Bill finally made it back to East Coast, arriving via medevac from Coronado to Andrews Air Force Base last night after midnight. Now, he needs to be transitioned off IV heparin and onto oral medication ( coumadin) and he will be ready for discharge either to inpatient rehab or home with outpatient rehab and home health nursing for PICC line management. That is all still to be decided, but he continues to strengthen and improve (Cr today is down to 4.4 and H/H is up to 8/24!!!!) So, slowly but surely he is continuing to progress. Case Management will arrange all of his subspecialty follow up and therapy, but he is so happy to be back in Maryland. His family visited today, and I return to work tomorrow.......Thanks everyone.
Maura
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Bill and Maura,
Bob and Deanna Karl here. Glad to hear the good news. Hope you have a smooth transition to Bethesda. At least the earthquakes are smaller and less frequent in Maryland. It will be good for you to get back to the East Coast and a little more familar settings. Our continued thoughts and prayers are with you.
Bob
Bob and Deanna Karl here. Glad to hear the good news. Hope you have a smooth transition to Bethesda. At least the earthquakes are smaller and less frequent in Maryland. It will be good for you to get back to the East Coast and a little more familar settings. Our continued thoughts and prayers are with you.
Bob
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Update:Awaiting Medevac To NNMC (Bethesda)
Hi All;
Maura here, and sorry for the long delay since my last post. As many may know already, things took a downward turn after my last post. However, after many cascading medical challenges, Bill is finally recovering from his original injuries, and sequellae of his surgeries. His course was complicated by a need to revise the screw placement from the original spinal surgery. Then the surgical site became infected, the infection spread to his blood, he developed a blood clot in his lung, and he developed kidney failure. So, not only was Bill very, very ill (sepsis) but he had to return to surgery 3 more times in order to open the surgical site and place a wound vac to draw out potentially infected debris, cut away infected tissue and washout the infected surgical site with antibiotics. He spent some time in the Intensive Care Unit, but finally, last Monday the surgeons were able to close the surgical site.
Since then he has stabilized with no fever, no blood transfusions since the day after his last surgery, and his renal failure is resolving. He has a central IV, called a PICC line, that will be used to continue to give him IV antibiotics for at least 6 weeks, afterwhich he will be on oral antibiotics for a year. He is on IV blood thinner (heparin) so that he won't form additional blood clots while his existing lung clot resolves. However, he is going to be transferred to Bethesda Naval Hospital to continue a little more inpatient care. We believe the transfer will be by medevac on Tuesday!
So, while there were many frightening downturns and challenges over the past 2 weeks, he got throught it. Now he can focus on recovery with physical therapy and occupational therapy , and ongoing medical care to manage the infection and blood clot. In the end, he survived and is getting stronger daily.
So that is the summary of events, and thank you all for your support and prayers. I apologize for not posting, but events were coming so quickly and I just couldn't manage to report his status before it was changing again. Thanks for bearing with my delinquent entries.
See you soon on the East Coast at least!
Maura (for Bill)
Maura here, and sorry for the long delay since my last post. As many may know already, things took a downward turn after my last post. However, after many cascading medical challenges, Bill is finally recovering from his original injuries, and sequellae of his surgeries. His course was complicated by a need to revise the screw placement from the original spinal surgery. Then the surgical site became infected, the infection spread to his blood, he developed a blood clot in his lung, and he developed kidney failure. So, not only was Bill very, very ill (sepsis) but he had to return to surgery 3 more times in order to open the surgical site and place a wound vac to draw out potentially infected debris, cut away infected tissue and washout the infected surgical site with antibiotics. He spent some time in the Intensive Care Unit, but finally, last Monday the surgeons were able to close the surgical site.
Since then he has stabilized with no fever, no blood transfusions since the day after his last surgery, and his renal failure is resolving. He has a central IV, called a PICC line, that will be used to continue to give him IV antibiotics for at least 6 weeks, afterwhich he will be on oral antibiotics for a year. He is on IV blood thinner (heparin) so that he won't form additional blood clots while his existing lung clot resolves. However, he is going to be transferred to Bethesda Naval Hospital to continue a little more inpatient care. We believe the transfer will be by medevac on Tuesday!
So, while there were many frightening downturns and challenges over the past 2 weeks, he got throught it. Now he can focus on recovery with physical therapy and occupational therapy , and ongoing medical care to manage the infection and blood clot. In the end, he survived and is getting stronger daily.
