PROGRESS!

Yes, Tom did make it home and is doing well. He is running a slight few today so we're trying not to worry and ask for your prayers that a call to the doctor tomorrow will provide us what we need and we don't have to make a doctors office visit. Tom is moving from the chair to bathroom and has walked to the kitchen and back but things like going in and out of the house, truck or doctors office are very difficult so it would be nice to be able to stay put. Debbie made it to town on Friday and has been a wonderful set of hands and calming factor for me. The furniture is back in and we even have about half of the boxes unpacked. Th countertops were installed and look fabulous! We're all anxious to gt the kitchen sink and running water connected tomorrow. I have loved having a working washer and dryer again! Another highlight from Friday was that our next door neighbors brought over the most amazing home-cooked dinner. I have attached a picture of the spread! We all ate at least two helpings and couldn't wait until lunch on Saturday to eat what was left! Gail is such a wonderful cook. I will need to have her give me lessons. Debbie has offed to do some cooking also so she has dinner duty tomorrow. She has managed to get Tom to clean out his closets today - something I have tried to get him to do for years. It's sort of nice that he can't run away from her. I have so much more to tell but need to sign off and do some "work" work. Please pray that Tom's fever will break and we can continue to care for him at home. Sorry folks . . . Can't seem to get a picture loaded from my iPad. I'll try something different tomorrow.

No more wound vac!

Praising the Lord tonight that Tom no longer has a wound vac! His appointment this morning with Dr. Rosen was long and painful for him but now he has just a bandage to change once a day. The wound vac has intimidated the physical therapists so hopefully Tom will be able to make better, faster progress now. Needless to say he was very tired and hurting tonight. I picked the pups up from their first day at doggie day care. They have hardly been able to keep their eyes open tonight. I sure hope it lasts all night. I brought them back to the hotel after going by to see Tom, fed them and then we took a walk around the building. They got on the bed and haven't moved since! Our efficiency suite is small but has everything we need. It's nice not to have to walk across the house for access to a refrigerator! It's also wonderful to sit in bed and watch HGTV! We're thankful for our answered prayers. There are still many more. Tom really needs to get stronger to make coming home easier. I'm also praying the floors are getting done at home. Tom's sister, Debbie, is coming up on Friday to help - we are really looking forward to seeing her. I know it will lift Tom's spirits as well!

Discharge date

We have a discharge date!! Tom will be coming home on July 27. We are both hoping he is ready at that time. He has been working very hard in physical therapy but has a lot to accomplish in a short period of time. I am waiting on confirmation that the finish work on the hardwood will begin this Saturday. The pups and I have hotel reservations and they have doggie day care reservations (provided they pass their assessment) for next week. I will hopefully get the movers scheduled for Friday and the furniture can be in place before Tom comes home. This means he will not have to navigate the steps to the bonus room. I don't know if we will have kitchen counters by then but we will manage! I'm excited that Tom will be home for his birthday on August 3. He's been in the hospital or rehab for so many holidays and events, it will be nice to have this one at home! Please pray that Tom will continue to improve in therapy and be able to get out of a chair and walk on his own. I'm still working to line up assistance at home but will be on my own for the most part. Thanks

What a week

It's been quite a week. Tom is doing better, his blood counts are better and he has received a Procrit injection which is supposed to help boost the red blood cell count (as opposed to being transported to the hospital ER to wait all day for a blood transfusion). He still tends to doze off but he's been working pretty hard in physical therapy. I got a call from the Blue Cross case manager at 7 am on Monday morning telling me that Tom was probably going to be discharged on Thursday! I launched into full-on panic mode! First of all, he can barely walk. He is still having trouble getting up from a seated position and climbing stairs is impossible. After begging, pleading, tears and a great deal of prayer, the case manager called me back and told me she was waiting to hear from the rehab discharge coordinator to put together a discharge plan. At this time he is still in rehab, to the relief of us both, and we'll see what happens next week. He told me today his therapist is recommending a discharge of the 27th. If I can get that confirmed, I will work like crazy to get our floors finished so Tom won't have to climb any steps. In the meantime, he is going to have to push as much as possible to get as strong as possible in a short period of time. Dr. Rutland and his wound care nurse have been preaching to him to "take it slow" but that isn't going to work anymore. There are still challenges. Tom's wound is looking much better, I'm hoping the wound vac will come off before he goes home (if it's the 27th). It's still very painful when he has it changed and he can't always complete all of the PT because of the pain. He takes a mild pain reliever before the dressing change but it is still an open wound. It's discouraging at times but it's also important that the therapists understand the situation and it's not that he's not giving his all in PT. I want Tom to come home so bad, but he's not quite ready. He agrees. Please pray that this will all work out: that Tom will get strong enough to be able to function at home, that agressive healing will continue where necessary and we both get the support we need from the insurance company, healthcare staff and doctors. We have the most beautiful new kitchen cabinets. I can't wait for Tom to see them in person. Two main things remain, countertops and floors. The countertops ae a couple of weeks out and I just need perfect timing to get the floors done. Things like paint and backsplash will get done later, once we have time to pick them out. As I should know, things worked out this week. God provided and I spent a lot of time worrying when I just needed to have faith. Thank you for remembering us!

