Wayne
Looks like you have an amazing daughter!
She has the spirit. That makes her a winner!
Keep us posted with more good news!
In a message dated 7/25/2011 9:00:35 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
oifa@irishfield.on.ca writes:
THANKS Nig for keeping the "followers" in the loop for me!!! .. and thanks
for all the well wishes from the same fine folks! They won't believe what
I'm gonna type here.
We're all home, surgeons jaws are still hanging open in amazement that we
left the building on Sunday morning, as are all the medical staff in the
Sarcoma unit at Mount Sinai Hospital. We can already hear the keyboards
clicking away for the latest entry in the medical journals. Jen's on the
table time in surgery, to remove her right pelvic bone and partial sacrum,
was almost 12 hours (9am to 9pm). 3 surgeons, 2 anaesthesiologist, and 13
others scrubbed in !! Expected to spend at least a day in ICU, maybe two,
but was released to the sarcoma floor by 3am. She would have been up to
the
floor by 11pm but needed a pint of blood and had some heart rate issues
that
ended up being linked to drinking Gingerale ! Totally lucid after surgery,
remembers everyone of the dozen + people I lead into the recovery room at
9:40pm (there was nobody else left in there at that hour so wasn't an
issue)
Original order was for 6 weeks bed rest before getting up, as the two
previous surgeries of similar nature had the first women in hospital for 3
months(+ 2 rehab) and the second one in for about 7 weeks. With Jennifer,
on
day 9 the chief surgeon said "I think we'll try to get you up on Monday
since you're doing so well". So on day 12 she stood up on her good leg and
went for a full walker walk around her room with the physiotherapist.
Morning of Day 13 he came back and asked Jen if she was able to stand up
and
then sit back down into bed, she said "yes and then I went for a walk
around
the room"! With that amazing news he had her do the same on crutches. Day
14
she did the stairs.. a set of 2, up and back down. Day 15 she did an
entire
flight between hospital floors and back down. Day 16 she could have gone
home, but waited for day 18 so she could get her staples (83 of them) out
before going home, as they were supposed to be in for at least 21 days....
but she has absolutely no open spots or infection so they took them out on
Sunday before releasing her.
We were told last Tuesday that the pathologist reports on the removed bone
show, as best they could cut and dice it, 100% dead cancer cells. 80% is
good and their typical target, 90% is great and 100% is never heard of !!
Our biggest fears were stairs and whether she'd have to give up her garden
apartment in the city as it has 6 steps down into it. It had been expected
she'd be in a wheel chair for at least 3 months before progressing to a
walker and then crutches. Right now she's mainly using crutches and the
walker has it's uses with it having a seat. A wheel chair will get used
for
long distances and mainly when someone's pushing. Getting back to her
apartment stairs... she had no problem with those when we stopped to pack
her stuff to come home with us yesterday, nor did she have any issue
getting
into the truck using the door and the pull handles.
Last night when we got home to Penetang, from Toronto, and I told her she
could have our bedroom on the main floor. Jen said she'd have nothing of
it
and went up the 17 stairs to her bedroom ! Glad I didn't follow my first
notions and emotions as I almost had a stair lift installed back in April.
She isn't allowed to put any weight on the leg for a few months to allow
the
area to scar in. She now has no mechanical connection between leg and
torso,
and never will, strictly scar tissue and muscles to make the leg work. A
long road ahead of her but she's still in great spirits. Allowed to start
using the swimming pool by the end of this week, where a flutter board may
help her strengthen her right leg. No true physiotherapy until she can put
weight on the leg, but when she does need it she works (currently on leave
of course) at the Recreation centre at Ryerson University and has her own
personal trainers waiting for her appearance!
Happier with these first steps than the original ones 25 years ago !
http://youtu.be/CpsaXQt3vXo
http://youtu.be/Qa7QJLiw2To
http://youtu.be/4__uZxNugMc
Wayne
----- Original Message -----
From: "N.Smith" <
admin@airnig.co.uk>
To: <
rebel-builders@dcsol.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 3:36 AM
Subject: [rebel-builders] Another update on Jen
"Up today to the amazement of the entire medical staff on the 11th
floor.
Jaws hanging open as she, without hesitation, put her legs down over the
edge of the bed and stood up into a walker. Did a loop around the room on
the good leg, using her hip muscles to toss the bad one forward and then
sat
in a chair for about 4 hours before returning to bed. WEEKS ahead of what
anyone expected.... She's not allowed to put any weight on the right leg
for
a few months. They need the internal flesh to scar better before she can
put
weight on it, now that there's no mechanical connection from body to leg.
Not sure when I'm gonna get home at this point."
Wayne
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