New Update on Brittany

Hi all. Just a warning that this will be an epic post.

Alex last updated that Brittany had undergone surgery for her liver and a growth, later discovered to be cancer was found. They have determined that it was a cystic tumor, turned cancerous and did not spread to or from any other part of her body. They believe they got everything and are monitoring it.

She continues to have problems with her pancreas and kidneys. She is suffering from pancreatitis which is also affecting her kidneys. Unfortunately there was really nothing they could do, but wait and hope it would correct itself. Removing part of the pancreas would be a step to try and help it along, but they were waiting and hoping it wouldn't be necessary. Dialysis is a possibility for the renal (kidney) problems but, as of this time, they have not started her on that course of treatment.

Britt had a couple of minor surgeries, but nothing to cause alarm. She did have a chest tube placed in again a few days before Christmas due to ongoing problems with her breathing.

Christmas morning things took a dramatic turn. Around 4a the doctors called Alex to let him know that Brittany had stopped breathing and had been taken in for emergency surgery. The steno virus she has been battling for months now had caused her to bleed in her lungs, but they didn't know it was happening because she wasn't coughing up any of the blood. In other words, they didn't know it was happening until she stopped breathing. They were able to resucitate her and she was alert later in the day, but it was a harrowing period of time for all concerned.

On Saturday the doctors decided they could no longer wait for Brittany's pancreas to start recovering on its own and chose to do surgery to remove part of the pancreas. They were able to remove what they believe to be the most problematic part of the pancreas, however, during the surgery she stopped breathing again. She was put on a ventilator and placed into a medically induced coma. The coma is to allow her body time for complete rest in the hopes that it will start to heal and give her the added help she needs to overcome this.

Today the doctors took her off the ventilator and she was able to breathe on her own. They have started the process of waking her up from the coma as well. Initially it was expected that she would not come out of it until Monday night or sometime on Tuesday, but Alex did let me know that she did come out of the fog for about two seconds, and is now primarily sleeping off the affects of the meds, not out because of the meds.

As I mentioned earlier the doctors believe they got the parts of the pancreas that were causing the most problems but they will not know for sure until she is alert and can communicate with them. Unfortunately she is still battling the pneumonia and the steno virus in addition to the pancreatic and renal problems, but I'm choosing to continually recite a mantra for her: "This will be the turning point."

All of our thoughts, prayers and well wishes are appreciated, and she can't possibly have too many people pulling for her.

On a brighter note ... Alex, Nick, Lily and some other family and friends were able to come up to the hospital on Christmas Eve to surprise Brittany and she was able to hand out her Christmas gifts. More importantly though, she was able to see and touch Lily. She was unable to hold her, but she did get to "touch her precious face." Shortly prior to this Alex had also set up a web cam so that Brittany could get to see Lily. The lift in her attitude was phenomenal to see.

As a closing, here are notes from both Brittany and Alex that they sent out over Twitter.


Alex:
On Friday 25th December 2009, @Wafflestick said:

Please RT

Due to some not so good circumstances, Brittany won't be online much for an unknown amount of time.

She had a huge problem with her lungs early Christmas morning, and now her doctors have decided to undergo major surgery starting Saturday afternoon to remove the most infected part of her pancreas.

On top of that, I'm afraid she has reached her emotional limit and can't handle anything else at the moment. She loves you all, but simply cannot handle anything other than the bare minimum.

I will still be around to keep everyone updated on her health, and to pass on necessary information.

Thank you all for your understanding, and for continuing to be there for her.


Brittany:
On Saturday 26th December 2009, @Waffles5509 said:

I just wanted to post a message before I take my break.

I want to thank every single one of your for all of your support. It means more to me than any of you can possibly know.

I wish that life had not given me these curve balls, but it did, and I'm still trying to deal with everything. Unfortunately, right now, I need to take time away from everything to hopefully fix myself.

I've reached my limit. There is simply nothing else I can take without breaking. Too many things keep going wrong, and even the victories are not enough to offset the bad. I'm simply trying to keep myself from falling apart at this point.

I know many of you will wish there was something you could do, and I'm sorry, but there really isn't. Until things start going in the right direction, there isn't really anything anyone can do.

I have no idea how long I will be gone, but I probably won't be around until the new year.

I have my family around me, and supporting me in any way they can, and Alex is being my rock, even though I know how hard it is on him.

Alex will still be keeping everyone updated on my physical health via twitter and the blog that Brandy set up. I do ask that you also give him space, as he will be dealing with my health, my mental recovery, and well as himself and our daughter.

Thank you all, once again, for being a friend. It pains me to think I'll be going days without you, but it really is what is best for me. I would also appreciate if you could retweet this, so all of my friends can know what is going on.

I wish you all a happy new year, and hope that next year brings better times.