Thanks

[Guest guest]

Hello Tom & Kathy,

You both are so good at updating Tom's progress as often as you can.

I just want to say thank you for taking the time to do this, as it is helping me along the way. You wrote in your update "That he would not have brought you this far without some great plan for you" well I believe he has a lot for you, and probably part of it is helping other people find their way through this disease.

I hope you get home tomorrow and that you have a great 2009.

Pleae let me know when you get home.

I have created a Clarinbridge page http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/geraldinenewell

You can visit it and see my update.

Have a great day

Geraldine

To: < >Sent: Friday, January 2, 2009 8:15:26 AMSubject: Update from Tom - THURSDAY, JANUARY 01, 2009 02:31 PM, CST

Happy New Year, everyone! Today marks four weeks since the transplant.Today is also the first day in over a week where I've felt strong enough to turn on the computer. It's not the transplant surgery that gets you--it's all the issues that arise afterward. I don't know how one can go through an ordeal like this without having a strong faith. It HAS been hard to keep a stiff upper lip in the wake of several aborted attempts at releasing me, the MRSA scare, pain, being told I can't eat anything for the next four weeks, and so on. But, I guess my faith is stronger than I imagined. God is still in control of His kingdom, and if that wasn't a core belief, I'm sure I would have gone off the deep end a long time ago. He would not have brought me this far without some kind of great plan for me, and just when I think things can't get any worse, He tosses out a blessing or two that reminds me of just how great He is. Reading all of your

postings is the source of many of those blessings, and they will always be a source of strength. Thank you again for your prayers, thoughts, and kind words!Good news. The staples came out today. For those who are curious, I had 42 in my belly. Take a picture and crop it correctly, and you have a perfect Mercedes Benz logo. Maybe I should see if they would be willing to pay to have that in their advertising. The TPN nutrition is not as bad as I expected. I'm not an expert on physiology and anatomy, but I'm not experiencing the severe hunger pains that I anticipated. There must be something in the formula that satisfies the hunger center of the brain. Yes, I'm hungry, but I don't feel as if I'm starving. I hope I can say the same thing three weeks from now. They need to figure out how to provide that intravenous nutrition while delivering some flavor. Even a baloney sandwich-flavored infusion would be an improvement. Some color in the

liquid would be nice, too. Right now, it looks like I'm drinking a gallon of milk from a plastic bag every day.But right now, the worst thing I'm experiencing is the ongoing problem with the JP drains that were installed during the surgery to drain fluid that accumulates in the gut. I have two that have been running almost constantly since the surgery.It's cumbersome to lug two balls of odd-colored liquid around. Moreover, they leak. I haven't had my 'diapers' changed this much since I was two years old. If I'm lucky, I can go three hours without the dressing becoming saturated with fluid. Many times I've woken from a nap to find that I'm laying in a pool of liquid and my gown is soaked. Picture one of those Loony Tunes cartoons where the bad guy gets shot, drinks water, and all of the water comes pouring out of the holes in his body, and you'll get a good idea of what I'm experiencing. That stuff is hard on the skin, too. All of

the retaping and the caustic nature of the liquid have worn the skin raw. Removing the tape to redo the dressing every couple hours is an excruciating task. They have tried a couple different topical approaches, but those don't provide much relief. So, they just put a couple more stitches in where the tubes come out of my side in an effort to plug the leaks. Instead of tape, they are trying a fabric wrap that secures the dressing. So far, it's been holding...no leakage, and it's been two hours.We're still shooting for releasing me early tomorrow morning. I won't believe it until I'm home, though. I'm not pessimistic, just realistic. A lot can happen over the next 18 hours. Then again, nothing can happen, too. Let's hope and pray for that!Tom

To send a message to Tom, Kathy and family goto;

http://www.caringbr idge.org/ visit/thomasbutl er

-- Ian Cribb P.Eng.