Just a quick update to let everyone know that Britt has come out of the coma and is awake. She's still sleeping more than anything else, but she did speak with the doctors today and also took the time to tell Alex and Nick they looked "like shit." LOL That's the Britt we all know and love! Who knew an insult could sound so beautiful, huh?
I'll keep you updated when I know more about how effective the surgery to remove part of her pancreas was.
In the meantime, I'm still chanting my mantra. :)
Monday, December 28, 2009
Sunday, December 27, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Good evening everyone. Britt and I would just like to give everyone a quick update on what has been going on health wise for Britt.
Britt developed pneumonia about two weeks ago and is still fighting that. Her pancreas is slowly starting to function again, although digesting food is still extremely painful. Because of this, she's still on a feeding tube and the doctors are monitoring her nutrient intake closely.
Unfortunately, Britt's kidneys also started to feel the effects and her kidney function has begun to deteriorate. As of yet, the doctors are just monitoring this, but if things do not improve there is a chance she might have to start, hopefully temporary, dialysis.
The last bit of major news concerns her liver. It has been giving the doctors problems for several weeks and the just recently decided upon an exploratory surgery to see if they were missing something. When they started to look, they discovered a tumor. They removed it and sent it off to be biopsied, hoping it was only a cystic tumor, and nothing cancerous. Sadly, the biopsy results were not what they were hoping for. The only piece of good news out of this is the cancer started out as a cystic tumor, and was only present on her liver. It had not spread from, or to, any other part of her body. This also means that by removing it, hopefully the main problem has been solved. We are simply waiting for a few more tests to come back negative.
Britt continues to have a positive attitude, even though she does have her days. She misses Lily and is waiting for the day she can hold her again.
I've been spending almost every day with her, as some family friends help me take care of Lily.
We're still working on figuring everything out, but would like to let you all know how much you are appreciated. Every kind thought means more to us than you know, and every conversation Britt has with you help keep her spirits up. Thank you all, once again, for everything.
Alex
Britt developed pneumonia about two weeks ago and is still fighting that. Her pancreas is slowly starting to function again, although digesting food is still extremely painful. Because of this, she's still on a feeding tube and the doctors are monitoring her nutrient intake closely.
Unfortunately, Britt's kidneys also started to feel the effects and her kidney function has begun to deteriorate. As of yet, the doctors are just monitoring this, but if things do not improve there is a chance she might have to start, hopefully temporary, dialysis.
The last bit of major news concerns her liver. It has been giving the doctors problems for several weeks and the just recently decided upon an exploratory surgery to see if they were missing something. When they started to look, they discovered a tumor. They removed it and sent it off to be biopsied, hoping it was only a cystic tumor, and nothing cancerous. Sadly, the biopsy results were not what they were hoping for. The only piece of good news out of this is the cancer started out as a cystic tumor, and was only present on her liver. It had not spread from, or to, any other part of her body. This also means that by removing it, hopefully the main problem has been solved. We are simply waiting for a few more tests to come back negative.
Britt continues to have a positive attitude, even though she does have her days. She misses Lily and is waiting for the day she can hold her again.
I've been spending almost every day with her, as some family friends help me take care of Lily.
We're still working on figuring everything out, but would like to let you all know how much you are appreciated. Every kind thought means more to us than you know, and every conversation Britt has with you help keep her spirits up. Thank you all, once again, for everything.
Alex
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Thank You
Britt and I would like to thank everyone for the thoughts and prayers. They mean more to us than you know.
We're still trying to figure out how to deal with everything being thrown at us, as well as adjust to our new sense of normalcy. It's going to be a long road for both of us, but we're working together and figuring out our new life.
Britt remains heavily medicated, as several new problems pop up every few days. In addition to her lungs, her pancreas and liver are now starting to fail and she's been put on medication for both of those. We have no idea when she will be getting out of the hospital, but at this point, it looks like she will be here through at least the new year.
My cousin Becca is helping out with Lily, and Britt's cousin Nick is taking some time off work to remain in Colorado with Britt.
We're all learning how to deal with our loss, as well as trying to get Britt better as best we can. I do not know when or if Britt will be ready to talk about anything, but please know she is thankful for every single one of you.
Alex
We're still trying to figure out how to deal with everything being thrown at us, as well as adjust to our new sense of normalcy. It's going to be a long road for both of us, but we're working together and figuring out our new life.
