Zach Update

Friday, June 2, 2006 4:49 PM CDT

Thank you to all the prayer warriors out there, and to all the hordes of lively, hungry teenage boys who boisterously clamor in, ride the bed, eat the chocolate and keep Zach's spirits up.

Reports:
Zach: The surgery went well. The bone is intact and perfect. Hooray! The cultures show that the infection is staph, which is no surprise. We will find out tomorrow if it's a garden variety staph. If so, Z will go home on oral antibiotics. If it's a resistant strain, they will do another surgery and place a PICC line in his arm and he will receive IV antibiotics at home. The line would probably not be able to be placed until Monday, so he'd likely go home Tuesday. We're praying HARD for alternative #1.

Kenny: The labs showed no signs of infection and they have ruled out kidney stones. So, bottom line, they aren't sure what's causing it. The good news is, they are treating it as if it's a topical infection in the penis/urethra, rather than an internal infection in the bladder, so they've put him on antibiotics and a topical antifungal cream. (As a side story, if you've ever tried to give a pill to a cat...triple that and you've got a close picture of what it's like to try to put cream on a 15 year old's owie penis!) Today he says it's much better and that there wasn't any blood in his urine. This is Kenny report, unverified by anyone, since he flushed the toilet...so I'm hoping he's telling it straight, but right now, I think he'd say ANYTHING to get us to leave him the hell alone! He says the pain is better, too. And he didn't fight Grandpa putting on the cream, so we hope we're on the mend. The doc says that it needs some close follow-up, however, even if the antibiotics clear it, because they don't know why it's happening, and while it might be just an odd infection or a fluke, it could also be signs of something serious. He'll see the pediatrician in a week.

Kate: She's hanging in there. Her big dance recital is tomorrow. It's been pretty tough on her. She's been very worried about her brothers, and missing Mom. She was just a wreck on Wednesday. Luckily, my mom got here, and she got to go home to her own house, and that helped hugely, also my mom is great with lots of snuggles and cuddles and came into the house and slept with Kate in the big bed, so that did wonders for her spirits. I think she just needed some emotional filling up, and thankfully, my mom was there to do that job in my absence. I let Kate stay home from school yesterday and stay with me at the hospital. I think that helped, too, and she snuggled some with Zach, too. Although, I have to say, he got progressively crankier as the day wore on. He hadn't eaten since friends brought milkshakes by the evening before and he didn't go into surgery until 4:00...so he went about 20 hours without eating. By about noon, he was arguing with his bed. Sheesh.

He's definitely ready to be home. He's cruising the halls in a wheelchair, trying to see how quickly he can make tight turns, driving nurses crazy and is generally chomping at the bit.

Mom: well, I could be better. I've had a lot of support...Deb, Dee, Alex, Karen, Laura, Mindy, Evy...bringing coffee, food, taking me for walks, checking in, listening. Thanks, guys. Thanks, Huxolls for taking Duke! Thanks to my C-friends, Cathy, Cheri and Claudia keeping the prayers going.

I know there is a bigger emotional storm on the horizon. With all the crisis, I've not had the time or fortitude to even let the reality of Doug's death come to the forefront yet. Once the fallout settles, I know I'll need time to process, to feel, to grieve.

Sleeping okay, eating okay. Many, many flashbacks to when Dave was in the hospital exactly one year ago. Sudden pictures that leave me feeling hollow and empty and surreal. Sounds and smells that bring back the fear in the pit of my stomach. It's been hard for the kids, too. Those memories are right there, so close I can touch them. And it's awful.

Today in Walla Walla, a cleansing rain, rinsing the dust from the air, cutting the heat. It's good. God is good, all the time. We're turning a corner.

Love you all,
Shelley
PS. I wonder how many people out there think I'm either crazy or am making this crap up. This sort of thing doesn't happen to real people does it???? I guess so! For reference, see the shit sandwich entry in the journal history that Kendrie's mom wrote!!!