4 days post-op .... & SOME

Wow! I'm officially saying this... 4days post-op...all I can truly say is that these last 4 days have been a rollercoaster ride of emotions, extreme pain, exhaustion, meeting I can't tell you HOW many different doctors, & god knows what else...

I'm not going to get into extreme details about my surgery at this time just because I'm still heavily medicated & when I type those blogs relating to surgery, I'd like for them to have detail & such... What I've heard on numerous occasions,that I can confirm, is that the surgery went very well, my surgeon was very pleased with how the islet extraction went & that my pancreas was very diseased when she removed it... Thank god that organ is FINALLY out of my system for good!

We've had a rough time with getting my epidural and pain pump levels to where they need to be... Ive been battling some major shoulder pain, contributed from the diaphragm being irritated during surgery so much, along with physical placement on the OR table.. Doesn't help matters::my parents were told it was like laying on concrete for 10hrs.. ouch), & of course abdominal pain.
The epidural is definitely doing it's job pain wise and will not be removed for a few days , as well as my pain pump... I'm taking some oral medications now, but towards the end of my stay everything will transition to all oral until I'm at that point of getting off them for good!! (I'll be having a party that day... Along with a party when I'm feeling like my normal self again! )

Thank you!! Thank you so very much to everyone who kept in close contact with my parents, Yiayia and Papou, along with friends & their friends!! I feel so blessed beyond words & there just aren't enough words in the dictionary for me to describe how grateful I am for each & every one of you!!! I love you all & hold a very special place in my heart!!

           Mini update ¦ September 1st:

It has been a difficult few days, but we've made lots of progress as well.. My legs & belly are extremely swollen, & thats very painful... Hopefully that'll go down the more I can start to move & be mobile :)
I'm pretty much off all of my drips except my study drug right now... Awesomeness right?! I according to the doctors I'm doing great... My femoral A-line has been removed, which means I have to prick my fingers for blood sugars now, blows a little but I can handle it... I brought my own lancet to do it myself so it's been all good... My pain pump was removed & I'm on some heavy PO meds, along with IV breakthrough, which has been used very steadily to be honest... My epidural & abdominal drain are still in but that is it.. I need to do a a couple things that have been very difficult... Eating is one of those things... I have no appetite & just having a hard time adjusting to this diabetic diet thing... Who being in the hospital where I'm being monitored by the minute..everything will happen when it's suppose to happen & i know that but recovery is h.a.r.d!!!
Thank you so much again for your continued support, encouragement, love & prayers...they're felt & loved SO much! Keep them up for me bc the difficult parts of this tasks haven't ended yet!
                       Much love always ‹3

Day after surgery

Hello everyone!!! This is Maria Tiffanys mom. Wanted to let you all know her  surgery went well... Her pancreas was very diseased,hard and inflamed.. The doctor  said other than that everything else looked good  So thankful that they finally took it out!! That took about 6 hours to do. After that we went to ICU to wait while they harvested her islet cells. That  took maybe 4 hours or so. Then they called and said her islet cells were ready to be put into the liver.. Around  240,000 islet cells were put in. Doctors said they were hoping for 100,000 so I guess what she got was really good! After they finished they took her back to ICU and they finally woke her up!!! She was in a lot of pain as to be expected. Laying on a hard table for so long is rough!! After a short time she was breathing on her own  and told the nurse to come get me NOW... so they did.. My family and I were so relieved to see her awake and talking with us. I'm sure she doesn't remember anything we said but who cares. Right?? She had a pretty good night last night so today they took the ng tube out. She still has an epidural and a pain pump. Will continue to monitor her and make sure her pain stays under control.. Her blood sugars have been really good too.. According to the nurses she is doing alot better than most less than 24 hours out of surgery.. Just a little while ago she asked the nurse would he help her sit up.. Yeah!!! 

I am so thankful everything turned out the way they did.. I know Tiffany has a long way to go but I know she can and will get through it. God is with her and he will continue to give her strength so one day soon she will be back to her old self!!! I also want to thank all you wonderful friends and family for your prayers,love and support during this difficult time.. God Bless you all!!! 

The night before...

Ok... I've tried writing this blog post twice now and it's gotten deleted... BOO to technical difficulties!

Words can't express how grateful i am to EVERYONE who has expressed their Love & support towards me these past few months, especially these past few days!! The outpouring love I've received has been mind-blowing!! Friends, family, friends of friends, people I don't really know... Everyone! SO extremely kind, supportive & never backing down... They're there even when I feel like I'm completely alone through this & its been my savior!

