11/29 - It's Still November

Ok, ok, sorry, sorry...wow, there are alot of angry people out there starving for information on PEG! :-) She is doing good, recovering everyday, feeling a little stronger, she is bench pressing about 390 right now, which is way lower than before the surgery, but we are taking it slow and easy right now.

Seriously though, she is feeling better, the 3 iron pills a day routine, is tough for her, mostly the morning one, gets her a bit queasy. She has been walking around, helping where she can and doing too much around the house. All in all, we have watched a lot of Christmas movies and been enjoying the time to slow down a bit as a family. Friends have been bring the meals, which has been sooo awesome. Thanks everyone, please no liver or sardines. :-) (PICTURE IS OF JOSHUA - 3yrs old)

She went to her first family Doctor visit today and all was looking good. They said the pathology report came back great, and that all the spots removed had full and clean margins. They took about 6 lympnodes around those areas and 4 were affected, 2 were clean. All in all Dr. Kerr seemed quite pleased with the results. We have a copy of the report, so I will have more to share on that in another post.

On a family note, Lexie has started her first organized sports team, at her School, girls basketball and her first game is this weekend. She is ready to go and doing quite well. She's doing single handed dunks right now, but we are working on the reverse dunk and the Jordon dunk. I was supposed to coach the team, with another father, but our wonderful city league put all the games on Sunday mornings. Don't get me started...I am a bit steamed.

Thanks for all the pray, love and support. Peg has been reading your comments, now that she is feeling better, so keep those remarks, comments, attitudes, and general love, coming!

Blessings, Larry

11/22 - Happy Thanksgivemas

It seems that Christmas is quickly overtaking Thanksgiving, so I am proposing that we change the name of Thanksgiving to Thanksgivemas. Oh and happy Festivus to everyone too!

Anyways, just wanted to update you all while you are writhing in pain from too much Pumpkin Pie...Peg is doing good. The nights have been tough, since she is supposed to be taking pills every 3-4 hours, and well, you have to sleep too! She is staying on the Oxycodin until the pain subsides. She is still having a fair amount of pain between dosages, but generally speaking she is not having the nausea she encountered after the last surgery. She has to take iron, and sometimes, even the SLOW FE type are hard to keep down. She is on Protonix which helps to reduce the nausea. Don't you love all this talk of Meds!? (Picture is of two love birds...sounds sappy, eh?)

I have had to scold her a few times about bending down to pick-up toys or laundry or whatever...but for the most part she is laying low. We got a walk in this morning which was really nice. The kids are with Nana for a few nights, so that will make things easier around the house. I'll try to post some fresh pics tonight after the Thanksgiving festivities.

We have been praying for her hospital roommate at UCLA Medical Center, Ashley, so we called her mom on her cell phone. She was very blessed to hear from us and we were able to encourage them again. We figured out something amazing about God's timing. Ashley got moved from the ICU floor to the 4th floor prior to Peggy arriving. She was there for 7 days and then when we left, she got moved to the 7th floor, the Orthopedic floor. I think God wanted to encourage and strengthen Donna (her mom) and Ashley and let them know of his love for them! I think the 4th floor, that she was on, was more for heart and lung patients (like Peg).

The number 7 in the bible, refers to God's completion. God is doing a work in their hearts and lives and we feel privileged to be there to pray and encourage where we can.

Blessings to all of you, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Larry

11/20 - Jack Frost Roasting On An Open Fire

I always like to sing that song backwards..."...chestnuts nipping at your nose..."

Well the first night home was very enjoyable for all. We had TWO meals brought over by friends last night! Is that insane or what? God is so incredible, he wants to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we can ask or think.

We enjoyed a great family dinner and time around the fire (man it was cold last night...for California!). Peg slept pretty good, a lot of pain in trying to get comfortable. It didn't help that the local pharmacy was 4 1/2 hours behind in filling prescriptions...and then couldn't make out the doctor's name on the note. Anyways, we got settled in and it was nice to be all back together as a family. Little Josh got to sleep in the sleeping bag on the floor in sister's room, which he had fun with, while Nana is here staying with us.

