Always gotta be something!!

We got the CT Scan results Saturday afternoon.  It seems that Casey's stomach is in an abnormal position?!  Anyone know what that means?  There is also an "issue" with the left side of his stomach.  We were assured it was not cancer but the coordinator could not properly interpret the results.  We will have to wait until tomorrow when he goes back to the Liver Clinic!  Ugh!  When will he ever feel better?!

Whew!

Casey's appt went very well today!  He is fine liver-wise!!!  THANK GOD!!!  Due to all his meds, he has peptic ulcer disease.  It is very common and he just needs to start taking nexium.  He also had a UTI...which is where the back pains and pain during urinating came from.  The Nexium will take a couple of weeks to kick in.  Please pray for the pain to subside a bit.  It's hard for him to cope with sometimes.  Thank you for your continued prayers!  ♥

Here we go again...

Family and friends, pardon me for not updating sooner.  We have been really busy packing and then moving and then unpacking!  Ugh!

Casey was doing fine for a long while but the beginning of July he started feeling some pain in his lower back.  It would come and go.  Then later came the pain in his stomach after drinking or eating, regardless of how small the portion.  This pain comes and goes as well.  He has some pain during urination and his urine is a dark color. (not a good sign)  He has lost 10 pounds since July since he can't eat very much without it causing pain and discomfort. The last few days he has been feeling drained and extremely tired.  These symptoms are all the same symptoms as before the 2nd liver transplant. I'm trying to remain strong and positive but I'm so scared!!!

He has an appt tomorrow at Baylor Hospital for labs and liver clinic and then a CT Scan.  Please everyone, please keep him in your prayers!  He has been through so much already.  We don't need a reoccurrence!!!

Hasn't He Been Through Enough Already?!

Both Casey and I have been really scared the last week.  He has not been feeling well.  It was a little hard for him to describe his pain but I will do my best to describe to you.  He has a knot or ball on his shoulder that radiates a sharp pain all the way down to his stomach.  He can't eat much or his stomach starts to hurt.  He had a bout of dizziness last night while sitting in his favorite red recliner!

He had to make an Oncologist Appt for today.  He goes in for a CT Scan and a bone scan and blood tests.  We are still waiting to hear from the wound specialist on the results of his xray.  On a good note, his blood tests that he has to take every two weeks with his family doctor were great!  Only his cholesterol and triglycerides are high.  We BOTH need to eat better and exercise...but who can do that when we are always stressed and tired!!!  Please keep us in your prayers!

Big Daddy is back...

Casey is doing really well!  He was released from having to wear the "murse" on Tuesday!!  That's right folks...no more wound vac!!  Yippeee!  His hernias have not been bothering him lately so he has not had to wear the "mirdle" either!  He feels like a man again!! 

His hair is growing back a little faster now.  He has a nice little beard coming in that  he's trying to grow into a gotee.  He's not happy about the amount of gray hair coming in, though.  The hair on his head is growing in a lot thinner and softer!  We'll see how long he will allow it to grow before he shaves it off again!  He grew accustomed to that look.  He is starting to look normal again...his eyebrows are back as well! 

His only complaint right now is that he can't sleep.  Because of the steroids he has to take, he becomes restless at nights.  He runs out of his prescription Ambien too quickly and has to wait until a month after prescribed to refill again. 

Things will never ever be the way they used to be; but I can't wait until he can feel completely well!!

Update on Swelling

Casey's transplant coordinator never called back!  That's nothing new! When he went in for his wound care appt., the wound specialist said that his swelling ankles and feet were nothing to be concerned about.  If the swelling was going away at nights, then it was just his diet.  He needs to cut back on the amt of salt he consumes and drink more water.  Water sure is important in our bodies!  I wish water tasted like coke, then I would drink gallons of it everyday!  LOL! 

When we finally got in touch with one of the coordinators, she confirmed what the wound specialist had said.  The swelling has not returned.  But Casey, being the stubborn man he is, did not ask about the cramps in his chest!  He said it didn't cramp at the time so he didn't think to ask!  UGH!  Men! 

He had another wound care appt this morning.  His wound is getting better and better!  It's not as deep or as long.  The size of the sponge they have to insert in it for the wound vac gets smaller every visit...that's a very good sign!!  Please keep him in your prayers!  We need his wound to totally heal so that they can operate on his hernias!

When it rains it pours...