So that is the summary of events, and thank you all for your support and prayers. I apologize for not posting, but events were coming so quickly and I just couldn't manage to report his status before it was changing again. Thanks for bearing with my delinquent entries.
See you soon on the East Coast at least!
Maura (for Bill)
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
A Better Day!
Hi All;
Maura again. Bill feels much better since antibiotics were started this morning following some growth in his blood cultures, but he is very weak and tired from the events of the past several days. He was very ill yesterday, but now has his first normal temperature in several days. His surgical site is still intact and still not considered to be the source of his infection and previous fever which is great!
Although we would wish for no PE (pulmonary emboli/blood clot in the lung), he has been at very high risk since the initial injury with so many fractures and prolonged immobility, and then the multiple surgeries.....so at least the pulmonary emboli are small. He is on oxygen and increased dosage of the blood thinner that he was already on, but his longterm medication for anticoagulation (blood thinner) is being discussed by neurology and internal medicine to determine a final recommendation. So.....as bad as yesterday was, today is again actually a marvelous improvement.
Hope you have a good Sunday and had a good weekend in spite of the heat! It is cold in San Diego! It is still in the 60's, and I have now experienced my first earthquake (5.4 last week and the whole hospital swayed!!!)! Bill and I just looked at each other and laughed when the hospital was moving literally....what else could happen to us this summer?
Maura (posting for Bill)
Maura again. Bill feels much better since antibiotics were started this morning following some growth in his blood cultures, but he is very weak and tired from the events of the past several days. He was very ill yesterday, but now has his first normal temperature in several days. His surgical site is still intact and still not considered to be the source of his infection and previous fever which is great!
Although we would wish for no PE (pulmonary emboli/blood clot in the lung), he has been at very high risk since the initial injury with so many fractures and prolonged immobility, and then the multiple surgeries.....so at least the pulmonary emboli are small. He is on oxygen and increased dosage of the blood thinner that he was already on, but his longterm medication for anticoagulation (blood thinner) is being discussed by neurology and internal medicine to determine a final recommendation. So.....as bad as yesterday was, today is again actually a marvelous improvement.
Hope you have a good Sunday and had a good weekend in spite of the heat! It is cold in San Diego! It is still in the 60's, and I have now experienced my first earthquake (5.4 last week and the whole hospital swayed!!!)! Bill and I just looked at each other and laughed when the hospital was moving literally....what else could happen to us this summer?
Maura (posting for Bill)
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Another Challenge in the Saga
Saturday 10 July 2010: Another Challenge
Hi All;
It is Maura again....sometimes it seems that we have just been on the wrong side of luck in this saga. Yesterday was a great day! Following the revision surgery to remove and replace a couple of the screws, Bill's pain was significantly lessened. With that improvement, he really worked hard to ambulate and do his PT and sit in his chair for about 7 hours yesterday.
But then came the shaking chills and fever, that began yesterday at 6:00PM and hasn't resolved yet. No source identified, but many cultures taken and pending. CT today identified a couple of left sided pulmonary emboli....so lovenox (blood thinner) increased in dosage and Internal Medicine consulted for concurrence. With a fever and chills all day, Bill just didn't feel well, but feels a little better tonight.
So, still watching and waiting to see if fever resolves or specific source identified. The good news is that so far no indication that there is any kind of wound infection associated with the surgeries. However, looks like we will not be departing for the rehabilitation hospital tomorrow, as was the plan yesterday........
Thanks again for thinking of Bill and calling and writing. It has been a very difficult month, and we hope that things turn for the better soon.
Maura (posting for Bill)
Hi All;
It is Maura again....sometimes it seems that we have just been on the wrong side of luck in this saga. Yesterday was a great day! Following the revision surgery to remove and replace a couple of the screws, Bill's pain was significantly lessened. With that improvement, he really worked hard to ambulate and do his PT and sit in his chair for about 7 hours yesterday.
But then came the shaking chills and fever, that began yesterday at 6:00PM and hasn't resolved yet. No source identified, but many cultures taken and pending. CT today identified a couple of left sided pulmonary emboli....so lovenox (blood thinner) increased in dosage and Internal Medicine consulted for concurrence. With a fever and chills all day, Bill just didn't feel well, but feels a little better tonight.
So, still watching and waiting to see if fever resolves or specific source identified. The good news is that so far no indication that there is any kind of wound infection associated with the surgeries. However, looks like we will not be departing for the rehabilitation hospital tomorrow, as was the plan yesterday........
Thanks again for thinking of Bill and calling and writing. It has been a very difficult month, and we hope that things turn for the better soon.
