Update on DG in Central PA

[dg-in-centralpa]

From Mrs. DG 4/11/05
Two steps forward, one step back. Our Ace continues to heal! Had a bit of a rough day yesterday when some nausea hit him in the evening. But before that we put him in a wheelchair and took him outside to feel the warm sunshine. He loved it, but felt that sidewalks where wheelchairs are used should not be made of bumpy brick. I also combed his hair, massaged his back and helped pick some dead skin off his feet. The skin on both hands and feet died and is coming off in thick layers, leaving healthy baby soft skin beneath. Not to worry - all is fine.

Today was dialysis (boy, I can really spell that word by now) in the am and surgery in the pm. Dr. Simpson once again flushed the arm tissue, reporting that all looks fantastic! He thought the plastic surgeons would be ready to take over today, but they are hesitant since Duane is still on dialysis. The arm will be flushed one more time on Wednesday. It remains up in the air whether Duane will be discharged, continue dialysis at Good Samaritan here is Lebanon as needed, then re-admitted to Hershey for plastic surgery or whether he will remain at Hershey for a while longer. His kidneys are doing better, but no estimate on when they return to work on a full time basis (they must be having SOME vacation.)

I will keep you posted. If in the meantime, you are planning to visit Duane, I suggest you call his nurse's station at 531-8825 to make sure he will be in his room.

Thank all of you so very much for your calls and cards. They have really cheered him up. He has a long road ahead of him yet, but he will be shooting pool again. I offered to be his bridge hand for a while!

For more info see NON POOL RELATED "DG in Central PA in Hospital"

Yours truly and still holding it together,
Mary

[Scott Lee]

Mary...It sounds like Duane is doing much better, although still has a long road ahead. No doubt he is doing as well as is, because he has you at his side! God Bless, and best wishes for a quick and complete recovery!

Scott Lee

[Snyder1]

Glad things are continuing to improve & progress in the right direction ... wish DG the best & a speedy recovery !!

JS

[stickman]

Just getting the kidneys working again, and getting off the dialysis would be a big improvement. I suspect he has a temporary access in his neck inserted to the jugular vein. They are very uncomfortable, and hemo-dialysis tends to wear me out on the days I do dialysis. It's a fairly common observation. I wish him well and hope he gets better soon. /ccboard/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Jim

[dg-in-centralpa]

Surgery again today (how many now?). The last one for Dr. Simpson, the orthopedic surgeon who has worked on Duane's arm from since Duane's transfer to Hershey. The infection is now cleared from the arm and it (the arm) is ready for reconstruction by the plastic surgeons. A member of the plastic surgery team came to speak to Duane this evening to explain their plan. He will be going into surgery Friday (poor guy doesn't get a break). They will be doing some skin grafting, using skin from both of Duane's thighs. The outside of Duane's elbow, above and below the elbow, are bare of skin. If I understand the plan correctly, they will use a flap of healthy skin from the arm over the elbow section and the other skin like a jigsaw puzzle to fill in where that skin was. Sounds very confusing, but whatever works... They may even graft skin with the blood vessels attached and use microscopic surgery to secure these to the site. The surgeon also mentioned taking skin from the healthy arm. It may or may not "take" the first time, but that is ok because this is a procedure which can be repeated until it works. Sounds amazing, but remember, I am only the reporter and may not have all information exactly correct.

How long? They are now telling him 2 - 2 1/2 weeks. Poor guy. Now he'll have more places that will hurt. And all this in and out of the OR is really wearing him out. He has one day to eat and try to keep it down before he's whisked down to surgery again. I'm planning to be with him all day Friday. Reminder - if you come to the hospital that day and he is not in his room, he is in surgery (or dialysis?) and I will be (maybe?) in the surgical waiting on the 5th floor, north with the big windows. Best bet is to call the nurse's station before coming. He may be in rough shape most of Friday.

Today I spent time with him, bathing him, clipping and filing his toenails (picking off dead skin), and putting on his favorite pair of beat up sweat pants from home that I just finished repairing (they had a 12-14" hole that he claimed was for ventilation?!). I was so proud to finally be able to do something for him other that sit with him or feed him. Then he passed out on me and lost his dinner. Guess we overdid it.

Tired. Going to bed. Mary

[Snyder1]

Hang in there Mary ... tell DG we're thinking of him.

JS