Day 5

Again today Jennie seems to be doing pretty well. She didn't get much sleep last night, so she has slept quite a bit, but her pain seems to be a little better.

The doctors said they will try her on clear liquids tomorrow, which will be a major step towards her getting out of here. They are hoping that she will be out of here before the weekend, which we would be very happy with.

While the doctors were in they did mark a few places along her incision that were red and puffy. The doctors don't seem to think this is an infection at this point, but they wanted to mark it so they know to monitor it over the next few days.

Jennie has already been on 2 walks today down the hall and back, and also sat in the reclining chair for an few hours. Each day she seems to be doing more and more, and her progress is much quicker than it was after the last surgery.

Day 4

Again today Jennie is doing pretty well. She is experiencing a little more pain than yesterday, but they seem to think it may be because of her digestive tract beginning to work again, and the nurses have noting some sounds indicating this may be the case.

I was able to get her to go for a decent walk down the hall today, and occupational therapy came in and worked with her shortly afterwards. The doctor mentioned this morning that he will start a TPN, a bag of nutrients given through IV, tonight or tomorrow. I hope this goes ok, last time the TPN messed with her blood sugar levels quite a bit.

All in all, today has been another good day. So far the Doctors haven't mentioned when we might leave, but I would be surprised if She is still in the hospital next weekend at this time. Keep praying for a quick recovery, hopefully this will be the last surgery for a long time!

Day 3

Today Jennie continues to make a lot of progress, and the doctors are impressed with how quickly she is advancing. They were able to take her NG tube out, which has made her much more comfortable. Her blood pressure has finally dropped back to the normal range and her pulse has come down some too.

Jennie was able to take a walk down the hall and back, as well as getting out of bed to sit in a chair for a while, both very good for just a few days after abdominal surgery. Her pain seems to have lowered a little also, and she is sleeping much better than before.

We appreciate all the calls, emails and posts, I promise I am passing them on to Jennie! Please continue to keep her in your prayers, hopefully she will heal quickly and be on her way back home soon.

Day 2

Jennie is recovering very well today. The doctors adjusted her pain meds and gave her lasix to get some of the fluid off, and both seem to have worked very well. Her pain is still high, but she is aware enough today to find the NG tube irritating, which is a good sign.

Physical Therapy came in today and had her sit on the edge of the bed. They also asked us to try and get her to walk a little today, and we did manage to get her to walk to the door and back. When Dr. Sutherland came in later he was surprised we had been able to make that much progress, but getting Jennie up and moving was good for her recovery.

Her Hemoglobin had dropped some today, so they gave her two more units of blood. All in all, I feel like her recovery is going better this time than last, and we can only hope and pray that it continues that way.

And Recovery begins . . .

I am sorry to have not posted again last night, but they didn't get Jennie into her room until after 10 pm, and we only got to spend a short time with her before heading back to the hotel.

Jennie looks much better than she did after the last surgery, but she is very swollen and hurting a lot. Her blood pressure is still up, but that is likely attributed to the pain meds and the extra fluid she has right now. The doctors are hoping that the fluid will come off itself, and are hoping to avoid giving her a diuretic to reduce the swelling.

Jennie is in the transplant unit again, just like last time, so hopefully she will continue to have the high level of nursing care from last time. The doctor said hopefully her recovery will be quicker this time, but it is still too early to really tell how quickly it will go.

Jennie's address here is below if you are interested in sending a card. I am sure hearing from everyone would lift her spirits in a few days once she gets to feeling a little better. They won't accept flowers on her floor, and we are limited on space to travel home, so please no gifts. Thank you in advance.

Fairview Medical Center

420 Delaware Street SE

Floor 6D Room 506 - Jennie Boggess

Minneapolis, MN 55455

Surgery is Done!

Dr. Sutherland came out a few minutes ago and told us that they were wheeling Jennie to recovery. He said that the colon was even larger and more inflamed than he had thought from the images, and that he clearly thought that was her problem.

He removed all but about a foot of the colon, which should be enough to prevent Jennie from having any long term issues. He had taken some pictures and showed us, and it was very large, clearly not normal. He reiterated again that he felt this was a problem she had prior to the last surgery, and that it could have been another source of the pain she felt all along.

Jennie only had to have 2 units of blood this time, which is much better, and Dr. Sutherland felt that her recovery should be quicker and less major this time.

We appreciate all the calls, texts, e-mails and other forms of support. Please continue to keep Jennie in your thoughts and prayers, she still has a long way to go but hopefully the worst is behind us.

Deja Vu

So it seems like not so long ago that I was sitting in this waiting room in Minnesota waiting anxiously for Dr. Sutherland to tell us that Jennie's Surgery went well, and here I find myself less than a year later back in the same place.

For the few who may not know, the surgery Dr. Sutherland talked about months ago has become necessary, and Jennie is having a subtotal colectomy (removal of part of the colon). Her pain the last few months had digressed to where it was before her pancreatectomy in June and Dr. Sutherland feels that this is due to her colon damage. We aren't as confident as he is, but I guess that can happen after frequently getting our hopes up time after time.

Jennie's surgery was at 9:30 this morning and it is 1:30 as I type this with no word as of yet. We were warned yesterday that he expected the surgery to take about 2.5 or 3 hours, but that it could vary depending on the extent of damage and anything else he might find while operating. They also didn't take her into the operating room until 9:45, so they were a little behind schedule to begin with.

This surgery is supposed to be much less dangerous, but the recovery time can still take up to 2 weeks in the hospital, so we may be up here almost as long this time also.

We are all getting nervous and anxious as it takes longer and longer for us to hear word, hopefully there haven't been any complications. If taking longer this time will avoid further problems, it will be worth the wait.

Please keep Jennie in your prayers, I will post later once we know more.