Hello all, Becca, Hilary’s sister with an update:
Hilary is still in the hospital at St David’s central in Austin and we had all hoped that she would be headed home at this point, but alas we are headed for more surgery tomorrow.
Her bilirubin levels are not going down and in fact rose a little yesterday. She has a lovely yellow twinkle in her eye and jaundice tinge, so we need to change things up a bit to get her back to normal. The Drs had hoped that putting in the drain would bring the bilirubin levels down and do the trick but this does not seem to be the case. So the next course of action is to do an ERCP with Dr. Harish Gagneja, who Steven says is “very smart, a thinking GI MD, and very capable”. This will happen at noon tomorrow, Wed. August 26th.
from the Web:
ERCP (Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio-Pancreatography) is a procedure that enables your physician to examine the pancreatic and bile ducts. A bendable, lighted tube (endoscope) about the thickness of your index finger is placed through your mouth and into your stomach and first part of the small intestine (duodenum). In the duodenum a small opening is identified (ampulla) and a small plastic tube (cannula) is passed through the endoscope and into this opening. Dye (contrast material) is injected and X-rays are taken to study the ducts of the pancreas and liver. ERCP is most commonly performed to diagnose conditions of the pancreas or bile ducts, and is also used to treat those conditions. It is used to evaluate symptoms suggestive of disease in these organs, or to further clarify abnormal results from blood tests or imaging tests such as ultrasound or CT scan. The most common reasons to do ERCP include abdominal pain, weight loss, jaundice (yellowing of the skin), or an ultrasound or CT scan that shows stones or a mass in these organs.
Dr. Declan Fleming, who is a surgeon and helped her early on, and she really trusts, was the one who recommended the ERCP. He was at the hospital when I was there today and extremely nice and caring person. He also gave her the option of another procedure, I did not hear all of this conversation but he was leaning towards this one and said it she were his wife this would be what her would want her to do. He even picked up his phone and spoke directly to Dr. Gagneja and told him to come visit Hilary today and if Hilary was comfortable to go ahead and set up the surgery. Amazing what Drs can actually make happen when they talk to each other directly! When they go in to do the ERCP then will also put in a temporary stent to help keep the bile duct open. This will stay in for a few weeks and then is removed. Dr. Fleming has also been in touch with Dr. Curley so everyone is in the loop.
I just got off the phone with my dear sis (9:30pm tonight) and she sounded great! She is a wonderful advocate for herself when she really needs something and called her acupuncturist Michelle, from Sage Acupunture, to come to the hospital to do help relieve her headache and get her in gear for surgery tomorrow. Thank you Michelle for working your magic. When I last saw Hills at 1:30pm today her headache was really setting in and she just texted me a picture, post massage and shower, and seriously looked like she was at the spa! It is truly amazing what body work can do to transform a person both physically and mentally. This was exactly what Hilary needed.
She met with Dr. Gagneja earlier today and said she feels really good about him, really liked his personality and he knows and has worked with Dr. Curley. So she is in great hands for surgery tomorrow. My sister is truly blessed to have some many wonderful friends and family members who love her and give so freely. Thank you to everyone who has helped, offered to help, and continues to help – I’m too tired to name you all but you know who you are!
Hopefully, Hilary will be posting again soon, and I hope she tells of her experience doing energy work with a woman from California (via the phone last night) – Thank you Catherine for giving Hilary this gift.
That’s all I have from now. Nite, nite,
xo – becca