It's been very hectic the last few months.   Things seem to keep happening to us...one thing right after another.  I won't bore you with the details.  But during all this stress, one thing was certain, Casey was doing better and better each day...or so we thought.  I'm a little concerned now.  He has complained of muscle cramps in his chest around the heart...and now his ankles and feet are swollen.  He has had the cramps on and off for a while but the swelling started last night.  Neither of these symptoms is good....it either points to heart failure or liver failure.  His liver numbers have been slightly elevated for the last two labs he has done. We have contacted his doctor and coordinator and are just waiting for them to return our call. Please keep Casey in your prayers! ♥

Bye-Bye Chemo!!

Casey had his last Chemotherapy on Tuesday, May 4th!!  Can we all shout AMEN?!?!?  What should have been just a couple of chemo sessions turned into 6 chemo sessions!!  But he struggled through it like a champ!!  I'm so proud of him!  He has been thru hell and back and still managed to keep his sense of humor!!  His Oncologist met with him before chemo and told him that his lab results were great!  The certain blood protein that they look for in cancer patients was normal, like that of a cancer-free patient!!!  I was so HAPPY to hear that!!!  In 3 weeks, he will have to go back for a CT scan just to double check there is nothing still lurking around...but we are both very positive that its all gone gone!!

Casey also had a wound specialist appointment on Tuesday.  His wound is getting better but very slowly.  It is still as deep but a little less wide.  The doctor said it was looking great and didnt even have to scrape anything out of it like usual!  He still has to wear the wound vac so the murse is here to stay for another few months. He still also needs to wear the wrap that was given to him by his doctor to secure his hernias and to lessen the pain.  It looks like a girdle!  LOL!  It's a man girdle so we shall call it a "mirdle!"  So now he wears a murse and a mirdle!  SWEET!  LOL!

Possible Pain Relief Soon

If you couldn't tell, I was very frustrated when I wrote the last two blog posts. I think I have simmered down some. Casey's whole ordeal starting since September 2008 has just gone way beyond what anyone would have imagined!

He had a couple of appointments today. The first one being with the wound specialist.  His open wound has had no improvement.  It is still about 5 inches long and a couple of inches wide OPEN!  Even with the wound vac, there has not been any improvement!  This is very discouraging!  If it weren't for him having to have 6 more rounds of chemo, the healing process would have been so much quicker. 

I have some bad news to share and some good news to share.  I will start with the bad and soften the blow with the good.  The bad news is that he will not be able to have any kind of surgery on his hernias, which are the cause of all his excruciating pain right now, until after his last chemotherapy AND until his wound is totally healed up!!  At the rate he's going now, he will not be able to have surgery on his  hernias until  next year!!  I just can't imagine him having to be in pain for that long!!  The good news is that the Dr. prescribed him stronger pain meds and a wrap to secure his hernias.  The doctors did not want to prescribe him anything stronger than hydrocodone because it's bad on the liver.  For those of you who pop tylenol like candy, please be careful...it is very bad on the liver!  And Advil is very bad on kidneys...just sayin'!  The wrap should help the pain alot.  The last few days he has had very bad allergies and has been coughing and sneezing like crazy!  Poor thing nearly goes down to his knees because of the pain when he sneezes!  He can even feel something protrude out when he holds his tummy to cough or sneeze. 

I can't imagine what God's plan is for us.  After all that we have endured the last few years, I don't think we can handle any more bad news!

What my blog is all about

My blog is a chance for me to spill my guts about how I FEEL about everything that has been going on with my husband.  Blogging is much like writing in a diary.  I express my thoughts, opinions, concerns, and most of all my feelings about things that are going on in my life.  Doing this helps me cope; it helps me open up; and it helps me not keep my feelings bottled up to where I explode later.  This blog just so happens to be about the trials and tribulations that my husband and I have had to endure the last couple of years.  No matter who it appears I am blaming for his physical and mental anguish, of course I am THANKFUL to GOD that he is alive and am thankful that the doctors were able to save him.  The fact of the matter is that we put all of our trust and faith into doctors and hospitals.  We do not expect to come out of there with an illness that we didn't have when we first went in there because of  something that was overlooked! Casey is my everything, he is my world, and I care about his pain more than I care of my own!  Of course, people are entitled to their own opinions. If anyone disagrees with my thoughts and opinions, please keep to yourself and do not attack me personally; as this is MY blog about MY opinions, MY thoughts, and MY feelings.  And if it seems I am whining; well, so be it!  After all we have been through, we definitely have room to whine!