Peg told me this morning she might just stay in pajamas all day...I told her, go for it!!! (PICTURE IS FROM LABOR DAY WEEKEND.) Patsy had everything under control when we arrived and it was a blessing to have her at the house. Thanks again to Nana, Cara, Dad & Dorothy, Lauri & Dennis, Mike & Candice for all their help with the kids during this time. And to our neighbors Grace & Larry for watching our house, paper, trash cans, mail, etc! We feel richly blessed and touched!

Have a great day...Don't forget to make God's Word first place in your life today...Blessing, Lar

11/19 - 8:34pm - Red Shoes

There's no place like home, there's no place like home (click, click)...yep we are home. The kids were very excited to see us and it was fun to see them. We had two people bring meals tonight, wow, that was crazy. So many have been willing to help it has been truly amazing!

Here are some photos from the hospital. The top photo is Peg's roommate Ashley and her mom Donna! They were so sweet, and have been through a lot. Ashley works for Universal and has been getting "production" credits on a few projects lately. We have been praying God's blessing and speedy recover for her from the terrible motorcycle accident.

Also pictured is one of the many nurses who we made friends with and we felt like they became part of our "family". Maria was a lot of fun and a blessing to Peggy!

Thanks again for all the cards, letters, flowers, meals, and help with it all. The next couple of weeks will be a bit of a challenge as Peg works through the recovery. Peg's mom Patsy will be with us for a few days this week to help around the house and with the kids!

Blessings to all!! Lar

11/19 - 2:00pm - Elvis Has Left the Building

We are departing UCLA! All things are green light...should be home around 4pm... Blessings! Larry

11/19 - 12:30pm - Departure

Here's Peg resting in the room, after a good meal and everything has happened according to schedule. She is doing great and ready to be discharged from UCLA. It looks like we will be out of here in the next hour or so. Thanks for all the prayers, love and support. You all, through God's guidance have made all the difference in our lives. THanks so much, I will provide another update once we are home and settled in!

Blessings! Lar

11/19 - 11:30am - Monday

Well things are progressing along very well. Peg continue to get better, she has already walked about 3 times, been taken for a full X-ray. She is eating well and had the last chest tube removed this morning. So she is cableless, or I guess you can call her wireless. She still have vital monitors but they are wireless so, she is fully mobile. (Picture is Mom & Peggy, yesterday)

There is talk of going home today, she just needs one more thing to happen...I can't get into details, just to say, Raisin Bran cereal is beneficial. :-)

I suspect by the time all the paperwork is done, it will be this afternoon before she is released. She is feeling better today, coughing is understandably difficult because of the incision. Got to see the incision and well let's just say, it's no paper cut! But as always, they do an incredibly great job here and just like the last one, I am sure it will heal up really nice.

More to come, in about 1-2 hours...

Your Blue Gown reporter, Larry

11/18 - 5:30pm - Sunday

Hey all! Well Peg is doing great. We have taken 2 walks so far, the last one she did, was just a few minutes ago, and we walked the entire length of the floor in 3 directions! It was also just Peggy & I this last time, so she is definitely feeling more stable. They have her on a new pain medication, Oxycodone, which is some strong stuff, hopefully only for 24 hours or less. Remember Rush Limbaugh? Yea, that stuff.

Peg's good friend Molly stopped by to say hey and hang out, which was a blessing! Also, her mom stopped by again to check-up on her baby! This day has been an excellent day and a great turning point in Peg's recovery.

Please continue to pray for her roommate Ashley, who is a sweet girl and still dealing with alot of broken bones pain. I pray God would give us another opportunity to share and prayer with her and her mom, before we leave here.

Blessings, Larry

11/18 - 12:00pm - Sunday

Ok, sorry for the delay. Yes we are still here and Peg is doing great. She walked twice yesterday. A couple of praise reports...

