We made it!

Sorry it took so long to post, but we made it in Tuesday night about 7. We were all wiped out and didn't unpack until yesterday morning. Jennie is very happy to be done traveling. Those two days were very rough on her.

Now that we have made it back into KY I am sure she will rest a lot which will hopefully allow her to heal quickly. I will be going back to work next week, but am going to spend the weekend here in Owensboro. I think Rita will probably do the same, although she has had to do a lot of work throughout the trip.

Thanks to everyone for all the prayers and support, I don't think any of us could have made it without the support everyone has shown.

On the road again . . .

After meeting this morning with Dr. Sutherland, we left Minneapolis today and made it into Rockford, IL a little after 7 tonight. Dr. Sutherland thought Jennie's wound looked ok and thought the infection would work itself out without any further antibiotics. We aren't sure what to think about this, and I guess only time will tell. Either way Jennie was anxious to go ahead and leave so we packed up and got out about noon.

We are going to try to get up early tomorrow to head back. It looks like we may have some rough weather to go through, hopefully it will dissipate some overnight.

We're waiting . . .

So there hasn't been much development the last few days. Jennie did get out of the hospital on Wed. and there hasn't been much change the last few days. She has been resting a lot and it seems that she is getting her strength back a bit more each day.

The only real significant activity was that the culture from her wound came back and she does have MRSA again. We were really hoping this wouldn't be the case, but hopefully we can get the medication quicker this time and it will be easier to treat than in the past. Last time she was on antibiotics for almost 6 months before we were able to kick it.

We have been going for longer walks each day, and today we even walked across the street to a local market to get a few supplies. Jennie is really moving pretty well, I think better than she has in the past post surgery. Our appointment is for 9 am on Monday, but we are trying to go ahead and get the medication for the MRSA before that. I will post if there are anymore developments, otherwise it will probably be Monday before I post again.

She broke out ! ! !

Jennie is finally back in the hotel tonight!!! The doctors decided to release her early this afternoon and we got her back here about 4. Hopefully she will be able to rest better here and that should help with the recovery. Her incision is still open a decent amount, and they were debating keeping her in the Hospital for another day or two, but I think she will be more comfortable here at the hotel.

We will still be here until early next week, it sounds like we might get a Monday morning appointment with Dr. Sutherland which would make it where we could possibly leave here that afternoon. If there is a problem with that date, we might have to wait until Wednesday of next week, and we probably won't know until sometime tomorrow. Either way hopefully that will be enough time for Jennie to heal a bit more before the ride home, and if there are any issues hopefully we can deal with them here before leaving. Thanks again for all the prayers and support, we hope to see everyone soon!!

Recovery Day 11

Sorry I was lazy and didn't post yesterday, but yesterday was another good day. They reduced Jennie's PCA in half and went ahead with all of her oral pain meds. They removed the staples from Jennie's incision yesterday and replaced them with steri-strips. Dr. Sutherland wanted this done after he came in and saw how irritated Jennie's skin was from the staples. The wound did open up some at the top after the staples were removed, but the residents expected this and said it would help the wound heal to let it drain a bit.

Today they will be lowering the PCA, but it sounds like they aren't planning on totally doing away with it in time for discharge today. Jennie was hoping to get out today, but I don't think staying one more night will be that bad. Hopefully tomorrow will be the day they release her. Her incision is still open at the top and the doctors are going to come back and pack itwith dressing. The gauze they covered it with is bloody, but we won't know if it is any worse until they come and take the covering off.

Over the last few days Jennie has met 2 other auto-islet cell transplant patients on the floor, and we have all enjoyed meeting these other 2 ladies and getting to talk to them and their families about their struggles. The first girl is Sara, who just had the procedure done on Thursday last week. It sounds like Dr. Sutherland was able to operate on her before the chronic pancreatitis got too bad, and she is recovering very well. Her mom is also a former nurse, so she and Rita have really been able to talk and bond through the last few days. The second lady's name is Sandy, and she had the transplant done in 2006 and just had the subtotal colectomy done the same day as Jennie's surgery. She is also planning on coming back in about 6 weeks to have the Roux-en-y procedure done also like Jennie. Her road has been a little more difficult like Jennie's, so it has been nice for Jennie to see another patient who has had to deal with these issues. Hopefully her recovery will be swift and these will be the last surgeries she needs. Please pray for both of the women also, they are both very nice and Jennie has really bonded with them in a short time.

On a lighter note, here is a funny story that happened a few days ago. This happened just a day or two after Jennie began getting up out of the bed. Rita and I were both here and were getting the IVs unplugged, and getting Jennie's slippers and gown together as she was attempting to get out of bed. All of a sudden we hear a grunt and both of us looked over to see Jennie on the edge of the bed flailing her arms. Neither of us was sure what Jennie was doing, but after a second I grabbed her arm and helped her up. It turns out she apparently was falling backwards a bit, although neither one of us could tell at the time. We have since referred to this as the turtle incident because Jennie looked just like a turtle trying to get off his back. Luckily Jennie didn't get hurt and we can laugh about it now.

Please keep Jennie in your prayers, we are hoping she will be out of here soon!

Recovery Day 9

Today was another day with some significant improvement. They are starting to move Jennie back to oral medicine, which is the last major hurdle to get out of the hospital. It will likely take 2 or 3 days, as the doctors are taking it slow (a good thing).

Today they switched her off the continuous drip and onto her long acting oral medicine. The plan is to reduce the PCA slowly beginning tomorrow and switch her back to the rest of her oral meds. I feel like today has gone fairly well, and I think tomorrow will be the bigger test. Jennie hasn't been maxing out her PCA, so today she can increase it a little if the oral meds don't work as well, but tomorrow that option won't be there. She is bound and determined not to increase her oral medicine any more, which might make it even more difficult.

Anyway thank you all for the thoughts and prayers, we are getting close to leaving the hospital, which should help Jennie rest better and give her more time to heal.

Recovery Day 8

So the past 24 hours have been very productive. Jennie did get the NG tube and catheter both out yesterday, and they started her on a clear liquid diet yesterday. She tolerated the clear liquids well and today they moved her to a full diet. She isn't pushing it much though, and her most adventurous selection so far has been a few bites of grilled cheese and some mac and cheese.

If she tolerates this adjustment well also, they will try to begin weening her off the IV medications tomorrow, although that could take a little time with the high doses she is on. They did remove the insulin drip today after she began eating some normal foods, so really the pain medicine is the only major hurdle left. She is getting around pretty good and is getting stronger each day. With any luck she will be out of here early next week.

Due to that fact, we ask that you not send any more cards to the hospital. We will eventually get them, but after we leave it may take several weeks because they will be forwarded to Louisville. I am posting the Hotel address below which we will still be at for about the next week, or you can send cards to Philpot or Louisville, whichever you prefer.

Towne Place Suites

525 N. 2nd St

C/O Rita Jones

Minneapolis, MN 55401