Fri. 2/27

There's not much to update on really. I just found out I'm probably having an allergic reaction to one of my antibiotics, so for now they have been suspended. Boy, was I having an itchy day! I do get to enjoy a 3-day weekend off from my HBO treatments, but that just means more naptime, & a more relaxed med schedule. Surgery is still on for Monday, unless labs come back abnormal. Not sure if I will have to wait 3-4 days after my surgery for culture results before I get discharged, or if I may get to leave w/in a day or two. Either way, I pray I am ready. I have lots of faith in my doctors & once again, I must mention the wonderful people here at Audubon who have shown me lots of love & given me tons of hope.

I haven't asked about when I can return into the public, mainly church. It is all up to the Dr. whether it is safe for you all & me too. Just to reiterate, I am not contagious in an airborne sort of way. It would have to be direct contact to my wound & body fluid to an open sore or cut. We all live w/ Staph on our bodies. I am still fighting the infection though, so for me to get sick (even w/ a cold) would lessen my efforts, by giving my body another battle. So we'll see, no rush.

Off to get some medical stuff done & take some pain meds, then hopefully see my husband. I just have to brag that he gave up concert tickets tonight to be w/ me. His mom is also flying into town any minute & he will go pick her up w/ the girls. I think they are going to be happy to be back to normal (sort-of) at home. It's just hard to imagine I won't be there with them for nearly another week.

Thurs. 2/26

Nothing much to report today. I just watched some TV, ate some pretty good hospital food, worked out a great pain med schedule, weaned myself off a little Demerol, got a good report on my wound site, & started hearing the word discharge thrown around. Did I mention I got to see Alivia? Hannah too! I had not seen Livvy in 8 days!!! It was so good to see her & cuddle w/ her. She has not forgot me! Not that I thought she would have, but it was nice to see her reaction. She also brought me a cute balloon & a beautiful little bracelet (Thanks Amanda!) I am so glad I got a chance to see her before my surgery, b/c I probably won't be able to hold her in my lap for a few weeks.

Hannah sure is loving being able to come up & eat the dessert of my dinner tray. =) She said she almost cries on the school bus b/c she misses me. =( She also said to me today "Mom, I wish this wasn't bad, like maybe you were just here having a baby, a baby boy." It was so sweet! She is definitely getting spoiled by Casey though, so a few things might have to change when we get home.

I am so sorry I missed some wonderful visitors today. I go downstairs for my treatment at 1:30p.m. until 4p.m. Thank you so much for coming to see me! Casey's mom is coming into town tomorrow. It is so nice to have her "be me." She is going to be taking care of Casey & the kids, just as I would like to do. He deserves it for sure! This has been a hard 9 days for us all, but especially challenging for him, seeing as he has taken on both of our jobs.

Well, I am having a hard time falling asleep, so I am going to get back to some more tv watching/ eating/ healing. Please pray for the lady who is resting across the hall from me, her name is Helen, she is quite old, & her family never leaves her side. I have reason to believe God will be calling her home soon. I wish I could go comfort the family & pray w/ them all, but I can't have contact w/ other patients.

Y'all have a great Friday!
Mine promises to be another Adventure at Audubon.=P

Wed. 2/25

A yummy breakfast, a yummy lumch, & a yummy dinner makes a girl happy. I did another HBO treatment today, which is much better when I get to watch TV w/ sound. Now, I'm just waiting on some Demerol & a dressing change for my wound. I saw a few Drs. today, all wanting me to get better & get home. Nice guys.

The plans are another surgery on Monday to debride/clean the wound & partially close it up. Then I could possibly come home a few days later. I would still have to take weekday trips up here to the hospital for outpatient wound care in the HBO chamber, pick up my antibiotics (done thru my IV at home) at one of my Drs. office once a week, & then a home nurse once a day. This on top of my own personal wound care, pain meds, oral antibiotics, etc etc. But, I would get to be home.

Please pray for God's hand to be on my surgeon's during this surgery, & the timing to be just right for me to go home. There will be more risk w/ my discharge, but the guys think it is almost time. Hopefully, I won't need to be babysat too much.

I think I have the pain med situation figured out better, which is good & I can eat, which is certainly an answered prayer. Okay, gotta get rdy for some not so much fun. I do wish I was at church tonight w/ Casey & the girls.

Updating

I realized I haven't been posting my updates here for those w/out Facebook so below are my entries since being admitted into the hospital.

