So we are heading into another procedure-filled week. Today we went to radiology and had the stitches taken out of the drain site, and then headed over to IV therapy for iron infusion, labs and dressing change. Unfortunately neither line in his Hickman wanted to draw today. They put activace in both lines and just a few minutes ago Brent was able to draw from both lines. Whew! Escaped that one. His drain site hurts like heck.

Tomorrow we head up to SLC to see Dr. Price so that he can check out the two holes in the incision that are draining, and the drain itself. Brent always knows that a visit to Dr. Price = pain. The new hole that I had to open up on Thursday night is huge and deep. Hopefully it is quick to heal up.

Wednesday we go to Dr. Hemmert's office for his monthly injection of Cymzia. It is the drug that supposedly keeps the Crohn's in check. Brent really has the whole catch 22 thing down. He has to be on high doses of steroids for the Crohn's, but that prevents him from healing quickly. If they were to take him off the steroids, he would heal, but the Crohn's would flare up. Aye-yi-yi.

Hopefully, Thursday will be a nice quiet Thanksgiving with all the kids. We have made a tradition of going to a movie on Thanksgiving. We haven't decided which one to go to yet. We are excited that Brent will be able to join us for Thanksgiving dinner this year, and be able to actually eat. Last year he had curry sweat potato soup (blended and put through a strainer) while we gorged ourselves on all the normal Thanksgiving fixings.

We are extremely thankful for all of you. Please know that the prayers said in our behalf, and the thoughts and good vibes sent our way are felt and very much appreciated. We love you. Happy Thanksgiving!

lisa

No fistula???

Well, we finally got a hold of Dr. Price. He says that there is no fistula. With Brent you have to know exactly what you are looking for on a CT. He just doesn't have what most people have inside of them. :) So, with that good news, we do find ourselves back a month on the whole abscess situation. The drain is back in, and both holes in the incision are draining again. Hopefully with the IV antibiotics back on board, and the awesome wound care that I do twice a day, we can get him healed up once and for all. Thanks for all the words of encouragement and prayers. Every little set back seems to take a greater toll on our sanity.
lisa

So, blogging two days in a row is not a good thing. Not good at all. After what we thought was a good report yesterday, today turned into hell. Did I just say that? Yes, I did, and I have thought much worse.

Brent woke up at 4 this morning with 102.5 temp. Not good. The spot that Price cauterized yesterday was draining profusely. Not good. Another CT scan this afternoon. Not good. Drain inserted in same spot as the drain he just got rid of. Not good. Probable fistula connecting to the colon. NOT GOOD! Suffice it to say we have not had a good day. I guess we'll know more tomorrow after Price reads the CT.

Just when you think life is getting better . . .

Today we spent most of the day up at IMC (hospital in Murray). Brent was able to get his Hickman IV put back in his chest. Good-bye to the PICC line in his arm! Yay! The Hickman is so much more convenient and longer lasting than a PICC. The Hickman IV is inserted through his chest, up over the clavical and into his vena cava. It is used to administer his TPN (nutrition IV). After that we had a little time to grab some lunch in the cafeteria and then go up to an appt. with Dr. Price. We came prepared to have Dr. Price rip open the spot in his incision again because we were worried it wasn't healing and was draining too much. Dr. Price didn't seem to worried about it. He did cauterize it with silver nitrate though. Ouch. Wound care tonight was NOT fun. Sometimes I am not a very good nurse. Maybe it's because I am too emotionally involved with the patient. :)

Anyway, we hope that things are only going to get better from here on out. Brent's goal is to be back at work by Dec. 1. Barring any more complications, he just might be able to do it. :)

I stood in line yesterday at the county health dept. for tickets to get our H1N1 shots on Thursday. The flu is something that would NOT be good for Brent to get. We had a little scare last week and thought he had it, so just to be cautious, he started on Tamiflu. Whether he had it or not, we'll never know because they aren't really testing anyone anymore, but if he did, the Tamiflu helped to reduce the symptoms.

So, life goes on. We look forward to a quiet Thanksgiving with the kids home. We have a tradition of going to a movie on Thanksgiving. Any good suggestions?

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone! We love you and we count our many blessings each day. We have so much to be thankful for.

Lisa

I know you have all been waiting on the edge of your seats to find out what happened at the surgeon today, huh? Ok, well, humor me anyway.

To sum up todays visit . . . Brent is now minus the drain. YAY! It took the Dr. a lot of pulling, but it finally came out. Gross, I know. It was stuck. I closed my eyes and covered my ears. The CT report from yesterday was very good. It showed the abscesses almost totally resolved. (hence the drain removal.) He did need to open up the lower wound again, as it had a buildup of 'stuff.' So, now wound care will be on that spot, with the upper spot pretty much healed up. IV antibiotics continue for 5 more days just to be sure we killed everything off.

Say your prayers that everything continues to heal and that the infections do not return once he discontinues the antibiotics. Thanks!

On the way home Brenda (Brent's sister) treated us to lunch at Greek Souvlaki #3. She thought it was fun to treat her brother to lunch since she hasn't been able to do that for a few years. Thanks Brenda! Brent had chicken souvlaki with rice and a pita. It's so fun to see him eat! We get excited over the littlest of things.

Brent has been able to do a little bit of work from home, and that helps with the mental recuperation. Glad the office still needs him. :)

Thanks everyone.
lisa

Ok, so I haven't 'blogged' for awhile. No news is good news right? Actually everything is pretty much status quo. Brent has started working a little bit from home. We think the abscesses are healing. He has another CT tomorrow, and appt with surgeon on Friday, so we will know more after that. Hopefully the CT shows the abscesses are gone or almost gone, and he is hoping they pull the drain. The stupid drain in his side is the source of most of his discomfort. Anyway, more news after Friday. :)
lisa