Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Update # 148
Month 53
Good Morning,
Progress. Slowly but surely progress.
Jeff went down about 8:15 yesterday morning for the sinus CT Scan. He was back in 50 minutes. Last evening, we got a preliminary report saying the sinuses have some thick mucus but nothing that shows infection or anything connected to his situation. He'll just need to stay on top of any seasonal inklings of congestion.
Again late afternoon and evening, Jeff sat up in a chair doing his iPad. This time he sat without using the oxygen. When they checked him a couple of hours later, his oxygen level was still in a range they like. Progress.
With his increase in eating and drinking, Jeff was unhooked from the IV fluids for a while. He did notice some swelling in his feet last night which could be a result of sitting in the chair for hours.
During the night, I thought Jeff's cough seemed to be more often and sound more congested. Dr. DiPersio's associate said this morning that the cough will last for weeks even after Jeff is off all antibiotics. Once the lungs and airways are compromised, it takes time to recover. He was more pleased to hear about the less use of oxygen.
Since they really feel this is an infection and not any increase in pulmonary graft vs host, Jeff's short term increase in Prednisone will be lowered to his normal dosage. They continue to wait for test results from Iowa.
Meridith is planning to return home tomorrow. Her brother recently acquired his pilot's license so this is a perfect opportunity to take advantage of it. Those of you who know StL, they'll be using the St. Charles airport. She will drive down next week on her days off to either see Jeff or, hopefully, take him back home. When Jeff is discharged from the hospital, he'd like to stay in Hillsboro a couple of days just to be sure he's on the mend. He said he'd rather drive back only 67 miles to Dr. DiPersio rather than 350 miles.
We continue to thank you for your emails and prayers. It all helps us through these days. I'll update after Meridith safely returns to Iowa.
love,
Marcia