VAN VOORHIS FAMILY BLOG

Saying that makes me laugh, but essentially it means that Mrs. Van Voorhis will be discharged from the Mayo Clinic tomorrow and will be transferred to the Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital in the afternoon. We are happy that she was able to get into this rehabilitation hospital, which all the people we talk to say it is the best place for patients to recover.

She has made such major improvements in the last few days it’s been so encouraging. All the tubes are out and her pain medicine isn’t making her sick, which is wonderful. She’s been up in her chair and taking a few walks each day. The road to recovery won’t be an easy one, but we’re praying for her and supporting her with every step.

We’re hoping that she can be in the Rehabilitation hospital for maybe a week and then be strong enough to come home with us and then go back to their home in Greenville, South Carolina. As always, we appreciate your continued prayers for her health, recovering strength and return to an independent life.

Mrs. Van Voorhis continues to improve with each day, but the recovery process is still a slow one. We are thankful that we have been able to get her off the heavy narcotic pain killer she was on and down to morphine and percoset. The change in medicine has helped immensely with her being more lucid and able to function mentally and physically.

Our main concern at this point is for her to increase strength, stamina and mobility. Due to her having polio when she was younger as well as issues from her diabetes – her upper body strength is very limited and she is having difficulty getting out of bed and moving without assistance.

The hospital wants to discharge her as soon as it is “medically” viable, possibly this coming Friday – but with her limited mobility, it would be impossible for us to be able to take care of her at our home at this point. They would like for her to go to an assisted rehabilitation place in Jacksonville for at least a week – Brooks Rehabilitation has been recommended. From all we hear, this is the best place to have her continue the rehabilitation process and not just be in a nursing home situation where she doesn’t receive the physical therapy she might get at Brooks.

Please keep her in your prayers and our family too that we can find the best care available. Thanks. Julie

That pretty much sums it up for the past few days.

Many good things happened today such as the removal of the ng tube that ran through her nose and to her stomach – that was huge! She also got up and walked down the hall with the aid of a leaning walker and was very lucid and seemed much more lively. She was resting, and received some visitors, but as soon as they left – her pain came back pretty strongly. It took longer than usual to get the pain medication, so she was very uncomfortable for a bit. It’s difficult to see her hurting. She now is sleeping pretty soundly and Sam is coming back for a few hours while I head home to rest before my time here overnight.

We are amazed at how many people are praying for Mrs. VV and the family – and we ask that you continue to pray for her peace, health and stamina as this difficult recovery time is ahead. Thanks so much for your love and support. J

We continue to covet your prayers for Sam’s mom. We’re 3 days post surgery and each day has its highs and lows – both emotionally and physically.

This surgery and recovery and all it holds in store is a difficult road to travel for Mrs. Van Voorhis. Things are going the way that the doctors said they would and the first few days have been tough. IV narcotics are a good thing in some ways, but tough because it takes away the “mom” that we know and love.

Our prayers are for continued recovery, no infections or set backs. We are hoping that she can continue to get up in the chair and walk some each day and that the ng tube that runs from her stomach through her nose can be removed soon. This is a cause of great irritation for her as it makes it difficult to swallow without pain.

The nurses here at the Mayo Clinic Jacksonville have been wonderful and it is so nice that we all can make the trip to and from our house to the hospital in 15 minutes or less. We’re all a little tired as the “Julie’s” (Sam’s sister and myself) have been playing tag team for the “girls night” sleep overs at the hospital. At this point we’re having someone in the room with her at all times day and night, just to make sure she’s attended to non-stop.

Anna & Ethan have been troopers as they’ve been fending for themselves here and there for the last 5 days and being shuttled between different friends and family. We all love Mrs. Van Voorhis and are with her through the long haul.

We know that there are hundreds (and possibly thousands) of people out there praying for her and we know it is helping. Thank you so much – and we will try to update here and there as we can. J

Sam’s last post made me cry…. we all love Mrs. Van Voorhis so much it is hard to see her have to deal with any type of pain or suffering. She is wonderful and I couldn’t have asked for a better mother-in-law. She is an amazingly dear, Christian woman.

Update: She is out of surgery and resting. We have been in her room and she has spoken with us in bits and pieces but is still under pretty heavy sedation from the surgery and is sleeping now.

We arrived at the hospital at 5:30 a.m. and they took her back for surgery prep slightly before 6:00. Surgery was to begin at 7:30. The surgery was initially stated to take 5-6 hours. By noon, we were hopeful that we would hear word soon, but it wasn’t until later that we heard that the surgery had not started until 8:30 and that there were still hours ahead. She finally was out of surgery around 4:15 and we spoke to the surgeon at 4:30. Almost 8 hours in surgery – long and tedious, but it went well.

Due to the bladder cancer being muscle invasive, she needed what is called a “radical” cystectomy. This is a pretty major surgery that includes removing the bladder and diverting the kidneys to a stoma, which is created from a section of her small intestine and exits from her mid-section. Also removed were her uterus, ovaries and some of her lymph nodes. The doctor seemed positive in stating he believes that the cancer was contained within the walls of the bladder and had not spread. The pathology reports on the lymph nodes that were removed will confirm this or provide other information. Reports will most likely be received back by Monday.

I know that Mr. and Mrs. Van Voorhis, as well as the rest of the Van Voorhis family has been so amazed at the prayers, love and concern that have been poured out for her since the diagnosis in early June. The first surgery in June to remove the tumor was just a start, and the recovery will be a slow process, but we’re encouraged by the support and prayers that she continues to receive.

