Not so good...

Last night Misty didn't more than an hour's sleep. She was in pain all night, despite taking her heavy pain meds. At around 6 AM we called an ambulance and got her into Baylor Hospital at Garland emergency room where they gave her some more heavy pain medication. Then they took a couple X-rays and a CT scan. And more heavy pain killers. The doctor explained to us that she has an "early obstruction" in her intestines which is causing all the pain. In one sense, this is relieving since we were worried that it might be a complication of her recent surgery or possibly her tumors causing the pain. This also makes sense as she hasn't had a bowel movement since the night before the surgery--3 days ago!

We were told that a specialist would have to be contacted because of Misty's particular situation. They said that they would prefer to send her over to Parkland Hospital where all of her recent medical treatment has been done, but after consulting with one of the doctors at Parkland found that there were no beds available there. So, it was decided that it would be dealt with at Baylor Garland.

Finally at around 5 PM she was admitted and taken from the emergency exam room and put in a regular patient room. At around 9:30 PM we heard from a doctor again who informed us that it's not a complete obstruction. He said that there are a couple of things they can do: they'd normally try to decompress her bowels by using an instrument that goes down the patient's throat, through the stomach and into the intestines and then suctions out some of what is causing the blockage, but because of Misty's tumor in her stomach, they'd have to try it through her feeding tube instead, which makes the procedure more difficult. If that doesn't work, they'll try surgery.

In the mean time, Misty's not allowed to take anything by mouth or feeding tube. Doing so would only make the problem worse. They've also taken her off of most of the heavy pain killers because they all cause constipation as a side effect. And they've placed her on total bed rest to her bowels relax. Misty's not allowed to get up for anything (not even the bathroom--she's supposed to call the nurse for help with a bedpan... but then again, at this rate)

I'm home for the evening, but I'll be back at the hospital in the morning after getting the kiddos off to school.

Thanks again for all your prayers. We certainly need them. And thanks also for all the continued help with everything. We appreciate the meals, and the rides for the kids, and the babysitting, and everything else.

I know you all like to get updates about Misty, but I wish I didn't have so much news.