Insurance Sucks!

I'm sorry, but there is just no other way to say it! So, the insurance company has decided that they will not pay for Mary to stay at the hospital and do wound care and physical therapy there anymore. They will only pay for it in Boise. So, my mom, Mary, and Kyle are heading to Boise tomorrow! I'm sure it's a little bittersweet....nervous about leaving the hospital only one week after surgery, but also kind of excited to be coming home. They will probably discharge Mary sometime tomorrow afternoon. Before she goes they are going to measure her for the compression pants, which is the next step after bandages. I guess the wound care and physical therapy will now be in the hands of the doctors and nurses here in Boise. Also, the doctor from Salt Lake will be coming for his trip to Boise in the next two weeks or so. I'm sure it will be fine, just not what we were planning on. We will definitely be praying for a safe trip home tomorrow and praying that the staff at the wound center in Boise will take good care of our Mary!

Looking Good

The title says it....things are looking good! They've unwrapped Mary's legs twice now and taken out all the staples. The doctor is very pleased with how her grafts look. Mary was able to tolerate both checks very well. They've even had her up and moving a little. She's doing great! Okay she did pass out once after standing up, but wasn't hurt and was laughing about it after. They're going to take it pretty easy with her physical therapy for a little while so as not to disturb the grafts. They haven't said yet how long they want her to stay in the hospital, but I'm sure Mary is hoping she'll get out sooner rather than later. As far as what's going to happen when she gets out, they're not sure yet either. Mary is thinking she'll stay local, probably at Kyle's parents house for a week or so. The doctor mentioned having a nurse or healthcare worker go to Mary and do wound care after she's out. No one is wanting to risk infection! We'll see how it all works out, but so far she's doing really well after her second surgery!!

Bed Rest

Mary has been on bed rest now for two days since the surgery. She is doing well, bored, but feeling well. They are going to unwrap her legs tomorrow and look to see how things are healing. They will then just wrap them back up and she'll continue to be on bed rest. On Sunday they are planning to take out the staples. They will not be sedating her for either of these bandage changes. She is a little nervous about that, but hopefully it will go well. She is off the IV meds and is doing well on just the oral medicine. My mom is thinking they'll probably have her try to start moving on Monday. Mary is very glad they only had to take the skin from her thighs....I'm sure it's made a world of difference as she's recovering. Not too much new to report, but just very grateful Mary is feeling good and hoping the leg check tomorrow goes well. Thanks for checking in on Mary. We so appreciate all the good thoughts and prayers!

Surgery Day

Mary went in for her surgery at about noon today. The doctor only ended up needing to regraft about 2/3 of her left lower leg.....guess she found some live skin while in surgery. However, she ended up having to do a little more on the right leg than she thought. She was able to only use skin from Mary's thighs and didn't even have to use the backs of the thighs. That will be a tremendous help in Mary's recovery. The doctor seemed to think it all went well. Yay! Coming out of surgery however was quite rough. They didn't give Mary the same pain meds this time right away, and she was in A LOT of pain. Apparently she was screaming and crying for about 2 hours pretty much nonstop. They were definitely giving her everything they could to help, but it took a while to get it under control. :( Finally at about 6:00 she fell asleep and slept until 8:00. When she woke up she was feeling MUCh better than before.
We were very glad to hear that surgery went well, and really hoping she can get some good sleep tonight. Sending lots of love Mary!

Surgery Tomorrow

Mary had her final check by the doctor today to determine what areas would need to be regrafted tomorrow in her surgery. The doctor told them her left leg from knee to ankle will need to be regrafted. On her right leg there is an area about the size of a dollar bill that will need to be regrafted. The news about the left leg was a little disappointing, but compared to her first surgery I'm sure this will seem like a breeze! :) They don't know why the grafts didn't take to her left leg, the doctor said it was actually quite common to have areas that don't take. The doctor is hopeful that they will only have to use the skin on Mary's thighs for the new grafts. She won't know for sure though until they are in surgery. This would be very nice because the donor sites on her back and hips were much slower to recover. The surgery is scheduled for 11:00 tomorrow and should take about 2 hours. After surgery the doctor doesn't want Mary to move for about 5 days and said to expect to be in the hospital for about 2 more weeks. My mom and Mary are hoping it won't be quite that long, but we'll see.
Mary, we are all thinking of you and praying for a successful surgery tomorrow. We love you!!

