A Beautiful Life - Stephanie Vest

no Skittles today...

Email from Eric, Tuesday PM:

Hello warriors...earlier I forgot to include the fact that Steph got her feeding tube last night in this morning's update…  If she were typing/creating the updates, I can assure you that this would have been the first thing mentioned in the update…  So, there will be no Mr. Dew or Skittles for a while…  but I did ask the nurses if we could wrap the liquid food bag in a skittle wrapper just to make her a little more happy - we'll see what we can "dew."

Since the morning update, we met with the Intensive Care team.  Basically, they are pleased that she is holding steady - no real movement forward or backward…  So, based on the fact that most of the current lung damage is fluid/blood that needs to come out (and not necessarily infection - PTL), it's basically up to Stephanie and God to work this thing out!  This process will most likely take days/weeks for full recovery.  For the more long-term Fan Club Warriors, you probably recall me talking about the constant assessment of benefits/risks of continuing chemo with her condition.  There's no crystal ball to tell us when we are likely to start chemo again…  BUT, we are trusting God to time it just right - just as he has perfectly planned everything else thus far.  Good news is, Steph still does not show any signs of having new Lymphoma lesions!

Praise Points:

• Steph's feeding tube is much smaller than the one she had previously in the ICU - much more tolerable
• Recent cultures continue to report no infection in lungs and blood
• Lungs are very sick but steady
• Fevers are relatively low (around 100) instead of 103
• No new Lymphoma spots
• Steph's heart appears to be recovering nicely
• Kellie hooked us up with a great lunch from Olive Garden
• Care for Steph by Methodist staff continues to be outstanding
• For all of the people that continue to pray for Stephanie daily!

Prayer Points:

• Fluid in Stephanie's lungs
• Fluid in Stephanie's lungs
• Fluid in Stephanie's lungs
• Stephanie's physical strength (arms/legs) - strength to do exercises daily
• Travel mercies for family/friends traveling to and from Rochester
• For Zach, Cole and Gracie to be at peace with the extended time from mommy and daddy - and all the folks helping out with them daily (teachers/school staff too)
• For the Docs and Respiratory Staff to have skilled minds for planning/carrying out Stephanie's ventilator treatment

Have a blessed day!

just got an update...

this just in from Eric via email:

Steph rested well through the night, but it was not without large amounts of sedation!  It seems that Steph has built up a fairly high tolerance to sedation meds, so she requires dosing that would most likely sedate a large animal…  :)

Over the last few days, the physicians have been looking at several different pieces of information and making several observations.  Their conclusions lead them to believe that Stephanie's heart issue is the result of the sepsis in her body and that her lungs are suffering from ARDS. 

Steph's lungs made progress yesterday in that she maintained the same vent levels after they took off her presser medications.  However, there was a need to increase her oxygen and "peep" (the % of air forced in to open up the lungs) through the night, indicating that she is requiring a bit more support from the vent.  This is fairly common in that the heart most likely improved causing the lungs to take a small step back (she is no longer on the heart medications - PTL!).  What we need now is massive healing in her lungs!

They will be keeping Steph a bit more sedated now to allow her lungs to heal a bit more - when she is awake, her stats tend to decline (she has to work too hard to breathe).  This is frustrating for her as she is not as able to write on her dry-erase board as easily - she's that sedated…

We continue to sit and stand at Stephanie's bedside and support her through the entire day.  You can see the questions and determination in her eyes!  Please pray loudly, boldly, on your knees, with cries, tears, whatever it takes…  we need Stephanie's lungs to heal.  We are all expecting the ultimate miracle of Stephanie being cured of her cancer… but we must first save her life from the current challenges before we can tackle the cancer.  We are very, very thankful to God for the many miracles that have happened thus far!  It is OK to ask God for the same miracle multiple times - in a day, in an hour, and even in a minute!  So keep the prayers comin!  We are so thankful to have so many people praying for Stephanie - we have definitely felt the love!  Thank you!  

no news yet today...

Hello fan club warriors! :)

No word yet from Eric today. But we're assuming that "no news - is good news." As soon as Eric calls with an update, we will let you know about Stephanie's current condition (and if she was able to get a sip of Mr. Dew last night!)