Ups and downs

Tom is doing pretty good. They will run blood tests again in the morning, mainly to check his hematocrit. If it's low again, they will arrange for him to go to the hospital and get blood. Tom has already told them if he has to go, he wants it to be in the morning so he can get back to rehab and not spend the night in the hospital. His weight is up some so they are going to double his diuretics for a few days. This will make things even more challenging for Tom so please pray for him. He got to get back on his feet in rehab on Friday and walked with the parallel bars. I sure hope nothing will keep him from continuing to do that, and more. One of the best nurses he has had here is now his wound care nurse. She came last night and changed his wound vac. His leg really looks good. I asked her how much longer she thought he would need it, she said maybe a month. I sure hope it is no longer than that. We'll see what Dr. Rosen says on the 23rd. We are happy to report that we have new hardwood on the first floor of the house. Trying to keep the dogs from peeing on it is my new challenge. I have blocked off the bedroom, powder room, dining room, laundry room/office and have plastic everywhere else. It will be several weeks before they sand and finish it. The cabinets and counters need to go in first. Cabinets will go in this Friday. Then we have to wait for them to cut the counter. I keep looking at all the boxes to unpack and think, maybe I should just toss them in the dumpster! The dogs Re handling the changes, noise and such pretty well. They get a workout just going up and down the stairs between the bedrooms and the bonus room. The weather is supposed to get a little cooler tomorrow. We're all looking forward to that. Maybe we'll get some rain too. We got a short shower at the rehab facility yesterday evening. I get credit for it because I had my car washed yesterday :-) We continue to work through challenges. Thanks for praying!

Hematocrit back up

Good news, Tom's hematocrit is back to 25 today. I had a chance to actually talk to Dr. Williams and, like Tom, I am not impressed. I guess I need to stop making waves and let whatever happens, happen. It's just so hard. Tom's ammonia level is up to 92, and they are increasing the lactulose again. I asked Dr. Williams if there was anything else that might be causing the problem - like diet or something. He commented that diet was a thought and he would talk to dietary. He told me that the problem is Tom's liver, duh!!! Due to timing issues Tom didn't get PT today. He is frustrated by that. The therapist did come by this evening and apologize for not getting back to him earlier. We thought he might have to go to Baptist to get blood tomorrow but he won't have to so he has a PT appointment. He has told them he is paying for 5 days a week so he's keeping up with how many they owe him. He was outside in his wheelchair when I got here today. It was a great mood lifter for me. He got back into bed almost entirely by himself. Now, if he can just get PT to help him get walking! Please continue praying for Tom (and me).

Hallelujah - WBC is down!

Tom's WBC is down to 14.5, a huge prayer answered! His hematocrit is low though. Tom said this weekend he thought it was low. I feel like I needed to bring it to their attention. They have contacted the doctor on call and then told me he probably wouldn't do anything until Thursday. I tried to reiterate that it was low and Thursday was two days away. That may only be a problem for me. Trying to keep my cool. Tom's "bad" leg is red and swollen in the calf area. They did call for an ultrasound of it today and are calling it cellulitis. It's hard to believe he would have that with a wound vac on the same leg. Tom got a return call from Dr. Rosen's office today, he told them about his leg being sore and the antibiotics he's been on, they seem to think that is ok. I think they are going to increase the antibiotic to help with the cellulitis. It looks to me like his leg looked before it turned black. I'll keep my eyes on it! He has a tentative appointment with Dr. Rosen in a couple of weeks. Please pray that he will remain out of the hospital and be able to see Dr. Rosen then. Things are moving along at home. The dogs were a bit stressed yesterday with all the noise, and I was home! Today was probably a different story. Hopefully I still have a place to sleep tonight that hasn't been ripped apart by two mad puppies. I don't think it was going to be as noisy. All of the flooring was ripped out yesterday. There were five guys working on the floor and two more tearing out the kitchen. Lots and lots of dust! Tom's therapy is slow. I want so much for him to be walking. I hope this cellulitis won't keep him down too long. I continue to ask for your prayers for Tom's healing! Have a Happy Independence Day!