October 2005 Archives

So it's almost exactly seven days after the OR nurse was wheeling me back to the operating room and having me hop up on the table for my epidural catheter.  Not pleasant at first, but highly recommended later.  Things are kind of on a wait-and-see mode right now.  My white blood cell count had gone down over the weekend, and with them taking out the Foley catheter and the epidural, I was feeling like I could go home soon.  This morning more blood work was ordered and my WBC is back up a little bit, combined with the fevers I've been having all along.  So my surgeon came in this morning and ordered a CT scan just to see if everything is okay.  He's got three big cases today, so I don't know if he will get back with the results today or tomorrow.  Right now I'm just chilling on the oral pain meds (oxycontin and oxycodone) and waiting to take a shower.  The first shower in a week-- it should be nice.

Now that I have net access (albeit Dark Ages style) I'll try to post my ongoing saga to the blog everyday.  So stay tuned!

Hello all, sorry about the late update.  During his last admission, Kelly was able to get on the internet from his laptop and make his own entries, but alas, there are no networks available this time.  Kelly's surgery went well.  It took four hours, and they removed the tail end of his pancreas, his spleen, and repaired 4 hernias from his prior surgery.  He has been up and walking a few times a day, and exercising his lungs; both are very important to stave off pneumonia and get strong enough to go home.  Noone has said when that will happen yet, but today his nasogastric tube came out, which is one of the first steps.  They have also started to ween him off his epidural pain meds, and because the NG is out, his pain can be managed with oral meds.  Tonight he tortured himself by watching Foodtv while drinking juice, the only thing he is allowed so far.  He also keeps himself busy by reading and playing the Sims 2 on his laptop.  Randi attempted to give him a knitting lesson today, but there were too many interruptions.  Well, that's pretty much it.  The cats and I are impatiently waiting for him to get home.  It's been a tough row to hoe, but I think this is the start of better health for Kelly.  This should prevent more pseudocysts and the need for surgical drains.  We thank everyone for their good thoughts and prayers for us!

Well, for those of you who haven't heard-- I get to undergo surgery again to hopefully fix the reoccurring problems I've been having with psuedocysts on the tail end (the rightmost pointy bit in the picture) of what remains of my pancreas.  The scheduled date is 10/24 and will necessitate a week in the hospital.  Dr. Halbrook, of Cancer Care Northwest will be doing the surgery-- he's the local pancreas guru, trained by the guys at Virginia Mason who accord worldwide fame.  So I'm pretty confident in his skills, although he may have to remove my spleen if there isn't enough separation between it and the tip of the tail.  Still, not the best way to spend the holidays, but we're hoping this will keep me out of the hospital for good.

In other news, Jakki has been overcome with Halloween Spirit.  Last night we bought a giant rubber spider, the first such purchase of my life, to place in a web of Jakki's construction on the front of the house.  However, her attitude is contagious, and I find myself anticipating a stream of candy-hyped nose-miners at our new door.  Having never had trick-or-treat'ers before, this season will be one to remember.  I'll try to take lots of photos.

In yet more news, my sister Emelie will be moving to a duplex just two blocks from us.  It will be nice to have her so close, and I'm hoping to rig up a way to share my internet connection with her over WiFi.  I'm thinking an outdoor Yagi directional antenna, but we'll have to do some testing first.

Also from the geek desk, I'm considering scrapping my MythTV installation and changing to  the Windows-based SageTV, which is easier to use, and has better driver support.  If I attempt this paradigm shift this weekend, I will report on the outcome.