Saturday, September 02, 2006

A brief escape

Hi everyone:

Patty is home for the weekend, although she is very much wishing she didn't have to return to the hospital next week. We left UCH just before 6pm last night, and are expected back there sometime on Tuesday.

The plan for next week is to better resolve the skin rash issue and hit Patty with the double whammy of plasmapheresis and IVIG. With luck, we'll knock those Class II antibodies down to the point where Patty is a good transplant candidate. We'll be pretty discouraged if this round of actions doesn't yield the desired results. Patty will likely be in the hospital from Tuesday until Saturday.

Today, Patty is quite sore, somewhat nauseous and very shaky, but otherwise is doing pretty well. She's very happy to be home after spending five nights in the hospital. I don't think even the discomfort of her surgery sores can take away the comfort she's feeling in being in her own space. Cindy and Neil are visiting, and helping to keep Patty's spirits up. Kathleen stayed over last night, and left this morning. Neil and I have created some variation on shepherd's pie that is reminiscent of lasagna, but with waffle fries instead of noodles -- trust us, it tasted amazing enough that we made it last night and again today. Well, that's the boring story of our boring day. I'll write again later if there's anything to share.

Love,
Brian

Here's what the full Quinton catheter looks like

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

OK, I'll admit it: when I saw the first picture of the Quinton catheter I wondered what was under the gauze. Now I know.

God, I am so sorry that you are going through this, Patty ... you must feel like the human pin cushion.