The wonderful prayers I've been receiving are truly felt!! I'm at a peace with this surgery through these last hours that typically wouldn't be normal & i know all of that is due to these amazing people I have in my life & prayer!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers, love & support! I couldn't have gotten this far without them...
Don't stop yet... I'll have a LONG road ahead of me with recovery. Keep these amazing prayers coming for peace, calm, relaxation throughout these next few days / weeks, strength and courage, no complications, stress free days & a calming & strength for my family as well!!

Thank you so much again!! I'm so grateful & thankful!!
I'll see you on the other side... Minus a pancreas ;) 
                          «3 Tiff

It's Official...Surgery Is...

It's Official guys... Surgery is scheduled for...August 27th.  AAAHHH!  Can you say I feel a billion & one different emotions!! Excitement, Nervousness, Anxiety, Scared, Terrified & I can't even name the other emotions running through my head at the moment lol.  

This time has been so long anticipated, it's almost like a joke to be honest.  When I went in for my doctor's appointment last Wednesday, it was the LONGEST day of my life.. 
Mom & I didn't sleep the night before (as usual per our usual Tuesday night routine unfortunately), for some reason, the nights before we drive down to Charleston for my group therapy sessions, nether one of us sleep very well, or at all, it's insane..nerves or something. Needless to say, by the end of this day we were EXHAUSTED!! We "woke up" at 5:30ish, did our morning routines, & were out the door by 6:20 & on the road..by the time we got to Charleston it was nearing 9:45 & my sessions start @ 10:00 & last until 11:30.  This was my LAST session of required Pain Management group therapy, which I was excited & sad about, because I have started to appreciate the therapy & the cause of the group & I truly like the psychologist running the group.  Unfortunately, a good friend that I had met in group, had to miss this week, due to being hospitalized the day prior at MUSC, and I was the only one *in GROUP therapy* so it was very interesting doing a group therapy being the only one there with the psychologist & the medical student...we improvised a lot..but it worked out and I graduated!! ;-)  After that I went to see my friend for a little while, and then headed to my doctors appointment with my surgeon..Scheduled for 12:15(I got out of group early being the only person in there) An hour passed, then two, then almost three before we were called in to an exam room...after that we waited another HOUR before seeing my surgeon..YES, it was AFTER 4PM before seeing my surgeon, and my appointment was for 12:15(you are reading the times correctly!!) Then it was all a roller coaster, consent forms for surgery here, trial consent forms there, information about this here, nutrition before surgery there, THREE immunizations all at the same time.. it was insane!!! It was all happening at once. When people tell you everything happens at once, it truly does!! It's like everything gets put on hold hold hold, & then they take the hold button off & everything flies off the handle BAM! lol  We didn't leave the office until well after 5:30, we had to stop on the road a few times, just to stretch our legs & get some fresh air; it was a LONG day guys!; by the time we got home, it was nearing 12ish.. WHAT a long day that was.. Mom & I were exhausted.. When I told you in the beginning it was a LONG day, I wasn't kidding! haha ;-) Thank god for getting us through that horrific day, getting us home safely, & getting us through those 6weeks safely back & forth..Now we have to get through the surgery & the back & forth after.

I will head down to Charleston Tuesday night, with me pre-surgery nutritional supplements in tow, head to the hospital early Wednesday AM, get fasting labs(for my clinical trial), ultrasound & then I'm free until my room is ready, head back once my room is ready, get my central line placed, have more labs drawn & then have the clinical trial drug(Reberaxin) started around 2am.  Thursday AM, bright & early I'll go into the OR (I'm told around 5-7 AM) & then I bid my pancreas farewell forever...bittersweet but it unfortunately isn't a choice; it's a situation where it's a "not if but when"

I am anxious about my new lifestyle that I will have to live..what will it be like being a diabetic?  Will it be difficult changing my entire lifestyle & diet into a diabetic diet?  Will it be difficult having to measure out my foods..(although I do this a little now; it will be extreme after surgery) Will it be difficult giving myself injections of insulin & pricking my fingers every few hours for blood sugars?  What will this new lifestyle truly be like?? I pray this won't be a difficult adjustment.  

So for now, I ask for prayers for a peaceful next few weeks; to get me through these times of waiting.  You know waiting can be a trying time, and I want this time to be as peaceful on myself and my family as possible.  I also would like prayers, in advance, but of course the days leading up to & the day of surgery for my surgeon, my big total pancreatectomy with auto islet cell transplantation, the islet cell harvest into my liver to get very smoothly & perfect & NO complications with surgery or post-op complications.  This is pre-mature, I know, and I will ask for these prayers again, but beginning my prayers earlier than later means a lot to me. :) Prayer in general is very powerful and I can feel every one of your prayers, I promise you.. I wouldn't have gotten this far in my journey without your prayers and I'll continue to get through this with them.  I thank each & every one of you for the prayers that are sent my way and to my families way!!! <3<3