Tuesday, April 13

Hi everyone,

I had an appt. at Hershey this morning and was chauffered by brothers Gary and Eric - thanks! The appt. went well and the PICC line was removed which frees me up from responsibility of dosing myself twice a day with vanco. I will return in 2 weeks for another blood test, x-ray and possibly a needle biopsy of the hip to see if there is anymore fluid. We still have no infection identified, but results indicate there was an infection of some kind.

Four different people looked at incision and all were satisfied that it had healed well. We won't know anything about the gluteus medius muscle until the next surgery.

If blood work, etc. is good at next appt., then we will schedule next surgery probably first week of June. Dr. Zalonis (infectious disease) actually suggested I not even consider things going wrong at this point. I really appreciate her optimism since my surgeon (whom I think is very good) has been so blunt and seems to be very cautious in his predictions of outcome. My levels were all good - incision looks good and we will move forward. I was delighted to hear that!

I must say that I have had lots of people looking out for me - many are bringing me food and stopping for visits and phone calls. I want to thank each and everyone - and especially enjoy phone calls and visits - they make my days go quicker. I still have movies to watch and books to read, but nothing replaces go ole human interaction!!

Thanks for prayers, thoughts, and cards!!
Carole