We’re just waiting for Jenny’s skin color on her left side to return to normal.
Today was pretty simple. The only drama was with the ultrasound of the infected area.
Jenny’s white blood cell count is back within normal range. And she felt pretty good for the bulk of the day.
But the redness on her skin has grown, which is a ‘clinical sign’ of infection. (The quotes around ‘clinical sign’ come from Katie, Dr. Kronowitz’s PA.)
Today is a little better than the day before. That’s pretty much the goal with these stays in the hospital. We found that out when we were here in 2012.
Jenny has had more energy today. She even got up and showered. And she got out her computer and did some Christmas shopping.
But she’s also felt worn out and nauseous at other times. They are pumping her with lots of medicine. She’s not taking Hydrocodone, though. She hates that stuff, so they’re giving her Ibuprofin to manage the pain that she still has.
Jenny’s Facebook post from the early morning hours this morning pretty much tells the story of this update:
She started feeling more sore than she should have yesterday morning while doing last-minute shopping for Hayden’s birthday party at the house. By the afternoon, after the family festivities ended, she rested and began to run a fever.
Jenny is back for another surgery. She detailed the plan in a post on Tuesday, where she talks about the continued reconstruction phase of this process.
We know we are near the end — Jenny wants a finish line — but she also knows the cancer that she found in 2012 will always be a part of her life. But she has said out loud that this is the final surgery for awhile:
“I have declared this my last surgery for two years.”
On the day of Jenny’s sixth surgery – a reconstructive surgery that we believe will be her last — I sent an email update to a group of friends and family. My note said that she was out of surgery.
In the email, I said that I was going to post my notes from the day later, but I shared Jenny’s pre-surgery thoughts in case they had not read that yet. If you remember, the night before the surgery Jenny was writing about having a lot to celebrate, something she was contemplating after meeting so many people that she feels a connection with throughout this journey.
We’ve passed Day No. 3 since the surgery. Jenny’s getting by.
She’s able to get up and get around, so in that sense, she’s doing very well.
But she’s not feeling great. She’s tired. She hurts. It’s hard for her to get comfortable. She feels like she’s in a fog.