One Day at a Time

I have been through a lot these past ten weeks, more then I can ever describe. I know many of you have been checking my website diligently looking for some kind of update. I am so sorry for the delay. It has been difficult for me but now I am doing so much better!

I will start from my kidney infection so you know what has transpired over the past month. . . A few days after I got home from the hospital I started throwing up. I could not keep anything down for two days so they made me come back to the hospital. They hooked me up to an IV and gave me some anti-nausea medicine and ran some tests. I felt better after a couple days and was able to keep food down so they sent me back home thinking the antibiotics I was taking caused the vomiting. Everything seemed fine for a couple days until I started throwing up again. This time was worse because I couldn't even keep fluids down. It was back to the hospital for more tests.

My second trip to the hospital for vomiting was much like the first. They ran a bunch of tests but couldn't find anything wrong with me. Just as they were about to send me home I began getting dizzy and threw up. They decided to run more tests which included a cat scan. After looking at the results from the cat scan they ordered an MRI. The MRI revealed a possible bone infection. They immediately put me on IV antibiotics. I had to do one more test which was an isotope test. They take some blood and add radioactive isotopes to the white blood cells then put it back into my blood stream. If there is an infection the white blood cells go to that area and they can see them!

My results didn't show an infection but all of the doctors still believed there was one. They felt that maybe they detected it so early that the test was inconclusive. I finally made it home last week but I am hooked up to an IV that distributes my antibiotic all day long. It is hooked up to a pick-line in my arm. Oh yeah . . . I still have a JP drain and a kidney drain. I have tubes running out of me from every direction. To make things worse they get tangled up all the time. I have to wear shirts that can slide over the machine that gives me the antibiotics because we can't really unhook it whenever. Every night Courtney has to hook up a new antibiotic bag making sure he doesn't have any air bubbles and also making sure he flushes my line with saline and heparin. He has to wear gloves and clean everything with alcohol swabs. He is a regular nurse! I also have a home care nurse that comes once a week to draw blood and clean my line.

Besides all of that I am feeling pretty good. They have me on an anti-nausea medication called Zophran which is a dissolvable tablet that goes under my tongue twice a day. So far (cross your fingers and pray) it has been helping me! I am happy to say I am keeping my food down and not feeling dizzy! I am walking twice a day, a mile in the morning and half a mile in the evening with my walker. I joke with my family by saying "Who is going to walk me today!" I am almost ready to start physical therapy. In fact I think I will be starting next week. The only depressing thing is that it takes me about 45 minutes to walk a mile and I used to be able to run a 5 minute mile!

I am getting around places like Costco and Wal-Mart by using the motorized carts. It is kind of fun. If I tried to walk it would take me hours to shop. But I do get tired really easy and it can hit me quickly so we have to be careful about how much I can do. Sometimes I get nauseous if I do too much which is why it has taken me so long to get this update. I get sick if I am on the computer too long! I hope they can figure out what is making me sick because it is not fun when you can't keep food down or feeling dizzy typing on the computer!

I still need help getting in and out of bed. I need help getting things to eat. I have not taken a shower since my surgery on July 14^th! I have to wash my hair in the sink and then wash myself with a wash cloth. Thank goodness for action wipes because they have helped me feel fresh and clean with all of their products. And I still need help getting dressed. But I am happy to say I am doing more on my own. Right now it is about taking one day at a time.

It really has been rough. It seems like it is one thing after another. The worst part is that I CANNOT start chemo until I am healthy. All of these tubes have to be out of me and I have to be well before I am cleared to start this aggressive form of chemo for six months. I pray that I don't get sick during the treatments because I have already been sick for so long. I also pray that I am strong enough to deal with it.

I was on the news today . . . Channel 58 and I had a chance to talk about the silent auction in Tahoe this weekend in my honor. I also had a chance to briefly talk bout what I have been going through. It was an honor to be there. Down the road Chris Riva (hopefully) will be doing a bigger segment on my story. Heck, I should be on Oprah talking about my ordeal!

I hope I have gotten you all up to date on things. I am super excited about going to Tahoe this weekend. I am so blessed to have so many people care about me. So many people have put so much into this silent auction. Jenny Smith (a fellow pro and friend) along with Janet Soule (a good friend) have really been working hard, not to mention all the pros and other people that have donated such cool items. I have been crying joyful tears over all the generosity. I hope it has a big turnout because so many have put so much into this. I feel like I should be doing something!

To find out more about the items up for auction go to www.supportjamiewhitmore.org There are a lot of really cool items like an Eli Manning signed jersey donated by Gatorade and a Specialized bike donated by none other then Ned Overend. If it wasn't a silent auction for me I would be going crazy over all this stuff! Just visit the website and you will see! And a huge thanks to Nikola for setting up the website!

Thank you for all of your prayers. Please don't stop I still have a long road ahead and I need them all!

Powered By God,

Jamie