Deadlines and ER's and Biopsies, Oh My!

As many of you know, my mother has had some health problems over the last several years.  In fact, I think the only time I blog is when I need to update people about moms condition.  Well, about a month ago, my mom saw a nephrologist in Blanding, and he told her he was concerned about her liver.  So they ran tests, and of course they never called mom to give her the results.  I apologize to any that may read this that are big fans of UNHS’ nursing staff at the Blanding clinic; my opinion of them is not very high.  She was also told to make an appointment with a GI doc in St. George.  Shortly after the nephrology appointment her legs started to swell again and turned beet red.  She canceled her first appointment with Dr. Perino (the GI doc) and decided to reschedule at a time that she could see Dr. Assiago (the amazing nephrologist that saved her life before). 

But as her health became worse, we all became more concerned that she needed to get here sooner.  Finally, I called Grandma Palmer and asked her to have one of my cousins who is an RN go check her vitals (and I can not thank Sunny enough for doing so).  Her blood pressure was really high so Sunny asked her to come to the hospital the next day and have her BP taken again.  When mom went to the hospital the next day, Sunny took her blood pressure and went over and got my mom’s primary care doctor to come take a look at her.  It was determined that she needed to drive to St. George immediately and go to the ER where they would be better equipped to help her.  So mom and dad went home and for the first time in nearly 19 years made the decision to not publish a newspaper that week, or in the weeks to come until they knew what was going on.  They loaded up the car and drove to St. George. 

Since the most recent edition of the Panorama was published, my parents have been to the ER on St. George, told there was nothing wrong with my mom, sent back to Cedar, sent back to St. George for an appointment with a different doctor than she normally sees, told there was nothing wrong with her, sent back to Cedar.  Finally, she was able to see Dr. Perino and Dr. Assiago, and they both agreed that there was definitely something wrong with her.  They did a biopsy on her liver, and ran more tests. 

One of the tests came back positive for ANCA vasulitis (according to Dr. Assiago, this test NEVER comes back positive).  Dr. Assiago is referring her to the Vasculitis center at the University of Utah to hopefully find a treatment plan to help her regain some health.  However, he told her that although she may be able to go back to work eventually, she will never be able to do a job that requires her to be meticulous again.  She is scheduled to go to the U on December 17 (hopefully sooner if there are cancelations).  We will hopefully have the results of the liver biopsy back this week.  Mom is doing ok, but it’s a lot to take in, especially if the liver biopsy comes back really negative.  It’s hard to accept that you can’t keep doing what you love to do; in mom’s case she loves to work. 

Now, while all of this was going on, Cameron and I convinced my dad to get a second opinion on his back.  Our bishop’s daughter is a PA for Dr. Reichmann in Provo, so we sent her dad’s MRI and she called the day she looked at them and told him that he absolutely needed surgery and that they wanted to get him in before Thanksgiving.  We are so grateful for that.  It has been very difficult for dad to do anything because he never knows when his legs will go numb.  He will be meeting with them in a week and hopefully he will have surgery in the next couple of weeks.

It has been an extremely difficult month to say the least.  There is so much that we still don’t, and won’t know for the next month or so.  The most pressing concern has been what is going to happen to the paper.  Mom would like to try to keep it going for a while, just until they can pay off some of the medical bills, but dad would love to walk away and get closer to his family in Vegas and good medical care.  I think it is hard for all of us to think about walking away from a business that has been such a huge part of our lives. 

When I was in high school, a column ran in the Salt Lake Tribune by Robert Kirby about all the reasons his daughter thought it sucked to be Robert Kirby’s daughter.  I could relate to everything that she said.  It was rough to be a newspaper mans daughter while I was in high school.   Although I can’t recall all of the reasons that she listed, I remember that I could empathize with each and every one of them.That being said, I in no way thought it sucked to be a newspaper mans daughter. 

Sure it was a little embarrassing to have my dad be everywhere all the time, but that was the job, and I understood that.  As I have gotten older and gone into the “real world” I have come to the realization that my parents are absolutely incredible.  Most Newspapers have a full staff of writers, photographers, salespeople, and designers; the Panorama has always had a staff of two and some amazing community members that have been willing to write columns and news stories for us. 

 

Now Dad will try to tell you that my Mom is the backbone of the paper, but I believe that my Dad doesn’t give himself enough credit.  But we all see and know how hard he works, and in my opinion he is superman.

 

I have watched him for 18 years as he has covered the news for this community, and for 18 years he has put this community before everything.  Covering the news came before friends, family and often times health.  He has done everything in his power to make sure that every event was covered, that every sporting event had pictures and that every opinion has been heard.  We had never missed a deadline, until October 2012.

The next month or so will be interesting.  As we try to sort out what is going on with the paper and my parents health, I would just like to thank all those that have shown concern for my parents.  It’s nice to know that people care.  Please be patient as we sort this all out.  Thank your for your prayers and support.