Happy Birthday Cheryl!

Yes, it is Cheryl's birthday on Sunday 7 January. Just thought I'd make sure you all knew that! Cheryl is now 19359 days old! I'm posting this a day early just so you can be sure to wish her the best on her birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHERYL!
WE LOVE YOU!

"A year of positive gains from sustained effort and perseverance. You are likely to be more verbose than usual, so use the time to tell people what you think and how you feel."

Thanks, Kathy, for alerting me to Cheryl's birth year (1955). I don't think she'd be too happy with me adding an extra year! This makes Cheryl a horse in the Chinese Horoscope.

Thank goodness for open spaces, because the Horse needs plenty of room to roam! Energetic, good with money and very fond of travel, Horses are the nomads of the Chinese Zodiac, roaming from one place or project to the next. Love connections tend to come easily to Horses, since they exude the kind of raw sex appeal that is a magnet to others. This Sign tends to come on very strong in the beginning of the relationship, having an almost innate sense of romance and seduction. Horses are seducers in general. This Sign possesses a sharp wit and a scintillating presence; it really knows how to work a crowd. An impatient streak can lead Horses to be less than sensitive to others' needs. These colts would rather take a situation firmly in hand as opposed to waiting for others to weigh in or come to terms with it. The lone wolf inside the Horse can at times push others away, but this also makes this Sign stronger and is a key to its success. Horses are self-reliant and, though they might lose interest fast in a tedious, nine-to-five day job, are willing to do the work necessary to get ahead.

Cheryl shares her birthday with: Joan of Arc, Sherlock Holmes, Danny Thomas, Loretta Young, Maury Povich, Kenny Loggins, Erin Gray, Trudie Styler (Sting's wife), Donna Rice, Nicholas Cage, Katie Couric, Paul Revere.

And other, less important things, that happened on this day:

• 0754 Pope Stefanus II arrives in Ponthion
• 1714 Typewriter patented by Englishman Henry Mill (built years later)
• 1782 1st US commercial bank, Bank of North America, opens in Philadelphia
• 1789 1st national (Presidential) election in US
• 1888 Start of Sherlock Holmes adventure "The Valley of Fear" (BG)
• 1890 W B Purvis patents fountain pen
• 1894 Motion picture experiment of comedian Fred Ott filmed sneezing
• 1896 Fanny Farmer publishes her 1st cookbook
• 1927 Commercial transatlantic telephone service inaugurated between New York & London
• 1927 Harlem Globetrotters play 1st game (Hinckley IL)
• 1929 "Tarzan", one of the 1st adventure comic strips, 1st appears
• 1955 Cheryl Hutcherson was born!
• 1961 1st NFL Playoff Bowl (runner-up bowl)-Detroit beats Cleveland 17-16
• 1967 "Newlywed Game" premieres on ABC TV
• 1971 -40ºF (-40ºC), Hawley Lake AZ (state record)
• 1977 Human Rights Charter '77 established in Prague
• 1982 "Fame" premieres on NBC TV
• 1990 Tower Of Pisa closed to the public after leaning too far
• 1992 AT&T releases video-telephone ($1499)
• 1994 US female Figure Skating championship won by Tonya Harding (hahaha)
  
  

Progress update from Dad

Great news today! Thanks, Bill, for keeping us up-to-date.
____________________

Was up to see Cheryl yesterday, Friday, and had a short visit with her. She was in a great deal of post-operative pain and was somewhat droopy eyed from the effects of the morphine that was being administered to counter the pain. Her friend David took over in the afternoon to answer any incoming phone calls which enabled her to try to rest as much as was possible.

This morning, Saturday, she phoned me to let me know that suddenly, just like night from day, things had all changed and all was right with the world. She enjoyed a pleasurable sleep from almost 7 pm to 7am and woke to find that the pain has subsided by a remarkable extent and is, once again, quite tolerable and that she is looking forward to chatting and visiting with her friends. She is once again the unsinkable Cheryl and, no doubt, entertaining the nursing staff of St. Paul's Tenth Floor. She seemed very proud of the fact that the nurses are drawing straws to see who can tend to her needs as she has become the favorite patient of the entire ward. Both the doctors and nurses are expressing surprise at the magnitude of her friendship wall, which now contains not only the posters with the names of the multitude of visitors and their comments but also a store full of get well and birthday cards. These, along with her florist shop full of plants and flowers, give quite a cheery aura to her digs.

We look forward to better and brighter news from here on and will keep you informed of the continued improvements.


THANK YOUS!

Cheryl wishes to express her gratitude to all of those who have been so thoughtful during this time of stress. A special thank you to the TLC Gang for the deluge of birthday wishes she has received.

An update from Charmaine

I spoke with Cheryl this morning and she is doing well, but is in a lot of pain. She is waiting for the medicine man to come by and increase the dosage of morphine. She is also going to have a restful day and asked that if you are planning on visiting, please leave it until Sunday (which is also her birthday) at the earliest. Cheryl's friend, Steve, is going to spend the day with her, so if her phone rings, Steve will answer it. Cheryl's throat is very dry and she is finding it a bit difficult to talk. If you know of anyone who is planning on seeing Cheryl today or tomorrow or calling her, please let them know.

