Wednesday, April 25, 2011

Jenna and I are waiting for breakfast at Primary Children's Hospital. Jenna had her surgery on her ear yesterday afternoon and came out it like a fighter that she is. She is an amazing young lady trying to be so tough and wanting to do everything right. She had one of the last surgery times yesterday, they went in about 2:30 and it was about 7 7 PM before she came out of recovery. She worked hard on doing the liquid diet and then when she was really hungry (take in account that she went off food on Monday at 8 PM) the food service place her was closed, so we are patiently waiting for breakfast to open up and get some food in this angel. We are hoping that her hearing aid is in and we can get it today while we are in the valley. Dr. Muntz felt good about the surgery, except that his personal goal was to correct everything so that she would have normal hearing without the need of a hearing aid. We most likely won't get that level in her left ear but with a hearing aid she should be able to have average hearing. She needs to be back to see Dr. Muntz next week to remove all of the packing in her ear, then in four or five weeks for a followup and then in August or September we will be back to the right ear for some work and then six or seven months from today, he will need to go back into the left ear to do some additional work. She has made friends with most people and just absolutely loves Dr. Muntz. She didn't even cry or jump yesterday when they inserted her IV. That is a first so we have seen someone watching over her. Marilee has been doing OK. Drinking liquids at a much better level than in the past month. Food is still an issue. She doesn't throw it back up anymore but nothing really sounds good for her to want to eat. Monday evening she made a determined order that she was going upstairs to see everyone and have some dinner. I said are you sure??????? Yes was the answer so we did get her up the stairs and she had a few bites of food that the neighbors had brought in. She rested for a bit and then went back down stairs to the bed. Kelli said that she slept very good that night, more than likely from exhaustion. She had a so-so day yesterday. She has a doctor's appointment on Thursday with her lung doctor and then if everyone is up to, we will make the trip to Monticello. Kelli will travel with me and Pete will come and get her Sunday. Josh and Heidi are coming over on Friday to also assist and help get her settled in and make some plans for her care at the house. I know that some are wondering about coming to visit and we will try to accommodate those the best that we can, depending on her day and other considerations. She is looking forward to getting home and seeing the good people that have been praying and pleading for her. We are going to need some assistance by having having some people come in and stay with her for a few hours during the day as I need to get back to work or need to travel. Right now, Marilee needs help getting up from her bed and back into her bed, assistance in getting to the bathroom, encouraging her to eat and drink and just watching over her. If you might be interested in this, please get a message to us. We are so grateful for all of you and what you do for us. She is still determined, fighting, and being a very compassionate and caring patient and being of good spirits. Thanks to each of you for your caring, your thoughts, your prayers, cards, emails, and everything else.