Wednesday, September 29, 2010

WHY MOM FIRST WENT TO THE DOCTOR?


As many of you who will read this blog know, our mom and dad, Cathy and Jay, are crafters. For the past few years, they have sold decorative gourds at the Salt Lake City Farmers Market and the annual Swiss Days Festival in Midway, Utah. This year, mom and dad decided to just sell their gourds at Swiss Days. They worked very hard to prepare for Swiss Days and it was a big success.

After Swiss Days, mom was tired. She thought it was because she was recovering from Swiss Days. After days had passed without feeling better, Grace, Cate, and others who saw mom commented that her skin was turning yellow. After the yellow tint to her skin worsened and she began to itch, she was convinced that she should see a doctor.

A close family friend, who is a doctor, recommended that my mom go to see Dr. Casey Owens. Dr. Owens is a member of my parents’ ward. Dr. Owens’ practice group would not typically see my mom on short notice, but after my dad got a hold of Dr. Owens’, he graciously told my mom he would see her. It should be noted that Dr. Owens’ care has been tremendous and has served as a great comfort to our parents.

Dr. Owens confirmed that it looked like my mom had jaundice and scheduled her for some blood tests and a MRI. Dr. Owens thought everything was probably ok, but wanted to find the source of the jaundice.

On Friday, September 17, 2010, after the tests and the MRI, Dr. Owens called my parents and asked them to come to his home. It was at this time that Dr. Owens informed my mom and dad that there were masses in the gall bladder, bile ducts, and liver. Dr. Owens explained to my parents that it has not been confirmed, but that this possibly and likely was cancerous.

The first step after this meeting was to get the bile ducts open to avoid any further complications as a result of the jaundice. The next week began with two separate procedures to open the bile ducts. Two procedures were necessary because the first one was not completely successful. Once the bile ducts were open, mom could start draining the bile from her system.

Because so much bile was in her system, she was put on a strong medication that made her nauseous. This medication was to help her avoid any further complications with the bile in her system.

After the bile ducts were opened, biopsies were taken on Friday, September 24, 2010.

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