Evening out

Seth is getting back to NORMAL finally. He went to school today until almost 11, then back down to my office and spent some time with the pastors and then home to rest for a bit before he went out on the town. He drove to the Rave Theater where he met with friends Cassie, Tarry and Ron. They watched a show and then had dinner together. He got home around 9:00. Wow it's great to have some normality to our lives. It's been a long time. We are thankful.
Please pray for Noah. He came home from work early with the flu. He is feeling terrible, running a fever etc. Please pray he will feel better tomorrow, and back to 100% very soon. Thanks, Love to all of you. Vic

Another Great Day!

Seth did school again today and then came down to my office and worked on some homework and hung out with some of the pastors. They even had him playing Scrabble at lunchtime. He actually had a FUN day. He hasn't had one of those in a LONG time. I think we are getting there. We are seeing a new area doctor on Tuesday and the in home nursing care ends tomorrow.

Banner Day!!!

Hi Everyone~ It has been a banner day for us. Seth went to school today for the first time!!! He got pretty tired, but blamed it on standing in line for 30 minutes holding his book bag to order his class ring. First of all he isn't suppose to even carry his bookbag (nothing over 5#'s). It is hard for him to get his books to school without it I suppose. Anyway he met with his Chemistry teacher 1st hour (her prep) and was tutored in Chemistry and second hour he met with the Math head and worked on his Adv. Alg. II. He came home 3rd hour. Tomorrow he said he will try to stay at school longer. They will have Chapel first thing in the morning and then have shortened periods. He amy make it until noon, we'll see. Thanks for the prayers always! Love Vic

Hi there all, I bet you thought we'd forgotten about you. that's not the case at all. We have been busy over the past few days. Seth went to church with us on Saturday night. It was great. He was definitly ready to go home afterwards though. In had hopes of stopping at the mall to pick up a few things for him since he's changed in weight so much. But no such luck. He wanted to go straight home. He had a quiet day at home on Sunday and planned to go to school this morning for 2 hours. Well that didn't happen. He woke and felt pretty lousy. Pain and sick to his stomach again. I was on the phone! We got him settled down and feeling pretty good by 10:00 he took an anti-nausea medication and I headed off to work. I just called to check on him and he is feeling bad again. I called the nurse and left a message. Hopefully she is going to see him today. He would like to try to go to school tomorrow now. Lets all pray he feels better! Please pray too for his energy level. He is still VERY fatigued. He should be doing better by now. It seemed like he was until last week when he had that Stoma obstruction issue. I know a lot of people who were praying has dropped off due to the low number of hits on this sight. So if you know someone who was and maybe has stopped please ask them to continue to pray for Seth. He is definity not out of the woods yet. And we have another surgery coming up. He has to be in good shape to do it. Thanks so much. Love to All, Vickie

Another day over and it was a good one for Seth. He has been feeling great. We did have a disappointment though. The 2 teachers we were told that were going to come over and help Seth with 2 of his classes, just didn't show. We aren't sure what happened. We were told they would come after 11:30 and I called from work this afternoon to check on how things were going, and Seth said that they never came. ????? Maybe he can get some help from his friends over the weekend. We did have an offer from an older friend to help with his Chemistry. We'll see how the weekend goes. Well all for today. Good Night and until tomorrow "May God Bless You Abundantly". Love Vic

Hi All ~ Seth is doing great tonight. He ate Chicken Stir Fry for dinner and played a little Rock Band with his older brother Noah. Jeff played the last night of their Club Ball tonight and their team (Jeff & "Seth's) finished third in the league. They say it hasn't been the same without Seth the past month. I'm sure he will be back on the courts as soon as he can.
Seth is looking forward to tomorrow. He is going to get a little help with his Honors Chemistry class and his Adv. Algebra II. He is still thinking about trying to go back to class on Monday for a couple of hours. Hopefully the extra help will get him closer to his goal. It will still be quite a while before he can go for a full day. He still doesn't quite have the energy level he once did. Again thanks to everyone who prayed for Seth. He made a quick recovery just like we asked. Love to All, Vickie

Thanks Nardin~ I'll check into it. Is it a University of Iowa Hospital site?

Hey Nardin~ You have me intrigued. How did you find our blog. This is something that you have the same Dr. and hospital. Seth is better but dehydrated. He is drinking a lot. What is a Carepage? Thanks, Vickie

Hi, well it's a new day! Seth finally settled down and slept from around 12:30 A until 12:00 noon today. I checked on him often. At 5:00A he said his pain was at about a 3 and now it is at o. I seriously believe he had an obstruction. Our prayers were totally answered. Thanks Warriors.
His nurse Nancy just left, and said she'll be back on Friday. Seth weighed in at 137.5 yesterday and after the day and night he had, he is coming in at 127.5! Seriously I don't know how this is possible. We weighed him 4 times and it read the same. We definitely have a hydration problem here. It's ok we're on it. He just took more meds, and is drinking OJ and water. I'll push them all day. May have to run out and get a little Powerade or Gatorade. He said he feels fine, just a little shaky. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again, Vickie

Hi All, We're here and asking for prayer. Seth went out for a post op at Iowa City today. He saw Dr. Bishop (GI) and Dr. Shilyanski (surgeon). He got a good report. All went great and we went to Chili's for some lunch and headed home. Seth started not feeling well in the car and by the time we got home he was really sick! He is suffering with a lot of pain in his stomach. I asked him on a scale of 0-10 and he says it is an 8. He started vomiting this evening and can't quit. I called Iowa and talked with Dr. Chad Laurich (Sr. Surgical Peds Resident) He took care of Seth while in the hospital. He has called in an anti nausea med at CVS and I picked it up and gave it to Seth at 10:30 tonight. If it doesn't stay down we have been directed to go to OSF for an evaluation, IV's for nausea and hydration and xrays to check for an obstruction. Please pray that the pain will stop the meds will work and he will get some rest and be totally fine in the morning. I'm worried and I don't usually say that. I'll keep you all posted. Please spread the word because most people have stopped checking the blog. Thanks, love you all. Vic
Ps. Hi to nardin!