The Latest

The doctor has been very pleased with how Mary's legs have been looking the last two days. She said that each day the infection as well as the grafts are looking better and better. YAY! They are going to keep her on the antibiotics through next Monday. At that point the doctor will reevaluate what areas (if any) need to be regrafted. She does think some regrafting will be necessary, but we're hoping and praying it will be minimal. The surgery would then be on Tuesday of next week. Just like last time, Mary won't be able to move for 3-5 days after surgery. My mom is guessing that she will be in the hospital about a week after the surgery takes place.
That's about all we know at this time. I think Mary is feeling a little better today than she has the last two or so. Apparently the pain was pretty bad Wednesday and Thursday, and she was back on the really heavy narcotics. Today when I talked to my mom, she and Mary were in the middle of making lists of things to do for the wedding and receptions, so I'm taking that as a good sign! :)

Back in the Hospital

Mary got back to the burn center of the hospital last night at about midnight. The doctor saw her this morning. They are "very worried, but not ready to book an O.R. yet." She definitely has an infection of some sort. They don't know why or how, but she does. So they wrapped her in special anitbiotic wraps and have "soaker tubes" hooked up to her legs that administer more of the antibiotic every 4 hours. My mom likened this to soaker tubes in a garden. They are going to do this for the next 2 days. At that point, the doctor will examine them again to see what to do next. She (it's a different doctor that's on rotation there for the next couple weeks) said she can't tell until the infecton is taken care of if the grafts just aren't taking or if they are what she called "ghosting." Not totally clear on the difference, but either way, they would have to redo at least some of the grafts. They said her thighs are healing nicely, but her calves and shins are not and especially on the left leg. Now for some good news.....if they have to regraft, they CAN use the same donor sites, so they don't have to take more of her "normal" skin. Also, the doctor mentioned that regrafts heal a lot quicker than first grafts.

That's pretty much all we know at this point. We are just very thankful that the doctor from Salt Lake came to Boise when he did and she didn't go another week or more before this was caught. I'll post again as soon as we know more. Mary is pretty down today at the thoughts of more surgery and just being back in the hospital....as you can imagine. Thank you for your concern and prayers!!

Setback

Today was Mary's appointment with her doctor from Salt Lake. It did not go well. He asked if they wanted the good news or bad news......."The good news is Mary's a very nice girl. The bad news is her grafts look terrible." :( This is definitely not what we were hoping to hear. He said it could be an infection. If it is, they will treat it.....not exactly sure what all that entails. But if it's not an infection, then they'll need to redo the skin grafts from her knees down. Mary, Kyle, and my mom are on their way back to Salt Lake today. They are going to admit Mary back into the Burn Center and do a culture to figure out if she has an infection and go from there. The doctor thought she'd be inpatient for at least a couple days depending on what they find. If they have to redo the skin grafts, obviously longer. I will keep the blog updated as soon as I hear anything. Please continue to keep Mary in your thoughts and prayers.

Home Life

Mary has been home for almost 4 days now. She is really enjoying not being at the hospital! They (Mary, Kyle, and my mom) still have about 5-6 hours a day of wound care and physical therapy. Kyle is very good at pushing Mary and getting her to work hard! Yesterday she saw a doctor here in Boise. The doctor seemed to think everything looked like it was healing really well. She even mentioned that the spot the other doctor thought might need to be regrafted was looking good. She said she thought Mary probably wouldn't need another surgery. Yay! Keep those prayers coming!! They also gave Mary some new wraps and bandages that she is liking a lot better. Mary continues to be able to do more each day......yesterday she walked up the stairs "like a normal person" as she put it. Her feet are looking a lot less swollen each day, and both the donor sites and the skin grafts continue to heal at amazing rates. Skin is so cool......it is really just incredible stuff!! Mary has loved being able to see and visit with people. Thank you to everyone who was able to come to the Open House. And if you missed it, please feel free to call and come over to say hello. I know Mary would love it. She and Kyle went to dinner and a movie last night....I'm sure it felt great to be out doing "normal" things again. Mary's doctor from the U of U is coming to Boise next week (apparently he does this once a month) so she will get to see him next Tuesday. So we may know a little more then....but so far everything at home is going well.

She's Home!

They made it! Mary, my mom, and Kyle made it home last night. Mary had a check-up and her bandage change at the hospital in SLC yesterday morning. The doctor thought things were looking good; however, mentioned that there was an area that may need another skin graft. We are all really hoping and praying that it won't come to that.
We were all so excited to see them last night! Mary looks GREAT....moving a little slow, but that could be due to the extra weight on her left ring finger.....she has a sparkly new accessory! :) But she is actually getting around quite well. I know she was excited to be home, maybe not under the best of circumstances, but home nonetheless. She's excited to see everyone at the Open House today. We hope to see you at the Thompson house anytime between 2-4. Welcome home Mary!!

