Brenna

If you are reading this for the first time, please start at the bottom to read the beginning of Brenna's journey.

 

Entry from my journal in 2002:

 

Saturday, May 4^th, in the morning when the docs made their rounds, they were scratching their heads about it all when dad (totally inspired) requested that you be taken off all the meds they had you on. Dr. Maloney didn’t want to at first. But then he said, “If you are willing to help with her care while she comes down off all the meds, we’ll do it.” He meant if we were there to help hold you down while you thrashed. Of course we would! We have been there every hour since you were admitted. They couldn’t take you off the degadron (steroids) because they might be doing surgery for the tumor and it has to be taken down in lowered doses. And they couldn’t take you off Fentenyl because it is an addictive drug. They had to give you increasing doses of Methadone to reach the level of Fentenyl and then bring them both down together. I couldn’t believe it! They had turned my daughter into a drug addict! That Saturday afternoon, mom and dad had to coach soccer games for your brothers. Aunt Alicia who was in town from Lake Powell, and G’ma Joyce sat with you. Well, just after the games, we got a call from G’ma Joyce telling us you just had a seizure. They had tried to give you Ketamine, a pain killer, because you still had the ventilator tube in. You didn’t like that very much either and you had a mild seizure. It was just the tensing up kind. But that’s how we found out you were allergic to that drug.   The drug allergy list kept growing.

 

But you still had a ways to go to come down off the drugs. You still got agitated and threw some fits. Cory, your most awesome nurse, reminded me when mom was staying with you and you were very agitated and not having a good night. We both tried to calm you down by rubbing your head and your feet and playing music and reading to you and hugging you. Cory happened to pop in a Pokemon movie. Your eyes wandered over to the movie and they became glued to it. It calmed you down immensely. Mom took a snooze and Cory kept popping in the Pokemon movies. When the movie stopped, you started throwing a fit. So Cory had one movie rewinding so he could pop it in quick when the one you were watching ended. We had found a non-drug sedative!