STUPID CANCER/CHEMO

I AM GOING TO BLOG IN ALL CAPS TODAY BECAUSE I AM SO FRUSTRATED!!! MY HUSBAND CASEY HAS BEEN IN SO MUCH PAIN FOR SO LONG AND ALL BECAUSE HIS FIRST LIVER TRANSPLANT AT BAYLOR, WHICH BAYLOR IS SUPPOSED TO BE WELL KNOWN FOR, GOT SCREWED UP SOMEHOW!!!  THE LIVER DONOR THEY USED HAD  LUNG CANCER!!  THEREFORE, THE LUNG CANCER THAT HAD  METASTICIZED TO THE DONORS LIVER WAS "SOMEHOW" MISSED AND THEN TRANSPLANTED INTO POOR CASEY!!!  BECAUSE OF THIS, WE HAVE HAD TO ENDURE SO MUCH PAIN AND ANGUISH!  HE RECEIVED ANOTHER LIVER TRANSPLANT TO REMOVE THE CANCEROUS LIVER, BUT IS STILL HAVING TO GO THRU CHEMOTHERAPY!  BECAUSE OF THE CHEMO, HIS WOUND IS NOT HEALING.  HE HAS AN OPEN WOUND THAT IS AN OPEN INVITATION FOR INFECTION...ONLY TO CAUSE MORE PROBLEMS!!  BECAUSE HIS WOUND IS NOT HEALING QUICK ENOUGH, HE HAS DEVELOPED TWO HERNIAS WHICH ARE CAUSING HIM TO BE IN CONSTANT PAIN!!  BECAUSE OF THE MEDS HE IS TAKING AND THE EFFECTS OF THE CHEMO, HE  CANNOT SLEEP.  MY POOR HUBBY IS A MESS...HE IS IN PAIN, CAN'T SLEEP, HAS DARK CIRLCES UNDER HIS EYE, WALKS HUNCHED OVER...ALL THIS HAS NOT ONLY TAKEN A TOLL ON HIM BUT ON ME AS WELL!!  IT DEPRESSES ME TO SEE HIM IN SO MUCH PAIN...KNOWING THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT. AND  AS IF THAT IS NOT ENOUGH!  I STRESS OUT ABOUT HAVING TO PAY THE MEDICAL BILLS AND PRESECRIPTIONS AND COPAYS...IT SURE AS HELL IS NOT BAYLOR...WHO PUT US IN THIS SITUATION IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!! 

The "Murse" is Back!

The man purse is back in Casey's wardrobe!  He went back to the wound specialist today.  The top of his wound is just not closing up!  It looks disgusting!  The doctor scraped all sorts of dead tissue out of there and recommended the wound vac be put back on! :-(  Casey was not a happy camper!

This whole day sucked!!!  It started off rushed and then just got worse and worse!  Casey's lab appt ran about an hour late, then the stupid Craigslist people we were waiting for never came and wanted us to come to them!  WTF?  I have never heard of someone asking you to deliver something bought off Craigslist!  Someone even wanted us to go all the way to Ft. Worth!  It would cost us more in gas to go all the way over there than the thing was worth!!  Ugh!  I'm so tired of people!  That is not even why our day was so bad...but that is a whole other blog!

Casey is still in constant pain from his hernias.  They can't do anything about them until after his last chemo next month. (He has a chemo treatment tomorrow.) All he can do is take a pain pill when the pain becomes unbearable.  Poor guy walks hunched over! :-(  Please keep him in your prayers!

Casey Can't Win For Losing!

Casey had been in pain around his incision area for a couple of weeks.  We thought it was just because of the muscle not being healed up yet...but turns out he has two hernias!  During his weekly visit to the wound clinic, the doctors took a close look at it and decided to send him to get a CT scan done.  In order to do this, they had to remove the Wound VAC.  Casey was so excited to get rid of the murse (man purse)!!!  Doctors said that the wound was looking a lot better so he may not have to have the Wound Vac put back on.  But the wound is looking pretty nasty this morning so the murse may have to be a part of his wardrobe for a little while longer!

As for the hernias, they are small according to the CT Scan.  Doctors will not begin to deal with them until he has finished all his chemo treatments.  So he has to be in pain until next month sometime!!  Pain killers dull the pain but not enough to go on with his normal daily activities.  My poor hubby, he can't win for losing!  It's always one thing or another!  Please keep him in your daily prayers!

