Freepers sister in life or death situation-Florida-help please!! PRAYER REQUEST

me | December 9, 2003 | me

[Beach_Babe]

They moved my sister to the ICU unit at Ocala Regional Medical Center yesterday and she is scheduled for surgery today to drain the excessive adominal fluid. The surgery was originally scheduled for yesterday, but she's now developed a URI too.

She is very, very sick and so weak. Any prayers that can mustered up for her would be more than appreciated. Her name is Marilyn and she's 51 years old.

She has a rare spinal cord abscess. Usually, surgery is performed to lance the abscess. But she's not a canidate for surgery because, as a health care professional, she contracted Hepatitis C years ago which has caused extensive liver damage.

[Beach_Babe]

I'm curious - is it Florida law that the oldest sibling is automatically the guardian? Why was your brother's approval necessary?

From what I can gather,my brother, being the eldest sibling, is "head of family", 'tho my mom is still alive. They never even asked about her. She's 90½ and lives with me. I guess it's another 'cover your a$$' thing --- get ALL family members to consent. Remember, the hospital thinks we are taking her home to die. They don't know we're bringing her to Shands. Also, they probably want to avoid a Terri Schiavo type of problem with conflicts within the family.

Another thing, the witnesses on Marilyn's "Advanced Health Care Directive" did not have to provide addresses. The hospital wants them now, so I'm going to try to track them down tomorrow.

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

I know that the prayers of so many FReepers are powerful.

If it is God's will, it WILL happen!! I think Claudia showing up is pretty amazing in itself!

Thank you my FRiend for being such a wonderful prayer warrior!

Niters

[Pegita]

Heavenly Father, we return to give You thanks for answered prayer ... thank You that Claudia has arrived to advocate for Marilyn and to lend much needed support to Beach_Babe. Strengthen Marilyn in this time when her caregivers are scrambling to do what should have been done, and undo what wasn't necessary. See her through this crisis, I pray, and lead these ladies to those professionals who are guided by Your hands and Your wisdom ... we pray that You would restore her to health, Father, for she has been so faithful through the years in caring for others.

We pray Your hand of protection will be over Claudia as she discusses settlement with her husband ... may thoughts and words be controlled by the Holy Spirit, that there would be no ill feeling or threats of any kind. Let all parties look to You for guidance, O God, that even in this situation, You would be glorified. In the Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen ...

[Salvation]

Another prayer ping for Beach_Babe's sister!

Prayer Ping!

Please notify me via Freepmail if you would like to be added to or removed from the Prayer Ping list.

[tiki]

Prayer bump.

[Aliska]

I join you in your prayer for Marilyn.

[MeekOneGOP]

That is great !

[Dajjal]

Prayers for Marilyn

[JustPiper]

More prayers on the way!

[msmagoo]

Beach_Babe, hope all goes well. Just be careful with the Advanced Health Care Directive - if the hospital thinks the family has "signed off" on taking Marilyn home for hospice care, that may be a problem down the road if you want to get her liver problem treated at Shands. My suggestion is to be honest with the hospital and tell them you want her taken to a facility to have her liver treated, and you are not happy with the care she has received where she is now. You could add that you feel that by treating her abcess with multiple drugs instead of surgery, they made the liver problem worse...something they might be liable for if you hired an attorney. To avoid a malpractice suit, ask them to use their pull to transfer her to Shands, or to get a HepC specialist in to see her. Don't let them think you and the family are resigned to Marilyn dying at home. It might be better to tell them you really just want her out of there (where she is now) and planned to take her to Shands immediately after leaving.

After following the Schiavo case, my feeling is you and Marilyn have to be very careful, as anything you or Marilyn say can be used against Marilyn if her condition worsens. This is just my feeling, do what you think is right. Prayers for you, Claudia and Marilyn. Claudia is a true guardian angel. :)

[baseballmom]

More prayers sent for Marilyn, you, and Claudia.

Thanks for the ping, Salvation.

[TotusTuus]

Prayers for Marilyn, Claudia, and you!

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

Alice..PLEASE READ WHAT msmagoo said below. THIS is something to consider!!! Mary Ann ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beach_Babe, hope all goes well. Just be careful with the Advanced Health Care Directive - if the hospital thinks the family has "signed off" on taking Marilyn home for hospice care, that may be a problem down the road if you want to get her liver problem treated at Shands. My suggestion is to be honest with the hospital and tell them you want her taken to a facility to have her liver treated, and you are not happy with the care she has received where she is now. You could add that you feel that by treating her abcess with multiple drugs instead of surgery, they made the liver problem worse...something they might be liable for if you hired an attorney. To avoid a malpractice suit, ask them to use their pull to transfer her to Shands, or to get a HepC-LIVER specialist in to see her. Don't let them think you and the family are resigned to Marilyn dying at home. It might be better to tell them you really just want her out of there (where she is now) and planned to take her to Shands immediately after leaving.

After following the Schiavo case, my feeling is you and Marilyn have to be very careful, as anything you or Marilyn say can be used against Marilyn if her condition worsens. This is just my feeling, do what you think is right. Prayers for you, Claudia and Marilyn. Claudia is a true guardian angel. :)

[cowgirlcutie]

Thank you God for Claudia. I'll be sure to keep her in my prayers also. God Bless.