Hi There, Well we had another banner day. Today was the first day Seth had gotten out to go anyplace since he went into the hospital 15 days ago. It was a pretty day and I had made a hair appointment for him at a salon in Peoria Heights at 11:15, (he hadn't had a hair cut in almost 3 months, yikes). He got his cut, it looks fantastic, then stopped by the school to get some more of his books from his locker. We saw Mrs. Bachman (always a pleasure) and Adam in the hallway. We got the books and then Seth wanted to talk to Mr. Varner for a minute about Scholastic Bowl, and on the way out we waved at Mrs. Lyon and Mr. Baker. It did Seth good to see everyone. :) Our nest stop was the Middle School to return some dishes to Maria Bosma. Maria and her family prepared dinner for us on Monday, it was great. We then stopped at the Dream Center so I could get some addresses from Ashley at Riverside. We saw a lot of friends and staff there and we weren't done yet, no, we went to lunch together for Valentines Day. It was Seth's choice, and we went to Ming's in East Peoria. 3 1/2 hours later and we were home where Seth went straight to his room to rest and read a book. He did great and enjoyed his time out but was very tired. Seth's nurse came today for the last time. She said he's doing fine and it will take a long time to get back to normal.
We will go back out to Iowa City very early Tuesday morning and will spend the entire day at the hospital seeing doctors, surgeons and having tests done. Next Wednesday will definitely be another rest day. Seth had talked about trying to go to school next Thursday and Friday but we looked at the calendar and realized there is no school those days. He will try to go for a few hours in the morning the next Monday. It will only have been 3 1/2 weeks since his surgery, and the doctors wrote the request for a tutor for 6-8 weeks. We'll see what the doctors say when we go out on the 19th.
I want to say to those of you who have been preparing meals for us, YOU ARE FANTASTIC! Our entire family has been ministered to in ways you will never know. We come together over these meals with such thankfulness for you. You are incredible! Our son Noah has been joining us, and he is loving it. He is a single guy and can cook, but he says nothing like these ladies...you're tops!. Happy Valentines Day to everyone. Please keep posting comments, we are checking them several times a day. Love, Vickie

When I said it was just about this time below, don't go by the clockon the blog, it is really 10:35 PM. Good Night All.

Hi, well Wednesday is almost over and we have hit the 2 week marker for Seth. It was 2 weeks ago today that Seth had his surgery, and at about this time we were just getting him to his room since he had gone into surgery that morning at 7:30 . WOW, God has brought us a long way, has He not? Isn't it just incredible to see where we were and where we are today? We just finished a great visit with Tarry Lance a friend and Youth Leader of Seth's from Riverside. Tarry works at the Dream Center and is an amazing person. We laughed together with her for hours. How different things are in just a matter of a few days! Seth looks great and feels great, and we all know that it is, was and will always be because of God. We Thank Him and Praise Him for what He is doing in and through Seth. The testimonies of how this experience has touched the lives of so many people would bring tears to your eyes. As Pastor John King said as he stood in the doorway of Seth's hospital room just 2 years ago, "I am so excited to see what and who God is making you out to be Seth". Amen. As I think back at what Seth has gone through and at how many times the enemy has tried to take Seth out and God said "NO, He's mine". Wow, what an Awesome God We Serve.
I will end the night with telling you that Seth has gained 8.5 pounds since coming home from the hospital, that is in just 6 days. Makes you look forward to tomorrow! With Love ~ The Eubank's

Hi, OK so I haven't forgotten about all of you out there in Bloggerland. I seem to be distracted with nursing, homemaking, laundry duties and cooking (although very little of that except for tring to keep up with the new appetite Seth has just developed).
Our patient is just doing great. His nurse was here yesterday and today and says she'll see us Thursday for the last time. She says we don't need her!
He really has an appetite now and it eating everything. He had a bedtime snack of Salsa & Chips and a Golden Delicious Apple! He had Spaghetti with meat sauce for lunch yesterday and a Canadian Bacon Pizza today for lunch. I think he is definitely on the mend. He entertaining the thought of maybe trying to go to school for and hour or two toward the end of next week. We'll see. The doctors have requested a tutor for 6-8 weeks! I think he is pushing it. Speaking of tutors, we don't have one yet???? PCS is working on it. There has been some confusion, and the schools are working it all out for us.
I had mentioned that Seth had lost 20 pounds over his 9 day stay in the hospital. He's been home for 5 days and has gained 4 1/2 pounds of it back. Whoo Hoo!
Well I have to run my dryer is called my name. I'll try to do better about blogging. Until next time...Seth and Vickie

Ok so now they are really Rockin' out. This morning Naoh and Seth were playing Guitar Hero and it just wasn't enough for 'em. Noah went out and got Seth the Rock Band. Now everybodys in on the action. They set it up in the basement and Seth's Pastor, Aaron joined in on Bass, Noah is one drums and Seth on Guitar. Nick is the audience. They tried to convince him to be the lead singer and Tamborine and he declined. It is so good to be home with all our guys!

