Keela Hopkin Fundraiser

02/28/2025

I had an appointment with my P*P today and he was very impressed with how much I have improved in the last 2.5 weeks. My liver enzymes are nearly normal and my weight has increased 20 lbs! That's how severely dehydrated I was, and is why it was so important to reverse the ileostomy months earlier than originally suggested.

I am still struggling with horrible abdominal pain after eating. I think it's worse than before my diaphragmatic tear/obstruction/perforation in December, but I am fresh out of yet another abdominal surgery. It can take weeks to months for everything to settle into a new normal. A lot has changed in there.

I will continue TPN infusions 24 hours a day which provides 2100 calories a day directly into my veins. I am also eating inspite of how painful it is afterwards, but we aren't sure how much my intestines are actually absorbing at this point. Only time will tell, and we won't even go down that road for another 3 months.

All in all it was a good day.

02/14/2025

UPDATE FROM KEELA!!!!! Plans change by the minute around here but now they are planning surgery to take down my ileostomy on Monday! I will remain in the hospital for 4 or 5 days after that

I dont have much to update regarding this admission. At some point the surgical team will decide if it is safe for me to have another surgery and when ... until then i suppose I'm just along for the ride. I feel decent so I'm already getting stir crazy and homesick.

02/12/2025

2 surgeons have already been in this morning. They will do a series of CT scans this morning. If my lower bowel is healed they intend to optimize my nutrition and would like to reverse the ileostomy during this admission if my nutrition levels can be optimized and I am deemed safe for surgery. I had an entire days worth of output from my ostomy in about 8 hours last night and now they are concerned. They are aggressively replacing fluids and giving a bolus everytime I empty the ostomy bag.

Im doing fine and rolling with the punches. Everything is just up in the air right now so there isn't anything to get excited about yet.

02/07/2025

My appointment with my surgical team did not go well today. They have ongoing concerns for abscesses, my heart and liver, the high output of my ostomy, my weight, etc and want me to come back to SLC and admit to the hospital for about a week.

I'm not taking off in a snow storm, so I'll start making plans for that trip next week. I know and understand the benefits of being back in the hospital for testing and treatment, but I'm struggling. I'll pull myself together and be fine, but for now I'm going to cry anytime I think about it.

01/31/2025

I felt good yesterday and today which made today's appointment, labs, and picc line dressing change excursion much easier/nicer.

I have been sitting in the living room for a couple of hours at least once a day. I like to be out there when everyone is home and they are cooking dinner. It helps me to feel like I'm still a part of the process. Yesterday, I was antsy to join in, even to just stand and wash a couple of dishes would have felt amazing. I didn't, but today I sat on the bar stool for a little while... I'm getting closer to the action.

My heart rate is much lower after quadrupling the dosage of metoprolol last week, and my blood pressure has held up to that challenge. I still have some orthostatic changes, but I had those before.

I weighed 110.8 at the clinic which is only about 0.5 pound less than last Tuesday. I am maintaining my weight! Im confident that my ileostomy will have to be reversed before I am able to actually gain weight. It is very high output and I have about 30 minutes before everything I eat or drink has flushed through it.

My liver enzymes went back up a little bit which is concerning for my P*P. He spoke again with my team in SLC about the capabilities of our hospital and neither believe they would be able to treat me in much more capacity than what they currently are and to stabilize for transport. They have agreed on a "hair trigger" response if anything worsens. I have a virtual follow up appointment with SLC next week. I am confident we can discuss several things and make a decision about returning to SLC then. If I had not been feeling better I would have aired more on the side of caution and agreed to go now. I'm not just being stubborn :)

Anyway, that's me in a nutshell.

01/22/2025

Jan 21 UPDATE: I have been home a week now. It has been so great for my mental state and we are managing my care. I can walk to the bathroom by myself more than half the time. In the evenings when my TPN has been started the bag is too heavy for me to carry, and sometimes i am just dizzy.. I am able to move myself around in bed now and generally don't need help sitting up. These are big strides! I can only stand for about a minute, and still fatigue very easily.

Last Friday my liver enzymes skyrocketed. Those tests were repeated today and they don't look any better. I spent the morning at the clinic to see my primary doctor and have my PICC line dressing changed, and now we are trying to establish what may be causing the acute hepatitis. My doctor here is reaching out to Salt Lake, as well. Please keep me and my family in your prayers. This was not good news, but we are confident that we will soon begin to see more progress in my healing journey.

The TPN infusions continue, so far without any problems. Macie Hopkin might even enjoy it. I am capable of giving myself my anticoagulant shot every night, but she insists on giving me the jab.
Cade Hopkin is feeling well enough after his own surgery to return to work tomorrow, but Logan is home for awhile longer, so my mom is able to catch her breath at home. Logan has exceeded any and all expectations a wife could have for her husband. My usually anti-ick/germ/bodily fluid husband has even dove right in to help take care of an ostomy explosion.

While I am proud of walking to the bathroom etc I know that I have been running these guys ragged with every other mundane task. From a mental standpoint I am still struggling with some hospital PTSD- eek! I have never been an anxious person so experiencing absolute terror because of the dark and being alone has been a hard adjustment for me and the family. Time will heal those wounds too!

We appreciate everyone who has donated, helped us, prayed. Yall have been a blessing!

01/16/2025

If I didn't send you a message for winning Facebook will not let me!!! I've tried several people multiple times and it won't work!!!! Check your bids and if your a winner I commented on the post and message me please!!!!

01/15/2025

01/15/2025

I closed out all items at midnight! I'll be messaging everyone their totals here in the next couple hours! Thank you guys so very much!!!

01/14/2025

Chais Marie Henson