Update #104

New prayer request: Dave's right hip, the one that was fractured in the accident, has really been hurting recently, to the point that he is having a really hard time with PT and just sitting up in general. The pain started on Monday afternoon and is now bothering him so much that Dr. Weintz has ordered an X-ray for this afternoon. Considering how many X-rays Dave has already gotten, the speed of the order for this current X-ray is only surprising because he is actually scheduled for a round of X-rays on Monday morning at University of Cincinnati, specifically targeting his right hip and femur to see if bone grafts will be necessary. Hopefully, the X-ray this afternoon will help detemine the source of the pain so they can fix it quickly.

The wave of new doctors continued yesterday with meetings with Dr. Kitzmiller, the plastic surgeon, in the morning and another surgeon in the afternoon. According to Dr. Kitzmiller, Dave's wound is healing well (aside from the fistula), and he probably will not need a skin graft to cover the area in the center of his abdomen. No mention of whether he will be cutting the skin flap and repositioning it where it was originally intended to go (over the area where Dave's ribs used to be). The other surgeon (I wasn't here when she came, so I'm not sure of her name) said that they have not been able to determine the exact location or size of Dave's fistula but mentioned that she has noticed a substantial decrease in the amount of drainage coming from Dave's side since he has been on TPN only, so she may decide to continue without tube feed to see one last time if the hole will close on its own if the level of drainage is reduced. If she decides to move in this direction, please be praying that it works as it would eliminate the surgery to close the fistula that should occur in December.

Until that decision is made, Dave does have a new tube in his stomach for tube feed (the old tube that the nurses tugged and pulled in vain on Monday came out without a problem yesterday), and yet another X-ray yesterday confirmed that the tube is in the proper place, so he should start receiving tube feed again this afternoon.

Based on the results of the EMG (electrode test) last Friday, Dave also had his first round of e-stim yesterday, which involves stimulating the muscle along his shin on his right leg with electric shocks sent through electrodes placed along the muscle (because there is no nerve response on that muscle in his left leg, the e-stim wouldn't have any effect on that leg). Hopefully, the e-stim will assist in building the muscles that help Dave flex his foot to alleviate the foot drop on his right side.

In spite of all of the craziness and testing over the past few days, Dave seems to be doing well and seems to be moving toward a more normal life (if normal exists) every day. We hung out with our Bible study on Monday night and even had a triple date playing cards with some friends on Tuesday evening (Dave and I got crushed). Be praying for Dave's dad over the next week as he began his first break in Michigan since this accident this morning and for Dave's mom as she picks up the extra hours with Dave in his absence (I don't think she'll be complaining about the extra time with him). Also, pray for Jen (Dave's sister), Chris and their family as they head down for another visit tomorrow.

I'm guessing there are at least a few updates that I am forgetting, but it's been a busy few days. More as it happens - thanks for the continued prayers!