| Saturday, January 26 |
| Jake couldn't come home for Christmas last month. He
has yet another ulcer on his butt that is getting rather ugly. He
can't sit in his chair for long periods of time and could never tolerate
the long trip to Oconomowoc. He also has an ulcer on his ankle that
is starting to tunnel. That's never good news. Terri drove up to visit Jake at Christmas time. She & I bought him a new laptop. We really surprised him as he totally did not expect that. His old laptop completely died. He also received a subscription to rental dvd's via the mail which is coming in very handy right now since Jake is in bed, off his ulcer, most of the time. Per usual, he is in very good spirits. |
| Sunday, February 10th Jake is very excited & at a loss for words (not really - this is Jake). He has a secret Valentine friend & received a very generous gift from him/her. No return address & he has no one to thank. Did I mention that he is very excited. |
| Thursday, February 28th The ulcer on his butt is getting larger. Now it is a tunneling wound. He was offered the wound vac again but was hesitant because of past experiences with it. But this is new & improved. It seems to be helping him. The ankle wound is better. Terri planned on visiting last weekend but our Wisconsin weather put a halt to that. |
| Friday, May 30th Terri & Jeff returned yesterday afternoon from a visit with Jake. |
| Jake is still battling his skin ulcer. This one is
not as bad as the 2004 ulcer but will again require surgical closing.
He is dragging his heels about the surgery because of the extended
mandatory bed rest. Right now he is on bed rest but able to get up
for short periods of time. He wouldn't be able to get up at all with
the surgery. There is a photo of the 2008 ulcer on his photo page.
|
| He has a staph infection in the wound - about a month ago it was MRSA. Our fears are that soon there will be no anti-infective that will fight his infections. |
| As usual, he is in good spirits. It was an enjoyable visit for everyone. |
| Saturday, July 25th Jake had surgery yesterday. On Wednesday the doctor started debriding Jake's ulcer and discovered that he had a pocket between two muscles. So the doc decided to open the pocket for better healing. When he discovered that Jake could feel this (Jake was biting on the pillow) he stopped and scheduled for Friday with general anesthesia. |
| Jake is also having problems with his impacted wisdom teeth. They are very painful. He is having difficulty finding a surgeon who will extract them while Jake is on a gurney (vs a chair). He cannot sit in a chair for long periods of time (due to the ulcer). |
| A long time ago Jake was told he couldn't take ibuprofen because of another medication he was taking. So he is only taking acetaminophen, and it is not even putting a dent in his pain. So he is going to ask his doctor if he can take ibuprofen now. That will help immensely. |
| Oh such good news! the ulcer has healed to the degree that his bone is not exposed anymore! There is a fresh layer of fresh tissue over the bone. The actual wound has been expanded quite a bit, but they had to make it bigger to make it better. The nurse took pictures and they are on his photo page. |
| And they are giving him Percocet so his pain is down. I'm sure the medication was for his surgery but it is helping his teeth. Also, at my urging Jake talked to a pharmacist and she said there is no reason he can't take ibuprofen. |
| This is a great day! Thank the Lord! |
| Saturday afternoon Jake is home now. He is again on the wound vac and he is allowed up for short periods of time. That was a pleasant surprise. |
| His tooth pain & the surgery pain is dulled now, and he is happy. |
| Friday, August 29, 2008 Jake saw the infectious
disease doc today. The wound looks good. His UTI is gone. The doc put him
on Hiprex, a medication that will hopefully help him ward off UTI's.
Hiprex absorbs into the bladder. It is an anti-bacterial,
anti-infective drug, not an antibiotic. |