As fas as today, Tuesday, I AM doing better overall, out of the woods, so to speak, but there is still the danger of contamination of other bacteria, as well as an overgrowth of Staph. So far we are winning the war & the Staph is down to at least one-millionth of the original amount. The redness & swelling have subsided & though my incision is larger after surgery on Fri. the Staph has not advanced. I do have some black tissue in my wound, but it raises no alarms as far as my Drs are concerned, just normal tissue death, probably b/c it dried out some.

I can tell you today is painful & exciting. Painful b/c we are adjusting my pain meds to get me off morphine & on to pain pills (Lor-tab.) So far the pills aren't cutting it, but the doses of Demerol in between are keeping me sane. I have asked God to help me through this pain, which I know is temporary, but I jusy know I can't do this all myself. I used to think I could, but I have been so humbled & my eyes really opened in that way.

Anyways, the exciting part of my day has got to be the HBO (Hyperbaric Oxygen) Chamber I went into earlier. It sounds so helpful, I am really looking forward to this new healing tool. Starting tomorrow I will go down to the Wound Center at 130p.m. & "dive" at 2p.m. The whole process looks so Sci-fi. I lie in there for 1hr46mins. It takes the 1st 10mins to descend (I'm really not going anywhere but the pressure is) then I am at bottom on high-concentrated oxygen, then I come back up. I feel a little light-headed afterwards, but nothing strange good or bad. The HBO treatments should really do wonders for my wound healing & beating the Staph.

Other than that I take a few naps, get my wound dressings changed, eat, type, & every now & then I get to excercise or walk. I tried a few stretches today & a nurse (not my own) came in & made me sit down b/c my heartrate was up. Haha, I was only following Dr. orders anyways. My nurses are a little more lenient & take such good care of me, once again a huge blessing from God.

Just had to add: One of my Drs came in & has decided to switch me to Percocet & increase the dose. This could be the answered-prayer I was hoping for. =) Oh, and Josie has a sinus cold, she is on antibiotics, so no visits from her for a while. Liv has been running a fever today, so some extra prayers for the both of them would be lovely. Thanks! ~T

Mon. 2/23

Well, no such luck on the wound vac. I kind of expected, due to the lack of skin available & how much is needed to tape it before suction. It's still bumming that I have to deal w/ wound dressings & such, but my pain is much more controlled. I am currently on just Demerol every 4hrs, since I nixed the Morphine during this morning's nausea episode. I am hoping to make the transition to pain pills soon. Today has been a really good food day. I have eaten lots more protein & calories & I feel so much better for it. I did have a bathroom incident today that scared me, but God is good.

My cultures came back as no new bacteria, but I'm guessing some of the staph is still present?!? The surgeon said he would not close me until he was sure there wasn't anything in the wound to reinfect/attack me. So my next treatment is the Hyperbaric Oxgen Treatment. It looks so spacy, but I am told it will help so much. As far as I have read, the oxygen lvls (way more than we breathe in) will help the wound heal, the bad bacteria not to multiply easily, & the antibiotics to do their work. I am on a few antibiotics, which will continue for weeks, possibly months, but whatever it takes.

Ok, so I am like the youngest person on this floor, but it is just now 7pm & I want to crash. *yawn* I am so sleepy! I have to wait for all the shift-change stuff first. Off to listen to a little worship music. Glory in the Highest!"

Sun. 2/22

Yesterday was a pretty good day. I overcame a few battles, one my lack of appetite, & the other made my Dr & nurses happy, but I won't say. While I did feel better since I could eat & drink, I was in more pain b/c I took some less meds. Oh & the fact I guessed my wound was 4in long but was told it was actually 9-12in. Big difference. The dressing changes are frequent & sore, but the pain meds are effective. I think I might've broken a world record for most antibiotics pumped into a single person. They are thinking tomorrow (Mon.) I will have a wound vacuum placed over my wound to clean it out for a few days. This means no more packing & covering, yay! I sure hope they can do it. Just learning a little more each day about MRSA staph & how to care of myself once home. I certainly do not want to get it again. Well, my nausea has been acting up this morning, even though I have this huge plate of bacon in front of me. How I want to eat & get well. Sure do wish I was at church though, sounds so nice, so normal. I will take my Lord where I can get Him though, & I know He never leaves my side. If I need reminding of His mercy, I think of how much worse it could be. When I think about His love, I think about my husband who has taken such good care of my affairs while I've been here, & my kids whom I miss more than words, but I know are doing great at the hands of others. Thanks be to God & all my dear friends.

