Melissa had the CT scan done on Friday. They found two small abscesses. They can't drain them so she will be taking antibiotics to hopefully heal them. They are talking about doing another on Monday to make sure things continue to get better. One good thing is that the swelling looks better.

No idea when she may get to come home. Although she is now eating they still have her on TPN, lipids (both for nutrition) and the normal bag of fluids you usually get. No wonder she is always headed for the bathroom. She is still in some pain. It is getting better, but can hit with a vengeance.

Tonight she was having a hard time staying awake but she apparently had been awake most of the day. Hopefully things will continue to improve.

Melissa is feeling a little better. She is still in some pain. Her right lower area of her stomach region is tender to the touch. She was actually hungry tonight and got to eat real food. Drew brought her cheddar bites and a lemon slush. She also got a tray of hospital food. She ate some of each. After midnight it is back to a liquid diet so she can have a CT tomorrow. They are hoping that they can find what is going on in her gut. She will be here through the weekend at least. She is still receiving TPN(nutrition) and IV antibiotics

Melissa is still feeling pretty rough. Her temp is down now but she is having problems with severe nausea. Even food smells can set her off. She is receiving all nutrition by IV but really doesn't feel like eating or drinking. She is also still in pain although that is not as bad as it had been. They still do not know what is wrong with her.

The anti-nausea and pain meds make her sleep a lot. She would rather sleep than hurt.

On the bright side, her belly is healing nicely from the last two surgeries. Now just to get the rest of the tape residue off.

Please continue to pray that the doctors are able to find out what is wrong and can help Melissa feel better.

Melissa had a CT scan done today. Good news-No abscess. Bad news-The intestines are swollen and inflamed. Now to figure out why. She also had a picc line put in today. The doctor said she is in this for the long haul. She is feeling absolutely miserable-severe pain and nausea along with her back hurting. She is getting pain meds and anti-nausea stuff.

Back in Hospital

I though I was done but...
We took Melissa to the ER late this afternoon(Sunday) because she was having severe abdominal pain. Melissa and I both thought that she really had the flu, since I had been sick with it a couple of weeks ago and the symptoms were very similar, but she had spiked a temp of 101 so decided after talking to the doctor on call to go to the hospital just to be sure. They did blood work and a CT scan. White cell count is up and the scan showed air in the abdominal cavity. Definitely more than the flu. They couldn't be sure if the air was in the right place so they wanted to do another one tonight where she had to drink the dye. Unfortunately she was not able to keep the dye down so they are waiting until Monday morning to do the test. She is getting pain meds and anti-nausea stuff. Her surgeon is calling in the infectious disease doctor she saw a couple of years ago, her GI doctor and perhaps a couple of more to see if there is something they are missing such as perhaps her immune system is compromised so she is not healing right.

Please pray that the doctors are able to figure out what is going on with her and help her and get her on the road to recovery.

Round 7 (Unless I have miss counted)

Who knew when I first started this I would be having 7 surgeries instead of the 2 I was suppose to have. This last one has been the hardest for sure. The doctor blames the large incision and taking out more intestine. Yes, that part really hurt but I think the hardest part was the emotional part that caught up with me. I was suppose to be done with all of it and be completely healed by now, I was told that the pain I was feeling was normal, and I was afraid of taking too many pain meds. Then my world where I was recovering came crashing down and I had to go through with yet another surgery, more pain, more drugs, and the realization I had been going through pain for nothing when food passed through that part of my intestine. One thing is for sure, the doc is learning to listen to me when I say I hurt.

I have made it! I am feeling better everyday, it is getting easier to find comfortable ways to sleep and sit, and I'm eating more and more every day. My biggest problem right now is gas and keeping my attention starved cats from trying to sleep on my belly :) I'm still on an antibiotic and will be going to the doc next week to have everything checked out. Hopefully all is well because my wedding dress is in and I have a lot of stuff to get done for the wedding, not to mention a wedding to go to in March.