Good Morning. It has been a very busy morning so far. Seth's nurse came at 9:20 and stayed until 11:00. She said everything looks Excellent! She will be back on Monday afternoon. We were hoping to get the tutor started on Monday too, but we have had some set backs there. Michelle Morgan at PCS is working on it for us.
Seth is feeling good. He is happy to have his 2 older brothers here to entertain him. Noah is in there playing Guitar Hero with him. The two of them are too competitive, really all three of the boys are, they totally get it from their dad.
Seth is tolerating new foods pretty well. He is still on anything that is white in color ie. chicken breast, pasta, noodles, mashed potatoes etc. His foods with color only include different colored sherbets! He likes push ups.
For those of you who knew Nick had a home for sale on Marlene, it sold and the closing will be Feb. 29th. Praise God. Jeff & Nick are going over there today to start moving things to Noah's house. Nick will be moving in with him. It will be a nice set up for both of them. Noah has a 4 bedroom house in Hickory Groves Subdivision. One bedroom and bath are in the basement. That's where Nick will be and that way he'll still have privacy and so will Noah. In time they plan to finish the basement and put Noah Gigantic TV down there. Nick will enjoy that.
If you are in the area anytime, give us a call and stop in. We'd love to see you. Vic

Hi. Well we both had a lot better nights sleep than we'd had the past 9 days! It is so good to be home. I ran out this morning and got all Seth's med's. He took them and has have breakfast and lunch and by the looks of him he needs a nap. He looks exhausted. He has to weigh himself everyday and take his temp everyday and the same time to watch his hydration. We were both shocked this morning when we saw he has lost 20 pounds over the past 9 days. Seth didn't have anything to lose to begin with. I think I found the 20 lbs! The hospital food was awful and just sitting certainly didn't burn any off. Oh well spring is just around the corner and I'll walk it off later. My job now is to take care of Seth.
We will go back out to the hospital in a couple of weeks. Seth will have some extensive testing done at that time to look at the re constructive surgery. We will probably get the next surgery date then too.
Won't we all be glad when this is over for Seth. He is starting to say "I wish I'd never... and I wish I'd never..." God will bring him through this and God will be glorified it. Amen.
All because of eating some food that wasn't cook all the way, his life will forever be changed.

Hello Illinois! We are home. Jeff met Brian, Seth and I at the Arkon Grain Elevator just off I74 at the IL Rt. 78 exit. We hopped into our car and made the final leg home. We got in at around 10:00 PM. To greet us were Nick, Carla and Keenan. Carla had a basket on the counter full of beautiful bottles for me that all had a label on them that read "Sleep" from Bath & Body Works, and a beautiful bouquet of flowers and big ole balloon for Seth that read "Welcome Home". You guys are great.
My house was all sparkling clean, even the bed sheets 'cause Karen & Debbie had spent the day cleaning for us. Karen even had dinner prepared and in the fridge. WOW! You guys are all too much. We don't deserve this kind of treatment!!! We are moved to tears. We love you all very much. I can't tell you how much it has meant to all of us that you chose to be on this journey with us. Your prayers, concern, outpouring of love is indescribable. We will forever be changed because of YOU.
I'll sign on in the morning and give you the latest, and what we have ahead of us. Good night all. Love V & S

Seth got a few stitches taken out and is in the shower. I am going to order some dinner for him too before we go.
Susan ~ He thought Best Buy would be a nice store. :) Something to pass the time during those long days before he can go back to school. Thanks

WoooooHoooo!! They just came in and told us we can go home. I called Brian and he will be in the van in 5 minutes heading for Iowa City Hospital. He'll be here is about 2 1/2 hours. We are already packed. It gives Seth enough time to finish his second of three Lord of the Rings movies, hit the shower that he has put off doing all day, and have some dinner. Oh man are our own beds gonna feel good tonight :)

They are watching the output of Seth's system. His volume is too high. The function of the Large Intestine was to absorb water, now that he doesn't have one (LI) he is at risk of dehydration.
They are trying to slow down the output, thus take away some of the risk. Drinking water can help, and that's all he drinks, but it's not enough. He can only tolerate so much water by mouth too, the IV's were helping to keep him hydrated before.

Thanks Sue, that's sooo true. :)

We were told by Seth's nurse that everything was a go. We were heading out of here. I called good friends Brian & Marilyn Ely who had offered to drive us home, and made arrangements for them to head this way. Now Liz (nurse) came in and told us they are going to hold off and watch somethings today, and we'll see. Talk about :( Disappointment :( We'll let you know as soon as we have signed papers in hand.

Good Morning ~ It's a little before 8 AM and the first wave of doctors have come through. The big guy will be in later. He will be the one to discharge Seth from the hospital if it's going to be today. You guys will be the first to know. All some 100+ of you. Hasn't this been great? The blog I mean. Just think 11 weeks and we will be back here again. *?*!*Sigh*?*!* We are so ready to go home. My back is breaking into. I'm calling Dr. Kaufamn today. Bye.

hey this is seth. just thought i would say hi and end the day letting you all know im doing well. i've watched all three back to the futures today and i am about ready to go to sleep. i just wanted to thank you all for the prayers and entertaining me with your posts on here. well hopefully i will be coming home tomorrow and i might see you all soon.

We are having a blast reading all the comments on our "trip".

Ruthi ~ Aruba sounds fantastic. We don't have our passports :(

I just talked to a nurse. She said they have 13-14 inches of snow in Cedar Rapids. Yikes. How much do we have back there? Is the snow suppose to continue there? Ruthi said the Stark County Roads are closed and the winds are high.
Seth and I have made a very important decision about our immediate future. This is the plan: If the doctors release Seth tommorow and the weather looks too dangerous to drive back to Peoria, then we will call a cab and have them take us to the airport.
We have a dear, dear friend Tammi, who is a travel agent for AAA. We need her to book 2 round trip tickets to Hawaii (the only place we know for sure that is a constant 78-80 degrees year round). We already have our suitcases here, packed. We can buy sunscreen after we get there. It's ok honey I have the VISA. We will stay 2 weeks and fly back into Iowa City in time for our clinic check-up with Dr. S. and then have someone from home pick us up at the hospital. Great plan huh? Now we just have to get approval from the "Boss". Jeff what do ya think??? We encourage everyone to cast your vote...Hawaii _____ or Dunlap____.
Seth and I are pumped at the thought of laying on a beach verses Room 3361!
Of course we would keep the blog going to inform everyone of Seth's convolescent time.
Adam I will try to proof all of my posts before hitting publish. I would hate to be the source of such stress. Stress can cause terrible things to happen in your body.

