Sunday, Nov 16^th
Terri and I just returned from visiting Jake.  This is a 5 hour drive one way.  We made terrific time since there were few cars on I-94.

Jake is not in good shape.  His weight has dropped very low.    His shoulder blades are protruding again, just like they did right after his accident.  At least now they aren’t overlapping.  He is so thin that his Baclafen pump (about 3-4 surgeries ago) is  protruding from his right lower front side about 1-1/2 inches.  It is terribly gross to see this – like someone is inside him and attempting to push a small box through his skin.  (he loves the fact that this grosses me out)

His (infected) ulcer is a bad sight.  We were not able to view this – Terri didn’t want to but I wanted to, and Jake wanted me to take a picture, but the nurse came too late last night.  We had already left.  Earlier Jake had told Terri that when they showed it to him, via a mirror, he cried.

His surgery is tomorrow a.m. (Monday, Nov 17^th).  We probably won’t know right away if he will lose his leg.  Hopefully this debridement/cleansing will do the trick.   There is a chance he will be in the hospital for a long time.

Terri is having surgery the following Monday.  This is an open, inpatient surgery and she will be hospitalized for a few days.  She is taking two classes at WCTC this Fall.  Unfortunately she had to drop one of them because the person in charge refused to allow her to work ahead or catch up.  In fact, he childishly refused to  even communicate with her.  But the teacher with the other class was very cooperative and helped her organize her lessons so she would not have to drop the class, or worry about late assignments, etc.  It also eased her mind in re Jake.  She has a lot on her mind.  She’s having major open surgery and her son might lose a leg.

I have a few photos from this weekend but have not uploaded them yet. 

Thank you for your prayers.

Thursday, Nov 20^th
Jake is doing fine.  He should be going home in a few days.  The surgeon said Jake has a ‘significant infection’.  He removed the top layer (1/4”) of the bone that Jake sits on (ileum?) because it was soft and possibly infected.  They cultured it but we have not heard any results yet.  He is being treated with Vancomycin.   Surgeon said it was too early to talk about amputation.

Jake has a vacuum suction device attached to his wound.  I have heard of this before as a co-worker’s husband was treated (very successfully) with the same procedure.  I am hoping that the combination of the surgery and this vacuum treatment might heal this wound.

He will be going home with this vacuum care.  This is a special treatment that requires an RN that has been certified in  vacuum suction wound care.   Jake will have RN home visits until  this is over.

Once he gets home,  Jake will be allowed up in his chair for about 1 hour every day, or less if the pain is too high to tolerate. 

Yesterday while they were changing the tubing Jake became dysreflexic.  After they inserted the fresh tube he was ok.  

He weighs 125#.  They weighed him in his chair at the hospital.  His chair weighs 303# and the total was 428#.  Two factors to consider – his chair was modified recently and we are using the old weight;  he might have grown taller.  My point being he looks much thinner than 125# for a height of 6’-1”or2”.   (Yes I’m a very very concerned grandmother). 

While we were visiting him last weekend he brought up the subject of college again and again.  Right now his life consists of laying in bed for most of the day (due to the sore) and when he is in his chair, watching TV or surfing the internet.  He does not want to live like this for the rest of his life.  This is good.  J 

His home address is on the “Jake’s Life” page if you would like to send him a card. 

In about 2-4 weeks he will return to the hospital for a flap graft.  Terri was told the hospital stay would be about 10 days which I do not understand at all because most grafts are a day surgery type.  But I work at a small hospital and maybe the critical, complex grafts are done elsewhere.  (which is totally good since they are hard to code J)

This means he may be in the hospital over Christmas which wouldn’t be all bad since he can’t come home anyway.  He asked if we could lay him down in the van and bring him home but even if we did  Terri would not be able to  lift/transfer him due to her upcoming surgery this Monday.

Sometimes your life sounds like a soap opera, doesn’t it?

Jake is in great spirits and has found his appetite.  (the rollercoaster is at the top again)

Thank you so much for your prayers.  Every one of them.

Sue

Friday, Nov 21^st
Terri talked to Jake this a.m. and then emailed me.  Instead of re-writing it I thought I would share her email with you:
 

   He's going home sometime today, he's not sure when yet.

His next surgery is anticipated to be early-mid January.  This will be the
"flap" closure, and he will be in the hospital about 2 weeks then.  He will
have to be on a "sand" bed.  I guess this is also temperature controlled.

He also said that the original infection in bone/skin was indeed MRSA.

The doctor took another deeper tissue culture, and that came back negative!

That's it for now....he's still a butt head as usual.

Love
Terri

I also called him this a.m.  Caught him eating McDonald’s breakfast.  (believe it or not, there is a McDonald’s right in Abbott hospital).  He said “how did you know I was eating McDonalds?”.  Silly boy still doesn’t realize that grandmas know everything.  J

 Sunday, Nov 23^rd
Jake is experiencing severe muscle spasms in the area of his Baclafen pump.  This is ironic since the Baclafen is for control of spasms.  The aides placed him flat on his back for a short while last night and the spasms abated.  The problem is that he needs to lay on the same side that the pump is on (right) due to his vacuum suction wound treatment.  I don’t have a clue how they are going to work around this one.  The spasms are very painful for Jake so a solution must be discovered.