DAY 6 // Cautious Optimism

Hi guys,

A few updates! See below:

PHYSICAL THERAPY- We went in this morning and met JoAnne's physical therapist, Jessica. She is pretty awesome, and said she'd already been to see JoAnne a few times, as it's critical to keep her hands, arms, feet and legs moving while she's laid up. We expressed concern about making sure JoAnne couldn't feel any pain when having her R leg moved (thus moving her pelvis/buttock), but both Jessica and the nurse reiterated that they are very careful about that, making sure to give her fresh pain meds prior to therapy, and watching for any forehead crinkling or moving (that could possibly communicate pain).

LABS- Cassie is JoAnne's day nurse for the next few days, and she's a real firecracker! We asked Cassie if JoAnne's labs had changed much, and she said she wasn't sure what JoAnne's white blood cell count was yesterday (.4), but today it was 1.7. ONE POINT SEVEN! Over a full point higher than ever before. Jani had to sit down from the shock, while I jumped up and down a bit, still gripping JoAnne's hand in glee. During rounds we double checked with the attending, and sure enough, it has definitely risen to 1.7. For those of you who don't know much about WBCs, "low" on the scale is a 4, so basically JoAnne is almost half way to "low". A marked improvement from non-existant, right?! Furthermore, JoAnne is OFF HER BLOOD PRESSURE MEDS. Yup. They said she's no longer needing them to keep her blood pressure up. This means that her lungs are the only organs being fully supported right now, and they've even been discussing taking her off the breathing machine once her major surgery is done next week. Careful consideration is needed since she's a 2 pack-a-day smoker (her lungs are likely not as healthy or strong as typical lungs), but the fact that this is even being discussed is kind of exciting. 

SURGERY- We're calling JoAnne's every-other-day procedures "wound vacs", as they are requiring less and less removal of tissue and more simple cleaning of the wounds. We met her new Attending, Dr. Ramzy, today (there are 8 doctors/surgeons on JoAnne's case), and he said that on Wednesday's wound vac he'll be including two osteo surgeons to assess how best to work on her R leg in the coming weeks. He said that they will try to save as much of her leg as possible, but of course will put her general health first. More on that Wednesday when we hear more from them.

ENTERTAINMENT- Thanks to those of you who sent song/artist recommendations for her to listen to a few hours a day. From Joni to Pete to Cat to Van it's become rather apparent that JoAnne is such a hippy... a CLEAN hippy, as she always said!  =)  We were also pleased to come in today to see the tv on with the news! As most of you know, JoAnne is a tv news junkie, and we were thrilled to hear that she could keep up with her beloved Rachel Maddow and Wolf Blitzer from bed. We've also quickly gotten together some photos for the nurses and doctors to see of her in her usual appearance/context, and I've attached them in this email. A little of this, a little of that. 

CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM- When we experience news like her increasing WBC or improved BP, we can't help but get so excited. But we must remember that JoAnne is still very, very sick, and at great risk for more bacterial infections, surgery complications, stress on her heart/lungs, etc. We can't predict what will happen, and we can't get ahead of ourselves, as tomorrow could bring completely different news. Let's not stop celebrating the day-to-day victories, but let's make sure they are tempered by an awareness of her overall situation. Cautious optimism is what we'll call it, shall we?

Much, much love!

Hannah, Kelty, Price & Jani