Saturday, January 31, 2009

Recovery Day #2




Hey kids! Daddy is doing better today. It must be because of all your prayers. And, he has been reading your comments on the blog. I took the laptop in this morning and he was able to see your snow day pictures.
I gotta go now. Gabriel is fussy but here is a pic of Daddy and Gabe reading all the comments. =)






Friday, January 30, 2009

Recovery Day #1

It's tough the first day. Scott is pretty uncomfortable to say the least and struggling a bit with nausea. But he did get up and walk this morning.

Thanks kids for all the prayers. Continue to pray for Daddy to get up and walk, walk, walk....it hurts but the more he walks the better he will feel. He has a pretty large incision and so it's tough to move around. I'll take some pictures of him walking soon. We didn't get any today cause his hair was too messy and I left his brush in the hotel room. LOL!

And, it is official. My cell phone is dead. The charger was broken in our luggage during the flight so.....if you need me call the hotel.

Gabriel is doing great. He made a friend. Her name is Leah and she is also 4 months old. We see her everyday. =)

Be back for updates soon!

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Back from surgery.

Well, Scott is finally in his room. Gabe and I were able to visit for a bit. He is having some pain but in good spirits. I still have not been able to speak to the surgeon but assuming all went well. Hopefully I be able to catch up with him tomorrow to find out all the details.
Hey kids, Dad says he loves you too. Don't worry, he is doing just fine. We will be home in no time. I told him all about your snow day and he can't wait to see the pictures. We love you!


















Recovery....

Scott is in recovery now. I don't know any details yet. The nurse couldn't tell me much. I'll talk to the doctor later. I am off to wait in the hospital room now. Be back this evening.

Snow Day!

Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Jason have been keeping the kids busy while Daddy is in the hospital. Looks like a lot of fun!

Can you tell who is who?





















All warm inside after the fun is done!

surgery day

Scott is getting prepped for surgery right now. I will join him after I eat a bite of breakfast. Surgery should be within an hour or so. I'll be back to post more soon.....

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Test Results

We spoke to the surgeon this morning after some testing. Everything went as expected. They are recommending surgery for a temporary ileostomy and will also try to repair the infected part of the pouch. Scott has some pre-op tests scheduled for this afternoon then later on this evening we will find out what time surgery is tomorrow. I'll let everyone know. Thanks for the prayers. Keep them coming.

Kids we miss you. Be good for Grandma and Grandpa. I'll take some pictures tomorrow of daddy in the hospital. I am sorry to hear that you got so much ice and snow and are stuck inside. I hope the power stays on now. Guess with all that ice and snow school was cancelled....oh wait....we homeschool. So, get off your computers and get to work!

Brrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!

It's cold. Who turned off the heat?! I know we are in MN but this is just crazy!

We are off to the clinic today for tests. I'll update this evening....


Edited to add...I found out why I was so cold this morning. The heat in our room was not working. It was freezing! But it is fixed now and we are nice and toasty.

And yes my dear children, I am reading all of your comments. =)

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

We are at Mayo!

Scott set up the internet for me. Thanks Sweetie! I'll post updates every evening so, kids, don't forget to check!





Gabriel is happy. He didn't cry a bit today on the plane. I am so thankful. He seems to like our hotel.




And here you go kids...a picture to remember your folks. Don't forget us while we are gone. Love ya!


Sunday, January 25, 2009

What's been going on with the Krodel's Part II

So, what happened in June? Scott got sick...really sick. He started having some intense pain. Doctors said it was inflammation and infection in his "pouch". It is fairly common and called Pouchitis. This was not the first time my dear husband had suffered from a bout of pouchitis. However, in the past, the infection had responded well to antibiotics. Not this time.

This time Scott went through months of antibiotics but the infection did not get better. In fact, it was getting worse and new symptoms seemed to be popping up every day. He saw more doctors and had more tests....

In all, Scott was seeing 5 doctors at the same time. He saw his gastroenterologist, colorectal surgeon, orthopedic surgeon, infectious disease specialist and a chiropractor. We were told he had a severe case of pouchitis, a dislocated tailbone, a fistula and an infection in his tailbone.

My poor husband was getting sicker and we had no answers as to what to do about it. He had 2 MRI's, 2 CT Scans, and a bone marrow biopsy yet the doctors were not in agreement about what to do for him. So, all the test results were sent to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Doctors there reviewed his case and talked to doctors here and finally decided upon a plan of treatment.

This is where we are today and one of the reasons behind this feeble attempt at blogging. Scott and I will be traveling up to Mayo Clinic. We leave on Tuesday, Jan. 27. Scott will be undergoing some more tests to confirm the diagnosis then he will have surgery. First, the doctors will drain the infection from the pouch then they will be giving him a temporary ileostomy to divert stool from the infected area. This will allow the pouch to rest and, hopefully, to heal. He will have the ileostomy for approximately 6 months.

I'll be posting pictures and updating this blog from Mayo when I am able. I mainly want to do this so my kiddos can see Daddy and know what's going on and not worry so much. But, I want to share updates with family and friends as well.

Please remember Scott and our family in your prayers.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

So, what has been going on in the Krodel Family?

Hello All! I started this blog back in June and as you can see...I haven't kept up with it. Guess I am not the most consistent blogger. But, I have been busy. Our lives have been very full over the past months. Then it occured to me. Our lives have been very full over the past months...

Maybe I should be sharing some if what's going on with my family and friends. =)

So, here goes.

In the past 6 months two major things have occured in my life. First, I gave birth to our 7th child, Gabriel James. He has been such a huge blessing in my life. And when I say huge, I mean huge. He is a BIG BOY (pictures to come).


Second, my husband Scott has been ill. I have found that nothing can affect a family more profoundly than the birth of a new baby or serious illness of a loved one .


Scott has always had health issues. He suffered from Ulcerative Colitis for many years and eventually had a colectomy (removal of his entire colon/large intestine). He had a ileostomy for a while but the surgeon who removed his colon did a wonderful thing. He realized that Scott was a good candidate for a relatively new procedure called Ileoanal-Anastomosis. During the surgery he left Scott's rectum and sphincter muscles intact thus enabling him to have this new procedure done in the future. In a just a few months we were scheduled to go to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN and have the operation. Actually, it required two operations, two phases so to speak.


During the first procedure, the surgeon takes about 3 feet of small intestine and constructs an internal pouch which will serve to replace the external ileostomy. The pouch is connected to the rectum. Then a temporary "loop" ileostomy is created to divert stool until everything inside is healed. During the second procedure, the loop ileostomy is reversed. This allows a person to, well, to go to the bathroom like a normal person would.


Scott had this all done 18 years ago. He has had a few complications over the years, suffered some other setbacks in his health as well, even had to have a kidney removed, but overall we would say the operation at Mayo was a success and has enabled him to have a much better quality of life than had he not had the procedure done. That is, up until this past June when everything took a turn for the worse.....Part 2 to come soon......

practice posting.....

I am checking out the different layouts for my blog. This is our Evangeline. She is helping me.

Meet Sammy!


Our neigbor's nurse gave my daughter Hannah a late Christmas present. Yes, I let her keep it.

Krodel Christmas 2008!



Mary Kate got a guitar! My future Rock Star!

I guess she learned from her big brother Zach.