SHE'S HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Melissa came home late this afternoon. She is enjoying her recliner. They took out drains, pic line and staples before she came home. She is eating better and has a new outlook on life.

Thank you for your prayers. They are much appreciated.

This is my last post. I will let Melissa carry on when she feels like getting on the computer.

Melissa's Mom

Doing Much Better

Melissa is doing much better. She is weepy but I think part of it is from coming off the narcotics. She only used the pain pump 3 times yesterday and none today. She is using some souped up ibuprofen which is helping the pain levels more. She had Drew wash her hair today and is walking much quicker than she had been. She lost one drain today and is going to ask about having the other one pulled because it is hardly draining anything. It is so good to see her doing so much better.
The doctor told her that she may come home at the first of the week. She hopes his first of the week is Sunday.

Melissa is still in the hospital. They gave her some meds to wake up her bowel and that seems to be helping. Her white cell count must be a little high. They want to do another CT scan to see if the drain is in the right place. They have also given her some new pain meds because the other is not working as well. We don't know who reads this but we ask for your prayers. It is hard to see her feel so bad. Thanks for caring.

It's a Broken Record

Melissa is still hurting. Yesterday on the CT scan they found a pocket of fluid. They went in to drain it and will culture it to make sure there is no infection. They also put in a wound drain so now she has a matching pair, one on each side. She is starting to look better. She spent most of the afternoon sleeping because of the pain meds they gave her to do the procedure today. At this point we are only guessing when she will get out of the hospital.

Melissa had another CT scan done today. She is still in a lot of pain. Her bowel has not woke up yet and the doctor doesn't understand. We would like to hear her farting and would rejoice over that since that is the first sign it is waking up. We should get results tomorrow.

Rough Day

Melissa received two units of blood on Friday and didn't move around much because of being so tired. Saturday was a rough day. No one could please her. Her back hurt and she could not get comfortable in the bed. She can only sit so long in a chair although they finally were able to find her a reclining chair. They had been at a premium because of the snow storm because they sleep better than any other chair in the place. Hopefully things will get better. Her blood counts are up and white cell count down in the normal range. She is walking and gradually lengthening the distance. She really is a trooper. Two surgeries in three weeks will get any one down. Please keep remembering her in your prayers. We do know that they help.

Another Pic Line

Melissa is having a pic line put in as I type this. She needs to get blood and they were not able to get a new IV line started. She is very sleepy and falls asleep even getting a drink. The doctor also said she is stoned so they have dropped her pain meds to only on demand, where before she was getting a continual dose plus the on demand doses before. The doctor is pleased with her progress but when I said she had turned the corner he says she just has the corner in site.

Melissa walked 4 times yesterday. She is having some problems with fever but they think that will get better. All labs are getting better. On paper she looks real good. She got to take the bandages off her incision. She has 22 staples so really had major surgery. There is a lot of pain still especially when she is up and moving. Her bowels still haven't woke up from surgery. They say that takes 4-5 days and she is only at day 2 after surgery. At least the bag didn't come back for a visit.

Melissa is up and walking. She has already been up twice and is ready again. All in one shift. She is hoping that will help with some of the pain. The nurse told her that she is making her job easier because she is willing to walk. She is still in a lot of pain but is not using the pain pump as much. Her sense of humor is starting to come back. She is still not interested in eating but has started enjoying her apple juice.

Melissa is in a lot of pain. She has a pain pump for the first time. They haven't gotten her up yet, probably tomorrow. She will be here about five days. Maybe we will be able to get home safely by then. She really hasn't gotten but a glimpse of the snow since about ten this morning.

Surgery

Melissa had surgery today. They removed about 6-8 more inches of her intestines because they were gnarly, irritate and stiff. The surgeon thought that perhaps this section had been damaged during the original surgery and had had a blood clot on it. They also drained the ovarion cyst. She will be in the step down unit tonight. Drew and I haven't seen her yet.