TUESDAY EVENING - AFTER THE SWALLOW STUDY

Molly aced the test today. That is the good news, the bad news is that it after 5pm and we have not been able to get any food for her yet. As a way to better manage her intense schedule of "things" that have to be done each day, as well as not wiping her out completly on the days she has "wound rounds" and dialysis, it was decided to mover her dialysis days to tues, thur, sat. Becuase of this she needed to have dialysis again today to start the new schedule. Also, she had some physical therapy today and on top of all that, she went outside on the gurney they used to transport her to the swallow study. We were outside for about 10-15 minutes. She got cold, but said it felt great. With all this and the need to still do her dressing changes (which requires sedation, and therefore can not eat or drink for 4-6 hours prior) she has not been able to eat as of yet. However, while I am typing this she is getting her dressings changed and once she is un-sedated (not sure if that is a real word or even a medical procedure) she will be able to get her something to eat. She will be on a level 3 diet. Regular, eat anything you want when you want diet is a level 4 diet. This is a little softer, easier to digest diet to get her started. since she has not eaten in over 4 weeks they want to start slowly. Also, chewing can be tiring when you haven't done it in a while so they do not want her to get tired chewing and then not be able to swallow. After a week or two she should be on a regular level 4 diet. Dialysis went well today, they ran for 3 hours and took off 1/2 liter of fluid. She did great and did not get light-headed or dizzy at all. It did as normal tire her a bit, but not like in the past. This shows she is getting stronger and able to tolerate these procedures better. Also, her kidneys are still showing signs of improvement as they are producing about 1/4 of volume that normal healthy kidneys produce (thus the need to continue dialysis). But it is a positive sign and hopefully in a couple of weeks she will not need dialysis anymore. So, hopefully after today, she will get normal dressing changes daily with mon, wed, and fri. being "wound round" day where the surgeons come in while the dressings are down to take a look at them. This can take a while as the surgeons have lots a patients, surgery, office hours, regular rounds, interns, residents, med students, and I would imaging a private social life. Once the nurses take the dressings down and get them cleaned, they leave the wounds uncovered until the surgeons come for alook. Usually within an hour or so, but depending on other things like emergencies, etc, can be several hours. Thus the reason I suggested changing the dialysis schedule. Plus, until the docs have seen her wounds, hey keep her pretty heavily medicated. The only other thing going on besides the normal dressing changes will be the dialysis. Terry the Occupational Therapist was in today and gave us a bunch of exercises to do and rigged up some therabands for Molly to start using so when she goes to acute rehab her upper body will be ahead of the game. Also, we really want to get Molly's hands and fingers working well so she can start to do a lot of the daily things for herself so she can start to feel normal again. This will be a HUGE moral booster for her. That way she can hold a book to read, write, brush her hair, which will have to make her happy since it wont be me doing it anymore. For those of you who know me, hair care is not a to priority for me since I do not have much to take care of. Trusting me with her hair is like trusting a skinny chef. Here is the "big picture" as Molly and I see it right now. The only things she needs is the feeding tube, daily dressing changes, and dialysis 3 times per week. She will continue on the feeding until she is able to eat enough with high calorie suppliment shakes to equal the amount of calories she is getting with the feeding tube. We expect this to happen in about 1-2 weeks. Within a week or two she will get grafted for her stumps and then will have to be in bed with limited movement for 3-5 days. then after 10 days to 2 weeks she will start in the acute rehab. Until that point she will be getting out of bed regularly if not daily. Continue exercising her arms, hands, fingers and upper body. Eat, eat, and eat some more with lots of snacks, shakes and ice cream (this of course really upsets her, lol). So for the next few weeks, we are in a "more of the same" mode until her wounds and grafts heal to the point of starting rehab. Lasty, regarding Moll's recovery. She is now officially on "Floor Status" which means that she is off the monitor, and they only check her blood work and blood sugar ever 4-6 hours. She will be able to rest better at night since she will not be interupted as often. This is a very physical sign that she is making great progress. Molly and I continue to talk regularly about what we are being called to do with this experience. While we do not have a crystal clear picture of that calling yet, we are sure that we are being called to help others. Your prayers in this area are important to us as the prayers for Molly's healing are. SPECIFIC THINGS TO PRAY FOR

• Voice to return
• Kidney function to return fully
• wounds to continue to heal
• stumps to continue to heal and be ready for grafting
• Strengthening of upper body, arms, hands and fingers
• Returned function of hands (especially the right hand)
• Able to tolerate diet and switch to regular diet soon and remove feeding tube
• Keep her spirits high. While all this good news are great signs of progress, it does bring us that much closer to the need to start using her muscles more and will be a very obvious indication to her how weak and sick her body is/was. Also, as she moves around more and more will be a more constant reminder of her legs, so high spirits will be a high priority from this point forward.
• Travel safety for the many friends and family making the trek to Wolverine country.
• Clarity for Molly and I as we continue on this new journey together and what we are supposed to do with this experience.

Thank again for all the prayers, thoughts, cards (she only received a 2 inch stack yesterday) and messages.

God Bless you all,

Love,

Jamey & Molly