Check Up

On Tuesday we took JoDee in for follow-up chest x-rays prior to her check up on Wednesday. JoDee is doing very well at being able to get in and out of the car. We had no problems getting her to and from the hospital for the x-rays, which is great. The x-rays themselves were pretty uneventful except for the technician who started to panic, upon seeing the pictures, that JoDee had swallowed some metal. He was quite worried and kept asking her if she was ok, and if her doctor knew of anything or was concerned in anyway. Obviously the palladium coils that the interventional radiologist inserted into the arteries feeding her hemorrhaging spleen gave this technician a reason for concern. The “metal pieces” appear to be in or near the stomach area on the x-ray. We couldn’t help but laugh, and JoDee just told the guy to relax.

Wednesday was our follow-up visit. It went well and JoDee is healing. Dr. Platnik (trauma surgeon) was impressed with her mobility and overall condition. He examined her abdomen, which was quite painful for JoDee, as he pushed and prodded on her stomach area. There is obviously a lot of damage done to the internal organs, not to mention the shattered spleen, which is still causing a lot of pain. The x-rays didn’t show any further fluid build up, which is great. The doctors feel like we are getting past the risky stage of internal infection etc. and there isn’t really anything at this point that concerns them. They told us that it will be a good 6 to 8 months before the ribs are feeling “normal” and quite a few months until she will feel like her lungs are “normal”. Our next check-up is in a few weeks, so we are glad to be done with doctors’ offices and hospitals for a while.

Overall we are doing well, and JoDee has made tremendous progress since her return home. The kids are managing better each day, and, as I have said before, it is nice to have all of my family in one place. JoDee’s parents are here until next Tuesday, December 8th at which point we will see how we can manage with out their tremendous help. We continue to be blessed by great friends who care and support us so well. We thank all of you, and truly appreciate your thoughts and prayers. Here’s to a better tomorrow…