Day 4: Can't Catch a Break

Click on Continue Reading for Jean's address at the hospital. There's other news, too. Good News and "Not So Good But We Can't Commit to Anything Until We Do More Tests" News.

Jean's address at Beth Israel is:
1014 Farr Building
Beth Israel Deaconness
185 Pilgrim Road
Boston, MA 02215

Phone Number: 617-632-1688

She'll be here through the end of this week at least. If you think your card or package might not reach her that soon, you can always send something to 22 Walnut Road, Somerville, MA 02145. Also, if you have any questions you'd like to ask us, click the Feedback button at the top of page and fill out the form. It will send an e-mail to us to which we'll respond within a day.

The Good News. Jean is a healing well from the surgery. Her kidneys appear to be functioning fine, digestion is making good sounds, and in general her overall health is better. She's still groggy, but that's mostly because the doctors don't let her nap without a visit every 30 minutes. Dr. Hanto thinks she's making great progress. She'll start drinking full cups of clear liquids today. If she reacts well to liquids, then they'll give her solid food in another day.

The Not So Good Etc. The right leg. Jean had severals visits from neurologists and spinal doctors over the last two days. She had umpteen sensitivity tests performed on her leg. The physical therapists took her out for a couple of walks, but there's been no change in the condition of the leg.

One of the hospital's chief neurologists visited Jean this afternoon. He gave her the umpteenth-plus-one test and said it was likely that the nerves controlling the quad muscles on the right leg had been compressed, damanged, and/or cut. If there's minor compression or damage, then the prognosis is a moderate recovery over several weeks, using physical therapy and steroids to regenerate the nerves. If there's major damage or the nerves were cut, then it might take several months of therapy, drugs, and walking aids. And there's no guarantee of full regeneration.

Lots of "ifs" and "mights" in this territory. We're used to hearing it - doctors for valid reasons won't confirm any diagnosis or prognosis unless there's firm facts - but we never like hearing it. They're going to perform another MRI on Jean tomorrow (Tuesday), an unpleasant but necessary experience. In a couple of weeks, if the leg isn't healed, the neurologists will also perform an EMG (electromylogram) test on the nerves in her leg to see what's regenerating and what's damaged.

Add neurology to the list of other fields we're becoming amateur experts in: oncology, gastrointerology, dermatology. Now is the time for me to get my medical degree, if only Organic Chemistry 101 didn't bore me to tears.

What caused this? Nobody knows. Surgeons often point to epidural taps as causing some of these problems. Anesthesiologists point to surgeons for cutting and retracting (holding back skin and internal tissues from the surgical opening), placing pressure on the nerves or slicing them apart. Of course, there are a dozen other possible causes that nobody can pinpoint with certainty.

We're disappointed - and we're determined to see Jean past this hurdle. Right now we're wandering on the frontier of surgery and medical science, where even doctors scratch their heads. We've got good doctors and nurses who are working very hard for us. We've got great support from our families, friends, and colleagues. We'll face the facts - for her kidneys, good facts; for her leg, sucky. And we'll rise to the occasion the best we can.

Posted by gasbarro at March 21, 2006 01:05 AM