Update Fifteen

Dear Family and Friends,Another week of rehab is behind us, and Si is doing so well. Those of you who haven't seen him since he was in the hospital would marvel at how well he is doing.This week was very full, so I'll just give you the highlights. He saw his neurologist, hematologist, and chiropractor, and each visit went well in its own way. The neurologist agreed to begin weaning from seizure meds, so on Monday he will begin decreasing his Dilantin dosage, and if all goes well, he will be completely off of Dilantin by the following Monday. The hematologist told us that his blood looks perfect, his kidneys are functioning fully, and he no longer needs plasmapheresis. He told us that Si would be able to get the port taken out of his chest, which was fine with us as it was showing early, mild signs of infection. The chiropractor visit was, as always, a delight, and she helped him with some residual wrist pain he'd been having starting during his hospital stay. And she is also our miracle worker, as many of you know.Yesterday I was actually formulating a short prayer request in my mind that I was going to send out via Twitter and/or email. We were having difficulty tracking down a surgeon to remove Si's port. The hospital had no record of Si having a port put in, and so did not know the name of the doctor who did it, which complicated the issue since it is standard to have the same surgeon take it out as put it in. When we finally spoke with a surgeon, he said the soonest we could get in for a consult was in a week, and at that point we'd still have to schedule the actual procedure farther out. At that point Si called our wonderful nurse assigned to us by our health insurance. She has been a Godsend in so many of these issues. She made a few phone calls and yesterday, we got the call saying to come over right now and see the surgeon!Well, God was good to us. I broke the Cardinal Motherhood Rule and took the children out close to mealtime when they had not eaten, but there was no time to get a sitter! God gave all of us grace, and the children did well, even though we were gone for two hours. It helps that we were given some granola bars along the way. The surgeon not only consulted with Si, but took the port out right then and there! It went well, and the bandages will come off tomorrow.I do have prayers for this week. First and foremost would be protection from seizures during the weaning period. Then he also needs to be protected from infection and bleeding as he heals from yesterday's minor surgery. Lastly would be wisdom for our family doctor. Si has an appointment on Friday, and we are going to request the doctor to release him back to work for half-days. We feel that this would help him increase his stamina, and he will also need the hours off to continue his follow-up appointments and tests. However, we do not want to push him faster than is healthy for him, so we are hoping that the doctor has a clear picture in his mind of what is appropriate at this stage of healing.I want to thank all of you for sticking with us this entire time. You have been so faithful. We have been blessed lately by our extended church family, our "cousins" so-to-speak, who aren't from our church, but God has brought them forth to bring us a meal or drive my husband to therapy. I am, through all of this, amazed at God's goodness to us through such a variety of people.Blessings upon your weekend!Love,Brandy

Credit: pagan-space.blogspot.com