Happy Birthday to Dan White (26th) and a Happy 9th Birthday to Rylee today.
During June and July I had been busy with a rental house in Midway so that it could be rented by 1 August; and that mission was successfully accomplished. This house had a partially finished walkout basement that we had wanted to do something with for a long time. Now is that time. Two rooms had been framed and had some ugly paneling on one side only. The paneling had to go, and one of the walls needed to be extended 18 inches. I hired a friend to help with the wall framing and I installed the electrical to those rooms.
Next up is to install insulation in the ceiling and hang some drywall. Oh, then paint and trim.
Tuesday saw more tender mercies of our Heavenly Father. Sandy was at her Chinese healers office when the wound vacuum alarm sounded: there was a blockage. The instructions say that when this happens, there is a maximum time limit of 2 hours to get the problem resolved or the dressing and packing need to be replaced. This procedures ranks in the top 5 of most unpleasant experiences for Sandy! I had dropped her off for her appointment and was working 10 miles away. She had arranged for a sister from church to pick her up, but this was too early. There was a gentleman there who offered to drive her the mile to the wound healing center. And rather than just drop her off, he waited for her. Opps, they could not see her since she was not a patient of theirs yet (not until Wednesday afternoon). She would have to call in home health for help. They would assist, but only in the home. So this man, who used to live on our road years ago, drove her home. Home health arrived in time and was able to resolve the blockage without a dressing change. Up to that point, there was a great deal of anxiety on Sandy's part. And just who was that 'masked man' who was there to offer his assistance to my wife when she was in need?
Sandy has been diligent in her morning walks, eating regular healthy meals and doing as much as she can. Tuesday evening was the Relief Society's monthly activity night which I encouraged her to attend. And she did; although she did come home early. Attendance at these week night activities is unpredictable. This night only about 10 were there. But Sandy enjoyed herself.
Wednesday Sandy had an afternoon appointment at the wound center to have her dressing changed. The nurse was very professional and cautious as she removed the bandage; as she pulled out the gauze packing, the fluid just poured out. Over a liter and it contained some fecal matter. She called in another nurse to assist in cleaning up this out pouring of nasty fluid. It didn't take long for them to decide to invite the doctor in to assess the situation. It took the doctor only a few seconds to decide to call Sandy's surgeon and explain the situation. He recommended admitting her to the hospital. They patched her up as best they could so she would not leak and around 4 pm I drove her to the hospital about a mile away. She was in her room by 5 pm, but now was no longer attached to the vacuum. Once the fluid initially drained out, Sandy felt much better without that pressure, so that was a blessing.
Among other visitors, the sister missionaries stopped by to sing her some hymns:
It took until Saturday morning to find the right 'fix' for her situation. This involved another CT scan, which showed a hole in her colon and finding an ostomy bag with an opening large enough to cover both of her draining incisions. I was able to bring her home before noon. And she is happier to be here!
We had an interesting experience at church today. The bishop, who was conducting, announced that we would conduct only sacrament meeting today, all other meetings were canceled. Seems that last evening fleas had been found in the wing of the building where the family history center and primary rooms are located. And the question is: how did fleas get into the building? Will be interesting to see if there are long term treatment consequences.
The in home health nurse will visit today and there will be follow up appointments with her surgeon and the wound center. For now, she no longer is burdened with a wound vacuum. She has figured out how to cope with the ostomy bag and which clothes will work best. Her pain level is decreased from before going to the hospital and her energy is returning. She still has that positive can do attitude. She even walked this morning.
Unanswered questions/concerns: will the hole in the colon ever close? Will her ostomy bag be her BFF? What next exciting adventures await her? Time will tell!
We appreciate all of you prayers, texts, emails and love!
Tom and Sandy
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