The latest news...

Okay, so there is a lot of news to report since it has been well over a week since the last blog...a lot of good and some not so good.

The not so good: the staph infection has returned, or more likely was never completely cleared up in the first place. They have been treating that orally with a very strong antibiotic and we are all hoping that it will finally be gone soon. We are not sure how long he will have to be on this dose of antibiotic. He has a good infectious disease doctor who sees him at Sunnyview and we are thankful for that. We feel confident that he will continue to monitor this situation closely.

Joe has been pretty nauseous in the last few days. There is a possibility that this has been caused by the antibiotics. They are going to do some very specific blood work (which they have been doing for the last 10 days anyway) tomorrow to make sure they are not overlooking something more serious. There is a chance that being on these strong antibodies for a long period of time could cause damage to the liver or pancreas.

The good: My dad continues to do great with all of his therapy. He has walked more and more everyday. He is beginning to bring the left foot a little bit in front of the right instead of just shuffling it up to meet the other. He has become very proficient with the walker and getting himself in and out of the wheelchair. He has done the stairs a few more times and even mastered some ramps with his walker! He continues to make us all very proud!

His last few doctor visits were really good. He saw his orthopedic surgeon who is thrilled with the way all of his bones look and the way he is progressing. He did say somewhere down the line they will have to go in and do a hip replacement on the right leg. They did the best they could with what they had to work with, but the "hip" he has now will not have a full range of motion.

The plastic surgeon said they will probably be able to cut away some of the incision at the same time as the hip replacement. I am not sure if this means they will be able to remove part of the "football" that is now part of his hip. The "football" is what Robb has named the new hip. It looks like he has a big bandage under his clothes on that right hip bet it is just the hip with some new calcified tissue. Yes, my dad has declared he is O.K. with his new "bubble butt".

In general, the plastic surgeon is very pleased with all of his surgical sites as well. He is not overly concerned with the fluid that has built up in one of the elbows. They are doing a lot of work right now trying to "walk" the old guy around right now. He would like my dad to get started right away on some hand therapy. The right hand may not regain as much strength or feeling as the left. However, he did say he thinks that they will be able to restore the left hand to 80% of what it was before. Yes, he said he believes that my dad will be able to swing the golf club again! That will not be for some time, but it is encouraging none the less.

We had a nice Thanksgiving dinner at Sunnyview with the entire family. We did not have the traditional meal, but that was not really the point this year. We obviously were all thankful for having the time to spend with each other and the second chance my dad has been given. We are also thankful to have friends and family like you who have been so supportive through your prayers, strength, and well wishes.

Happy and Safe Holidays,
Stacy