As many of you know, Jerry was a firm supporter of the KC Aids Walk and had created a FANTASTIC team know as Jerryz Kidz which rose to one of the top fundraising teams the last few years.
After much discussion amongst all of us - and at the firm request of mom- we will be taking over the reigns for Jerry this year and still continue on with a Jerryz Kidz team this April.
If you are interested in participating with us this year, please leave a post here with the best way to reach you (email address, phone number, etc). When the time starts to begin planning and fundraising, we will reach out to each of you and will rally in mid-April for another year doing what Jerry held dear.
We hope to see many of you on Jerryz Kidz team this year!
~ Sherri
Friday, January 30, 2009
Quiet Moments
Today has been a day fraught with tension, emotions and quiet moments.
It was unclear whether or not Jerry would make it thru the night tonight as his blood pressure continued to drop ever lower and his heart rate rose to alarming rates. Family and close friends are all gathered at KUMed and we have once again set up "Camp Cahill" in our same waiting room.
Home made cookies; take out pizza and laughter over old pictures of Jerry and the memories they conjure have made this evening carry on at a bearable level. In Jerry's ICU room, we have gathered around him in a sort of "camp circle" and have been sharing memories and stories of Jerry and times gone by as episodes of Cheers and Friends play softly in the background... the laughter has been healing. Thru it all, Jerry has not stirred overly much, but even now I'm sure he is hearing our memories and laughing with us as he prepares for his journey.
The mass of family here have found quiet moments of solitude to remember Jerry, catch some sleep or share laughs amidst the group. To be sure, everyone is on edge and what little sleep we do manage to catch may not be restful, but we are all here for Jerry and sleep will come later for us.
It is mid-morning now and appears that Jerry is still holding on. Friday morning is the moment in which the breathing tube and other machines will be removed from Jerry... until that moment, and long after, we will all be here for him with endless amounts of love.
It was unclear whether or not Jerry would make it thru the night tonight as his blood pressure continued to drop ever lower and his heart rate rose to alarming rates. Family and close friends are all gathered at KUMed and we have once again set up "Camp Cahill" in our same waiting room.
Home made cookies; take out pizza and laughter over old pictures of Jerry and the memories they conjure have made this evening carry on at a bearable level. In Jerry's ICU room, we have gathered around him in a sort of "camp circle" and have been sharing memories and stories of Jerry and times gone by as episodes of Cheers and Friends play softly in the background... the laughter has been healing. Thru it all, Jerry has not stirred overly much, but even now I'm sure he is hearing our memories and laughing with us as he prepares for his journey.
The mass of family here have found quiet moments of solitude to remember Jerry, catch some sleep or share laughs amidst the group. To be sure, everyone is on edge and what little sleep we do manage to catch may not be restful, but we are all here for Jerry and sleep will come later for us.
It is mid-morning now and appears that Jerry is still holding on. Friday morning is the moment in which the breathing tube and other machines will be removed from Jerry... until that moment, and long after, we will all be here for him with endless amounts of love.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
As The Clock Winds Down
Today started off with Jerry resting comfortably..and continued that way throughout most of the day. There were a couple of incidents this morning where his blood pressure dropped extremely low - to the point that the doctors would have to severely medicate him to get his blood pressure back to normal.
The afternoon passed relatively calm without incident.
This evening, as we gathered to celebrate Michael's 16th birthday, Jerry's blood pressure dropped into the 70s a couple of times, and then stabilized. At 9:00 pm, we were informed that his blood pressure dropped yet again, and they are now administering him to almost the maximun level of the blood pressure medicine they can..he is currently at 4.0 ml and they can only go as high as 4.2 ml...the rest will be up to the hands of fate.
It is unclear at this moment how soon Jerry will turn to the Guardian Angels and go home. We are hoping that he will make it thru the 28th so as not to taint Michael's birthday forever more.
The afternoon passed relatively calm without incident.
This evening, as we gathered to celebrate Michael's 16th birthday, Jerry's blood pressure dropped into the 70s a couple of times, and then stabilized. At 9:00 pm, we were informed that his blood pressure dropped yet again, and they are now administering him to almost the maximun level of the blood pressure medicine they can..he is currently at 4.0 ml and they can only go as high as 4.2 ml...the rest will be up to the hands of fate.