The Resident Doctor that we called in last night and Liz , Seth's nurse told us they are considering letting Seth go home tomorrow (Thurswday). I told them I hoped the weather cooperated and Dr. Kredrich said the weather would be a bigger detourant than his health. So I guess if it's bad we'll stay.

Here goes. Seth is out of bed, had his shower and has eaten his lunch. We were hoping to go for a walk, but while uploading the picture he has started not to feel too well. He wanted to try eating Lazagna with meat sauce for lunch (I was not in favor of this), well it wasn't a good idea. We won't know unless we try. So far it the food is white he does ok. My suggestion was a baked chicken breast, rice and bartlet pears with a rice crispie treat for dessert. He did do the pears and rice crispie treat. For breakfast he had French Toast and a banana and that didn't hurt him at all.

His nurse came in an took him off the IV all together and gav him his antibiodics by mouth. They left the port in just in case they have to use it. It's better than starting a new one.

He is going to take a little nap and then we'll go for our walk. Maybe up to the Library on the 8th floor. They have a Museum, Library and Sky Top Coffee Shop up there. It's really nice.

When I walked down to get a cup of coffee I was shocked at how much snow we have gotten already. The nurse just told me that ALL schools are closed and we are expectd to get between 12-14 inches today. Man alive I hope they don't send us home TODAY. Hummer or no Hummer I'm staying put. What is it doing back at home?????

Good Morning. It is 8:15 and Seth is still sleeping and no one has been in except the nurse. I slept last night too. I am up showered, make up on and hair still in a towel and no drs. maybe I did do a lot of damage last night. Either that or they want to stay away until I am good and rested. I'll let you know what's up as soon as I know something. :)

Ok so I didn't get walked out of the hospital or anything. I talked to Jeff just before the Dr. showed up. God knew what he was doing when he created Jeff just for me. He's my rock. I remained calm, explained how I was feeling and how Seth was feeling and that we NEEDED him to come in and to fix the problem or reassure us that he was ok. Seth needs to not only have his physical needs met but his emotional as well. They removed the bag and cleaned the site, the bleeding is fresh blood and was/is coming from around the side of the Stoma (which is actually his small intestine that is now on the outside of his body) and it is very vascular and bleeds easily. He told Sethto try not to touch, push or bunp it and the bleeding will clot and stop. This could happen for soe time to come, he couldn't tell me how long. He told me to ask Dr. S in the morning.
I think he could tell that I am suffering from severe sleep deprivation! He told me several times to try and get a good nights sleep. I told him he needed to give me something. He laughed, I WAS SERIOUS!!! I told him that I was getting a little testy, he said he understood that we have been through a lot over the past week, (he doesn't even have a clue) and he apologized for not being more cooperative. Seth is at ease now and will sleep a lot better now I'm sure. Good Night Guys. Love Ya, V & S

We have issues again. Seth has fresh blood coming from the Stoma or around the Stoma where it comes through the skin on his side. The resident is very reluctant to come in. I finally spoke with him and insisted he come. Well actually when he said he could come and look but probably wouldn't do anything, I told him just to stay home then and whatever happens happens and it would be docuented that he said just what he did. He had a sudden change of heart and decided to come in. I am very concerned and a little riled up, and a lot tired. Pray I calm down before he gets here. I'll keep you all informed. Vickie

Hi Gang, I have another prayer request of you. You will all have "Camel's Knees" before this is over. We have made friends with a family in Ohio. They heard of Seth's sucess with the Aloe Gold through a friend of a friend of a friend, and called me. (go figure, a God-thing for sure.) They have a daughter, Devin, and she has been sick since last June. She was diagnosed with UC like Seth. Devin has been VERY, VERY sick. She has had Panceitits 4 times and C-Dif (I think 4 times), she has a feeding tube, and now has a PIC line to help her get the nutrition she needs. Devin is only 14 yrs. old. She and Seth mirror each other in many ways, they are both athletes, scholars, have lots of friends and Seth was 14 when he was diagnosed. Devin has been in the hospital for most of 6 months. After extensive tests, they have now discovered a diesesed area near the stomach in the small intestine which changes her diagnosis to Chrones Diesese. The family has been stearing in the direction that we have just taken with Seth in removing all the Colon. They now are still thinking of it to rid her of the diesesed colon, but will have to keep the rectum and pray it stays healthy as they will have to pull the small intestine down to hook up. Please pray for this precious family. They have gone through SO much and little Devin just wants her life back and so does her Mom, Dad and sister. One of the most Stressful thing that a person can endure is to have a sick child. I believe this family has been pushed to the limit. Therefore on their behalf I ask you to stand in the gap for them and pray and continue to pray until we see the answer. We have never met in person, but look forward to meeting with both of of having healthy kids at our sides. A huge thanks to all of you for being faithful to this request. Vickie & Seth

Good News! The bleeding Seth was experiencing interenally has been determined to be old blood that was a result of the reconstructive surgery done last week to prepare him for his next surgery to be done in 12 weeks. The doctors said it is actually good to know that it is coming out instead of staying in there especially since they didn't know it was there. It was definetly a scare and is a huge inconvenience, but we can live with it and hopefully it won't last too long. They said Seth's hemiglobin count is good. It is at 11, and up from yesterday. His body is starting to cooperate. He just ate a little (lunch/dinner) and it wasn't toast. He ate a biscuit w/white gravy a lime sherbert and a Snickerdoodle cookie. He is drinking only water, no juice. He has to drink at least 2 liters of water a day. We sure aren't there yet. One of the main functions of the large intestine was to absorb water into the body. Seth will always have to be very conscience of drinking constantly. He can become dehydrated VERY easily. We are working on drinking. I'll write more later. V

