Well, not a whole lot going on. A lot of waiting. Visited with Dr. Price on Friday because of a concern with the incision. He's pretty sure there is an undissolved stitch deep inside, creating the hole that will not heal. I now get to pack it with Acetic Acid to hopefully break down the stitch. Yikes. It's pretty gross.

The Malecott drain in the intestine is still quite bothersome and painful. On Friday Dr. Price applied some silver nitrate to the opening because of some hyper-granulation going on. Now it really stings. Brent wishes he could just get rid of it. He has to clamp it off during the day, and they really want him to clamp it off at night too, but every time he tries to sleep with it clamped he gets very sick. So, we hook it back up to suction at night so that he can try to sleep.

We still do not know what happens next. This waiting game is getting really old. We are waiting to hear from UCLA as to what they recommend next. If they feel that their surgeons can repair the intestine, we may have to head down to sunny CA for awhile. Brent is still not a candidate for an intestinal transplant. His liver is fine and he still has accessible ports for TPN. Those are the two main qualifications for a transplant. Hopefully some decisions can be made soon.

Brent is trying to work from home a little bit every day. I find weird things to clean, or books to read. We are in the process of trying to find a new car. We can't rely on my Volvo anymore. :( I still drive it around town, but the transmission is quickly dying. Driving the truck back and forth to Salt Lake to appointments is pretty costly, as the truck just kind of sucks gas. So, hopefully we can find something we like and that we can afford. I have a feeling I will be giving up my leather seats, seat warmers, and sun roof. Dang. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted!

As always, we appreciate your love and concern, your prayers and your thoughts in our behalf. We love our family and friends and all that you do for us. Most days we feel as though life is passing by, as we watch the weeks and months flip by on the calendar, with no end in sight. We get discouraged, and then we get hopeful again, and then we get discouraged again . . . you get the picture. We really do appreciate you. Thanks.