She will most likely be here at the Jacksonville Mayo for around a week, then stay with us in Ponte Vedra until she feels well enough to travel home to Greenville, South Carolina. Sam’s sister Julie flies in tomorrow from Virginia and his sister Elizabeth comes in from Australia in early August to stay with his parents for 2 weeks and help them get adjusted to life back at their house.

Thank you all for keeping in touch with us – through our blog, facebook pages, phone calls and e-mails. We will try to post updates as we have them.

My Mom is surgery at Mayo now. It is 731 and as quickly as things move around here at Mayo, I suspect she’s in the operating room already.

She is so great, my Mom. I didn’t like her all that much from 1982 until 1983 when I was 15-16. She just didn’t seem to get it back then… But as far as I am concerned, her stock has only risen since that point.

Since being diagnosed with cancer on June 2, Mom cries from time to time. But not because she feels sorry for herself. And certainly not because she is afraid of dying because I know she isn’t. We have talked about it. She’s not scared because she knows with certainty her ultimate destination even if she doesn’t know every twist in the path.

Really she just cries when people say nice things about her. That they love her. That they are concerned about her. That they are praying for her. After sacrificing and serving her family for 50 years, she almost seems embarrassed to receive such attention and love.

My Mom is pretty content. After she was diagnosed with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, I asked her if there were things she wanted to do… Anything. I was thinking “see the pyramids at Giza” or “take a cruise to the Greek Isles” or something epic. If she had a request like that, I was going to deliver. It was the least I could do for being such a pain in the rear end during the aforementioned 1982-83 period.

But she didn’t have a “bucket list.” Not a single extravagant wish.

Mom fears being a burden — which is laughable as valuable as she has become over time. My kids love her and they demanded that we wake them so they could give her a hug before we left for the hospital at 5:15 this morning. How much love must exist…for a teenager to make such a request?

I think Mom has an appropriate fear of suffering…and I am afraid of that as well. But we are optimistic that today’s surgery will remove all the cancer and give her quality of life for many months or several years.

I think the things Mom “wants” now are really pretty reasonable. A little more time with her kids — and more importantly, her grandkids. The ability to go to church and see her friends. A good chat on the back porch swing – with Dad if no one else is available. Perhaps an illicit piece of cheesecake from time to time.

For the first time in my life, someone I really love is dealing with their mortality in a tangible way. Christians have no reason to fear death – but we are human and so such fears seem inevitable. It is very comforting to me to see my Mom’s contentment. I hope & pray that I get to witness her strength for another decade.

We’re at the Mayo Hospital in Jacksonville as I type. Mrs. Van Voorhis has been brought back for surgery prep and the surgery should begin around 7:30. She is having a “radical cystectomy” which involves removal of the bladder, uterus and re-diverting the kidneys to a stoma. The surgery is expected to take 5-6 hours and she should be in recovery for around 2 hours before we will be able to see her again.

We appreciate your prayers for her today and as she recovers. We will try to update as often as we can as we have new information. J

VBS class – 4 year olds

Originally uploaded by SisterPV

Well, we all survived Vacation Bible School last week with our class of 4 year olds. We had a wonderful time, but were all pretty tired by the end of the week. Anna & Ethan were great helpers.

Saturday Sam came back home from Pebble Beach and my friend Jill and her kids Sami & Tyler arrived. Went to church today and then spent the afternoon at the beach jumping in the waves, catching up and trying to find a few sharks teeth. Sam’s parents will arrive tomorrow.

Always busy at the VV household – but wouldn’t want it any other way. J

Happiness

Originally uploaded by SisterPV

Love this picture of Anna & Summer. Just a simple picture of happiness in the summer.

At least for a short while…..

Sunday morning was the first morning since June 23 that we woke up without house guests. We’ve got a few days this week flying solo, then my friend Jill and her kids come on Saturday and Sam’s parents come in on Monday.

We’ve had a great time with family the last few weeks. 4th of July was fun, although slightly chaotic as we all cooked out and made our way to the beach for fireworks. Sister in law Julie and her son Cameron left last Tuesday and my brother Steve & his family (the big boys) moved in and stayed till late Saturday night (early Sunday morning) before making the long trek back to Ohio. Lots of good food, family time and hanging out at the beach and pool. I never seem to just go out to the ocean and jump in the waves or sit on the beach unless we have house guests – but it always is so nice. I must try it some day when it’s just me and the kids. We did a lot of wave jumping, walking on the beach and looking for sharks teeth. We all got a little sunburned at times as well.

Late last week we realized that my cousin Marsha, her husband Benny and their youngest son Spencer would be in town (from South Carolina) visiting other relatives – so we were able to have them join us all for dinner on Saturday night as well as stop by today for lunch and some time chatting. A nice surprise to be able to see one of my favorite cousins.

Today marked the first official day of Vacation Bible School at Ponte Vedra Presbyterian Church and I’m heading up one of the 4 year old classes. We had a great morning and Anna & Ethan have proven to be invaluable as helpers. We’re all a bit tired, but we’ve got a great class of really sweet kids. The VBS as a whole has around 400 kids – so it’s a bit chaotic at times – but a good chaos.

Sam left today for a meeting in California, but as an added bonus he’s staying and playing Pebble Beach a few times – so I’m hoping that goes well for him. Kids & I both played tennis tonight and soon after we arrived home the rain started pouring down. I’m now enjoying a quiet evening with no tv, the sound of the rain and a nice hairy labrador at my feet. All is well. J