Hi, It's 12:40. Seth got some sleep this morning and seems to have peace in his soul. He was shaken by the things that were going on through the night. Actually nothing has change in his physical condition, but he is very upbeat and positive now. He was actually joking with his nurse Liz and had her laughing.
I believe that when he becomes a doctor that he will be able to have true compassion and empathy for his patients when they go through this stuff, right?
He says he's not going to become a surgeon, "Their hours suck", but maybe a Gastroentrologist wouldn't be so bad.
I ordered him some lunch. Here they don't bring meal trays. Whenever you want something you just pick up the phone and dial 1-2-3 and order anything off the menu. It makes it really nice. All Seth has gotten in the past 2 days is toast and 1 lime sherbert he could eat. Today I ordered him some chicken noodle soup and applesauce. A vanilla pudding for dessert. We'll see how he does. He really hasn't had anything but toast since last Monday night, January 28th. He was already thin as a rail. He is hungry, just causes so much pain, it's not worth it.
Well Seth has a delivery! A lovely vase of beautfully arranged cut flowers with a purple ribbon. It has yellow flowers in the arrangement as well. Purple and Gold are the colors of PCS, how appropriate. Along with the arrangement is a nice gift bag. I will help him open by reading the card. Thank you Ruthi, Claude, Vicky, Addie and Kate. You guys are great :) In the bag are Life Saver candy, Lemon drops, Chocolate covered Graham Crackers, Several different kinds of Chocolates, Gourmet Carmel Corn, Pretzle Party Snack Mix and more gourmet chocolates. Seth has a smile on his face now. He says he'll share a little. You guys that is such a thoughtful gift. Some of the things he can definetly eat now and more for later as his health improves.
His lunch came and he ate a few bites of the soup, all the toast, and 1/2 the applesauce. Time will tell how it settles. It looks like it might be naptime for him again. Bye, V
Chris & Tina ~ your post last night has run through my thought many, many times. God has blessed me through then 2 of you.
What a surprise to get a post from Anita, and Dave & Dawn and Connie. Hi to all. We love hearing from all of you. It TRUELY is the highlight of our day. Most of the day is spent in a dark room so Seth can sleep. I can check the blog without disturbing him. Love, V

Good Morning All,
We (Seth) had a TERRIBLE night. No sleep at all. He has had a DEVELPEMENT at one of the surgical sites, can't go into it right now. I am asking that you guys hold your calls for today. Seth will try to get some sleep if possible. He is upset and having a hard time letting his mind rest. The doctors are here. Until later then. V

OKay this is Seth's favorite nurse. She is great. Her name is Mary Anne. How many nurses do you know that would climb right into bed with a patient just for a picture. Please pray a special blessing on this young woman. She has truely blessed us and has made Seth's stay here a lot more enjoyable. He actually told me he missed her the 2 days she was off. When things went wrong on Saturday, the first thing he said was "where's Mary Anne when you need her"? She is married and has a 3 year old little boy. She is a fantastic nurse and I know she will help many many people in her lifetime. Trivia: Mary Anne holds the Women's Title for Golf in Iowa, and played Golf on a 4 year scholarship for Bradley University. It is 11:25 so we are going to get ready for bed. Sleep well all. See you in the morning. Love, Vic

Seth is looking better don't you think?

Hi it's 7:25 PM. Seth is feeling better. They have changed his meds and I think it has helped. They are starting the Steriod taper tonight. He will go down to 40mg a day for a week then 30 for a week, then we don;t know. I will probably take a couple of months to get him off of them.
He got his shower finally and ate a small serving of lime sherbert and a couple of graham crackers. So far so good. He said he doesn't feel great but it's not really bad. We also went for a small walk with the wheelchair and Seth got out and walked a little bit by himself. We are waiting for Xray to come and get him any time now. Labs just got drawn again too. We are really hoping Seth's favorite nurse Mary Anne is with us again tonight. If she is we'll take a picture and put her on the blog with Seth. We did see her but didn't know where her assignment was. She said she is trying to get down here. O.k now they are givig him his pain meds, and more antibiotics through his IV. He'll be going back to sleep on us and not get the xrays done. He wants the lights out so see ya later. V

Dr. S and hsi team of 5 just got out of surgery and paid us a visit. They are disapointed in Seth condition. He had been doing so well. They are blaming the oral pain meds and the digestive system not being fully awake yet. They will change the pain meds and add another antacid (Pepcid) and see if that wll help him. He has even felt too bad to get out of bed, or shower or anything. Maybe this will turn him around. They are changing his dressings and making sure he doesn't have a fever or anything. All looks good so far. They will also do some xrays jsut to rule everything out. They don't expect to find anything. Well keep you posted. Now here comes Dr. Bishop the Pediatric Gastroenterologist. Oh yea and his team too. See ya. V

Seth is really not feeling well. Nausea & Pain. Has already had meds for it and they are not helping. Can't have more for 4 hours.

Wow, they have a great services here. I just got a massage (head, neck, shoulders, back, hands and arms). This is the most relaxed I've felt in months. Now she is doing Seth, legs, feet, head, shoulders and neck. He is loving it.
Talked to Nick a few minutes before the massage started. He WENT to the Dr. and has been diagnased with Bronchitis. They gave him 2 kinds of medication and sent him home to bed. THANKS.
Jeff called to and all is well.
The Gastrointerologists were just here but didn't want to interupt Seth's massage. They'll come back later to discuss Seth's taper off the steriods. We are mking progress. Laura Furlman is out there to get us lessons on the Ileostomy. It's goning to be a big day I think.
Seth ate 2 bites of the Malto Meal and ate 2 slices of toast. He said the Toast actually taste good. Let's see how he feels in a little while.
That's all the news for now. Vickie

