Update from Springfield

Posted by Amy..but Jennifer typed this up last night for me. Samantha and I ran Leslie to Pana to meet BobbiJo so she could go home and be with McKenna. We didn't get back to the hotel until late last night and were completely beat..so Jen emailed me this to post for everyone this morning:

"Mom, Pat, Mimi, Sarah, Amy, Samantha, Leslie, and I all traveled to Springfield early this morning. Though mom's procedure was initially scheduled for noon, they pushed it back to 2:00 p.m. by the time we arrived (at 8:10 a.m.).  A CT Scan was performed after we talked to the doctor. The results of the scan revealed that Mom's clot encompasses both subclavian veins, a vein on the right side of her neck, and the vena cava to just above her heart.  Both of these (located in the upper chest on either side) veins merge with the other vein (I'm pretty sure it's the internal jugular) before dumping in the superior vena cava. They performed two catheterizations through her femoral artery (one catheter in each leg). One catheter was put in the right subclavian vein and one in the left. The catheters will release a 'clot buster' (thrombolytic drug) to try and break the clot into smaller pieces. They will remain in place until tomorrow between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. when they will do another CT scan and assess the situation. If the clots haven't improved much, they will either continue the clot buster meds or use a balloon catheter to aid in removing/decreasing the size of the clots. She will likely be in the hospital until Saturday, at this point. After the clots have been handled, a surgeon will remove her port. The hope of the doctors is that the port is removed ASAP, since it is the likely culprit of the clotting. The risks of the blood clots will continue until they are remedied and all procedures are over.

Last night she slept pretty well, though mostly in fits. Because she cannot move any muscles in her legs, she's completely stationary, lying on her back. She was having some aching in her back last night, but the nurse gave her some fentenol and Tylenol, and she slept most of the night.

We will post later today on her progress.

We can use all the prayers we can get."