LISA LATEST FROM JOHN-Another 18 hour day has come and gone and I’m once again on a train heading west. I’ve just left Lisa’s room at UPenn where she is ebbing between sleep and awake as a result of her morphine drip. Every ten minutes her body reminds her to push that little blue button at her side. Today was a good day…today was a remarkably good day! The right side of Lisa’s body has been ground zero in this battle between man and microbe since June 23rd. Her wounds tell a story of the surgeon’s efforts to stay ahead of a tiny organism that, if left to its own devices, would have claimed her life within hours. Surgeon at LGH on day three: “Your wife is very, very sick and in critical condition, 1/3 of those who are attacked by this bacteria never make it as far as she has”. Surgeon at UPenn on day twelve: “This is going to be a long fight, considering how she’s doing, I hope we can keep her leg”. Lisa was in surgery for five hours today. The “flesh eating” bacteria was halted in its march through her body several days ago and today was reconstruction day 1. We didn’t anticipate such a quick surgery. Four wounds that needed varying degrees of medical attention should have taken twice that time to address. But they didn’t. Like a potter at his wheel, Dr. Stephen Kovach went to work molding and shaping Lisa’s body back to health. Overjoyed with her body’s natural healing strength, Dr. Kovach was able to avoid several of the anticipated major reconstructive procedures. With great skill, the team was able to close all of Lisa’s wounds leaving behind only several tiny pumps designed to ensure the bacteria has no welcoming place to stage a comeback. Five hours after they began ending this ordeal, the surgeons emerged to tell us they would not need to bring Lisa back to the OR…just like that the fog of uncertainty lifted. For the next several days we’ll wait to see how the healing process does. Over the weekend the bandages will come off and the doctors will check their work. If the wounds are looking healthy we will begin talking about physical therapy and the last ride west on the train for home. Words cannot express the overwhelming gratitude our family has for all the prayers, well wishes, warm thoughts, and hopeful words of encouragement that have been directed our way.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 04:57:27 +0000
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