Thursday, October 22

Not much change since my last post; Mom has been moved to a much better bed and is hopefully more comfortable. She has also had many visitors this week, which although tiring, has been good for her.

Dad wrote this for me to put up:

Upshot:
1. Ruth has been pouring over your cards and wishes, which are an encouragement and something to do! She enjoys thinking of each of you, and any news of your lives is interesting to her. Thank you.
2. There has been no surgery so far this week, despite our expectations. But we understand better why, and have reached a place of acceptance.
3. There should be an operation today, to look at the pelvic area that needs repair, and do what can be done to help/prepare it for later surgery.
4. Tomorrow it may be possible for them to do the surgery on Ruth’s leg below the knee.
5. It will likely be quite awhile before her pelvis can be operated on due to the damage to the soft tissue in the area.

Details:
Dr. Mehta will be doing the pelvic surgery. He spoke with us Monday night apologizing that Ruth had been on the waiting list for three days, but no surgery on her break below the knee. It helped to hear him say that, as a trauma center, they take the most extreme cases the Philadelphia area has to offer, and those extreme cases (like Ruth’s when she was first there), take priority. He cautioned that even if no emergency cases came in, she was fourth on the list for Tuesday, so it seemed unlikely they would get to her then.

It helped to get the lay of the land. After about an hour, and your prayers and ours, we gained some perspective and were doing much better that evening and Tuesday morning.

Tuesday, a nurse-practitioner visited and wanted to keep some other things happening, even if the leg surgery could not be done. She procured a better bed which will keep Ruth healthier during hours of just laying there. She asked for a different diet and she, I believe, was the instigator behind today’s procedure which is to open up the soft tissue at the hip to see what it’s like inside, rinse it out and get it ready for whenever the procedure can be done. The soft tissue is so compromised that Ruth’s pelvis can’t be operated on until it improves. (She has a black cherry bruise/rug burn thing about the size of Uganda on her hip.) This can be done via 1) a skin graft or 2) waiting for the area to heal on its own, which will take weeks. The plastic surgeon visited and does not recommend the graft. That’s nice because we were not leaning that way anyway. Dr Mehta hinted that the waiting for the tissue to heal could potentially take place even at home (in a hospital bed, of course) (and still with traction, no doubt). That was interesting!

-Pray for patience and good response to any procedures.
-THANK the Lord that she is good enough to no longer be on the critical list or in the ICU!
-Pray for a way to get different food to her. The ordinary food she is allowed and offered (baked fish with butter and herbs, chicken parmesan) feels too rich to her – she has no appetite for it. But she needs to eat. So I’m wondering how we can get her simple foods that would have appeal and protein.

We are so blessed by everyone’s help in every way. I (Brian) am seriously starting back to work this week and that will present new challenges. I won’t be able to be with Ruth as much (although I will still try to get there every day), and she craves family right now.

Patience and contentment are really the most important things.

“I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.
“On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.” Psalm 138: 2-3