HOME

   Jarrad is home.  Finally.  I hope that this is the end of hospitalizations for a while.  I know it is not because we have another surgery to go through but I am hopeful that perhaps this one will not be as complicated.  Time for more research!
    So, the reason why we were in the hospital (6 days) for so long is because they needed to find out what kind of bacteria was causing the infection. It was a strep versus a staph infection Jarrad's was a strep infection.  Apparently, this is good as a strep has more antibiotic options. 
    This is where I am (again) grateful for my connections.
    Ok, I am fully aware that the human body is complex.  I am also aware that medical staff do not tell you everything - for various reasons.  They don't want to alarm you.  They assume you know.  They don't know - what ever it is.  So I am grateful that I have folks who are able to fill me in.  For example, one of Sam's friend's moms is a nurse.  She has offered to come over day or night if we need help (not a "fake" offer either - you all know what I am talking about).  She was able to explain that doctors/hospitals want you to stay until they determine what the bacteria is and what it will take to knock it out so that you don't have to come back in.  Now,  maybe Duke assumed that we understood it or thought that someone else had explained it or whatever.  I am not complaining at all about this.   It is a side effect of not being able to always be there with Jarrad and/or not being in the medical profession. I am just grateful that I have folks that I can go to for answers. 
    Home health is coming in tomorrow.  They will teach us to what we need to do for his antibiotics and wound care.  I will add it to the list of skills that I am acquiring and hope to never have to use again. 

undescribable

    There is this feeling when you leave someone you love in the hospital.  It is like you have no tether - no concentration at all.  It is the reason why folks pace.  And then, when you get the all clear, it snaps back into place and you are grounded again.
    I don't like waiting in the hospital for that reason.  I am a pacer.  I would be annoying!  Today, I have been cleaning out the closet, caulking the trim, moving paint to smaller containers, putting together my mending/small sewing projects to work on, weeding and doing laundry.  None of those things were finished - my version of pacing.
    And jumping every time the phone rang.
    Finally, at 3:22, I  got the call I was waiting for.  And I was grounded again.

PICC Line

    They opened the side of his leg and found infection.  It was deep and it did touch the hardware.  This is bad as they had to remove the pin and screws.  The good news is that the pin seems to have acted as a wall and prevented the infection from moving deeper.  It also appears that his femur has fully healed and they do not need to go back and put in another pin - which was a possibility.  They are "very hopeful" that they will not need to.  He did very well with the anesthesiology.  His hemoglobin was low again - 8.9 for my nurse friends which is down from 11 from last December.  I am perplexed and a bit concerned about that but no one else seems to be.  I am going to be more aggressive about this later.  So they did give him a unit of blood but I think that was more preventative than because he really "needed" it.  He will stay in the hospital till they determine the strain of bacteria - probably till the end of the week -and are able to give him the correct antibiotics.  He will have to have a PICC line - similar to the picture and has to have IV antibiotics for 6 weeks.  Home health will be out for that - yeah.  I think that this doctor is not playing around!  We have had Dr. Riley before and she is really good.  I wish that she would be willing to do the bisection of his HO but I understand why that may be more than she is comfortable with.
     Sigh.
    Well, that is it for now.  Don't worry, I will keep you updated! Thank you for your prayers and good thoughts - don't stop!   I really hope that this is not the precedent for year 3.  I just want it to get into a routine!

I got nothing

     May 19th.
     It has been 2 years since life as I knew it changed.  And today, I took Jarrad back to Duke.  He has an infection in his leg.  Probably been hiding since his bisection (heterotopic) surgery last November.  Tomorrow, he will have surgery to remove the infected mass and will then spend the next 4 days in the hospital receiving heavy duty antibiotics.
    I am trying to hold it together.  You know - just the date and the parallels.  How many times are we going to have to do this?  I am so tired of hospitals and complications.
    I have a lot of sympathy for Job.
    I will wait till later to have my cathartic cry.  And then I will play my new theme song.

 

Hey Babe - you need to add this to my power mix!

It has been a while. . .

     It has been awhile.  I know, almost a month.  A busy one but nothing earth shattering.  So an update is in order.
    1.  Weather - isn't that how one usually starts a discussion?  Weather has been lovely.  But a lot of pollen so when the rains came - hard- it was a relief.  Now, it is starting to warm up.  And the pollen is mostly washed away but I am not giving up on my allergy medications just yet.  I did get my planting done.   A couple of perennials and a bunch more annuals.  Veggies and another blueberry bush.  Now, I need to map out what needs to be moved, trimmed or thinned to do at appropriate times.  Gardening is cathartic.  Weeding is a great way to vent frustrations.  And gardening is a  metaphor in so many ways.

     2.  The van is still  in our driveway.  No one can seem to get a hold of the engineer that is supposed to write up the modifications and send out the bids.  So we wait.  We get to use the van and it is nicer for Jarrad to get in and out of.  But . . . we are still waiting for him to be able to drive it.
    3.  I think - I am not sure - but it seems like we are getting out of a slump.  After surgery, Jarrad lost a lot of strength and endurance.  He is getting it back though.  We can also see the that HO is growing in the right hip.  It is not as bad as the left but not good.  ARUGH! The man kills me!  His pants were getting a bit snug in the waist so he started doing crunches.  Darn man lost the weight and 2 weeks later - pants are now lose! 
    4.  The kids are great.  Dance is done for the year.  The kids are playing outside more - see paragraph 1 - and helped me to do the planting.  They are excited about watching the plants grow.  And going to the beach.  They are so creative.  I love seeing what they come up with as they play.  Although, washing your shirts in the muddy rain water and hanging them on a makeshift clothesline as you play "Little House on The Prairie" . . . Well, at least there is Shout.

"Dragonvale"

    5.  I am working a lot more.  That is good.  It will help pay for the van.  But man, it is hard.  It is hard to juggle dinner, housework, kids, doctor visits and just everything.  I feel like things suffer - mainly housework.  And I am tired.  Good news - I get a paycheck.  And I have been walking.  I tried to walking in the morning.  That doesn't always work out.  So, every night, I walk.  Is it when I want to?  No.  Am I tired?  Yes.  Do I miss some evenings?  Yep.  But that is due to work.  And I am proud of myself for doing it. 
    So, nothing special.  Just ordinary life.  Normal.