November 22, 2010

Mom did increasingly well over the weekend. All of her tissue cultures are coming back negative for bacteria growth. The only remaining bacteria that they have found is in her lungs which they will be treating with a different antibiotic that will have less of an impact on her stomach.

She has been taken off of dialysis and all of her vitals have maintained even throughout surgery this afternoon. They were able to use live cadaver skin to cover her arms (which can become permanent if her body will assimilate) which will generate tissue growth beneath it even in the event that the cadaver skin does not become permanent.

The donor sites that had become infected over her inner thighs have begun to heal and in order to make the process more uniform, they have encircled both legs with negative pressure machines (which work very much like a vacuum seal to pull fatty tissue and blood vessels to the surface of her legs) which will help with the healing process and overall appearance.

Her hands will continue to be under revision for quite some time, however, they are in much better shape at this point than previously. Essentially her range of mobility is dependent upon how much her body is willing to re-develope tissue and muscle in her finger joints, plastic surgery to revise if necessary, and  a tremendous amount of physical therapy that we will all be able to support her through.

As long as she continues to maintain health and a decreasing level of bacteria, the doctors will be letting her rest as far a surgery is concerned until they believe that it is necessary in the healing process. She will still have dressing changes and constant evaluations, however, they want to allow her body to heal itself as much as possible at this point and regain strength.

We, as a family, have so very much to be thankful for this year. We will continue to pray relentlessly and give thanks for the gifts that we have and will receive. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!