* No need for blood transfusion
* Heart rate & blood pressure have normalized
* Pain is subsiding
* no more nausea

She got two of the three chest tubes out and they have been starting to give her pills, instead of injections for her medications. They have cut off the epidural, partly because it came out and partly because she doesn't need it any more. Here goals today include, 3 walks, pain control with pills, and regular, well, um, just being regular, you know. :-)

I personally was feeling wiped out last night and actually sleep alot this morning. That's why I got delayed in updates.

The doctor says that maybe the other chest tube will come out later today, which is a major step towards going home. Two friends stopped by yesterday, Julie and Amy. It was fun for Peg to spend some time with them. They have been praying and encouraging Peg along the way.

Thanks for all the love, support and prayers!

Blessings, Larry

11/17 - 5:30pm - Video Post

Ok, never done this before, and the audio is bad, but hey, modern technology still needs some work! Anyways, this is an attempt for Peg to greet everyone via video to thank you for all the calls, cards, letters, friendship, thousands of dollars (ok maybe not that one :-), love and visits, everyone has been giving.

We are working on a few things to make sure the kids are covered on Sunday & Monday, since we didn't expect to stay that long. According to the doctors, she might be here until Monday, so we will see.

They gave her some medicine to help with her heart rate and it seems to be working well. She is hoping to get a walk in, tonight! Thanks for all the prayers and comments...

Blessings, Larry

11/17 - Noon - Update

Hey all, just sitting around on a foggy Saturday and hanging at UCLA Hospital! This is definitely not a 5 star resort hotel, and at about $10,000 a night, I think it is probably a little expensive for even the fanciest hotel room. But all in all, Peggy is getting good care!

She is still feeling a fair amount of pain and discomfort but was able to sit in a chair and get repositioned. We have been able to talk more with Peg's roommate and her mom. I got the great opportunity to pray for them and with them and just provide a lot of comfort. The daughter is out here in Los Angeles, but all the family is back east, so her mom is here by herself. It is amazing how God puts people in our lives and in our paths to be Jesus to them! (PICTURE is Peg with her childhood friend, Donna, who stopped by to visit!)

I am working on a possible video clip, I think I can take and upload, we'll see how that goes, but give me the next update, in about 1 hour to be able to give it a go. Lar

11/17 - 11:00am Update

Ok so a few prayer requests for you. Peggy is doing good, she saw Dr. Cameron again this morning and he said it might be Monday morning before she is able to go home. Her heart rate is a little high, her blood pressure a little low, and she could use some more iron. They might want to do a blood transfusion, although if things get better they may forego that.

She has been having more pain today, we are thinking the Epidural is not working properly, since she is feeling mid-section pain. But all in all, she is smiling and enjoying visits from family and friends. (This picture is from last night, Rita, Lauri, Wally and Peg.)

Hopefully she will be able to get up and moving today. She had a small fever, but they are managing that, and it sounds like the recent temperature check is back in the normal range.

Thanks for all the prayers...Larry
More to come!

11/16 - 6:00pm - Larry The Cable Guy

Ok for the record, it is insane the number of tubes, cables, devices, monitors, tags, masks, boxes, bags, containers, hoses and general "appliances" hooked up to the average patient. I think the nurses know what everything does...atleast I hope they do (sorry to all those nurses out there.) I am doing my best to help "route" and "manage" cables.

Peggy was able to get up and out of bed, and stand, but walking was a bit much at this point, so they may try again later tonight. Her voice sounds strong and she has been enjoying a few calls and visits from friends and family. She is eating well, and enjoying a few bouquets of flowers. Well, she's not eating the flowers, but they smell nice. The nurses and team of doctors are awesome. Her goal today on the white board said, "up out of bed". There are a few friends out there that need to have that goal..naw I'm just kidding! :-) Anyways, she accomplished that well and was working on walking next.

Still not sure when she will be released, possibly tomorrow night, but I am guessing Sunday morning. She is accepting visitors if you want to drop by...unless you live in like, Illinois?!

She's in room 415B at UCLA Medical Center on Conte Dr.

