News and Praise!

Sunday was an eventful and emotional day.

Mike was transported via ambulance to Portland Imaging for the comprehensive leg CT scan, heavily medicated both before and after but the ride was still painful. He said they took extra care to be sure they had clear images before returning to the hospital and his doctor was very quick about reviewing the results. The results were inconclusive, except that they ruled out lots of bad things: no cancer, no abscess just some swelling around the ankle.

So, his doctor brought in an orthopedic surgeon for a consult. Now, I was not happy to hear surgery mentioned. Mike asked why surgery would even be on the table since they don't know what's wrong: to remove excess fluid was the answer. Why risk surgery since he has such difficulty recovering from wounds due to insufficient circulation/venous insufficiency: how do you know you have that was the doctor's question. When Mike went briefly into his medical history, the orthopedic surgeon agreed that might surgery not be the best option but was not entirely convinced it wasn't appropriate; however, he decided a surgeon of his caliber wouldn't be necessary because there are no definitive leg/ankle issues and referred a general surgeon.

A general surgeon and his boss, the head surgeon, brought in the most shocking news. They say that Mike is fighting two different things. The bacterial infection that caused his initial symptoms is a particular devastating and fast-acting one, and because it seems very flu-like (nausea, vomiting, fever), it is not typically treated within the first few hours like Mike's was. The surgeons are usually called in after it's attacked a person for 24 hours or more, and by then the patient's only option is a life-saving operation. The doctor told Mike that if he had been called in on Saturday, they would have likely performed a surgery where they would have removed all the skin and tissue from his lower leg and it would have required months of skin grafts and recovery. He also told Mike there is usually a 50% mortality rate at that point.

However, Mike has received constant antibiotics and his body is actually responding to the drugs and leg elevation. How do they know it's responding, where I couldn't see it? Because of the pain! This infection typically causes cellular necrosis, and it kills the cells it attacks. Mike has horrible, deep red tissue that keeps climbing higher and higher on this leg, BUT HE CAN FEEL IT! They have never seen anyone respond like this, again because it's usually treated too late.

So, the head surgeon will be visiting Mike every 12 hours or less to review his progress. They will continue to pump in three or four different antibiotics trying to find the right combination in a multi-pronged attack. He will stay in the hospital for at least another week as of last night with constant monitoring and treatment.

I am so grateful that Mike was in God's hands during all of this, that TriMet dispatch called in medical assistance. Mike says he was so out of it, he couldn't have put together the thoughts to call 9-1-1 on his own. Thank you Lord for pain! As difficult as this has been, we could be going down an even more painful and life-changing path right now and are grateful that the tissue is alive and has feeling.

We pray for continued success of the antibiotics, that Mike be totally healed of this condition and that he experiences an overall healing of his body. Mike needs his own "Miracle on 34th Street".


On the homefront, thank you Pastor Jeff/Terra Mattson who offered to watch Tatum. She ended up spending the day with her best friend's family (thanks Kelley's!) but I so appreciate your call and Kathy for forwarding our request. Tess helped me Sunday AM before going to work, and then Tara spent the day at the session with me and then we went to the hospital. I couldn't have managed the cooking session without all their help, since I'm just on auto-pilot right now. Trev came out on Sat night and helped me unload the van from my TFF shopping, but we couldn't locate our Christmas tree, lights, etc in the barn -- Mike thinks they might be storage but isn't sure where the key is (the drugs talking) but decorating has dropped to the bottom of the priority list anyway.

I'm more concerned about where Mike will sleep once he is released ... I'm sure we can get a bariatric hospital bed since there is no way he can get up the stairs to our bedroom, but our rental farmhouse is cramped and very drafty (much to our dismay and PGE's glee). I can probably move out the sofa from the front room but it is freezing in there and we typically keep it closed up unless we're in there with a space heater. Oh well, a worry for another day. I'm going back to bed for another couple hours sleep until Tatum has to get up for school.

In Him,
-Shawnee