8-19-12

Update on Josh: Another good day! Just pray that he can patiently make it through four more weeks of total bed rest. I won't go into detail, but he has an uncomfortable bodily issue going on that is out of his control and it is really bothering him. Please pray for that to either clear up or that he would learn to deal with it. Thank you so much for praying.

8-18-12

Update on Josh: SUPER GREAT DAY!!! Josh felt well, he ate a good amount of food, and enjoyed time with his family (mom, siblings, fiance, and dogs). Kristi and Isaiah had a sleepover at the hospital last night and are going to do the same tonight. They have their snacks, video games, ipads, etc. I am so glad they are doing this. I'm sure it makes Josh feel like he is at home. I told them not to stay up too late and they promised, but I know my kids, they will be up late AGAIN!!! But, I think they are more tired tonight and will probably get to bed sooner. I guess the nurses woke them up every couple hours to check on Josh, so not a very restful night last night. Anyway, there are a couple pictures of Josh and Buddy, and Lisa with Izzy on Facebook.  You can find it on my wall - Susan Stricker Holt.

8-15-12

Update on Josh: Called Josh on my lunch break today and he was not feeling well. But, by the time I got there around 6 pm, he was up to eating some food. Kristi brought Buddy and Izzy up to see Josh. They are such good dogs. They laid by Josh's bed most of the time, and greeted everyone as they entered the room. That made Josh's day!!! He misses his dogs.

8-12-12

Update on Josh - He had a few days this past week where he was nauseous, vomiting, and had diarrhea. Yesterday and today he felt a little better and could finally eat something. Josh sleeps a lot too. I guess when you have to stay in bed 24/7, what else is there to do. I know sleep helps the healing process, so that is good. I saw a few weights by his bed. I didn't ask about them, but I am sure he is doing some OT strengthening his upper body. Please keep praying that he is able to beat the bacteria in his body and the C-Diff. I got some good advice from a friend at church who had experienced C-Diff. We have to make sure they are taking an aggressive response to the C-Diff so it doesn't progress into something worse. Thank you for praying!

8-9-12

Update on Josh: I stopped by Josh's room tonight after work for a little bit. He is still not feeling well at all. His skin color still doesn't look normal either. The nurse called it "ash". Lisa asked for lab results and things are all in the normal range. They will keep a close eye on everything. I actually called the hospital this morning before going to work to see how Josh was doing. Josh hadn't been answering his cell phone, so I just wanted to see what the nurses thought of Josh's condition. They didn't seem worried. So I went to work and waited til afterwards to go see him. He isn't eating any food since he feels so nauseous. They are keeping track of how much water he is drinking as well, to make sure he doesn't get dehydrated. I am hoping they can figure out what is making him so nauseous and get that corrected soon. He can't afford to lose any more weight.

Lisa made a interesting observation. Quite a few rooms on Josh's floor of the hospital have that special sign outside their room that indicates a contagious condition and for people to wash their hands before and after entering the room. We are wondering if Josh got the C-Diff from the other patients on his floor. The nurses are supposed to either wear gloves or do the hand washing regimen every time they come in and leave the room. Lisa noticed that they don't always wash their hands when entering, but are pretty faithful in washing on their way out of Josh's room. I read that C-Diff is prevalent in nursing homes and extended stay hospitals. Just an observation!

Keep praying! 
Sue

8-8-12

Update on Josh: Josh seems to have a day or two that looks like he is on the mend and then he gets hit with more. I didn't go see him tonight, but Lisa did. She said he is not doing well. I could tell he wasn't feeling too great Tuesday night when I was up. A mom just knows when her kids aren't feeling well by their eyes and faces. Josh had a different color (olive hue) to his face and dark circles around his eyes. He had that look Tuesday night. Lisa said he looked even worse tonight. He has diarrhea and has been vomiting.