Take care, Lar

11/16 3:00pm - Update

Ok, Peg is doing better, they have continued to reduce some of the pain medication. She has been able to sit up and eat both breakfast and Lunch today. They said they want to get her up to walk either before or after dinner tonight. She is resting well and experiencing some pain. Peg's brother Jeff stopped by on lunch break to check in on her, so that was very cool and she was blessed by that. (Here is another picture, she is reading the blog entries and comments.) A friend also send a boquet of flowers, which she is enjoying!

Also, if you have an extra prayer to throw out there, Peggy's roomate's name is Ashley, she is 24 years old and sustained a traumatic and debilitating motorcycle accident. She was wearing a helmet, so thankfully no head or spinal cord injuries. However she has had broken legs, arms, collarbone, hand, knee, etc. She has had numerous surgeries, and has been in the hospital for 2 weeks. We have had the opportunity to share and pray for them. God is good and I know he wants to show his love, salvation and healing to this entire family.

Thanks for all the prayers, we love you all. Larry

11/16 10:30am - Update

Ok, so Peg is doing good this morning. She had a chance to talk with the doctor this morning, he stopped by. He said that the surgery actually started about 2:00 pm, so it did go as planned with timing. Apparently they had a delay in the start time from the other surgery he did in the morning.

He said they didn't have to take any part of a rib, or diaprapm but did take a small bit of the right lung again. She is recovering well. The epidurial is really helpful in managing the pain, although her blood pressure was a little low, so they had to back off the dosage a bit. They are bringing additional pain medication for her a little later.

She said she slept ok last night. I think because she was sleeping all day yesterday during the day! But all in all, her voice sounds good, her color looks good, her hair looks good and she is feeling pretty ok. She is up in a chair this morning, eating oatmeal and keeping it down. (Here she is this morning.)

The room is a little cramped but the staff and nurses are doing an awesome job. More to come in the next hour or so.... Larry

11/15 11:30 pm - Progress

Ok, finally got hold of a live nurse about 8:45 pm, they said they were moving Peg to a room. Well, it took them till 10:15 pm to move her. I finally got to see her about 10:30 pm. She said that she started coming to about 7:00 pm, and was amazed that she was out for that long. The moved Peggy to room 415B (east wing of the hospital). I got to talk to her, she looked great, had dry mouth and was feeling ok. Apparently when she came to, she had alot of pain, so they had to deal with that before they put her in a room.

I left the hospital about 11:00 pm, so she could sleep and I could sleep back at the motor home. Right now I am borrowing someone's free wireless internet somewhere in a business nearby, to write this blog. It was a long day and I am praying that she sleeps really well, without too many interruptions.

Have a great night...Larry

11/15 7:45pm - Update

Ok, back online, cell phone and computer is charging...

We talked to Dr. Cameron about 6:30pm and everything went well. They were able to remove the 3 nodules as expected. They had a little challenge with the upper one, because it was a ways above the incision. We are not sure why the procedure took 5 hours, but they said she is doing well. They expected to take out the breathing tube around 6:30pm and start bringing her to. They expected about a 2-3 hour "recovery" before they move her to a room.

As of now, she still has not been assigned a room and so we wait. We don't know anything about the pathology report yet, but are prayerful that they were able to remove everything. Dr. Cameron didn't mention any complication, or having to remove any structures. There was some initial concern going into the procedure about having to remove part of a rib, diaphragm or a part of the lung, but it sounds like none of that came in to play.

There will probably be one more report tonight, hopefully I will have talked to Peg after that point. (Picture is of Lauri Stevenson & Mom Haeussler.)

Reporting from UCLA, Larry Wolf, PNN News (Peggy News Network). :-)

11/15 5:30 PM - Phone call

Well got a phone call from the O.R., one of the doctors said they are "closing up" and finishing up, and Dr. Cameron will be up to talk to us in about 30 minutes. They said Peg is doing great. I'm running low on laptop and cell battery life and left my charger in the motorhome in UCLA long term parking. Next update might be in 1 hour.