It is unclear at this moment how soon Jerry will turn to the Guardian Angels and go home. We are hoping that he will make it thru the 28th so as not to taint Michael's birthday forever more.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Blood Donors
To all of those that have wanted to donate blood directly for Jerry but were never able to. Jerry hasn't had to have blood in several days, and most likely will not need any more.
I would still like to encourage all of you (whether you are A Positive or not) to donate blood. One person donating blood can save 3 people's lives. Your blood will never go to waste - no matter where in the country you are located!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Sherri
I would still like to encourage all of you (whether you are A Positive or not) to donate blood. One person donating blood can save 3 people's lives. Your blood will never go to waste - no matter where in the country you are located!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Sherri
Monday, January 26, 2009
The Cruel Hand of Fate
Well Monday did not turn out like any of us anticipated AT ALL.
The did not do the bone marrow tap/biopsy on Jerry today due to several factors. The doctors did not come in until early afternoon.. and not for anything that we expected.
After a pow-wow with over ten doctors, they decided that Jerry's billiribin is too high and that at this point, they have no way of bringing it down to an acceptable level. Becuase they can not bring that number down, they can not do chemotherapy any longer, also, due to the amount of medication that Jerry is on, they do not see any other recourse they could do to help him get better.
To say it bluntly: they can not do anything further to help Jerry recover from this disasterous disease. The Cancer appears to be the victor in this bout as the Doctors do not have anything else to treat him with.
In light of this new information and after much discussion with the doctors and amongst family, it looks like we have decided to take him off the respirators on Friday, January 30th and let Jerry take it from there. According to the doctors, that could mean minutes, hours, days or weeks.. the decision will be up to Jerry from that moment on.
The disease may be the victor, but our love for Jerry will always win - no matter how the tides turn, no matter if the moon doth shine - come what may, love will always win.
The did not do the bone marrow tap/biopsy on Jerry today due to several factors. The doctors did not come in until early afternoon.. and not for anything that we expected.
After a pow-wow with over ten doctors, they decided that Jerry's billiribin is too high and that at this point, they have no way of bringing it down to an acceptable level. Becuase they can not bring that number down, they can not do chemotherapy any longer, also, due to the amount of medication that Jerry is on, they do not see any other recourse they could do to help him get better.
To say it bluntly: they can not do anything further to help Jerry recover from this disasterous disease. The Cancer appears to be the victor in this bout as the Doctors do not have anything else to treat him with.
In light of this new information and after much discussion with the doctors and amongst family, it looks like we have decided to take him off the respirators on Friday, January 30th and let Jerry take it from there. According to the doctors, that could mean minutes, hours, days or weeks.. the decision will be up to Jerry from that moment on.
The disease may be the victor, but our love for Jerry will always win - no matter how the tides turn, no matter if the moon doth shine - come what may, love will always win.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Lord, Hear Our Prayer
As everyone may have figured out, things with Jerry are not progressing so great - they are stable, but not really progressing as well as we might like. He has definite good days and bad days, and lately more on the bad day side.
As of this morning, his white count is back to normal. His hemoglobin is great and they haven't had to give him blood in awhile. They are doing the bone marrow biopsy tomorrow, and may have to do a bone marrow tap as well.
Mom has thought that a group prayer might be a nice thing to do, so I'd like to ask everyone that happens to check the blog today, if you are so inclined to prayer or reflections - please say a quiet pray or thought tonight (Sunday) at 8:00 pm CST. Also, again on Monday morning at 10:00 am CST as that's about the time they will be doing the bone marrow pull on him.
Here is a prayer to the Patron Saint of Cancer, St. Peregrine:
Oh great Saint Peregine, you who have been called "The Mighty" and "The Wonder Worker" because of the numerous miracles which you have obtained from God for those who have have recourse to you. For so many years you bore in your own flesh this cancerous disease that destroys the very fiber of our being, and who had recourse to the source of all grace when the power of man could do no more. You were favored with the vision of Jesus coming down from His Cross to heal your affliction. Ask of God and Our Lady, the cure of these sick persons whom we entrust to you. Aided in this way by your powerful intercession, we shall sing to God, now and for all eternity, a song of gratitude for His great goodness and mercy. Amen.
