My Sister Heather, aka "Job"

My older sister, Brittney, recently did a blog post about our younger sister, Heather.  Many of you might be aware of her roller coaster of health problems, and everything got really scary about a week ago.  I'd like to share Brittney's words with you...

(Picture of Heather taken last February)

Last week, Heather had surgery on her esophagus.  She hasn't been able to swallow for months, and they've diagnosed her with achalasia, a life-long condition that affects her stomach and esophagus.  She just had her sweet baby, Alexia, two months ago, but since then her health has steadily deteriorated.  She was really hoping that the surgery last week would solve her problems, but instead, it's brought on more than we ever thought she'd have to endure!  Thursday night, after a depressing Thanksgiving "dinner" of turkey and sweet potato baby food, Heather began to experience pain in her throat and chest, severe bloating, and nausea.  She threw up sometime in the middle of the night, which is something the doctors really didn't want to have happen just in case it aggravated the surgery site.  Jake took Heather to the emergency room, against Heather's wishes, but it was a blessing that he insisted because upon doing x-rays they discovered a hole in her esophagus.  That meant that air and liquids had been leaking out, hence the pain and bloating.  They immediately admitted her to the hospital and called in her surgeon, who assembled a team and performed another surgery to put a stint in to cover the hole and allow it to heal and stop the leaking.  The surgery took longer than anticipated, and then afterwards she didn't come out of the anesthesia as quickly as they'd hoped either.  Her oxygen levels were too low as well.  After waiting several hours to see if she'd come to, they admitted her to the ICU.  Dad (who'd arrived Thanksgiving day to spend a few days out here) and Bree were there with Jake and his dad and they gave her a blessing, but they were alarmed at how depleted she looked.  Heather had told Jake before the surgery that she didn't feel strong enough to undergo another one, but she didn't have much of a choice...

The next day, Dad, Bree and I had planned to go up to my cousin's wedding luncheon in Logan and then stop by the hospital to see Heather on our way home.  That morning, Dad called to say that we wouldn't be going up to the wedding as planned.  When I asked what was wrong, he said that Heather wasn't doing well.  He said she was "unresponsive" and that Jake thought she was giving up.  I asked him what that meant, not wanting to believe what I was hearing.  It was more than I could comprehend!  My dad was too emotional to say much else, but he said her heart was racing, her blood pressure was too low, her kidneys didn't seem to be working, and she'd developed a high fever in the night.  I said a quick prayer with David, picked up Bree and Nathan, and we headed up to the hospital in tears, expecting the worst.  THANKFULLY, we received a text from Jake on our way up telling us that she'd stabilized and that she was alert and talking.  When we arrived, she still had a fever, but it wasn't nearly as high as it had been in the night.  Her kidneys had kicked into gear, and her pulse was higher than normal and her blood pressure was still low, but both had improved significantly.  She was still on oxygen, but she greeted us and chatted for a bit when we went in to see her.  We tried our best to sound optimistic so as not to scare her with us all being there all of a sudden.  She looked pretty beat, but Bree said she looked a lot better than she had the night before.  It was a miraculous turn-around!

We stayed there throughout the day and she continued to get better.  Before long she was able to get up and walk a couple laps around the ICU, and she spent the majority of the afternoon sitting in the recliner in her room.  We left at one point to print out some pictures of Cami and Lexi to put up in her room and to get her a book and some chapstick.  She's not able to eat or drink anything, even ice chips, so her mouth stays terribly dry. In the evening they gave her a picc line so she could get liquid nutrients directly to her heart.  It's certainly not as good as a real meal, but we're glad she's finally getting much-needed nutrients!  She's lost SO much weight lately!  So throughout the day we went back and forth between the waiting room and her room in the ICU.  Around 9:00 my mom arrived!  She hated being so far away and not being able to be with Heather, so she booked a same-day flight and made it possible for our whole immediate family to be together for a couple hours.  We sat around her little room and talked and things almost seemed a little normal (if you could ignore the many tubes coming out of poor Heather and the machines and blinking lights).  Nathan gave a beautiful prayer before we had to leave to come home.  

The next morning, her stats had improved quite a bit.  They were able to take her off blood pressure medicine, and eventually her oxygen.  Today they moved her from the ICU to a regular room, but they still think she'll be in the hospital for at least another week.  We're all waiting to hear the results of a test they did today to see if her esophagus is still leaking.  If it's not, they'll leave the stint in for a couple months and she'll be able to go home and at least enjoy a soft or regular liquid diet.  If it's still leaking, we're not sure what the next step will be. 

I'm just so incredibly grateful that she's still with us and making progress!  Saturday morning was one of the scariest mornings I've ever experienced, and I believe it really could have gone either way.  The faith and prayers of many people took effect though, and Heather fought through enough to make it past that crucial hurdle in her recovery.  I know she's strong enough to keep fighting, and she has SO much to fight for!  Her sweet daughters have been able to visit her a couple times now, and they alone give her so much reason to live.  And her sweet Jake who's hardly left her side.  It certainly turned into a real weekend of thanksgiving for all of us, and now we just pray that she'll continue to be strengthened and blessed!

* * *

It has been about a week since Brittney's post, and Heather is still hanging out in the hospital.  Her room would probably win some kind of award for "most decorative" or "best holiday scent" or "most visitors per day".  She has been flooded with flowers, cards, pictures, visitors, Facebook shout-outs, text messages, and phone calls.  Granted, her Birthday was this this week, but that just made it even more fun and festive.  When I say fun I mean "fun"... because really, how much "fun" can a hospital be?  

In any case, Heather is a champ and is trying her hardest to stay optimistic and not get down on herself. It has been amazing to see how much healthier she looks, thanks to the IV bag of "food" she gets to have every day. She still hasn't been able to drink or eat a single thing in over a week now.  Can you believe that?!  It doesn't seem humanly possible.  However, on her birthday, the doctor let her drink 1 oz of grape juice.  That was a huge treat for her. :)  So whatever is going through those IV's is keeping her alive for now.  She will be in the hospital for at least another couple of days until more tests can confirm whether or not the hole in her esophagus has healed and closed.  Hopefully she will be able to come home next week.  And then it will still be a long recovery from there.

We love Heather!  I love my "Schmeether."  I have driven to downtown Salt Lake City to visit her in the hospital more than I've driven to SLC in the past year or so.  I'm not a Salt Lake City gal, so this has pushed me out of my bubble. :)  But of course she is worth it and I just want her to be happy and feel good again. 

Many tears have been shed.  Many prayers have been said.  It's amazing to see how many people have offered their love, help, and prayers, and I know Heather really appreciates it.  I have always had a special place for her in my heart and look forward to the day when she can laugh freely and truly be "Heather" again.