Preliminary Results of CT Scan

Chad has been having more severe attacks of nauseous and vomiting. To the point where he's lost 8 pounds and cannot seem to eat a single thing without losing it 30 minutes later. He has had this intermittently but lately it seems more often than not.

He still bloats like a beach ball and has that awful pain in his left side. We rushed his bi-annual CT Scan by a few weeks to try and see if, for once, it would show whatever causes his never ending issues.

I am not going to put on a brave face for a few seconds. I was worried. I still am, but not as bad because the doctor called Chad this morning with both lab and CT Scan results. Aside from his cholesterol being high - everything looked good and clear.

Hallelujah !!!  Seriously. I was a bit scared, for the first *real* time since his surgery I was genuinely getting concerned that the CT Scan would show a mass  I was prepared to convince myself it could be anything at all and not necessarily cancer but I was concerned. It hasn't gone away completely but it certainly has alleviated a bit.

Once again though, we're left scratching our heads and wondering WHY this is happening. A dietician is going to be in touch and we still have the appointment with the GI Surgeon in December.

If physically things are where they should be, there has to be something someone is missing. Last night while watching Grey's Anatomy a woman was in the hospital room with severe stomach attacks and they ran every test and came up empty handed. The patient had been through it all before and insisted she was not crazy - SOMETHING was wrong. She ate a sandwich and eventually they were able to determine some something was wrapping around something else which expanded when she ate, causing crazy pain. It was missed the million times before because she was also fasting prior to taking tests.

I will have to watch it again to find out what it was and I am NOT saying Chad has whatever this woman has - but the situation was eerily similar and I can't help but wonder if the doctors need to take a different approach. Clearly whatever is wrong with my husband is not of the normal breed. We just need to find a doctor who cares enough to figure it out.

Wish us luck.

Thanks for your love and prayers xoxo

Just A Different Day

I had a couple people ask me this week about how Chad was doing. Since it's been a month, I figured I will update.

Unfortunately, he's in rough shape. His digestion issues are getting worse and he can barely eat anything at all now without getting violently ill.  Some days he will be fine and then others, even Ramen Noodles sends him keeling over. He has that bad pain still in his side.

We finally heard from the VA yesterday about his GI Consult. DECEMBER 12th. Yes, December. Frustrating beyond belief. It's taken them nearly a month to even schedule anything and it's another three months out.

Chad is becoming more and more irritable, which never makes life fun for anyone. Living with pain every day is just difficult. Sometimes I wonder how he wears a smile at all.

His knee is alright. Still causing him pain and is currently pretty bad. I am hoping it's just the weather as it is beginning to cool down here in Kentucky. He may also have over-worked it because he was building Brenden a Deer Stand and Brenden reports that his father took a fall. I don't even want to hear the ghastly details anymore lol

Chad will be following up with the VA in hopes to secure an appointment in a much more reasonable time frame than December. I have no idea what they will do this time and they've already ran every test imaginable. Start from scratch probably?

Anyways, one day at a time. It's all we can do. Thanks so much for your love, concern and well wishes!

Still Taking It One Day At A Time

Chad had his final (I believe) follow-up appointment today for his knee. He was given the all clear! The knee is almost completely healed, the aching he experiences is normal and he has slight swelling. He still needs to take it easy but all restrictions have been removed :)

As long as he doesn't break any more limbs, he should be okay there. (You can see from the photo that he is quite happy about that lol)

We are waiting to hear from the VA with respects to another GI Consult. The never ending pain has made its routine return but it is lingering for a lot longer than usual and it quite sever. He's spent many-a-nights in the bathroom, vomiting and everything else unpleasant you can imagine. He can barely eat anything without getting extreme discomfort, he has shooting pains and he swells like a basketball.

All the tests they've run say he's perfectly fine but obviously they are missing something. He endures it pretty well but he is not ready to give up on finding out what it is or if there is anything that can make him feel a little more 'normal'.

His next CT Scan and blood work is scheduled for November. Thanks, as always, to those out there who show so much love. xoxo