Hi Guys, I talked to Nick this morning and he is just delaying his going into work this morning. He thinks time will help him to feel better. He still has a fever and feels bad. In my opinion, and I'm just the mom, He needs to go see Frank Seipp at the Quick Care, get some meds and go back home to bed for a couple of days. Ok so it's time to gang up on him in prayer and get Holy Spirit to guide him in this direction. I want him well for his sake and for Seth. We can't bring Seth home from the hospital if there is sickness in the home.
Jeff made it home this morning by 7:30 ish, changed and made it to work on time. Yeah!!!!
Seth's breakfast just came. I'm going to wake him up and try to get something in him.
With the night he had, all he wants to do now is sleep. Until next time....V

Good Morning ~ Jeff called this morning at 4:45. He had been on the road for about 15 minutes and said he was going right along at 60 mph. He was following a semi, and said what a difference a few hours can make. He said the roads are pretty much just wet with some patches here and there. Again how can we thank you enough for all your prayers.
I have tried Nick this morning and have not been able to reach him. When I get a report on him I'll share it with you.
A tech is here now drawing labs on Seth. His potassium was in the normal range yesterday, so no more of that Potassium stuff I hope. Seth says he'll just eat a lot of bananas from now on ok. His hemoglobin is staying right at the 9.627. That's where we were after the transfusion. So far his body isn't producing blood on it own, but I'm sure it will soon. He had kinda of a restless night. Eating is really not agreeing with his stomach much. He tried several things yesterday and nothing really agreed with him. It may just be too much too fast. I want him to just try like Cream of Wheat and Toast for breakfast and maybe Rice and Grilled Chicken Breast for lunch w/applesauce that kinda stuff. He wanted to go exciting yesterday and get Stir Fry and Mozzerella Sticks! NOT A GOOD IDEA. He couldn't eat any of it. He ended up with plain mashed potatoes & some Mac & Cheese and that still bothered him. He had times where he felt like he was so dizzy that he was riding a roller coaster and his stomach hurt bad. They gave him stuff in his IV and that helped. I'm believing today will be a better day! Amen. Talk to ya later. Vickie

Good Night All, SleepWell. See You In the Morning. Seth, Jeff and Vickie

Hallelujah!! Jeff just walked back in the door. He left 4 hours ago and made it 12 miles out and then bafck here. I called the RM House and got his room back. He has gone there now to check in. Thanks for the pryaers. He is thinking of getting up and on the road by 5 AM to try to get home for work downtown at 8, in his blue jeans none the less, but oh well. Please pray before you lay your head on your pillow tonight that Jeff will make it home ok in the morning. Thanks, love ya all.
I have talked to several people tonight that really like the blog. I'm glad that we have had it. It has been a blessing to all of us.

Thanks everybody for posting back to me. I have talked to Noah at home too. He said tonights church has been cancelled. It was so bad for Kevin and Josh coming from Washington, IL. into the city they were on one of major bridges and they didn't even realize it until they saw a sign that said so. Ruthi posted and said we were to get 4-9 there, so I talked to Jeff and have convinced him to turn around as soon as possible. He has been on I 80 outside of Iowa City for 2 1/2 hours and has just made it to the first exit. He is coming back. Thanks for praying guys. He was going to just keep going and go slow. I can't reach Nick at home. He must have his phone shut off. Please continue to pray for him. I'll let you know when Jeff walks back in the door.
Debbie~ you did a great job on your first blog!! I'm not walking but would like to be. I don't leave Seth alone much. He's not feeling too good so I'll probably stay close.
Thanks for the email Ruthi. I'll try you there.
You guys can reach us here at the hosital in Seth's room by calling 319.356.2456 and ask for Seth. Love ya Lots. V

Ok Guys I am really calling on your help. Jeff left the hospital at 3:45 for home. It had started to snow her a little earlier and so Jeff walked a mile back to the RM house to get the car and to go home. He said the streets were already snow packed, and our nurse Kari said she had heard the roads were really bad coming in from Cedar Rapids. Well they are obviously bad going east on 80 too. Jeff got outside of Iowa City and reports the interstate is gridlocked. Traffic is completely sitting still. Please pray right now that they will get help for those who need it and get the road cleared and that Jeff will get home safely and in a timely fashion. Please pray that he will not worry or get stressed out, and that he will have a peace that surpasses all understanding. Thanks.
Second request. Our son Nick is VERY sick at home. He had been away for business and has come home with a high fever, coughing and shaking. Noah said that he has been praying for him and that he is really sick!! Please pray that he will give in and go to the Dr. and that he will get the help he needs and be healthy very soon. It is hard being the mom here and not able to take care of everybody. Please pray for me too that I will stop worrying about all of them.
Seth has felt bad all afternoon too. He felt like he was on a roller coaster, dizzy and stomach hurt. He ate a little this morning and now I think he's afraid to try too much. He is drinking water though.
Hil & Jer ~ thanks for the offer of your van. You guys are the greatest!!! I will have to let you know. The Dr. said maybe Wed. we'll see. Our problem is to get it and have someone to drive it out here. Jeff is in special training downtown all week and has to be there. Seth is suggesting I rent a HUMMER to take him home in. I think we need to start planning for a BENEFIT!!!!!

Did ya'll check out the poetry Uncle Chris wrote to Seth. Cool! For those of you who don't know Uncle Chris he is a Journalist by profession and a musciaian by nature, talent and love. Who else could write poetry so easily.

OK Guys Here goes, Seth with his first JUNK food. These are the great Chocolate Chip Cookies Seth's friend Lidia made. "Mmmmm Lidia the cookies are REALLY good, thank you. I appreciate it." Seth says happily.