[M0sby]

Joining you in PRayer Pegita!
AS ALWAYS!
+
AMEN

[Beach_Babe]

Good morning, friends!

Today's the big day!!! We get Marilyn out of the hospital ... and up to Shands ... if all goes as planned.

I finally was able to get some photos of her uploaded:

Marilyn at work

I have a picture of her on her horse, but when I tried to post it here, it was HUGE!!!! Click here to take a look.

Mary Ann, they made me sign a "Do Not Resuscitate" order yesterday, before they'd sign the discharge paper. I added on the bottom that they should notify me immediately if there was a change in her condition, to allow me to withdraw the order, if necessary.

On another note, my brother is with Cornell University Medical College ... not Center. And he's not a mere librarian --- he's a department head. Sorry, bro! (I think he's been following this thread.)

We told the Case Manager our plan ... she told us not to say anything to anyone else. And yesterday, she lamented that she wished we hadn't said anything to her. Conflict of interest, I suppose.

[Beach_Babe]

I meant to add that Marilyn slept the entire time I was at the hospital yesterday. She's been itching and they had given her Benedryl.

Thank you, all, for all your support, suggestions, prayers, and everything else. I can never express how much I appreciate it and I am so thankful to each and every one of you.

[msmagoo]

Thanks for posting the picture of Marilyn. She looks so young and healthy, it's sad to think of her being so sick right now. Please tell her she has people praying she will get well soon!

Im sorry if my advice to tell the hospital your 'plan' backfired...oops. Let us know as soon as you can, if she is admitted to Shands. Hope it all goes well. Good luck, Beach_Babe, we'll be watching this thread for news.

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

BUMP post 176

Thanks for putting a face on Marilyn. What a lovely young woman :o)

EVERYONE, I have my granchildren here celebrating Christmas with them. If you could please PING Marilyns picture to all the prayer warriors, I would really appreciate it.

Beach_Babe;
I don't see how they can "make" you sign a DNR. Even when I worked Hospice, we couldn't MAKE someone sign one. We sure suggested it. Why make someone who is terminal go through the dying process more than ONCE? Families understood this.

But what a strange request.

You know, if Marilyn is in Liver failure from HepC, people with HepC get Liver transplants all the time. It is the main reason for Liver Transplants.

I just pray you get her in Shands soon. Unless I'm missing something here, this whole thing has been so bizarre.

From everything you've described, Oncala has a lot of splainin to do!!

I'd love to know how her Liver was doing before her spinal abcess. I'd also LOVE to hear a Liver specialist tell a board how her LIVER would pre this past month, would have tolerated a surgery vs. what they have just put her through!!

Sending TONS of prayers.

How did things go for Claudia?

I'm on a laptop..(first time...ugh!!)

(Art's new Christmas gift...it's a wireless thingie.. now we can both Freep at the same time!)

The grandchildren are here for the weekend to celebrate an early Christmas. They are going out of town to be with my parents, their great grandparents. So, we are celebrating early. So I probably won't be checking in again until really late tomorrow night too.

Until then, I will be praying like mad!!

I just want you to know that I have had many friends who have been as sick as Marilyn and pulled through. Liver patients are ALWAYS this sick before they are transplanted.

The itching is normal for a liver patient too. BTW, the Benedryl isn't our medicine of choice either. Atarax is. It works better on Liver patients. It will make her sleepy too. See if you can get to a Liver transplant support group. There are a TON of them. There should be some listed online. Or Call the hospital in your area that does transplants and ask for the liver support groups phone numbers. The patients are AWESOME for knowing this stuff.

And KNOWLEDGE is key!!

More later FRiend!!!

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

Nothing from Beach_Babe yesterday. I'm sure they are struggling to beat the beauracracy.

FYI, they MADE Alice (Beach_Babe) sign a DO NOT RESUSCITATE order when checking Marilyn out of Oncalla!!!

I worked hospice as a volunteer. While we suggested this to our TERMINAL patients, we never made this "mandatory". As I said, it was HIGHLY recommended, as they were definitely terminal (Why make someone die twice)!

Unless Marilyns spinal abcess is a reason that would disqualify her from transplant, Marilyns Hep/C is the LEADING reason for Liver Transplant!!

Why isn't she on a Transplant list already considering the rapid deterioration of her liver condition? (Which must be happening if they are suggesting a DNR).

Shands is (or was from what I can see on my search tool) a Liver Transplant hospital!!

I also have known people who had NO JOB, and NO INSURANCE who got liver transplants. Marilyn is falling through the cracks, and I do not feel she has been served well, or treated right by Oncalla and her doctors there.

I'm saying this as a Liver patient who has known a lot of people who have had liver transplants and been liver patients.

But even more so, I have honestly never heard of a liver patient being so mistreated. To have had her liver disease so ignored to the point that they jeopardized her liver like this, is just heartbreaking. You cannot live without your liver. I'm not a doctor, but a surgery would have been much quicker and kinder to Marilyn and her liver.

That being said,.. I just PRAY to God they get her into SHANDS AND QUICK.

Perhaps with the PROPER medical attention, this can all be turned around without the need for a liver transplant.

I honestly believe God sent Claudia to this family. Now I pray we can have a resolution to all the harm that has been done.

Please.. KEEP PRAYING!!

Please ping your lists so we can send up some POWER THROUGH PRAYER to our FATHER in heaven!!!!!

Thanks