Thanks for the prayers... Lar

11/15 4:55pm - Update

Well no news yet. Peg is still in surgery. We are thinking they started later than they expected and often they are only able to give an estimate of time, not an exact amount. But all is good, God is still in control and things are going to turn out great.

Thanks for all the prayers and fun comments on the blog. I will let Peg read them on the laptop when she comes to. Here's Mom Hauessler having fun in the lobby. Larry

11/15 3:00 PM - Update

Nothing yet, still just waiting in the lobby...Here's a photo of Peggy in pre-op. Yes this is the latest fashion outfit...You'll see it on the runways on the E! Entertainment network...

Larry

11/15 2:00 pm - Update

Ok, sometimes I don't like Verizon Wireless. Today is one of those days. I can barely get cell service anywhere in this Hospital. I know UCLA is #3 in the nation for hospitals, but for cell service, it's alot WAY lower. But on a good note, they have free wireless internet for family of patients.

Anyways, onto Peg! They were a little delayed in getting her into surgery, which she went in around 12:30 PM. Wow, talk about forms, documents, and stuff to fill out! She probably was talked to by about 30 people before surgery today. There is a medical nurse, technician, assistant, doctor for everything. I think if you sneeze here, they have a doctor of sneezology to take care of you. Anyways, you feel well cared for, that's for sure.

They said the procedure would be about 3 hours, so we may be hearing something around 3:30 PM. She was in good spirits when they were rolling her across the hall into the O.R. Mom (Patsy) Haeussler is here, she got here about 10:30 am. Lauri Stevenson (my sister) was here for a little while before having to leave to pick-up her mother-in-law at LAX. All in all I know God has it all under his hand, and in his control. This photo was one a friend sent Peggy yesterday, who has been through cancer treatment and surgeries.

More to come...

Blessings! Larry

11/15-9:15am - Arrival

Well it took us 2 hours and 10 min to drive 50 miles today...to get to UCLA! Wow, we arrived in ok time and peg is check-in and waiting to go into pre-op.

She is sporting her designer hospital gown! She feels good and at peace!

Thanks for prayers...larry

11/14-Surgery Tomorrow

It's official...Peg will check in at 9:00 am tomorrow at UCLA. Surgery begins around 11:00 am. It's about a 3 hour procedure. Thanks for all the prayers...we love you guys.

Larry

11/9-UCLA Surgery

Hello,

It looks like I will be doing the surgery on Nov. 15th next Thurs. at UCLA. I have completed my pre-ops which was just an EKG and some blood work. Dr. Cameron thought this visit would be about 3 days. I will make a list of a few prayer requests.

-Peace for the entire family.
-For the kids to feel confident and secure during this time while being placed elsewhere.
-For Dr. Cameron to get every tiny cell of disease existing.
-For clear margins around the small masses.
-For no complications & quick healing.
-For us to be witnesses for Jesus whenever possible.

Thanks for all the faithful prayers!! Love to all!!!

Peggy

11-1/Surgery Info.

Hi All,

All I have is a tentative date at the moment. So, I might be going in for surgery November 15. That's two weeks from today. Dr. Cameron at UCLA has been called in for jury duty and it has messed up his surgery schedule a little bit. Hopefully I will get this date firmed up by tomorrow. It is hard to get the kids schedules arranged without a firmed up date. But, I do know that he does surgeries on Thurs. So that helps. That way I will hopefully be home the following weekend. And in plenty of time for Thanksgiving.

I hope this surgery will be easier to heal up from since they will be going under the ribcage and not through it this time. But, still it is major surgery and I need to keep that in mind too. I know God will work out all of life's details. It can be so overwhelming trying to think of all that you do and wondering how it will get all done. But that is all part of the be anxious for nothing verse. So I am trying my best. On top of that I am trusting Him for complete health. So much is out of my control and now in His control. Such a better place to be anyhow.

Again and again and again Thank You so much for all the prayers. Through them all God is getting us all through this very well!!

Lots of Love to all, Peggy