Fri. 2/20

I had some debridement surgery this afternoon, & the Dr. says my wound is looking so much better.(For anyone curious about my wound, I'm guessing is it about 4in. long, in the bend of my left leg. It's as deep as the fascia.) I am not sure when or if he will close it, or how closed it has to be to go home, but the antibiotics are doing their job! It is officially MRSA, but we all have confidence & reassurance in Him that I will be coming home. The anesthesia did take a toll on me today, and I did have my head in a toilet for a while,then some medicine knocked me out for a good nap. Now I am up & eating (something I haven't done right in a couple days) & then going back to sleep (something I am also lacking.) I "should" be up to visitors tomorrow, but feel free to call if you aren't sure. Do not feel bad if you want to stay away b/c of the infection risk (we have precautions in place) you will not hurt my feelings. Also, if you would like to help out & can't think of a way to do so, please pray for me a healthy appetite & fast healing. Eventually, when my family gets back together, some meals would be nice, but I'm in no way a beggar. Child care is working out on a daily basis & my husband & I should have some time together soon. Thank you thank you thank you! I am praying for all the blessings in my life. God has certainly been so good & merciful to me. I thank Him for this affliction & to see all the beautiful friendships in my life. Love you all, Tara

Thurs. 2/19

The Bad News:
I was praying for Staph, if I was to pick of the two. Well, the cultures are back & it is Staph (MRSA), but a newer (less than 10yrs old) strain that behaves like Strep. The proteins this strain makes (has, creates, something) attacks my white blood cells. So, when we thought my # going down was good, it could b/c my "soldiers" where dying. Just to reiterate, it is more resistant to antibiotics, but it is also more aggressive. I do have to warn anyone that it is not advised to visit it me w/ kids or if you are sick, just as much a precaution for me, as it is for you. Also,

The Good News:
Obviously, not "The Greatest News (see John 3:16)" but definitely awesome. God is good! I am young & healthy so this is rare, but I know I will be healed! I have some pretty skilled Drs. (did I mention The Great Physician?) and some wonderfully caring nurses. I have HOPE & I have Jesus!

I WILL praise HIM in this storm!

I appreciate all your prayers, they are most definitely heard & felt. This all started w/ a shaving nick (probably) that turned into a large abscess. It has taken over the left side of my pelvis, buttock region, & down my inner thigh. I have been opened up, cleaned out, packed, you name it. This is all extremely painful, but I know I will make it through. I am looking at at least one more surgery, hopefully on Friday, but the redness is creeping up again, so it may be tomorrow. It is correct we do not know the specific bacteria, but test results will be back tomorrow (Thurs.) at the earliest. The dr. thinks b/c of how aggressive this infection is, that it is probably the result of Staph or Strep. Strep (aka flesh-eating)is the worst-case scenario, with a 50% fatality rate. I am praying for a miracle. Staph (MRSA) is better, I guess, but since I am allergic to a few antibiotics, it narrows my attack. Who knows what Our Creator can do though? I am very hopeful & very prayer-ful. I can already see God's good work during my time of trial. I will hope to give more updates soon, since my husband so graciously let me touch borrow his computer while I am holed up here. Again, your prayer mean the world (and Heaven!) to me! I love you all & God Bless!

Some prayers please....

***UPDATE***
Always ask for a prescription of pain meds!!! 4 Ibuprofen don't to the trick. It does keep the fever at bay though. When I got there it was 101. I won't know culture results till Wed or Thurs., but I have a follow-up visit tomorrow (Tues.) I will ask for something for the pain then. Unfortunately, the doctor said it would get worse before better, & it has. It has spread past the line marked (as he said it would) but it should also recede after a cpl days of antibiotics. He had to go way down the list to find one I could take (b/c of my allergies) & if it doesn't work (the lab tests it on their sample) I get a new one. So far I haven't noticed any change for the better, but I'm still praying.


***A tad TMI***

Taking a little trip to Urgent Care for an abscess that has gotten out of control. It has swollen significantly lately...let's just say larger than golf ball, smaller than a baseball. Could be staph, don't know. I know it hurts like heck & I think having the chills scares me more. Not really much of a fever though, my temp stays between 99.5 & 99.9. Anyways, better safe than sorry. I never go to the Dr. so this is a big thing for me.

Thanks for the prayers, I will update as soon as I can. Hopefully, on some form of pain meds & antibiotics.

Less-Words Wednesday

No denying this one!



and...


Oh, the jokes I could make, but I won't!

What does he know?

Ummm.. Stephen King, let's talk about your writing! You kill kids in your books & yet you say she can't write? I have lost more respect for you than the young lady you were dissing. I did like one of your books, but one of your movies scared scarred me for years.

Hannah the Baptist