UPDATE...OVERDUE

So sorry you guys, I am well OVERDUE for an update!!!  (Much like with our bills) LOL! Last I blogged Casey had just had his 2nd liver transplant and all the doctors were ooo'ing and ahhhh'ing about how well Casey looked right after surgery and how quickly he recovered!  It was like no big thang to him...that's how he rolls!  Been there...done that!  We both knew what to expect and we both  knew that everything would be alright!  Dr. C, his surgeon, is an awesome doctor and I put all my faith and trust in him.

Casey has been doing very well, as far as recovering from the transplant.  Since this was not his first rodeo, this cowboy rode this out like a champ!  He had to go to Liver Clinic twice a week and will be released this Friday!  Being released means that he won't have to go back to the Liver Clinic until his one year anniversary!!  Hopefully his new 16 year old liver will be a very promising liver and we will be able to get back to a normal life again and take up where we left off on starting our own family!! He had to have two chemotherapy sessions as a precaution in case there were still microscopic cancer cells in his blood stream.  During his recent visist with his Oncologist, we found out that he will need two additional sessions due to bloodwork still showing there are cancer proteins in his body. :o(  The actual process of chemotherapy is not the bad thing...its the side effects!  He feels so fatigued, his joints ache, and he becomes nauseated.  Not to mention, his hair falls out and he breaks out all over his upper body.  But better safe than sorry! :-)

Because of Casey's ongoing dose of immuno-suppressive medications and his two rounds of chemotherapy before and after surgery, his Mercedes Benz shaped incision is not healing very quickly.  :-( (That is as close as we will ever come to a Mercedes Benz Emblem!  LOL!)  Since his incision was not healing quick enough, they had to apply a Wound VAC to it.  This is very interesting...for those of you who have never heard of a Wound VAC, google it.  It blew my mind!  It is a device that uses negative pressure to promote healing in the open area. It is used by forming an airtight seal over the area and "sucking" all the drainage out and pulling new tissue to the top.  He basically has a tube sticking out of him in the incision area which is conncected to the actual Wound VAC which he carries around in a pouch...much like the satchel that Alan carries in the Hangover!  LOL!  It is working slowly but surely.  He has to get the packing and tubing removed and replaced twice a week.  It is such an expensive hassle driving to and from Baylor- Dallas!  If I ever see another hospital again...it will be too soon!!!  During Casey's healing process, liver clinics, wound clinics, chemo therapy...I had the additional worry of my brother and sister being in the hospital!  My sister donated a much needed kidney to my brother!!!  Both brother and sister are doing fine...but had their share of complications! But that's a totally different blog!  ;o)

What doesn't kill us makes us stronger

I'm taking a break from catching up on blogs from Casey's 2nd transplant to blog about something that Casey asked me yesterday that I will never ever forget.  He was just sitting in his favorite chair; I could tell he was thinking about something very profound.  He asks me out of nowhere, "Baby, do you think there is something really important that I have to do in life?  I mean, why else would God give me a second and then a third chance to live?  If there wasn't something really really important that I needed to accomplish, then God would have taken me the first time my liver failed."  He says he is going to work on figuring out what it is that he needs to accomplish to make this world a better place.  I'm sure God has a very special plan for him. He deserves the best life ever!

I have always wanted children so I told him that it was not his time to go because he still needs to father my baby! ;-) He had a vasectomy during his first marriage.  We had begun to talk about a reversal before he got sick the first time.  After he got sick, the thought of having that procedure done had to be put on hold for at least one year after his transplant.  One year after his transplant is when he found out that he had cancer and needed another transplant...so the reversal must be put on hold yet again for at least another year! He says, "Maybe that's it...maybe we are supposed to have a baby who will grow up to be very important to the world...like the one who finds the cure for cancer!!"

God tests us in so many ways.  What doesn't kill us makes us stronger.  Regardless if God has a really important plan for Casey, the most important thing is that we have both changed from this experience and learned so much!!  We have grown closer and have taken our relationship to a level that most couples never experience!

MUCH NEEDED UPDATE: THIRD LIVER IS A CHARM

For those of you that know us really well already know that we finally did get "the call" that we had been waiting for!  Due to all the stress and mayhem, I have not really felt like blogging in a long long while! I apologize to those of you who have been following my blogs!  Of course for those of you who are on my Facebook, you had been getting updates frequently!

