The LA Times Online version posted an article on Genetic Testing and Huntington’s Disease. Debbie’s brother and sister were interviewed for the article. http://articles.latimes.com/2011/apr/19/news/la-heb-family-huntingtons-genetic-testing-20110419
Debbie has gained a little bit of weight ( she needed to) in the last week and is doing well. She’s still at Mercy Folsom Hospital and we both appreciate all your prayers and support.
They increased her caloric intake and she is now eating double meals, about 4000 calories per day. She no longer is able to feed herself and the hospital staff has been wonderfully good. It takes about an hour for her to eat a meal and she usually says she is starving after the food is all gone. I have a stash of chocolate pudding, tapioca, and blueberry applesauce in her room so I can keep her satisfied.
She loves the chocolate banana smoothie drink from Starbucks. Whoever keeps putting Starbucks gift cards in pockets, car seat, books, etc. , THANK YOU!!!! I wouldn’t be able to provide this simple pleasure to Debbie without your help.
Debbie and I really appreciate the help and support during this trying time. Your prayers and support in so many other ways mean so much to us. ”1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.” - Psalm 107:1 NIV
She is healing well but will have to be connected to a device called a InfoV.A.C ( Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Device) for several weeks. For more info about this therapy/technology you can follow this link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_pressure_wound_therapy
She will be moved to a skilled nursing facility when the MediCAL and or GHPP is approved. These are both State of California programs and I have no idea when or if they will be approved. In the mean time, Mercy Folsom Hospital continues to do a great job taking care of her, and the hospital cafeteria food is quite good, especially when compared to my cooking.
Enough chocolate already – Debbie really loves it but it is quite messy.
Thanks again for the prayers and support.
It’s Saturday morning and Debbie has been in the hospital for 1 week. She was eating breakfast with the help of a nurse’s aide when I arrived and seems to be back to her old self, trying to feed herself and making a lot more happy sounds.
I showed her a picture of our grandsons and she started laughing so loudly that two of the nurses came to ask if everything was alright. She definitely is feeling much better.
Some of my friends and family have asked for more detailed status and asked “is there anything I can do.” via phone, facebook, and emails, so I will try to oblige those requests here.
What happened?- On Friday, April 1, Debbie took a fall while walking (with help) to the bathroom.
- She didn’t complain of any injury or hurting anywhere.
- On Saturday morning her caregiver noticed fever and redness and serious swelling in Debbie’s right hip area and determined to take Debbie to the ER at Mercy Folsom Hospital.
- I was at mom and dad’s house in Escondido ( near San Diego ) and got a call about Debbie going to hospital.
- I called our daughter, Sheri, and she stepped in and took care of things with the hospital until I was able to return and be at the hospital Monday morning.
- X-rays showed no broken bones but examination revealed a serious abscess.
- Debbie was admitted to hospital and put on IV antibiotics.
- She was scheduled for I&D ( incision and drainage) surgical procedure on Tuesday but that didn’t happen until Wednesday.
- CAT-Scan on Thursday to determine if infection had gotten into bone tissue was negative ( one of those good negatives), also no cats were found
- Debbie is now recovering in hospital in preparation for move to a skilled nursing facility.
- much better as of today
- very energetic
- vitals are good; blood pressure, blood oxygen level, temp, heart rate, …
- very hungry – she says ” I’m starving” immediately after eating a hospital meal
- Doctor says the wound is healing well
- She’ll hopefully be leaving hospital to a skilled nursing facility on Monday.
What can you do to help?
- Debbie loves me to read blog comments, emails, and facebook posts to her.
- She loves visitors. Mercy Folsom Hospital – room 126.
- Debbie loves anything chocolate.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (King James Version)
16Rejoice evermore. 17Pray without ceasing. 18In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Debbie and I are spending our days at Mercy Folsom Hospital. It’s Wednesday evening and she just ate after having surgery this afternoon. They stopped letting her eat after the evening meal yesterday in preparation for surgery so she was really hungry. She wolfed down her late lunch, and now is saying that she is starving – now she can’t hardly wait until dinner is served. It’s a good thing she likes hospital food.
I’ve been at the hospital all day today and I’ve had a lot of time to observe the staff and how much they care for Debbie. I am very impressed by the quality of the care here. Tho I’m not a professional hospital reviewer, this is by far the best hospital where I’ve spent any significant time. I’m not sure what the appropriate rating unit is but if it’s IV bags then the get a 5-IVbag rating from me. (0 to 5 scale) These people are great.
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ ” Matthew 25:40 (NIV)
Our son, Jim, came in and ended up feeding Debbie her second meal this evening – turkey, rice, carrots, and fruit salad. Thank you Jim. I really appreciate the help. It has been a long day and I needed the help.
Thank you to all of you who have Debbie and I in your thoughts and prayers. God is Good, All the time.
Hi. My name is Russ Eslick, and I am a newbie to the whole blogging and WordPress thing so please bear with me.
We have encountered some significant difficulties that started over 27 years ago. We stumbled through these these difficulties trying to make the best of things, all the while not knowing the cause. Then in 1997, Debbie was diagnosed with Huntington’s Disease.
You can find out more about HD at the Huntington’s Disease Lighthouse website, http://hdlighthouse.org/abouthd/index.shtml. Also, the Huntington’s Disease Society of America has a website, http://hdsa.org.