Open House, Sunday from 2-4

It looks like it's really going to happen!! Mary is scheduled to come home late Saturday evening. So unless the doctors veto the road trip, she, Kyle, and my mom will be heading to Eagle after getting a final check up at the burn center. We know that many of you out there are anxious to see Mary, and would love the chance to give her a big hug and let her know you've been thinking of her. And I know she wants to see you all too! So we thought it would be a good idea to host a little Open House for Mary on Sunday afternoon to welcome her home. We're hoping this will give Mary an opportunity to see and thank as many people at one time as possible, so that she will still be able to focus on her recovery. Her wound care and physical therapy continue to take around four hours a day, and her body is still needing a lot of rest as it heals. This will also give Mary something fun to look forward to as she arrives home. If you're not able to make it during this time, but would still like to see Mary, it's probably best to call ahead of time - pop ins would be a little tricky at this point! :) We'll be sure to let everybody know if plans change. Otherwise...hope to see many of you at the Thompson house on Sunday afternoon!!

Thursday, August 4

I think Mary's first day out of the hospital was a success! She slept okay at the hotel. The power went off in the room and so they woke up quite hot at about 5:00 a.m., however, they were able to go back to sleep. The wound care and physical therapy took over 5 hours today.....yikes. The report we heard was that it went "okay." They go to the hospital tomorrow for outpatient physical therapy and back on Saturday for wound care and check up. Then the plan is to head to Boise after that if all goes well. Not too much new to report today, but as we've said sometimes no news is good news!!

Mary has flown the coop!!

Mary was released from the hospital today!!! She was so happy and excited about this news, and also just a touch nervous. She will be staying with my mom in her hotel room, just a few blocks away from the hospital. She will need to remain in the local area for the first coulple of days, to continue to receive outpatient care at the burn center, but she is planning to return home with my mom this weekend - hopefully Saturday. When I texted down there this evening, wondering where they were, the three of them (my mom, Mary, and Kyle) were out to dinner at Red Lobster!! This is so hard for me to imagine! But there they were. Now, my mom did say that it took her at least 10 minutes to get in and out of the car, and since she is still not able to straighten her back when she walks, she was definitely getting a lot of looks (wondering what the story was, I'm sure). But dinner out!! I'm sure it felt great. I mentioned to my mom that I bet she was so excited to sleep in a real, actual bed - not the hospital variety. But actually, she is missing that old hospital bed! It was so much easier for her to get in and out of, evidently. But still...don't you think it's going to be the best she's slept in over two weeks?? I guess we'll see tomorrow. Now, tomorrow morning my mom and Mary will need to do her wound care solo for the first time - in a hotel shower. I know that my mom is quite nervous about this, and I know that they will both need an increased amount of patience while they learn how to do this on their own. Of course they'll both need a lot of patience over the next several weeks and even months, but tomorrow morning...I'm thinking they'll need an extra dose!! Good luck guys!!!!

Tuesday, August 2nd

Mary has reached the point in her recovery that "no news is good news," and there is not always something to update at the end of each day. So we may not post something every single day from this point on, but we will continue to give frequent updates on her status as she progresses and improves. So if you check back and there's nothing new...no news is good news! Here is what Mary has been up to the past couple of days: lots of physical therapy!! She has wound care every morning, which is where her skin grafts are checked and her bandages are changed. She is doing a lot of this on her own now, but she is stil far from being able to take care of it on her own. She has physical therapy every morning and afternoon, and this entails lots of stretching and bending and is quite uncomfortable and even painful at times. But her physical therapists seem to be very positive and supportive, but at the same time they really push her to her limits. In general, Mary is hesitant about trying new things (like walking without her cane, which they made her do today). She is convinced that she can't do it, but once she tries it and succeeds, then she will no longer struggle with that particular thing. She was also able to check another major "to do" item off her list today, but standing up and sitting down on her own. That is one of the things that she needs to master before she can be released from the hospital. So...check! Way to go Mary! Also on the list, walking without a cane or walker. Check! Now, rather than give you the false idea that she is cruising up and down the halls of the hospital, I should mention that she is still not able to stand with her back straight, and when she walks her knees are not bending. So it's more of a hobble than a walk, similar to the walk of a 90 year old woman (no offense if you're a 90 year old woman). But her walk will continue to improve, just as it has so far. I can hardly even imagine her walking, frankly, since when I was with her 5 days ago she wasn't even been able to put weight on her legs. The human body really is amazing. Mary had a low point yesterday, where she was really ready to be out of the hospital. She feels like she is doing her best every day, but sometimes gets the impression from her doctor that she is not improving as quickly as they would like. But her physical therapist reassured her today that they aren't measuring her against "other people," but rather against herself. And as long as she is improving, they are happy. No official word yet on when she will be released, but it sounds like they will want her to stay near the hospital for a few days afterward. So I know that many of you are wondering when she will be coming home (so am I!), but we just don't know yet. As soon as we know...you'll know!!

Another funny drug-induced quote: "If my nephew Tyler was here I would ask him if he wanted to go steal that boat and go hide somewhere to eat it in secret...and he'd say yes!"