Post-op update from Dad

The doctor called me at 4:30 pm this afternoon to inform me that Cheryl has come through the operation in fine shape and that the operation went very well. Unfortunately the tumor proved to be abscessed and perforated, which was not the news we were hoping for as it does give the cells a greater chance to spread than if it had been fully contained. The doctor did stress that from what could be seen there is no indication of any such spreading, but it does mean that chemotherapy will be necessary and will begin in about a month's time and will continue for about six months. This is about all I can report for now but I am sure that we will receive more detailed information during the next few days. Cheryl is resting in the recovery room and will probably be there for the night, so there is no chance of her receiving visitors or phone calls until at least tomorrow.

Ready for Op - all systems go!

Hi everyone... I just spoke with Cheryl and she is all ready for the operation tomorrow. She has been waiting since 7:30 this morning for her CAT scan and it is now 4 pm. So she is a little frustrated as she has not been able to even have a sip of water during this time. The CAT scan will tell if the infection has cleared up; but even if it is not as good as they would like, the docs will still go ahead with the operation tomorrow. Cheryl will head down to the operating theatre at around 11 am tomorrow and expects the operation will take place early afternoon. It will be a 3-4 hour operation. She will be turning her phone off as of tomorrow morning. Dad Bill will be reporting to me as soon as he can on how Cheryl is doing post-op, and I will immediately post that info here.

THANK YOUS!

• Susan and Linda Boyd for the beautiful flower arrangement - calalilies and orchid.
• Michael Cliff for the darling miniature roses.

An update from Dad (Bill)

Cheryl phoned this morning with word that all systems appear to be go for the operation to proceed on Thursday the fourth our time. They are sending her in today for another CAT scan to analyze the effects of the antibiotic treatment on the infection. She is quite confident that these results will be positive, as the pain has subsided to such a degree that she is only taking the pain killing drugs in the morning and at night compared to the former every four hour dosages. Should the CAT scan show no snags or hindrances, the operation will take place on Thursday afternoon and should be completed by four o'clock, at which time Dr Brown, the surgeon, will call me to let me know how she is doing and what he came across while exploring her innards. She will probably not be back in her room before seven or eight in the evening and, no doubt, be heavily sedated, so there would be little point for anyone to either visit or to attempt to phone her at that time. As soon as I hear from Dr. Brown I will send you the details of what he has told me so that you can pass the news on to all of her friends and, once again, thank you so very much for your time and kindness during this period of stress and worry. Kindest regards - Bill

Happy New Year pics!

Thanks, Patt, for these pics of Cheryl on New Year's Day.

Cher and Molly, her IV stand.

And with her IV drug supplier
(whose name is kept secret).

Progress update from Melinda

First of all, both Cheryl and Melinda wish you all a Happy New Year and a fantastic 2007! It’s just under five hours before Cheryl in Vancouver hits 2007, but for Melinda it is all over about 14 hours ago.

Cheryl is now settled into her new private room on the surgical ward, which is where she will now be until the day she leaves the hospital and goes home. She has another spectacular view from her window and is ever so pleased to have a wide window sill where her flowers can be put on display. In the previous private room, friends had put up a friendship wall for family/friend visitors to sign, and that will have to be set up again in the new room, but Cheryl is waiting for Steve to do his creative touches to it. The staff on 10A are absolutely brilliant and Cheryl feels she is going to have a very good time with them. You will also be happy to know that she still has the pole-dancing pole in her bathroom :-)

Cheryl is now getting the TPN (food nourishment) through the PICC line, which goes directly into her aorta vein and the inflammation and pain she experienced the last two days in her right arm (from the IV) has now subsided. The left arm, on the other hand, is still very inflamed from the last IV and the staff are monitoring to bring that down. She no longer has intense pain in her side, which means that the antibiotics are working and the infection in the intestine is obviously subsiding. She will know more about that when Dr Brown comes back Jan 2.

She is so very thankful you are all thinking of her, those that can visit and/or call… She is finding the experience not at all scary because of all of YOU!

Melinda

Room change

Cheryl has now moved to a different floor and room. This is because she was previously on the orthopaedic ward, as there was no available room where she should have been (hmmmm, no room at the inn???). She still has a private room… with a 3-piece bathroom to boot!

Cher is now at:
Ward 10-A, Room 1002
St. Paul’s Hospital
1081 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6
Canada
To contact a patient: 1-604-684-6532, Cher's extension is now 67002.

Happy New Year everyone! It is now 2007 here in Oz!

Melinda

Photos from Stephanie

Thanks, Stephanie, for these photos of Cheryl at the hospital...

A few days after Christmas... holding Bridget's Chrissie present :-)

The IV line that was quite sore and giving her trouble,
now replaced with the PICC line.



Cheryl's room looks very Christmassy.
She really appreciated all the gifts and what the tree and cards
contribute to an otherwise depressing hospital room.



This and the next three pics are of some of the beautiful flowers and gifts Cher has received. They were a terrific boost to her. She was so proud of them and they definitely helped her realize that she is not alone. She was very touched by the thoughtfulness.









This is her very famous pole dancing pole in the bathroom.
She says she will be practicing after her operation.
It might be her new career!



The pink beanie baby is her mascot.
It has a very pretty poem attached to it.



The famous liquid turkey dinner!