Robin's Progress Report--6/8/08

I am going to keep this short because I need to get back to the hospital. I want to thank everyone for the prayers and thoughts of support for Robin and for John and me. I have received many e-mail responses to my earlier messages, but due to the shear number and the fact that I am spending most of my waking hours at the hospital, I am unable to reply right now. I have been reading them to Robin, and we have been through about half of them, but I really haven't had enough time to reply yet.

Robin is improving daily since her surgery. On Friday, they removed the chest drainage tube, providing Robin with some level of relief. Her oncologist, Dr. McClure increased Robin's pain medications, and that helped, too. Robin said she believes the back pain is less than before surgery, but her side, where they went in through the ribs, is still very painful. Robin was also fitted on Friday for a "turtle shell," a hard plastic shell that fits on her back and front. It provides support for her vertebrae and helps immobilize her while the bones are healing. On Saturday afternoon, she walked a little bit with her turtle shell and a walker. Her physical therapist doesn't work on Sundays, so her next walking opportunity will be on Monday. Robin's neurosurgeon dropped by on Saturday, too. He explained what he had done and said that everything looks good.

Robin seems to be gradually regaining her strength, but still has a long way to go. They are starting to wean her off of the steroids. That should help her blood sugar return to normal, and help promote healing. She is doing breathing exercises (when anyone but me tells her to do them). She needs to be able to walk down the hallway by herself before they will let her come home.

I have started a detailed description of her surgery to post on the blog, but it will take some time with the computer to do that. I'll probably have to wait until she gets home.

I'll close for now. Need to get back to the hospital. Please continue to pray for a speedy recovery.

Thanks again to everyone,

Love

                  Robin, Larry, and John