Monday, July 27, 2009

A Medical Nightmare

I am checking in with my sweet bloggy friends. Sorry that I have been missing from the blogging scene for the past few weeks. This has been such a busy summer. Hubs and I and our kids and grandkids are doing fine. However . . . I do have a prayer request.

My brother had a hip re-do surgery on June 23. Something went wrong with the hardware from the first surgery. The 2nd surgery went well and then he was moved for physical therapy. He went through PH very well . . . .until the last few days; he began feeling very week. My SIL said that he became unable to hold a conversation; it was hard for him to finish a thought; he developed a bad jerking; and his blood pressure was very low. She mentioned all of this to the doctor in charge but he didn't seem to be concerned. After 13 days of PH, his incision was still draining (he diabetic but it should have been better).


The day he came home from the PH hospital (a Friday) hubs and I went to see him and my SIL she told us "we're in trouble". After listening to her we felt that part of the problem was that he may be anemic.

She took him back to the the surgeon the following Monday for a post-op check up and insisted they run some lab work. Sure enough, he was anemic. When the got the results on Wednesday they called her and told her to admit him into the hospital through the emergency room that his blood count was 8.6 (it should be around 15 -- anything below 10 is a concern). She did exactly that. He was given 2 units of blood but it only brought the count to 9.9. (Still under 10.)


So now, he's still weak, unable to hold a decent conversation, his jerking is so bad (at times) that he can't brush his own teeth or feed himself. My SIL was not going to let them send him home this time. She pointed out the low blood count, low blood pressure and the other problems. The doctor in charge was very sarcastic with her and asked her what she wanted him to do -- give him more blood -- have a neurological evaluation -- what? She kept telling him she just wanted him to find out what was wrong and try to correct it.


They sent her the head of Patient Care, head of Nursing, etc. all to no avail. She could not get them to do anything until . . . . . she said she felt like they needed another doctor.


FYI: My SIL is a diplomatic person, very intelligent, possesses common sense and wisdom -- Gody wisdom.
She is the chief executive officer (the head person) of a governmental agency. Part of what she does is to hire and fire doctors.)


A battery of tests were taken and 1 more unit of blood was given which brought the count up to and 11. (The doctor is still fired.) An Infectious Disease doctor shows up in his room because my poor brother has a staff infection . . . all the way to the hip joint (they think).


So now he is transported back to the hospital where he had the surgery. Since it has been less than 30 days since surgery, they decide to flush and scrape the incision and hope they got it all. A pic line was put in his arm so that he can receive 6 weeks of antibiotics by IV!


Two days later, they feel that they did not get it all so . . . back to surgery. They take out the new hip replacement and put in an extender that has antibiotics in it. Now they say he has is MRSA staff infection, better known as the "super bug". It can be deadly!


He began to complain about difficulty in breathing and they discovered that he has a small blood clot in his lung. They took him to another hospital across the street and admitted him into ICU for several days. Everyone must wear gowns and gloves to be in his room. The jerking, the low blood pressure, the inability to hold a conversation, need to sleep, all of it, was due to the staff infection. He is able to breath without difficulty now and they are continuing to treat and monitor the blood clot.


He is now back at the hospital where he had the surgery and is preparing to go through a short period of PH to help him walk with a walker (he cannot put much weight on the extender in his hip.)


Later, he will go back to surgery, have the extender removed and another hip replacement hardware put in! After all this is completed, that hip will have been opened 5 times!


Oh, and the sarcastic doctor? He never showed his face again. He's probably waiting for a law suit over this. We would have been attending a funeral if my SIL hadn't stood her ground. What she is going to do is report him to the Medical Board and the hospital Administrator and ask him if he really wants a doctor like this on his staff.


My brother still has so much yet ahead of him. Please add him to your prayer list. Also, pray for my SIL - she is exhausted.


God is mighty and powerful and is our Healer and Provider. I pray that He (God) will do what He does best and touch my brother with His mighty hand of healing!


Love,

Sherry

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Scripture Memory Challenge

This summer is passing so swiftly! Each two-week segment of our scripture memorization seems to pass like hours instead of days!


Meditating on God's goodness and His wonders renews the strength of my faith. There is no one like Him -- not even close! I'm so thankful that when I am frustrated with me; when life gets complex; when I seem to be running in circles; when priorities have gone awry, He understands and desires calm the storms in my life -- I just need to let Him. He wants for me to consciously include Him in every part of my life and each new day. The more I get to know Him, the more I realize how crucial this is.


My verse for this segment of study is:


"Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous -- how well I know it."
Psalm 139:14 (NLT)


Some days I seem to be more complex than others, how about you? :) But . . since He made us, He knows just how to fix us! :) I am so thankful for the healing power of the Word, and or the new life it offers in Christ!

Love,
Sherry

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Some Awesome News!

I am so thrilled to tell you that I received the results of the MRI on my knee. I do not need to have surgery! There is damage to the cartilage on the inside of the meniscus (the cartilage under the knee cap). He said that it did not merit surgery and if I keep on taking care of it as I have, the need of arthroscopic surgery could be as far out at 10 years! (Sorry, this next stuff if kind of gross.) He drain a lot of fluid off the knee and put in another cortisone shot in it and I don't need to return until January 2010!
God is so good to allow all the events that led of up this so that I would not damage my knee any further. I am not allowed to kneel or squat (ever again), but I can live with that!
I am in the projectionist booth at church right now and service as begun . . so. . . I need to stop for now.
Have a wonderful Sunday evening!

Love,
Sherry

Monday, July 6, 2009

. . but have you ever . . .?

July the 4th -- family -- friends -- food -- fun -- fireworks -- thunder storms ? ? ? You read right -- thunder storms -- severe thunder storms and wind!

Our small town has a city-wide celebration complete with fireworks. The day began with overcast skies that lasted the entire day. As darkness began to set it, we heard the fireworks begin. The festivities were across the street from us, so we stepped out on our front porch to watch the show. Very shortly after the display started, it began to rain. Did you know that a fireworks display can be quite beautiful even in the pelting rain and wind? Here are a few pictures. (For all you Photoshop gurus, sorry, but they are unedited.)


The raindrops were falling and the fireworks continued.


The rain began coming down much harder.
I turned on my camera's flash and it captured the rain drops.
The red spots in the center are the fireworks. The white spots are the rain.


Then . . the wind began blowing.
You can see the fireworks slanted to the right (east).
The wind was coming from the west.


This picture is very blurry in part due to the pelting rain but you can see
what the wind was doing to them.


Notice the how the top of the tree on the right is bent.
We were surprised that they kept setting them off.

This was near the end.
I'm not sure if this was their planned finale
or they were just trying to complete the job.

Fire drifting in the wind.

After the storm.
The sky was so mysterious and beautiful. The camera fails to capture the beauty.

This sunset reminds me that we may go through storms in our lives, but God has a golden "sky" waiting for us in the end. He has new mercies for us each and every day.

Love,

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Happy Birthday, America!

Happy 233rd Birthday, America!






Love,

Friday, July 3, 2009

Scripture Memory Challenge


"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body

and knit me together in my mother's womb."

Psalm 139:13

I can remember reading this particular verse when I was a young girl. I marvelled at the thought of God being so personable! How well He knows us, dear ones! There's never anything that we cannot share with Him. He knows! He wants us to tell Him of our concerns, hurts and joys. Let's make Him a vital part of our lives each and every day!

Love,