Thank you to everyone and we'll continue to keep you posted.
As of this morning, his white count is back to normal. His hemoglobin is great and they haven't had to give him blood in awhile. They are doing the bone marrow biopsy tomorrow, and may have to do a bone marrow tap as well.
Mom has thought that a group prayer might be a nice thing to do, so I'd like to ask everyone that happens to check the blog today, if you are so inclined to prayer or reflections - please say a quiet pray or thought tonight (Sunday) at 8:00 pm CST. Also, again on Monday morning at 10:00 am CST as that's about the time they will be doing the bone marrow pull on him.
Here is a prayer to the Patron Saint of Cancer, St. Peregrine:
Oh great Saint Peregine, you who have been called "The Mighty" and "The Wonder Worker" because of the numerous miracles which you have obtained from God for those who have have recourse to you. For so many years you bore in your own flesh this cancerous disease that destroys the very fiber of our being, and who had recourse to the source of all grace when the power of man could do no more. You were favored with the vision of Jesus coming down from His Cross to heal your affliction. Ask of God and Our Lady, the cure of these sick persons whom we entrust to you. Aided in this way by your powerful intercession, we shall sing to God, now and for all eternity, a song of gratitude for His great goodness and mercy. Amen.
Thank you to everyone and we'll continue to keep you posted.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
A Few Days of Highs and Lows
The past few days have shown us the highs and lows with Jerry and definitely put us all on edge with everything - the good and the bad.
Jerry has been very alert this past week and it's nice to see him follow nurses and visitors around the room, and responding via hand squeezes, eyebrow raising and pointed stares. He definitely wants the respirator tube removed from his throat and we had a few incidents where we thought he might pull the tube out on his own (most definitely NOT a good thing).
They pumped up the fluids they were pulling from him to 200 ml/hr, however, that didn't last very long as his blood pressure dropped extremely low... into the 40's and they almost had to bring in the crash cart for him - you've never seen so many nurses and doctors come running! After that incident, they put him back to 50 ml/hr and it took over 24 hours for his blood pressure to regulate. They began pulling out 100 ml/hr last night; as of this morning, they are now pulling 150 ml/hr and have put him on blood pressure meds in order to maintain a good blood pressure level. He is still really puffy from all the fluids in him, and will remain so until they can begin pullng much more fluids from him - a task they can't or won't do as his bp remains so low.
His color has been that of watered-down pea soup off and on for the past few days. His bellyrubn (which should be around 1-2) was at 20 on Thursday. The rest of the markers they test for on his liver/cancer were all good - just the bellyrubn was off. This is what also causes his color to be off and make him look jaundiced. They thought there might be a blockage in the liver that was causing this number to be high. If so, they wanted to try and do a shunt down his throat into his stomach/liver to see if there was blockage and or drain the area if needed. Last night, we were told they can not do this procedure due to how cramped up his organs are inside.. the area that SHOULD be clear and allow them acccess is shoved up into his diaphram and stomach prohibiting them from doing this.
They ran a CT scan on him Thursday to check out how things were going in him with the Cancer and if the chemo had any effect and to check for any blockage in his liver and see what next steps would be. The scan came back mixed - the cancer/tumor hasn't grown; yet hasn't shrunk. They want to do a bone scan on him on Monday in order to see if the Cancer has spread to his bones or not.... that answer will hold a lot of power over next steps in Jerry's care.
The doctors have pumped up the support for him on the respirator which means that now, the machine is doing a good portion of the breathing for Jerry. This is most assuredely not a good thing and we are constantly trying to wean him off so that we can remove the tube from him ASAP. He has been on full support on the machine for 3 days now... the longer he is at this level, the lower the odds of getting him off soon are.
To say that Jerry is improving is not right; to say that he is deteriorating isn't either. He is having good days and bad days; good moments and bad moments ... on the whole, the bad moments seem to be taking over right now, but we are still in this fight for him and he is holding on strong.