Good Morning, I'm kinda late posting this morning. We get so caught up on seeing if anywone wrote to US that we forget to write back to you. Seth and I had a great night last night. He went to sleep around 8:00 'ish and only woke when a nurse came in. The surgeons rounded twice alread today, and said that she could be on a regular diet (as tolerateed), he is excited. Dr. S suggested a cold slice of pizza for breakfast and then smirked when I of course exclaimed "WHAT". So with Seth being the sensible guy he is ordered Strawberry Yogurt, Apple Juice and a small bowl of Fruit Loops. He ate the cereal, 1/2 the yogurt and 1 sip of the juice. Now he is sleeping again. He really doesn't stay awake very much, maybe 1/2 at a time. The drs. say its normal with the surgery he has had and with the pain meds he's on. They did stop the moriphine pump. He is getting it throught the IV an by mouth now 1 to 2 every 4 hours. He may get to go home on Wednesday. The doctors are very pleased with his progress but are conscience of the distance we live from the hospital. Seth doesn't have a pediatrician at home. We do have a family doctor, not one I trust, that has seen Seth only for acne. Not really someone I want to take care of him through all of this. Dr. S said that they will work with us over the phone to save us driving back out a lot. We do appreciate that. The 6 hour round trip kinda kills a day (right Chip?)
We were really spoiled afte having company yesterday. We are missing everyone now. Aren't there some of you that ARE NOT Super Bowl people that are up to a NICE Sunday drive in the country...that would want to come and see us in IOWA today? We have the coffee pot on and Seth is VERY anxious to break into the cookie jar that Lidia brought him yesterday (homemade chocolate chip cookies, about 3-4 dozen of them it looks like). The first thing Seth said after hearing that he could eat was "Good I'm Eating Those Cookies :) ".
Jeff sleep ok at the Ronald McDonald House last night. He said they have no Televisions and being in a strange place and no noise buffers made it kinda hard to go to sleep. He did wake a few times in the night, but all in all it was nice. Before leaving he had to strip his bed, remake it and clean the bathroom. He caught a shuttle down here and will go back and get the car later.
Jeff is going to watch the first half of the game with Seth, then head back home. He said he'll listen to the second half on the radio.
So for the second half Seth and I may have a little party with those cookies!!!
Well I'll go for now. Love Vickie

Seth's Friends, L to R Kyle Adams, Lidia Bosma, Seth, Cassie Allenbaugh and Adam Fifield. Seth had a great time with his friends today. Before they arrived he actually got to get in the shower, and then put on real clothes since the tubes were gone. They all walked down to the Child Life Room on this floor and picked out 3 games to play, walked back got set up to play and then Seth was too exhausted to play. They kicked back and watched TV and talked instead. Seth was really tired and needed a nap after all the activity so the Kids headed to the Mall.
Seth's afternoon really went sour after that. He had a very dangerous experience with a bag of Potassium that could have been REALLY REALLY BAD. God truely rescued him. It is too long of a story to go into on the computer. But trust me, it could have been.... Anyway then the IV line started to burn inside his arm enough to bring him to tears and his arm swelled to twice the size. They pulled it and started to do a flush on the IV on his right hand and it started to swell. After 3 nurses and to many terrible tries later they were unsucessful in restarting the IV. Seth has to have it for fluids (can't get enough orally right now), for antibiodics, for steriods, and for pain med's. In the end the surgeon came up and they called in a life flight nurse to attempt to start one. Well right before the LF nurse came, all of Seth's and our friends encircled his bed and prayed for him. When the nurse attempted it, she got it in the first try in his left bicep. Seth said he didn't feel a thing! See what prayer does! He is now trying to get that 2:30 nap in and it is 6:46. Bless his heart. It has been a huge day for him.
Jeff says hello to everybody, and thanks so much for all your prayers. I am getting hunger so will go to the cafeteria to look for something good, (yeah right), Jeff already ate out in resturants twice todat to avoid it. Till next time. Love V & J

Good Morning ~ We got great new early this morning. The surgeons have rounded twice already and it is only 9:21, actually they had been here and gone by 8:00. Anyway Dr. Shilyanski said they are going to get rid of some of the bells and whistles (for Chris Spicer the cymbals and tamborines). They are going to pull the NG (nasal/gastric) tube that goes from his stomach up through his throat and out his nose. Oooh, that should be interesting when they start to pull that thing out. Uck, I am sure that I will not be a spectator at that point, if I am it will cause me to be active in things that no one would want to see! There will be no documentation on the blog of this. They are also going to pull the drain that is sutured in from his belly and they will take the cathetor out. The latter of the 3 seems to have Seth the most concerned!! :)
Dr. S said that after the NG tube is gone then Seth can start sipping on fluids. It will be the first thing by mouth since Tuesday. He has been warned to take it VERY slow. Too much too fast will cause him to be sick and could cause them to put the tube back in. Putting it back in being conscience would be a lot worse than taking it out!!!
The Ronald McDonald House just called and they have a room for Jeff for tonight. Answered prayer!! They even give parking vouchers which will save a lot. All parking here is paid parking and you don't get a discount until you are in the deck more than 24 hours. This will be very nice. The RM house rates are only $15 a night, a little bit better than the Holiday Inn Jeff stayed in for 2 nights. You're right Maria, God is Good all the time.
Oh my, the doctors are in here pulling the nasty tube RIGHT NOW. Oooooh !!!!!!! All Seth said was Wow, that feels better. Now they are cutting the sutures around the JP tube, uck they are pulling it out. My word that thing is long. Great, now they are giving him some Lidacaine (to numb) and are going to sew him up right here from where the tube came out. They are letting the student do it. It's ok she's a lady hopefully she has sewn up a skirt or something sometime in her life. There goes the needle in the belly. Now they are doing a figure 8 suture getting not only the skin but deeper into the muscle. Ok that's enough. I bet you guys didn't bargin for all this this morning. You may not still think this blog thing is so cool. Seth is really though!
On to something else ok. Seth has 4 very close friends on there way to Iowa City to see him this morning. They should arrive about noon. They are Cassie, Kyle, Lidia and Adam. Bringing them are great friends of Jeff and mine, Chip & Juli Allenbaugh and Carla Adams. Jeff is on his way right now too, he is going to wait for the Kids and Adult van at the rest area outside of Galesburg, they will then follow each other the rest of the way out.
Ok so I just got up and looked at Seth's tummy. They took some on the dressings off to look at the incisions and SETH DOESN'T HAVE A BELLY BUTTON ANYMORE. They cut out. Can you believe it. Jeff will be upset, he put that belly button there 16 years ago when in delivery he got to cut the cord. Oh well Jeff it was a nice one. If we'd known we could have taken a picture of it. We'll just have to commit it to memory (we're it trouble there).
Now Kari is getting ready to pull the OTHER tube. Seth is hitting the moriphine pump. He says his cheeks are hot, "yes they are", his blood pressure is upa bit and his heartrate has increased. I think he's a LOT nervous. Now she left, and said she'd be back. I think this is cruel and unusual punishment for a 16 year old guy. I'm gonna go for now. 'til next time. Vickie