Two things are going on in his body (hopefully no more than these two). When they did the culture of the tissue in his pressure sore, they found that he had a bacteria in it. They are treating that with the proper antibiotics. Now, it looks like he has C-Diff. This is highly contagious and the main symptom is diarrhea. If you go to visit Josh, wash with soap and water when entering and when leaving. Anyway, Josh probably got it from taking so many antibiotics that his body's immune system is weak. They can treat it with certain antibiotics. C-Diff can lead to more serious complications, so please keep Josh in your prayers. If it is not one thing, it is another. I can't wait for all of this to be behind us and Josh gets to move on with his life with Lisa. I am a little worried, but as I learned in church last Sunday morning....I need to give it to God. God is in control.

8-6-12

Update on Josh: Monday is another great day. I called Josh right after I got out of work to see if he had eaten today or if I had to pick something up. He proudly told me that he ordered off the hospital menu for all three meals today and was eating his dinner right then. Yee Haw!!! (There goes the country girl in me - LOL) The kitchen is open from 7am to 7pm and he can order whenever and whatever he wants. This makes mama very happy!!! I stopped by to see Josh for about 20 minutes and then headed home. He was in great spirits and had a room-full of visitors (his friends). They didn't need me around. Just had to share the great news. Thank you everyone for your prayers and concern. ♥

8-5-12

Update on Josh: Yesterday was not a good day for Josh. They started him on some more antibiotics that made him nauseous and then gave him anti-nausea meds to counteract it, which in turn made him sleep for 5-6 hours. Today he felt much better and even ate pretty well. I finally got him to order the hospital food. Normally, he won't eat hospital food (he assumes all hospital food is yucky) and then I end up bringing food to him so that he will eat. He can't afford to go without eating since he is so thin and I can't afford to buy him food everyday for the next 6 weeks. He ordered the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, with a Caesar side salad. He ate it all except the stuffing. It didn't taste like my Stove Top stuffing, so he didn't like it. LOL Anyway...things are going well. Just continue to pray that Josh can tolerate the lengthy bed rest regimen and that all infections will be taken care of by the antibiotics.

8-2-12

Update: Josh is still doing well. The plastic surgeon inspected the area today and said it is looking good. She did say that the culture of the tissue in the would is growing something and said it is probably staff. She will make sure they keep an eye on things. He has two drain tubes coming out of his thigh as well. He is in a special Clinitron Air-Fluidized bed that will help in the healing process. Here is the description of a Clinitron Bed: An air-fluidized bed contains several hundred glass beds inside the main bed unit, which is covered by a thick, polyester sheet. Warm air circulates through the sea of beads, causing them to fluidize, meaning the base of the bed supports the patient through a steady stream of pressurized air. The polyester sheet enables air and moisture to pass through the bed, helping the skin of patients remain dry and avoid the damage caused by incontinence or excessive moisture.

The bed produces heat, so Josh needed to keep the room temperature low to keep from overheating. Unfortunately, those of us not in that bed were freezing. Lisa and I had to cover up with hospital blankets. 

Josh will be moving to a subacute facility soon. It could happen tomorrow or Saturday. The surgeon mentioned Great Lakes Specialty Hospital. It is brand new and is actually in the same building as St Mary's Hospital where he is at right now. I am hoping that is where he will be sent. He will be confined to that Clinitron bed for 6 weeks. He is not allowed to sit up at all during that time. The head of his bed can be raised a little, but not to a sitting position. Since the bed evenly distributes his body weight, he is allowed to lay in any position in the bed, even on his back. 

I will continue to keep you all updated on Josh's progress. Thank you so much for your prayers in this matter. I would like to also request prayers for the husband of one of my co-workers. His name is Ben. He is hospitalized too and just a few doors away from Josh's room. He has some serious health issues and will probably remain hospitalized for quite some time until they can figure out how to help him. They would greatly appreciate your prayers too. ♥

8-1-12

Update: Surgery took a little over four hours. Everything went really well. I gave the surgeon a HUGE hug! There was enough tissue in his thigh to completely fill in the hole that the pressure sore created(which was pretty big). The surgeon said the tissue in the pressure sore looked healthy. She did remove some of the infected bone and even sent bone and tissue samples for a culture to just be safe. Josh will be at the Lacks Center part of St Mary's Hospital for a couple days before being moved to a facility to recover for six weeks. We are waiting in Josh's room for him to be brought up from post-op recovery. We are extremely excited with the results so far!