Wed. Update

Just an fyi, I do have cell phone coverage up here...it is just sporadic sometimes. So I don't feel completely cut off from the rest of teh world. :)

We finally got to meet with the physician and he sat down and talked with us. It was really great for both Dan and I to get some questions answered. Mainly to know that she has not been going in for continued clotting. The only clots in the artery were the first 3 surgeries. The proceeding surgeries have been to relieve pressure and clean out the area. They have her on Heprin (a blood thinner) so that she won't get clots and what is happening is that she is bleeding into the tissue surrounding the incision, creating pressure and pain. So they keep going in to remove the blood that is building up. Julie thought that they were going in for more clots. Well the blood is clotting, but in a normal fashion. Now they are trying to figure out she is bleeding into the surrounding tissue and how to stop it. They would like to get her on an oral blood thinner, but the previous two times they tried, she did have more arterial clots.

The catch and the main concern is that normally people have 3 main arteries that run down your legs and two of hers are not functioning. The doctor speculated as to why that is, but wasn't sure. So if the remaining good artery continues to clot, there is not an alternate route and the blood supply to her foot would be greatly decreased.

The doctor was compassionate this time around and helpful. I think once he sat down and stopped trying to run away, we stopped being defensive and he started to talk. His assistant was there also, so she showed great compassion at the situation we are in. So that was really great. I am so glad that we pushed for a family consult, it was what we needed.

So in the immediate future the concern will be the transition to the oral blood thinner and to watch out for more clots. If the artery remains open, that is good news and she will be on the upswing. If the artery clots, then the doctor described a couple of options that they have, but would rather not.

As far as we are concerned, we are remaining here probably through Friday or Saturday. Both Dan and I feel like this is where we are supposed to be. She has only had one other visitor (the pastor and his wife). Her other friends and family are almost 2 hours from here and now the roads are getting bad. So I doubt that any one will be able to make the trip this week. The doctor believes she will at least be another week in this hospital and assured us that if she needs follow-up care that she would get it. The way he put it is that health care facilities are agressivley competitive and that she would get good care. So that eases our mind that they will take care of her following her stay. Plus she has a social worker assigned to her case now

Josiah is starting to get stir crazy here and I think he is really missing his friends at day care. I think he is starting to miss the stimulation that they could give him that we can't. I know he loves swimming and he gets braver every day, jumping in and putting his face in the water.

A big milestone that he made here was peeing on the big potty. He has gone twice now and he clapped both times, he was so excited. So maybe he is ready after all to start potty training...or it could just be a fluke :) But we just faced him backwards on the toilet, no potty chair or potty seat...just the big toilet and he tried and went both times we set him on it :) What a big boy!!

Another big milestone...he has entered the phase of terrible two's that involves the word NO! For a while there he answered YAH to everything and it was so cute. I knew it would end, but I had no idea it would be so abrupt and with such fervor. Not only is his first and favorite word NO, but it is usually accompanied by a blood curtling scream that makes every one around him cringe and us want to cover his mouth (which doesn't really work, by the way).

At any rate! it has been nice to have so much time for our family to spend together.