Celebrate!!!

Great news today at Amy's visit with Dr Jain. No more wound vac!!! The wound looks awesome and everyone was thrilled that we're finally nearing the end of treatment. They used a different type of dressing which we'll continue for a couple more weeks, but tomorrow I get to call the wound vac company to schedule pick-up of the supplies we still have on hand. We still have one more mist therapy on Monday. We'd hoped we were done with that as well, but we can live with just one more. I think the Dr anticipates we'll be home free by Christmas. Unfortunately, that's when we'll just be getting started with the new pain management Dr in Denver. Our prayer now is that there's an easy, painless, quick way to deal with her RSD and that we won't have to make a lot of trips to Denver. The good news is that the semester is almost over and even if we have lots of appointments ahead she won't miss much school since she'll have a lighter load beginning in January. It's been a long haul since our journey began with the first surgery in June of 2007. Brian jokes that I should have an RN degree by now with all Amy and I have been thru together. But I know that if I weren't taking care of my own child, I could never do what the nurses do on a daily basis. The whole staff at the wound healing center has been amazing and we're blessed to know them. In the picture above is Bill, the wonder nurse, Dr Jain, and Amy. Lots of laughs when they're all in the same room!

I have bling!

I just got home from the oral surgeon's office where Bethany had some work done. She has a tooth that has been ready to pop thru the gum for months now but has stubbornly refused to do so. The orthodontist finally sent us to have it exposed and a bracket attached so he could begin to pull it into place. They also attached a gold chain that will be used in the process over the next few visits. Bethany's first words after surgery..."I have bling!" She's going to a dance Friday night and decided to have fun with the idea of a gold chain. Think anyone will notice?!

onward we go...

We checked the wound today and the macerated tissue was much better, so we were able to put the wound vac back on. There was enough skin growth over the original wound that the actual area to dress was much smaller. The skin around the wound is still in miserable condition...very dry and raw. I'm not sure how much more her skin can take. But we're so very close to the end and Amy just wants to be done. She's willing to endure whatever it takes to make it thru. On Thursday we see the Dr again and we're supposed to give Amy hefty pain meds beforehand so he can clean out the wound again. Ouch! Please keep praying for our girl. We're so thankful for each and every prayer lifted up on her behalf.

Thanks, Bill!

We just came from another mist therapy treatment...probably Amy's last one. The skin around her wound is a bit macerated (think "water-logged" i.e. after a long bath when the skin is white), so we're leaving the wound vac off for at least one more day. If it's better tomorrow we can put it back on. If not, we'll see what the Dr says on Thursday at our next appointment. Meanwhile, we wanted you to meet one of the world's most awesome nurses, our sweet friend, Bill. He's been with Amy every step of the way since she began treatments at the wound healing center. He cares so much for Amy and always makes sure she's getting the very best care. He's gone the extra mile for her many times, and we appreciate him (and all of the nurses there) so very much.