Britt remains heavily medicated, as several new problems pop up every few days. In addition to her lungs, her pancreas and liver are now starting to fail and she's been put on medication for both of those. We have no idea when she will be getting out of the hospital, but at this point, it looks like she will be here through at least the new year.
My cousin Becca is helping out with Lily, and Britt's cousin Nick is taking some time off work to remain in Colorado with Britt.
We're all learning how to deal with our loss, as well as trying to get Britt better as best we can. I do not know when or if Britt will be ready to talk about anything, but please know she is thankful for every single one of you.
Alex
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Update on Brittany 11-22-2009
I spoke with Brittany's cousin, Nick, just a few minutes ago and he gave me an update on how she's doing.
They took Brittany into surgery today to repair the tear/leak that had necesitated a chest tube a couple weeks ago. She is out of surgery now, and everything went fine. Turns out there were several small leaks and they were able to close and cover every one, hopefully solving that problem. They didn't put her completely under because they needed to be able to communicate with her about epidural placement and how her breathing was feeling. They just took her to post-op for a little while to make sure she's stable and then she'll be taken back to the ICU.
They will be monitoring her for the next several days and the chest tube will stay in place, just to make sure nothing else pops up. If by Friday, everything looks the same they'll remove the chest tube.
Several people have asked about Lily. Lily is staying with Becca and they are actually staying with a friend to be able to be closer as Brittany and Alex's home is a couple hours from the hospital she is in.
Brittany and Alex are aware of the blog and have expressed their gratitude for everyone's thoughts and well wishes.
They took Brittany into surgery today to repair the tear/leak that had necesitated a chest tube a couple weeks ago. She is out of surgery now, and everything went fine. Turns out there were several small leaks and they were able to close and cover every one, hopefully solving that problem. They didn't put her completely under because they needed to be able to communicate with her about epidural placement and how her breathing was feeling. They just took her to post-op for a little while to make sure she's stable and then she'll be taken back to the ICU.
They will be monitoring her for the next several days and the chest tube will stay in place, just to make sure nothing else pops up. If by Friday, everything looks the same they'll remove the chest tube.
Several people have asked about Lily. Lily is staying with Becca and they are actually staying with a friend to be able to be closer as Brittany and Alex's home is a couple hours from the hospital she is in.
Brittany and Alex are aware of the blog and have expressed their gratitude for everyone's thoughts and well wishes.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
A Tragic Loss
This was tweeted earlier in the day, but I am reposting it here for those who might not have seen it so they will understand why this page was created.
Last night, as a complication of the health problems which have kept Brittany hospitalized for the past few weeks, she starting coughing up blood which was what the doctors had feared would happen. They took her in for surgery and were able to stop the bleeding, but because of the amount of blood that had been lost before they were able to get it under control they lost both twins.
Understandably, Brittany and Alex are devastated but in a numb state of shock at the moment. For the most part she has been alseep since the surgery, but she is aware of what happened.
Please give Brittany and Alex the time and space they will need to come to terms with this tragedy. I was asked by Alex to help him get the news out so they would not have to continue retelling a very painful story. I'm asking that you please help me get the information to people they speak with that I do not know. When they are ready to talk they will be back and will tweet, but please do not ask questions. If and when they are ready do discuss this with anyone they will do so.
Please use this page to post thoughts and leave well wishes and prayers. Do not bombard them with DMs, tweets or emails. Brittany & Alex have been provided access to this page and will see all the love they have received.
Last night, as a complication of the health problems which have kept Brittany hospitalized for the past few weeks, she starting coughing up blood which was what the doctors had feared would happen. They took her in for surgery and were able to stop the bleeding, but because of the amount of blood that had been lost before they were able to get it under control they lost both twins.
Understandably, Brittany and Alex are devastated but in a numb state of shock at the moment. For the most part she has been alseep since the surgery, but she is aware of what happened.
Please give Brittany and Alex the time and space they will need to come to terms with this tragedy. I was asked by Alex to help him get the news out so they would not have to continue retelling a very painful story. I'm asking that you please help me get the information to people they speak with that I do not know. When they are ready to talk they will be back and will tweet, but please do not ask questions. If and when they are ready do discuss this with anyone they will do so.
Please use this page to post thoughts and leave well wishes and prayers. Do not bombard them with DMs, tweets or emails. Brittany & Alex have been provided access to this page and will see all the love they have received.
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