Maura (posting for Bill)
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Onward
Hi All;
This is Maura providing today's update. Well, today Bill went back to surgery for removal and replacement of two screws on left side at T7 and T8. All went well, and new screws placed without difficulty. Bill is still groggy from anesthesia, and his current humor may be suspect so....I am writing today's post. (He disagrees with my assessment of his humor, but that is not new!) His current great concern is that they took his pajama bottoms and left him in a gown. Perhaps that serves to illustrate why I am the author of today's post!
Hopefully, he can get back on track with his PT tomorrow, and it is possible that he will be ready to transfer to his inpatient rehabilitation program at San Diego Rehabilitation Institute on Sunday or Monday. The length of stay there is uncertain, but at least 1 week. He will undergo some more testing and intensive PT and OT for both his back and his shoulder/scapula. I am told that most patient's with injuries comparable to those of Bill's need to stay at inpatient rehabilitation for 2 weeks.
Thanks to everyone! You all have really lifted his spirits during these past weeks. Thank you.
Maura (writing for Bill)
This is Maura providing today's update. Well, today Bill went back to surgery for removal and replacement of two screws on left side at T7 and T8. All went well, and new screws placed without difficulty. Bill is still groggy from anesthesia, and his current humor may be suspect so....I am writing today's post. (He disagrees with my assessment of his humor, but that is not new!) His current great concern is that they took his pajama bottoms and left him in a gown. Perhaps that serves to illustrate why I am the author of today's post!
Hopefully, he can get back on track with his PT tomorrow, and it is possible that he will be ready to transfer to his inpatient rehabilitation program at San Diego Rehabilitation Institute on Sunday or Monday. The length of stay there is uncertain, but at least 1 week. He will undergo some more testing and intensive PT and OT for both his back and his shoulder/scapula. I am told that most patient's with injuries comparable to those of Bill's need to stay at inpatient rehabilitation for 2 weeks.
Thanks to everyone! You all have really lifted his spirits during these past weeks. Thank you.
Maura (writing for Bill)
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Small blip... but onward ho!!!!!!!
Unexpected news from the CT scan of the T-spine yesterday. There is a a pedicle screw that migrated into the spinal canal at T-7. They will reoperate tomm. to readjust. Overall so delay. I'm sure everything will be just fine.
I'll update tomm. post-surgery.
Bill
I'll update tomm. post-surgery.
Bill
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Easy Part Over, Hard Part Coming up!!!!
Well, all the surgeries are done and I'm getting lined up with OT and PT to re-establish optimal function. My spine surgeons I should be able to be up and running again in 6 months !!!! Since he really has no real idea of my shear laziness factor, I suspect more like 9 months... Plus running in Maine in December holds no specific appeal for me.
Unexpectedly, the shoulder surgery was much more complicated and extensive than I had expected. I thought it was just my glowing personality when the Sholder team came around all excited about some special hardware they were using to relengthen the glonoid neck. That surgery actually took 5 (!!!!) hours, televised (it might be on U-tube). Post op evening was essentially the worse night of my life. But it passed.
Different pain, long road ahead, but on my way home after my 2 week post op check. I was extremely proud of my self for toddling from my room and sitting in a real chair for 5 hours today !!!! ( of course, when Maura had her first post op day after her epidural abscess, she had done about 10 full loops around the ward hold onto an IV Pool!!!!.... sturdy Maine woman).
Regardless, thanks for all the support and prayers. I have Internet again (not IN San Diego Naval hospital... T-Mobile Broadband). From now on I'm planning my major i njuries around Wi-Fi technology !!!!
Bill
Unexpectedly, the shoulder surgery was much more complicated and extensive than I had expected. I thought it was just my glowing personality when the Sholder team came around all excited about some special hardware they were using to relengthen the glonoid neck. That surgery actually took 5 (!!!!) hours, televised (it might be on U-tube). Post op evening was essentially the worse night of my life. But it passed.
Different pain, long road ahead, but on my way home after my 2 week post op check. I was extremely proud of my self for toddling from my room and sitting in a real chair for 5 hours today !!!! ( of course, when Maura had her first post op day after her epidural abscess, she had done about 10 full loops around the ward hold onto an IV Pool!!!!.... sturdy Maine woman).
Regardless, thanks for all the support and prayers. I have Internet again (not IN San Diego Naval hospital... T-Mobile Broadband). From now on I'm planning my major i njuries around Wi-Fi technology !!!!
Bill
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)