In the weeks since the last update, quite a lot has happened, though not much has changed - fevers, tests, ER visits, appointments, opinions, pain, fear, hope, gratitude.
Sandy has had significant pain since the insertion of the drain. Doctors told her that it was the best available option at this point. However, the pain was using too much of the limited energy she has most days. Yesterday (Monday), she went to the hospital so radiology could look at everything and determine if any changes could be made so she would be more comfortable. I may not get all of these details right, but here goes! The drain had migrated down into the small intestine, was leaking, blocked, and overall very gross. Gross...that's not a word the doctors used. Their word probably had at least six syllables. :)
A new drain was put in place and fastened to Sandy's belly using a special kind of covering she had not seen before. (If Rod was in charge of this update, we'd also have the right name for the covering...good thing I'm not getting paid for this job!) The drain is now sticking out quite a bit more than the previous drain, and is so far much more comfortable. Crazy that we're talking about a drain sticking out of your gut as being comfortable. Perspective, I suppose.
Hopefully all of this will relieve both the internal pressure Sandy has felt for weeks and the external discomfort caused by leaking bile.
The spring semester has begun, and Sandy is grateful not only to be teaching, but also that her supervisor arranged her schedule so she is teaching in the mornings and not in the afternoons. Her stamina is not where she'd like it to be, though I'm not sure whose stamina would be great with a migrated and leaking drain!
The next TX trip is in March. I'll update at least by then, if not sooner.