This morning, one of the ICU doctors came in and spoke to us about additional options for today. They are for sure doing the bone scan to see if the Cancer is indeed in his bones or not. If it IS, they will stop doing Chemo on him as once Cancer is in the bones, nothing will cure him (at least that is how we understood what he told us). if it ISN'T in his bones, they want to remove him from the respirator immediately, put a small "trach" hole in his throat. This will allow them to pump more meds into him if needed and will also allow Jerry to begin the recuperation process from having the ventilator on him.
Monday will be a fraught filled day while the bone scan occurs and until the results come back to us. For sure, it will be a day of decisions and may choose the path that Jerry will take.
Once again, we have a house full of family down to visit Jerry and to be together as a unit. The support from family and friends for Jerry still continues to flourish...a true testament to Jerry's love and friendship that he has spread throughout.
Jerry has been very alert this past week and it's nice to see him follow nurses and visitors around the room, and responding via hand squeezes, eyebrow raising and pointed stares. He definitely wants the respirator tube removed from his throat and we had a few incidents where we thought he might pull the tube out on his own (most definitely NOT a good thing).
They pumped up the fluids they were pulling from him to 200 ml/hr, however, that didn't last very long as his blood pressure dropped extremely low... into the 40's and they almost had to bring in the crash cart for him - you've never seen so many nurses and doctors come running! After that incident, they put him back to 50 ml/hr and it took over 24 hours for his blood pressure to regulate. They began pulling out 100 ml/hr last night; as of this morning, they are now pulling 150 ml/hr and have put him on blood pressure meds in order to maintain a good blood pressure level. He is still really puffy from all the fluids in him, and will remain so until they can begin pullng much more fluids from him - a task they can't or won't do as his bp remains so low.
His color has been that of watered-down pea soup off and on for the past few days. His bellyrubn (which should be around 1-2) was at 20 on Thursday. The rest of the markers they test for on his liver/cancer were all good - just the bellyrubn was off. This is what also causes his color to be off and make him look jaundiced. They thought there might be a blockage in the liver that was causing this number to be high. If so, they wanted to try and do a shunt down his throat into his stomach/liver to see if there was blockage and or drain the area if needed. Last night, we were told they can not do this procedure due to how cramped up his organs are inside.. the area that SHOULD be clear and allow them acccess is shoved up into his diaphram and stomach prohibiting them from doing this.
They ran a CT scan on him Thursday to check out how things were going in him with the Cancer and if the chemo had any effect and to check for any blockage in his liver and see what next steps would be. The scan came back mixed - the cancer/tumor hasn't grown; yet hasn't shrunk. They want to do a bone scan on him on Monday in order to see if the Cancer has spread to his bones or not.... that answer will hold a lot of power over next steps in Jerry's care.
The doctors have pumped up the support for him on the respirator which means that now, the machine is doing a good portion of the breathing for Jerry. This is most assuredely not a good thing and we are constantly trying to wean him off so that we can remove the tube from him ASAP. He has been on full support on the machine for 3 days now... the longer he is at this level, the lower the odds of getting him off soon are.
To say that Jerry is improving is not right; to say that he is deteriorating isn't either. He is having good days and bad days; good moments and bad moments ... on the whole, the bad moments seem to be taking over right now, but we are still in this fight for him and he is holding on strong.
This morning, one of the ICU doctors came in and spoke to us about additional options for today. They are for sure doing the bone scan to see if the Cancer is indeed in his bones or not. If it IS, they will stop doing Chemo on him as once Cancer is in the bones, nothing will cure him (at least that is how we understood what he told us). if it ISN'T in his bones, they want to remove him from the respirator immediately, put a small "trach" hole in his throat. This will allow them to pump more meds into him if needed and will also allow Jerry to begin the recuperation process from having the ventilator on him.
Monday will be a fraught filled day while the bone scan occurs and until the results come back to us. For sure, it will be a day of decisions and may choose the path that Jerry will take.
Once again, we have a house full of family down to visit Jerry and to be together as a unit. The support from family and friends for Jerry still continues to flourish...a true testament to Jerry's love and friendship that he has spread throughout.
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