Before I say anything else, I have to tell you that Dave and I have a new nephew! Born last night to my older brother Cory and sister-and-law Joei - 8 pounds, 7 ounces, 21 inches and doing great. First grandchild for my parents and Joei's, so it's quite exciting, and I've been meaning to post about her pregnancy for a while but was sworn to secrecy until her roommates all heard the news (which, granted, was six months ago...). They have their own blog (Dave and I should get a commission for everyone who signs up with blogspot.com) -
http://coryandjoei.blogspot.com. No pics up there yet, but I'm sure they are coming soon...
Onto the update. Right around four months ago, while he was still at Drake, Dave developed a small sty. For anyone who has never experienced a sty, it's kind of like getting an extremely painful whitehead on your eyelid. Dave's started on his upper lid and about two weeks later migrated to his lower lid as well. Before we left Drake on January 6th, about three weeks after the sty started, the doctors told us not to worry and prescribed hot compresses four times per day for ten minutes each and a topical steroid that "should clear up quickly."
A month later, the sty had come to a head and exploded several times but was still holding on. Dave's primary, Dr. Hardin, told us not to worry but said we should ask the opthamologist when we saw him.
A week later, Dave's neuro-opthamologist, Dr. Golnik, told us not to worry, prescribed hot compresses (again) and an oral antibiotic.
You haven't heard any of this up until this point because "it's just a sty; people get them all the time."
Well, Dave's "just a sty" didn't appreciate the underappreciation. Two and a half weeks ago (at the tail end of the month's worth of antibiotics from Dr. Golnik), Dave's sty decided to migrate away from his eye downward toward his cheekbone and grow - how do they say it in The Grinch Who Stole Christmas? - three sizes bigger. Only it was more than that. Over the course of only a few days, the small whitehead evolved into a one-inch diameter purple blob on Dave's right cheekbone.
Last Tuesday, we saw Dave's primary, who, with one glance at the blob, sent us immediately to an Emergency Eye Clinic, where, after an hour of waiting, the Opthamologist told us that she couldn't do anything with it and we would need to see an Opthalmic Plastic Surgeon. We left with another antibiotic and an appointment card for yesterday for a doctor almost an hour from our house.
Are you tired yet? Yeah, Dave is too. Anyway, after an hour drive and an hour of waiting yesterday afternoon, Dr. Cepela was nice enough to stick a needle in the blob, poke, squeeze and otherwise violate it, then inform us that Dave may be battling another round of MRSA (the resistant staph infection he had when he was in the ICU). Dr. Cepela didn't seem overly concerned but did encourage us to be overly diligent about hand washing, etc. until the culture comes back. Yeah quarantine! At least it means that Dave can finally justify the pirate look (with his eye patch) that he's been perfecting...
In other news, Dave's Echo and Holter Monitor (the 24-hour EKG) came back showing signs of pulmonary hypertension, news over which the nurses didn't show much surprise (we know that Dave's lungs are messed up, which does put more stress on his heart) but that did concern PT a bit. We have an appointment with a Pulmonologist on Friday to figure out next steps.
Now to the positive: Dave's sleeping in a real bed for the first time in almost ten months! One of the things I had always looked forward to most about marriage was waking up next to my husband, so since January, Dave and I have been sharing his twin hospital bed (still tilted at a 30 degree angle) at night (yeah, we know we're crazy). Regina (PT) strongly encouraged Dave to try to lie flat for short amounts of time, so gradually, we reduced the angle and increased the time till eventually, he could lie flat all night (and sleep during parts of that time too!). So, last week, we decided to try the transition, and can I tell you how much bigger a double bed is than a twin? The mattress is more comfy, Dave's breathing is fine, and we don't wake up with our faces pressed against metal siderails anymore. Yeah!
We also have been able to leave Dave's wheelchair in the garage for almost two weeks straight! He sits in regular chairs at home and only brings his crutches when we go out (unless we know it will be for a lot of walking, like a the grocery store). He is even moving around the house with only one crutch and could be moving to a cane soon.
Lots more updates coming, but for now, we're off to PT. Have a great Wednesday!