The Eubank Family (Seth, Noah, Vickie, Jeff and Nick) all say we think you guys are INCREDIBLE and WE LOVE YA!

Hey Seth just went out for his first walk. He did awesome. It was not a power walk for me (for those of you who know me, you know I go like a house on fire), it was DEFINETLY a Power Walk for Seth. We walked for at least 10 minutes. He got cheers from the nurses and 1 surgeon.

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Hi Everybody, Here are some of the first pictures of our patient. The top two are after his field trip to the shampoo bowl and the one here to the left is the one right before he boarded his chariot (wheelchair). He feels like a new man. He got wahed up, brushed his teeth, put in his contacts and got his hair washed. Wow it only took about 2 hours. He sat in the chair for a long time and we just got him back into bed. Now we took the contacts out, got the circulation hose back on, the machine going on his legs, he just did what he calls the "anti pnuemonia machine", we hooked him back up to the NG (Nasal Gastric ) pump and the oxygen sensor to his finger and the oxygen in his nose, so now he can take a nap. And I think I need one too! He is doing great. The blood transfusion definetly has given him more energy. If he starts wanting to bale hay or something we may need a new drug to counter act the symptoms. All kidding aside. He is feeling stronger. Just have one concern and that is the GI tude is leaking from the abdomin. The resident Surgeon looked at it and had the nurse redress it and thought it would be ok. It was saturated again 2 hours later and so the nurse is going to contact Dr. Shilyanski the head surgeon. Hopefully it will be no big deal. I am going to turn the lights out so he can get to sleep. It's 4:45 now. There isn't really any significant things to base your day around. Most people have breakfast, lunch and dinner or tv programs. We have none of that. They don't know how long it will take for his system to wake up. After it does it will take a few days to gently ease into food. Seth doesn't like the sound of TV yet, it bothers him. He is still so tired and says he can't concentrate or think clearly yet. Drs. said it can take up to 4-5 days with as long as he was unconscience. Ok. well see ya later. V

Hey Adam this one is especially for you, Seth riding that Moraphine pump. More pictures to come.

Hi we're back and enjoying the comments. We are happy for all those of you who have a snow day. Jeff told us on the phone it was bad back there. Hopefully they will get the roads cleared early and people can get around. We only got 1 inch here.
Kel & Nate ~ Nick was inMonterey CA last week Mon-Thurs. on business. He said it rained everyday. Is it still? Kel did you share the blogspot with Amy. We'll take prayers from New Zealand too. I am going to email my friend Beverly in London and we already let Thomas know in Germany. We may as well get the whole world in on praying for Seth and his COMPLETE recovery. Isn't God amazing how he networks people together, and teaches us how to love. He says the world will know you are my disciples by the love you have one for another. You all have poured out the most amazing a undescribable love onto this young man and on us. What you have done for us is Eternal. Our lives will never be the same.
With the storms of life we have just passed through of buring 2 of my parents just 5 weeks apart and Seth getting so sick at the same time, we have in some ways been crushed (wind blown) BUT not destroyed. The winds were strong, but we have stood and now just over the horizon the sun is stating to break through. It is your love and your prayers that have supenaturally carried us through. We know we have another surgery for Seth ahead of us in just 12 weeks but together we will see the rainbow!
Seth is almost finished with the first unit of blood and all is well. He is sleeping through most of it.
A man just came in and told me they have made arrangements for the In Home Nursing Care for Seth when we get back to Illinois, they have also made arrangements for all of the suppplies we will need. That is a great releif to know it's taken care of. They are still working on getting all the paperwork filled out and faxed back to PCS so Seth can have a tutor. We have been waiting on this paperwork for almost a week and a half. I have asked for help to get this done. Maybe today we'll see results. Seth brought his homework and books with him to the hospital. I don't know if he'll be able to pick any of them up and actually concentrate to study ~ but maybe in a few days. He really doesn't want to get behind in his studies or have his grades suffer. He's starting to stir a bit so I'll close for now.
P.S. Gale your comments cracked us up! Ruthi thanks for the pic. Love Vickie

Good Morning America, Seth & I were up early this morning...4:45!!! They drew blood and the labs came back with his hemogloblin dropping to 6. They are preparing him for transfusions. Thankfully they already had him tubed for it from surgery. Mary Anne said too they won't have to stop the moriphine to start the blood since he already has IV's in both wrists. Yeah that's a blessing!! He will have two units, pray that he doesn't have a reaction. They just gave him some Benedryl to help with that and some Tylenol actually by mouth. He kept it down which is also a great sign. They are getting ready to start now and his nurse has to hang out with him so that IF there is a problem she is close by. Another request is that with getting even more Iowan blood (total 4 units) pray that he doesn't become a HAWKEYE fan and start liking the colors YELLOW & BLACK. He is now and hopefully will always be an ILLINOIS fan!!!!! Since Mary Anne is with him, I'm going to run down to the resturant and get a hot cup of decaf. Be back in a bit.