Jonathan spent Christmas in the hospital this year. He said it's the first time he's basically missed Christmas, and it was a bummer. But not all was terrible. Here are some good things that have been happening lately, and some news updates for the curious:
- Adrian and Abby and Edison and Linus came carting armfulls of Christmas Cheer and decorated Jonathan's room with a tree, garland, lights, ornaments, and pictures. And they brought some of the best Christmas movies, too.
- Jonathan got so many cheerful messages from all of you! (If you want to send another, go here. He's in room 2308).
- The kids went to visit on Christmas morning, and they brought along their new Doctor kit and got right to work making Daddy better. Then we did the full hospital tour, stopping on the 5th floor to see the fish and the 8th floor to see the helicopter and the courtyard to run and play by the giant Christmas tree.
- On Christmas day, they put in a Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC) line, and later that night Jonathan got his Christmas feast as he began Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN). He hasn't really been able to keep down more than a bite or two of food since mid-October, so he's pretty malnourished. The "milk for your blood" as I affectionately call it, will help his body get stronger so he can keep fighting.
- Jonathan is now fully under the care of the general surgery team, and more specifically Dr. Blazer. We're not really dealing with the GI doctors anymore.
- As such, Jonathan will be having some type of surgery at some point in the relatively near future. The surgery will either be laproscopic or open, with four goals: (1) remove gallbladder; (2) clean the giant pseudocyst; (3) drain/clean additional pseudocyst(s), and; (4) sew the pancreas to the stomach so that it can drain into the stomach if it wants to without having to have stents holding that pathway open.
- We don't know when the surgery will be scheduled, because it will depend entirely on his nutrition levels and overall health. They want to get him as healthy as possible so that he will tolerate the surgery and recover without complications. The earliest the surgery would be scheduled, based on what they've told us so far, is January 2nd. But I'd be surprised if it happens before January 6th. He'll be in the hospital for however long it takes until he has surgery.
- Recovery time from the surgery will vary based on what type of surgery they have to do, and what exactly happens during the operation itself. But it will likely be at least a week or two in the hospital.
- I finally remembered my favorite xkcd comic, which helps keep me sane whenever I feel down about Jonathan being sick for so long. Luckily we haven't had many nurses or docs who give this speech. Apparently those nurses all work in the NICU at UNC (zing! Sorry - had to. I might not be over the nightmare of a stay there after Gideon's birth).
That's about all I know for now. I'm working and taking the kids to school, or if I'm not working I'm trying to be at the hospital as much as possible while the grandparents are all here to help out. Jonathan is hanging out at the hospital, watching TV and resting. If you're in the area you're more than welcome to visit anytime!
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