Let me start all the way back when we got the much anticipated call.  It is all a blur right now, but I think I can mamage to remember the most important highlights! On Friday, January 29, 2010, Casey got a call from Baylor Transplant services during the early part of the day.  We were both at work and really were not expecting to get this call since it had been almost a month since the last false alarm.  Transplant services informed Casey that he was YET AGAIN a back up for a liver that had come up!  WTF, he was a back up the last time he was called and was told that he would be NEXT on the list!!  The reason he was a back up this time was because the liver was coming from a 16 year old boy.  There was a pediatric patient that was ahead of Casey on the list.  Since this was a young boy, they must consider the needs of a child first.  The only concern was the liver was too large for the pediatric patient and it would have to be cut in half.   The committee had to make the decision to either cut the liver in half or give the whole to Casey.  It was hours and hours before we got a return call.  It was around 9:45 pm when transplant services contacted Casey and said they were still up in the air with the decision...and not even a minute later, the same transplant nurse called right back and said the liver was his!!!!  Talk about relief and excitement!!!!  We had not anticipated this call so we were not very prepared.  We had not packed, it was a kid weekend so we had the kids that night, and we had not found a dog sitter for our dogs!  But not to worry!  The kids' mom was very prompt to come pick them up and since it was really late, it was bedtime for the dogs anyway.  I decided I would just leave the dogs at home and come back home in the morning to let them out, feed them, find a sitter, and shower and change.  Dogs are just like kids!  I was so worried about them!!

We headed toward Baylor Hospital in Dallas around 10:30 pm.  We had to be there by 11:45 pm.  It was smooth sailing and thought we would get there early...WRONG!!!!!  Once we got to I-75, there was a traffic jam!!  Why in the world would there be a traffic jam at this hour?!  Turns out there were two accidents up ahead and it was down to one lane!!!  It took us about 30 minutes to get to our exit which was only a mile ahead!!!  No worries...we made it right on time!  We were there on time, but ended up having to wait hours and hours before Casey went into surgery.  Surgery was set for 5:00 am Saturday morning.  The 2nd time around was not as stressful and hectic as the first time.  There were very few doctors and nurses coming in and out of his room; no research nurses bombarded him with questions. The few doctors that did come to see him were very excited and eager to get the surgery started!  It seems that Casey is a really big deal around Baylor Hospital!!  No one has ever been through what he has been through and the doctors are just flabergasted with his story!  One of the doctors did have a good talk with us regarding Casey's cancer situation.  He told us that if once they got Casey opened up and they saw the cancer had spread, they were going to have to sew him back up and cancel the transplant!  They cannot do a transplant if the cancer has spread outside of the liver.  Several tests pointed towards the cancer not having spread...but it had been a month since any tests had been done.  I was so scared!!!  I have never prayed so much in my life!!!  After Casey finished filling out all the paperwork, we took naps until 5:00 am.  The clock struck 5:00 am, but no one had come to get Casey.  He wasn't even rolled into the O.R. until about 6:30 am!!  His mom and I waited in the pre-op room with him for about 30 minutes and then he was rolled away for surgery!!!

After his mom and I ate breakfast, I drove home to shower and let the dogs out and find sitters.  I was hoping not to get a call in a few minutes to inform me that they were going to have to cancel the surgery.  But several hours later, no call.  No news is certainly good news!!!  After several hours later, one of the surgeons notified his mom that everything was going great and they found no traces of cancer outside of the liver!!!  They had gone ahead with the transplant!!!!  Hallelujah!!!!!!

The surgery took about 5 hours.  He did very very well!!!!  He was in ICU for one day only and then was placed in his own room the following day!!!  All the doctors and nurses were so amazed at his progress!!!  He would tell them, "That's how I roll!"  His oncologist who was so pessimistic in the beginning was now calling him a STUD! LOL!  The 16 year old liver probably had alot to do with how soon he bounced back...as well as Casey's optimisitic attitude throughout this ordeal!!  God bless the family of the donor!!  The saying "third time is a charm" is certainly true...except in our case it's "third liver is a charm!"

Stay tuned for a continuation of his update!

MORE GOOD NEWS

I really need to be a lot better in updating my blog daily or at least every other day.  I feel like so much has transpired since I  last posted on 12/28/09.  We are now well into the New Year of 2010 and we have received very good news and have had some concerns which have been addressed.

