Shee-EEeee's Baa-AAaacCKkkk. --- 6/30/09

Robin FINALLY got released from the hospital today and is back home!

She called me about 9:30 this morning to tell me that they would release her at 11:00. I needed to be there at 10:00 for the discharge conference. Needless to say, since we are not yet "beaming" from place to place a la Star Trek, the best I could do was 10:30. Then the wait began…. Well, it wasn't too bad, since she was in the car by 12:10. But I DO spend a good part of my life waiting for that woman!!!

It took a while to get her in the house and settled, and to carry in all the crap she accumulated in the hospital over the week. Robin had called her attendant, Connie, to meet us at home, which was good, because I needed to go to the pharmacy to get prescriptions filled and materials for wound care. When I got back, I showed Connie how to dress the wound, since she will need to do it while I am at work.

What's next??? The wound needs to be dressed three times a day, or whenever it gets wet or messy from "nature calls." To keep her dry, I figure I'll need to get her up every hour and a half all night long. She goes to see her oncologist, Dr. McClure, in one week, and she will see her Favorite surgeon, Dr. Mason, in two weeks.

Thanks for all the prayers and good thoughts. Don't stop now! She still has a long way to go. But at least she's home!

Love to all,
--- Larry, Robin, & John

Surgical Success! - - - 06/25/09

Apparently, I was too groggy when I sent the message last night because I received several questions by return mail.

In an attempt to clear it up: Robin had a large “sore” (about 5 x 3 inches) on her derriere. She has been in pain for about a week, exacerbated by the fact that she spends a large part of her day in a wheelchair. Her oncologist sent her to Robin’s favorite surgeon, Dr. Mason, who said it needed to be opened and cleaned out as soon as she was able. The issue was her Coumadin (a blood thinner taken for blood clots) levels, which were too high for surgery on Wednesday. Dr. Mason (optimistically) scheduled the surgery for 5:00 PM on Thursday, 06/25/09.

I saw Robin in the morning, and she looked well. I went to work for a few hours, got back to the hospital about 2PM. Through the day, Robin’s Coumadin levels got good enough that the doctor decided the surgery could be performed.

Robin was taken down to pre-op for surgery at 4:00 PM. For two and a half hours, I heard nothing. At about 6:30, John arrived and just a few minutes later, Dr. Mason came in to fill us in.

Apparently, the sore was not too complicated, having no “trails” or “fingers” leading to other locations. Dr. Mason cut the entire top off and removed the dead tissue. He saw another separate (but much smaller) place where something was starting, and he cleaned it, too. He told us that samples were sent to the lab for analysis. It is important to learn what it was and how to kill it. One concern for someone who has been in hospitals a lot is MRSA, a strain of staph that's resistant to antibiotics.

It sounds like Robin will be in the hospital a few more days. Before she will be released to go home, they need to get the lab results on the infection, Robin must be able to tolerate the pain without IV medication, and we need to be capable of the wound care Robin needs.

By the time I left to go home (a little after 10:00), Robin was coherent (well, as much as she ever is), and had eaten some solid food. She seemed to be doing well, but was sleepy, so I figured it was time to go.

Please continue to keep Robin in your thoughts and prayers.

I'll try to get something out tomorrow night.

Thank you,
Larry, Robin, and John

Back in the Hospital Again--- 06/24/09

Robin developed a very large infection on her derriere towards the end of last week. By Friday, she was running a mild fever, and Saturday, it opened a bit and started draining. I tried to get her to go to the doctor (ER), but she insisted on waiting until Tuesday, when she was scheduled for chemotherapy.

Apparently, the drainage was enough to eliminate the fever by Monday, but she was not allowed to have chemo on Tuesday because of the infection. Robin was sent to her favorite surgeon, Dr. Mason, on Wednesday, who got her into the hospital (CHRISTUS St. John Hospital in Nassau Bay, Texas; room 311).

Because of the Coumadin that Robin is taking for her blood clots, they need to improve her clotting factors before surgery. So if they are better on Thursday, Robin will get surgery late Thursday afternoon (about 5:00 PM). She will probably be in the hospital for 3 or 4 days.

That's about it for now. Please continue to keep Robin in your thoughts and prayers. Prayer works. I'll try to get something out tomorrow night after the surgery.

Thank you,
Larry, Robin, and John