was very agitated this morning. Last night they put in a line to drain some water off. And it has done a great job thus far as fluids continue to come off. When these fluids come off, she will be able to move better and moving better will over all help her mood. She wants up! Which I am going to take as a good thing. She wants to go home. So with that to work with, we can push her to do things she may have been resisting before. She is fighting.

We should start to hear some results back today about the procedure she had yesterday and this will help them target the infections better. It may take a few days for complete cultures to come back but it begins to rule out things she no longer needs.

She is still fighting fevers but that means her body is fighting. Her Oxygen level has stayed well enough she hasn’t needed to be on a vent but just a flow of air…I think they said at 4 liters..if that means anything to some of you. Her heart rate, although higher at rest then they like, didn’t increase much when they sat her at the side of the bed and moved her into a chair. And when in the chair, it comes down from @ 135 to the low 120s. The high heart rate is her fighting the fevers and the water retention.

Matt joining me did wonders. I was able to sleep knowing there was an extra set of eyes and ears through the night. I am not sure if he is able to stay tonight but I do know he does need to go back tomorrow as Heather has to work, as does Randy so he will be with the dogs. Unless we have Dex go to someone’s house and say during a few hours of transition. Stupid dogs! But goodness we do love them.

I will keep you updated as I can. Remember no news, means good news and when things go down hill, I go to panic and start to reach out to others. Me no panic = things going better.

Thank you again! You all have been so amazing to help lift me, Jen, Randy, Jess, Matt, and Heather up. We couldn’t do it without you.

Love ya all!

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I sit her in this dark room, listening to the sound of oxygen pushed through a tube. To the sounds of iv ticks, I didn’t know existed not so long ago. To the sound of Jennifer quietly whimpering in her sleep as she tries to breath.

The tiny tree glows in the corner of her room. I haven’t put the decorations back on because I fear I will angrily pull them off if they move her to another place in the hospital. But I let the light fill the room and refuse to unplug it even as we sleep.

I try to wrap my head around tonight why she must suffer like this. And why I must watch. Why I am apart from so many I love in this room the nurse says they try to make it feel and look like home. She doesn’t know what she is talking about. The nurses want me to not stand close by and attend to her every need but who are they kidding? What else would a mom do in a time like this?

I try to not scream when I hear or read someone complain about something to me now seems so trivial. Why can’t they see how blessed they are? I want to be blessed in this moment the same.

God forgive me for my doubt and anger. I am trying to trust. But I’m hurting like nothing I’ve ever known

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Prayers Needed

Tuesday December 20 – day 21
6pm
Without going into a long drawn out explanation I’ll give a short summary.
1. Procedure to look in lungs found some infection they are treating as fungal phenomenon. This requires an strong antibotic that is hard on kidneys so watching that closely
2. Water retention is a big concern and they are trying to take it off without effecting her bp
3. If she isn’t able to maintain her breathing, she will be moved to icu with possible need to vent her.

If ever I needed prayers threw this hell, I need them now. ..I can’t tell you how scary this is. She has been irritated but still ok. Me, I’m all over the place.

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Astronaut Training

Monday December 19 – Day 20
945 pm
Jen decided to give the cpap another try. She hasn’t liked wearing it and it has taken her awhile to trust it. Tonight she asked to try it again. She is so brave.

We compare the face mask to astronaut training. She doesn’t like the comparison. But as I explained, astronauts must train for the journeys that lie ahead.

If you have watched Big Bang Theory before, Howard Wallowits on the show was training to go to space. He was pretty whimpy. Jenn is no Wallowits!

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Monday December 19
730 pm
Tomorrow at 2pm they are going to scope into jen’s lungs to see if there is a fungal infection. The CT scan over the weekend showed some small spots…he called bruising. They hope this is what is causing the fevers and then they can figure out how to treat

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Monday December 19
430pm
They are going to decrease the amount of Tylenol jen gets to see if this decrease her liver function numbers ( bilirubin ). They will use cold packs to decrease the fever.

She also has a decrease in urine. They will change meds up to see if that will help

They also are running a big series of blood panels to look for different flu/cold viruses. Until they have results we need to gown up with gloves and face protection (has a plastic shield up over eyes). We will know in 24 hours if we need to continue this or not. We sure hope not as it is very uncomfortable to be in for a long time.
Randy is going home this evening as he works tomorrow evening. Hopefully when he returns at the end of the week Jen has improved so much she will be ready to open some Christmas gifts.

This Friday the Patrick Vetter and Alex Warnement at the Main Street Market will be hosting a corn hole tournament with games starting as early as 3pm. You can pre register your team to pick your best starting time. Contact Jessica Crawford for more information. Registration fees will go to Jennifer to help her during this difficult time. Nothing would bring a smile to her face faster then to know her community, family, and friends rally together and bring her some much needed holiday cheer.

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Sunday December 18
9am

Alas, Jennifer had a better night sleep. They found her the right combination to help her relax. Anxiety was getting the best of her, especially having to wear an oxygen mask for several hours. About 5 am, Huxley (what we have named her fever) broke. Hopefully he stays away.

Randy stayed with Jen, while Jessica and Matt took me to get some rest at a hotel close by. Since staying at holiday Inn express makes you simply brilliant, we all are now better equipped to cure Jen.Heather stayed back at home to watch after the two small dogs, while our big puppy Dex got to attend the Fischer family Christmas thanks to my sister Sue. If it wasn’t for the help of Heather and Sue, I would be so lost right now.

I don’t know the plan for today for Jen but hopefully it includes a dance towards healing and finding out how to make this horrible rash, which we have named Rhys by the way, go away.

This evening, Jess and Matt will head back home and Randy will be here with me through early Tuesday. Thank you for the continued prayers. Even if we are here next week over Christmas, it is a blessing to know we are together with and so much support back home.20

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Update from Dad

Update from Randy
Update time….well things can change on a dime here….after her fever broke about 5 ish this morning the day was pretty uneventful until about 3 when she was up going to the bathroom and got lightheaded and a little panicked, started coughing and threw up. This started a chain of events and a lot of attention from many nurses and docs that resulted in a lot of anxiety for Jenny. She had a chest xray and a chest ultra sound to make sure she did not take any material into her lungs. She was given some Demerol to calm her. Over the next several hours things calmed down and right now she is doing very well. The rash is starting to subside, which is a very positive development and that may spark a general rebound. The main concern right now is that she doesn’t develop pneumonia.

There is talk of icu to get more one on one care
but since she is doing better that is on hold.

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Word From Jessica

Good morning from icy Columbus! Jenny’s fever broke around 5 a.m. This has been the common theme, so we will see if it stays away this time. She was able to sleep much more comfortably with Demerol and Tylenol every four hours. They also found a different mask for when she’s getting O2 so that seems to have helped.
Biggest prayer request is to pray for the rash to subside.
Hopefully more updates soon!

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Saturday December 17

2pm

Things here have declined over the last several hours. They have moved Jen to 14 floor to get more personal care. Jen’s pulse oxygen levels are low and her fever back. They have her on a cpap machine to improve her breathing. The doctor thinks this ugly rash she has is causing the fevers and most likely is in her inside as well as her skin. You can see the rash inside her mouth and throat.

She has swelled with water retention but with a low BP, they cant give her anything to take swelling down. I have called to ask Randy and the kids to come down to give me some rest and be close for Jen. The doctor says the next few days will be difficult but hopefully we can keep her from getting worse. Please pray God gives her the strength she needs as she has to battle through some bad days.

Randy’s boss scrambled to find coverage so he could be here. Although we have depleted all his sick time and vacation, this is where he needs to be. I am thankful he is able to be here as i am needing him by my side.