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May 2, 2006
Unexpected trip to Charlottesville
Courtney is still doing great. She's still lethargic and weak, but she is hanging in there. Her mom has been with us now for quite a while now and her assistance has been invaluable. The kids and household are definitely in good hands. With all of the great food that's been delivered I'm eating better than ever.
Now for the unexpected trip to Charlottesville. Courtney had a "nose cast" thats sole purpose was to keep the bridge of her nose from flattening out while healing. In other words, it was there to keep the bridge of her nose pinched. It fell off, and one of the things that Dr. Park was explicit about at the hospital was to keep that on as long as possible, and hopefully for 4 weeks. I called the practice and they said that given the explicitness of Dr. Parks' comments (he's on vacation until Thursday), it would be a good idea to come on over to Charlottesville to get a new one put on. I guess it's pretty common for them to fall off, and they usually only last about a week. We only had 1 hour and 45 minutes to make the drive to Charlottesville before the office closed, so we had to take the highway route and Courtney was very brave and didn't experience an unmanageable amount of anxiety during the trip.
I do have some good news from the trip. While we were there, I asked the resident doc that replaced the cast a few questions. 1. Is it normal for a trach hole to take this long to close up?, and 2. Are you concerned about the eyelid only opening 60%? To the first question, he said that trach holes often take a while to heal up and that we shouldn't be concerned. To the second question, and also the best news was the he didn't think that there was any problem with the eyelid and that it was most likely swelling. I asked about possible nerve damage and he said that the nerve that controls eyelid control is pretty deep and that its unlikely damage would have many other obvious repurcussions. He said that blood that drains out of an eyebrow often pools in the eyellid/socket and doesn't continue to drain downwards like other areas, so it's common for swelling in that area to take a long time to subside. While it wasn't from the mouth of Dr. Park, it was said with great confidence and I have no reason to think we were misinformed. That was very encouraging.
Courtney's mouth has started to bother her more and more. She has these two metal bands strapped to the upper and lower jaws. They are stiched in all the way through the gum and cinched down tight (thankfully while you're completely asleep). They are necessary for "wiring" the jaw. I can't remember the technical name for them at the moment. Anyway, as you can imagine, they are enormously uncomfortable and as the other surgical pain subsides mouth pain will most certainly rule the day.
As expected, the pain of this ordeal and the protracted nature of her recovery has started to take a minor toll on Courtney's resolve. She's still doing great, but she knows that she's a long way from fully healed and is tired of being the helpless patient. In other words, she is emotionally tired and will continue to need daily empathy and support. My goal in the next few days is to get as many calories and nutrients into her system as possible, encourage a lengthening of the span between pain meds (only if possible -- I can just hear all of our nurse friends telling me to take this slow, and I do agree with them), and to try to get her more mobile. The sooner she can feel like a "woman with a wired jaw in need of dental work" and less like a "woman recovering from trauma and multiple surgeries" the better. I'm sure it's difficult for her to hear me and her mom dealing with discipline issues with the kids, cooking, laundry, etc. and she can't do anything to help.
She was awake a lot today, so she should rest well tonight. I would say that on average she was alert for most of the day today, which is a big improvement.
Anyway, I'm certainly good at being verbose when there's not much to report. I get daily reminders to post these updates, so I know they are appreciated for the moment. However, I can't help feeling a bit like the latest reality show. ;-) I promise to shut up when Courtney or my audience tells me they've had enough.
Posted by mark at May 2, 2006 7:03 PM Subscribe (FeedBurner)
Comments
Keep the updates coming! It's great to stay up to speed on how Courtney is healing and to feel connected to you guys through your blog. So don't worry about being verbose - I really appreciate it!
Posted by: Bethany at May 2, 2006 10:35 PM
Thanks for the updates. It is encouraging to hear of the progress Courthey is making. Know we continue to lift both of you and the kids up for the grace you need each day!
Love, Carl and Diane
Posted by: Carl Smith at May 2, 2006 10:52 PM
Keep it coming, Mark. I'm so sad that I can't be there to help her. This makes me feel like I still know what it going on.
Posted by: Kara at May 3, 2006 6:29 AM
Mark, thanks for the updates. It really helps me feel in touch with what's going on, but also gives me more specifics on what to pray for. Hang in there, you guys.
Posted by: Beth & Jamie at May 3, 2006 7:03 AM
I agree! Your updates are very much appreciated and keep us in the loop. Keep them coming!
Posted by: Shannon at May 4, 2006 9:28 AM