"The Kayla" - Thursday, March 31, 2011

Kayla Quote:  "I instantly will smile to the sound of a purring cat."

Short Synopsis:  Kayla was put in the hospital for a much needed surgery the day before.  There was a mass of cells growing on her cervix that needed to be removed before she could be considered actively to receive a heart transplant.  The cells were considered non-malignant but pre-cancerous.  This problem was diagnosed on 2/16 and we knew about it even before, but Kayla was in the hospital, on and off, for months, so it fell through the cracks.  When we picked it up again, I got aggressive to get this done.  We felt like we were racing against time - it could turn into cancer and then all would be lost.

There was a lot of discussion about this surgery with her doctors and entire team.  They were nervous because her heart was in a very bad place.

 Long Story: Kayla was pissed that she had to go into the hospital early and even more pissed when they said they were going to delay the surgery by a day.  She hates hospitals and is a very bad patient.  She just couldn't comprehend that the doctors were being cautious, that even though this was a routine operation, for her, it was high risk.  Many women have cell growth on their cervixes and it's a fairly simple in-office procedure to slice out the tiny mass.  Because her heart has been weakening for months, this was a high risk operation.  No one knew exactly what would happen.  We just knew she was in the right place.

Kayla called me and asked that I bring her a bunch of her favorite foods.  I didn't mind at all....I went to Parma Deli and got a "Capri" toasted sandwich, one of her favorites - mozarella cheese, tomatoes, basil - all toasted on a fresh piece of crunchy French bread.  Then I had to go to Starbucks and get her a rice krispie treat.  Then off to Smoothie King and get her an "Angel Strawberry" fruit smoothie.  Then from the kitchen food cabinet "original" Gold Fish (God help me if they are Cheddar Cheese ones - I made that mistake once and never again!)....then some of my homemade jello.  If it's made from a mother's loving hands, it's ok.  If the hospital makes it, it's poison!  How can you boil water wrong?  How can you mix it with the jello powder wrong?  According to Kayla, I guess you can.

I was happy to bring her the food and set it on her bedside table next to her hospital bed.  Like bearing expensive gifts!!  Kayla was only able to eat a small part of her sandwich and that was it.  After midnight, no more food.

Michael reported that she was very happy when he visited her.  We spell each other so that the other one can rest.  We have a good routine of helping each other out.

Mike spent several hours with her and he was touched that she walked him to the elevator to say goodbye.  She had that beautiful, wry smile on her face.  Little did he realize that it was going to be the last look into her face for a very long time.  She would soon be put to sleep for days and day....