We are thankful that cousin Brooke made it home to KC with no problems, and now Steph's childhood friend Kellie is staying with Eric & Grandma Faye.  It's very intense in the ICU, and it's important that Eric have a team of folks to help him comfort and care for Stephanie. They are so blessed to have such a wonderful network of friends and family.

Just keep on praying and expecting miracles. Have a fabulous Tuesday morning.

Wait and See

At this time, there is not much new information to report. Eric had been hopeful that he would receive more answers during the doctor's rounds this morning...but one answer just leads to another question. Right now, it they are just watching and waiting.

Stephanie remains stable and is resting. Her big concern right now is food. She hasn't eaten since last Friday, and the girl is hungry. Although she has politely requested Skittles and a Mt. Dew several times, it's just not possible right now with the ventilator in place. She is worried that the feeding tube will be put back into place, which is absolutely uncomfortable, cumbersome and not fun.

There has been talk about weaning her heart meds down, but that could possibly lead to more fluid in the lungs. And the last thing anyone wants is another repeat of last night. Because when the heart stops working effectively, the lungs immediately fill with fluid. That's when it gets serious quick.

Right now, just pray that the doctors will be able to connect some of the dots and give Eric some answers later today. Pray for the gift of patience as they wait for answers. Pray for Brooke's safe travels back home to her family. And most of all, pray for peace and comfort for Steph as she continues to fight this battle!

More news later...

Another major bump

Tonight Stephanie was diagonsed with congestive heart failure, after she had an episode in which she could not breathe and her heartbeat was irregular. It seems that at some point, her heart has fallen vicitm to either "the infection" or "the effects of the chemo treatment." In addition to her heart failure, in which one of the ventricles is not working properly, she has been diagnosed with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). 

ARDS is an acute, severe injury to most or all of both lungs. Patients with ARDS experience severe shortness of breath and often require mechanical ventilation because of respiratory failure. ARDS is not a specific disease - instead, it is a type of severe, acute lung dysfunction that is associated with a variety of diseases, such as pneumonia, shock, sepsis (a severe infection in the body) and trauma.

Right now the hope is that the ARDS is a consequence of the heart failure and not because of the sepsis of the infection. This is because as they treat the heart, the lungs should follow suit and improve. If the condition is due to sepsis,the outcomes become more critical.

It has been an intense and somewhat scary night in the ICU. Please pray for peace, as Stephanie, Eric, Brooke and Grandma Faye digest all of this information. Stephanie is now heavily sedated and resting.

Please pray that the ARDS is connected to the heart failure and not a consequence of the sepsis her body has endured due to the lingering infection.

Praise Points:

It was comforting to all that Dustin (one of Stephanie's favorite nurses) was on duty during this episode. He is extremely familiar with her condition and is a comforting presence to Steph and Eric.

Also, Janelle and Kim made it home safely to KC with their little boys late tonight.

Sunday update - A day of rest

Sorry for the delay in posting, but the ICU is a busy place. Time really flies. But most importantly, it was a calm night for Stephanie!  She was able to get some good rest, and for the first time in 23 days, she did not have a fever! This is great news. Not only does it make her more comfortable, but it means that perhaps they are getting to the root of the infection.

This girl is a fighter! She has overcome some unthinkable hurdles in the last 24 hours. It is really truly amazing. She's a bit agitated with her ventilator, which will probably have to stay in for today. Depending on her heart and lungs, she may have it removed...but right now she still needs that oxygen.

Eric and Brooke were able to get almost 9 hours of sleep last night. This was so important for everyone's stamina and mental health. It's been a good day. Stephanie remains stable, and we hope that she continues to rest comfortably.

saturday night

Hello from Rochester! The two travelling mamas (and their newborn babies) arrived in Minnesota late this evening. It was a long trip, but everyone did famously.

Good news:

Steph has gone down from three heart medications to just one. Her kidneys are hanging in there. They  had anticipated kidney failure today...but it didn't happen! The medical staff will continue to watch vitals - the next 24 hours are very important.  Because she is still on the ventilator, there is concern that she may have to go back on a feeding tube (yuk!) which she does not enjoy. If her heart  and lungs continue to improve, we hope that she can get off the vent.

Although she is sedated to relax her anxiety, she is alert and able to communicate. She's making plans for the Christmas Caroling group. And specifically told Kim and Janelle some instructions for this year's performance. Stay tuned! :) She's fiesty and making plans.