I will start off with what transpired New Year's Eve.  We were both off that day and slept in late.  Casey was still hurting from having had his wisdom teeth pulled over a week ago.  I failed to post about this and I can't imagine why because it made me so mad!  He went in to get checked and the nurse told him he DID NOT have dry socket and just prescribed him some muscle relaxers because she said he was clenching too much!!  Thank God the actual Doctor called him back the next day before we paid for the prescription.  He was concerned with what the Nurse had told him and how he said he felt, so he told him to come back into the office free of charge so he could take a look. (He wasn't in the office when Casey went in the first time.)  IT TURNS OUT HE DID HAVE DRY SOCKET!  Stupid Nurse!!  So they  packed it with medicated gauze and told him he should feel relief in about 30 minutes.  He felt better but it still hurt bad.  But we have to take into consideration that Casey is taking anti-rejection medication, two different kinds at that.  These anti-rejection meds lower his immune system so that his body won't try to reject the foreign object in his body (the donor liver).  So the common cold, flu, sinus infection, etc...takes twice as long if not longer to get better.  Thus, why the healing of having his wisdom teeth removed is taking so long.  The pain is much more manageable now than it was.

Ok, back to New Year's Eve.  We were off because we were going to Round Rock to visit my sisters and spend the New Year's holiday with my family.  Casey was still in pain so she slept a little longer.  When he finally woke up, we finished packing and headed on our way...South Bound I-35!  I was so anxious to see my family!  I drove and let Casey sleep some more.  He practically slept the whole way there!  We left around 12:30 and got there a little before 4pm.  We had been there maybe an hour or two when we got a call from Casey's transplant coordinator.  She stated that since Casey was so high up on the transplant list that we should be prepared for a call anytime now!  Being that it was NY Eve weekend and many accidents happen, it was a good time to be prepared and stand closely by the phone.  OMG!!  That was awesome news!  But wait!  We are in Round Rock at the moment...that's 3.5 hours away from home!  Do we need to drive back home or should we wait and just leave the next day?!  We were at odds.  So we called the coordinator back and asked her what the time frame was.  She said IF we got the call that we would have up to 6 hours to get to the hospital!  Ok, great...so we can just continue to visit with my family and just haul butt home when we get the call.  No call on NY EVE! :o(  Oh well, at least we got to enjoy the night.

But wouldn't you know, we got a call the very next day in the evening hours!!!  I couldnt believe it!  BUT, Casey was only a back up.  They wanted us to be prepared anyway because they were fairly certain that the patient in front of Casey on the list was not going to be a match.  So, we hauled butt home on a Friday night!  We were told we would get a call by 2am Saturday.  No call... But we did get a call later that morning that they were still testing the patient and liver and we would know if it was a match by 1pm.  We waited for a call...but nothing.  It was very bad news for Casey but great news for the person who received the liver who obviously needed it more or he would not have been higher up on the list.  We just looked on the bright side, at least we know that Casey is next on the list.  It could be as early as this week!!

As all this is going on, I am feeling a little concerned with Casey. He had been talking nonsense, jibberish, hallucinating and saying off the wall things while napping, sleeping, and when he would wake up.  This happened Friday through Sunday.  I dismissed it because it only happened when he was napping or sleeping or coming out of a deep sleep.  BUT, when I found out that he did it at work on Monday I was REALLY concerned!  I contacted his doctor and he had me take him into the liver clinic yesterday.  He had blood work drawn and then had to see one of the Liver Transplant coordinators and doctor.  All his blood work came out normal but my concerns also concerned the doctor and he sent him to get his ammonia level tested and to get an MRI done on his head. A high ammonia level is caused by a failing liver so we were certain that his level was probably elevated and thats what was causing his hallucinations.  Later that day as we were driving home from the longest day ever, we were called with the ammonia level results.  It was normal!  YAY!  But wait, if its normal, then that means something could be wrong in his brain!  Ugh!  What now?!  I was stressed and worried all night!!  Earlier this morning Casey was called with the MRI results.  It was normal!!!  He does have a brain and his brain is working just fine!!  The doctor thinks that sleep deprivation could be a possible culprit!  He has not slept well in weeks due to the pain in his mouth from the wisdom teeth removal.

So we are back to being A-OK and waiting for "the call."