Bunch of Updates

Wow, a lot has happened since I last posted. Most of it is family medical stuff so I will try to catch you up in this one post.

Walter's Eye Surgery
Walter is doing well after his surgery. Everything went fine and we're just waiting to see how the eyesight will settle. Right now it's in some ways a little better than before the surgery (but not as good as a few weeks ago) and in other ways it's not so good. It takes a while to heal so we will be patient and wait to see what happens. The good news is that Walter's eye pressure came down to a very reasonable number and hopefully it will stay down for a long time. Many times after a surgery like this there are small adjustments to be made including which eyedrops to take, but we'll get that all sorted out.

Mom's Kyphoplasty
My mom's surgery went very well. And the best thing is it greatly reduced her pain. We are very thankful for that. Unfortunately she wasn't able to eat for weeks before the surgery due to pain and pain meds. When they weighed her in pre-op we found out she was down to 93 pounds. Gaining weight is going to be a high priority for her.

Now Mom's Sick
Two days after Mom's surgery she came down with a horrible diarrhea problem and has been sick for 3 days. She's been to the emergency room twice and was given IV fluids. The doctors think it's some kind of gastroenteritis. She has an appointment with her main doctor tomorrow so we'll find out what he has to say. In the meantime the problem seems to be slowing down. Hopefully it's about over.

It's frustrating because the first thing they say for diarrhea is to stop eating solid foods. She's not going to gain any weight that way. Poor Mom, she's getting pretty frustrated and discouraged with her health issues. We hope something will turn around for her very soon.

And Then There's Diega
At 5:00 this afternoon I got a call from my sister Diega. She was headed into emergency surgery for appendicitis. Diega has been having abdominal pain for a few days. She went to the doctor today and they found out it was her appendix. I'm told they will do the procedure laparoscopically and she should be able to go home tomorrow.


Amongst all the bad news there are some blessings to count. For example I'm really glad that Mom's back is feeling better and that she didn't get this gastroenteritis thing while she was still having intense back pain. And of course there's my own health to be thankful for...