How
is she doing?
How
it started | How she is | Baby
Larissa | Jim | Blacky
Thank you for stopping by to check on Joann. We hope this page is useful, and we will try to keep it as up-to-date as possible. Joann spend Tuesday recovering from the illness she experienced on Monday with severe indigestion. She began eating lightly, following the BRAT diet (Bananas, Rice, Apple Sauce, and Toast). Lunch was take-out chicken and rice ordered from a local Chinese restaurant, and she had some more for dinner. Jim brought bananas and freshly-made apple sauce. She hope that she can get back to her regular diet on Wednesday. A lot of hair fell out when she showered, and she began wearing a scarf. Her pretty smile remains. Joann will call the shot on when a new photo get posted here. Probably won't be too long. Joann filled out her Health Care Proxy and Living Will on Tuesday evening and discussed her wishes with Jim Shaughnessy and Judy Barba. She appointed Jim her health care agent and Judy her alternate health care agent. Jim will make copies of her Living Will for her siblings. Joann and Jim also discussed their wills and will talk more about that today. We also hope to have a meeting today with Dr. Grund and Dr. Eglowstein to decide on the next treatment plan. That meeting should happen late this afternoon. Joann's medical team continues to monitor her very closely. As we have said in this space before, Joann is making progress, and at the same time, her situation remains serious. Her spirits are good, her smile is comforting to everyone who sees her, and her determination is inspiring. She is receiving very good care, and we ask you continue the prayers and positive thoughts on her behalf. We appreciate them very much. Photo gallery from July 4 visitors and family picnic.
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How she is: As you know by now, Joann is at Albany Medical Center with a large, inoperable, cancerous tumor in her right lung. She is also 28 weeks pregnant. This has greatly complicated her treatment. Her doctors, Stephen H. Grund, MD, PhD, Oncology, and Marla S. Eglowstein, MD, Perinatology, have researched and consulted with colleagues around the country to design a treatment program that has started Joann on a road to recovery and is safe for her baby Larissa. Joann had her first chemotherapy on Wednesday, July 1. Overnight Wednesday/Thursday, her blood oxygen level dropped to 90%,and she began receiving supplemental oxygen early that morning. Now that she is in the Ob-Gyn ward, Larissa will be monitored much more closely. The medical and nursing staff is working very hard to make sure that everyone understands the special issues involved with Joann's condition, and developing contingency plans for every possible situation. Joann has her computer now, and can log on through AOL. Some of you may have already gotten email responses from Joann. Of course, this means it won't be as easy for Jim keep secrets. We have even managed to use the MS-DOS version of FTP over an AOL connection to publish remotely from Joann's room. Look back at the July 1 edition for more information about the chemotherapy treatment.
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About baby Larissa: Larissa is today 28 weeks and 6 days. We wild be deciding on a treatment and delivery plan for Joann and Larissa later this week. The ultrasound to the right was taken on Friday, July 10; she weighed 1000 grams, which is just about average. Her face is discernible at the left-center of the picture. Dr. Marla is going to take another photo at the end of the week. Mommy is noticably bigger, and Daddy can feel Larissa bumping the front of Mommy's belly. Larissa's heartbeat is checked as part of Mommy's every-4-hours vitals, and once a day, a 20-minute fetal monitor tape is done. Larissa is going to be a well documented baby! Mommy says that Larissa moves around a lot at 4:00 AM. Supposedly, babies continue the same activity patterns once they are born. Daddy is having a hard time imagining 4:00 AM feedings!
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What about Jim? He has been working to get the nursery ready, but that means he first has to move the rest of the furniture and hot mitts to the attic. The nursery is empty except for an empty file cabinet. He's looking forward to spending the weekend with Joann.
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And Blacky? Blacky misses Mommy, but he is being very good about it. So far he has chewed up only one of Aunt Judy's Rubbermaid food containers. Blacky returned from his weekend visit to Spillway Road, and now seems fully recovered. Jim applied his flea and tick medication on Wednesday, and Blacky doesn't like it. He has a dirt hole he rolls in and needs to be dusted when he comes back into the house.
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