It cannot be conveyed strongly enough how many miracles have been witnessed in MN. We are all so lucky to have another beautiful day with our beautiful Stephanie. We'll keep you posted. Please pray for an uneventful night of rest. 

Overnight complications

Last night, Stephanie developed complications and was moved back into the ICU. Technically, she was diagnosed with cardio/pulmonary failure. One of her ventricles is not pumping correctly, and they think the infection in her body caused the breakdown of her heart.

She is sedated, but alert and responding. She knows what is going on, and she can communicate with a dry erase board (because she's back on the ventilator again). Please pray for the infection to get under control, and for Steph's heart to start pumping correctly on it's own.

On the positive side, her kidneys are looking better and her vitals are improving. Eric is very tired, but sounded in good spirits on the phone.

It's been a stressful night for both Eric & Stephanie. And it's been a worrisome night for their friends and family. Brooke left at 4:15AM for Minnesota. And Kim and Janelle will be leaving Saturday morning. Please pray for everyone's safe travels. We'll keep you posted later today!

little miracles everyday...

Email from Eric, 5:30PM:

Steph was blessed to have what we understand to be the very best radiology team at Mayo - and perhaps in the country.  The results aren't entirely conclusive, but point in a positive direction.  As with all procedures and treatment decisions, physicians constantly evaluate the benefits and risks of everything.  In the case of Stephanie's scheduled biopsy today, the risk outweighed the benefit (so the biopsy wasn't completed).  This isn't to say that the risk was extremely significant... it was more of the fact that what they saw during the ultrasound didn't seem significant enough to challenge the risks… 

More specifically, their opinion of the "mass" wasn't conclusive enough to do the procedure.  The object they are looking at is in the lower quadrant of the kidney, and based on the location, they would have to penetrate at least 2/3 of the kidney to biopsy it from one direction and penetrate the bowels to get to it from the other direction.  Their opinion of what they saw did not warrant moving forward with the biopsy due to the risks of bleeding and/or intrusion to other parts of Steph's body.  It is their conclusion that the object that they are seeing is basically insignificant at this time.  They plan to follow up in the upcoming weeks to see if there are any changes.  What do they think it is?  Best guess is that 2 of the pyramid shaped areas of the kidney may have merged together (appearing as a mass) due to the multiple organ failure a few weeks back - typically there is a distinct line between them.  Or it could be some kind of infection.  But, it is most likely not cancer!  PTL! 

The fact that her kidney function continues to improve is a significant consideration when evaluating her overall kidney condition - the foreign object takes 2nd place to that (for now).  Thank you for the prayers - I think we can chalk this up as another answered prayer!  Anyone keeping count???  The number is BIG!

Speaking of answered prayer…  Another HUGE praise point for the day is the fact that Stephanie's sister, Lacey, was saved yesterday!  PTL!  I can assure you that this is another HUGE answered prayer!  Man, God is awesome. 

Another bump on the road home...

They might be offering Steph & Eric an extended stay in Rochester over the weekend. Below is Eric's daily update sent via email at 2:00 PM.

We have another urgent and immediate prayer request, Fan Club Warriors:

Prayer Points:  Steph is being scheduled for a kidney biopsy this afternoon

• Pray for Steph to have peace before the procedure, comfort during and after, and a quick healing process
• Pray for the procedure to be accurate, flawless, and for the results to be positive
• Pray for Steph's nausea to subside
• Pray for Steph's appetite - specifically for the taste of foods to improve

Praise Points:

• Steph's creatinine continues to lower - it was 2.6 today!
• Steph's fever DID NOT reach 103 through the night - it was only about 101 (much more comfortable)
• We have not seen any new lymphoma spots AND the old spots continue to improve
• Steph continues to get great care by the nursing staff and physicians
• Apple Juice - one of the new refreshing things that Steph can tolerate

As you may recall, we had another ultrasound of Steph's kidneys a few days ago.  They were checking a specific spot in one of her kidneys.  The spot moved from the last ultra-sound, so they are trying to figure out if it is an infraction, infection or cancer.  It is critical to determine exactly what the spot is to accurately treat her over the next several days.  The results of this biopsy will also impact the timing and/or amount of chemo that is currently scheduled for next Friday. 

With regard to the schedule next week, we were obviously looking for discharge tomorrow or Sunday, but the results of this procedure could require us to stay right where we are.  Thank you for your prayers - we'll send an update as soon as we can!