Still Treading Water

Hi everyone! Here is the latest update on Dad.

For the most part, Dad is doing better. He is still in the hospital in Raleigh, where they are monitoring his blood and bodily fluids for any elevation in bacteria. There is concern that his kidneys are harboring the bacteria that is causing his infections due to the stones that he still has in them. Late last week, Dad's white cell count started to elevate again. So as a precaution, the doctors started him on antibiotics in order to stay ahead of any infection he might start to have.

Yesterday afternoon, the doctors spoke with Mom and Dad and together decided to get the stones out of Dad's kidneys once and for all. So they will be doing a procedure on him either this Thursday or Monday of next week to retrieve the Stint and the stones. By doing so, they hope to rid Dad's body of any bacteria harboring material. Of course, we won't know for certain until well after the procedure is done, which means Dad could be in this hospital for quite some time.

As soon as we have more detail on the results of Dad's procedure, we'll let you know. For now, please just pray that he continues to stay healthy and the doctors are able to rid his body of the bacteria.

Rehab Update:
Since Dad has been in the hospital, the staff has worked together to come up with a meg-shift rehab plan that is allowing him to work on the physical, ventilator, and speech therapies he needs to fully recover from the GBS. Dad has a lot more movement now in his lower body and has even stood a few times each day, with assistance, to strengthen his lower body. The physical therapist wants to start putting him in a chair today and each day going forward for brief time periods to build up his tolerance again for sitting up.

As for his ventilator, it's gone. Dad has been on the cuff (straight oxygen) now for a week and the ENT is coming by this week to talk about reducing the size of his trach. This will allow them to eventually plug the trach and train Dad to breath through his mouth and nose again. It will also give Dad's body a chance to heal and slowly close the wound around the trach area.

Speech Therapy is not going as well as Dad would like. The infection inflamed Dad's throat area and he has not been able to swallow in a sufficient way that would allow him to start eating again. But Dad continues to work on his exercises and this part of his recovery will hopefully start coming around soon enough.

OK... that's it for now. As always, thank you for your continued support. Dad is still receiving cards and notes of encouragement from all of you. They really help to brighten up his day and give him the patience he needs to get through it all. So feel free to continue sending these well-wishes to Dad via the PO Box here in Danville and we'll make sure he gets them. You can also reach Dad and Mom via their email address: jhawkins51@comcast.net.

Team Jerry all the way!!!