Friday Update

The doctor came and talked to us at about 2:30pm today. He shared that the MRI detected a mass just under Ken's knee, where the redness originally started on Monday. He thinks it may be an abscess and an orthopedic surgeon should be coming by today to evaluate and see if he can cut it out. If so, this will be Ken's first surgery - ever. If it is an abscess, it would be a result of the original infection (or the doctor's needle-poking on Monday), but not the cause. Doesn't seem we're going to discover the cause of all of this, which is a little annoying, but as long as they can cure it I guess we can't complain.

The doctor also said that the soonest we can expect Ken to be released would be Monday, but seemed skeptical about even then. I'm afraid Ken's just worrying about the money (we are responsible for about $400 per day, plus procedures, plus a $500 deductable), and not relaxing enough to allow himself to fully heal. HOWEVER, he has been better about requesting pain meds (they alternate btwn an IV of a synthetic morphine and an oral dose of vicodin), and that's definitely helped him relax. He slept 11 hours last night! :) And then took an hour nap this afternoon.

The antibiotics seem to be working - his leg looks better today than yesterday.
Here's a picture from yesterday, Thursday. You can see that the red area has extended to just about his ankle, covering his entire shin.


Here's a picture from today. You can tell that the redness covers the same area as yesterday but is a little lighter in color. So I think the antibiotic is working.

The non-red part within the line just below his knee is the mass the doctors are concerned about.

Shari and Andy came to visit us today - I think Ken enjoyed the company. I have a wedding tomorrow and am hoping one of his family members will come stay with him while I'm gone, as he needs help getting in and out of bed, and someone to just stay on top of the nurses and make sure he gets his meds and eats, etc.

I'm going to take my computer to the hospital so that I can catch up on some of the work I've missed, but am going to limit my time on the computer so that I'm more present for Ken. They don't have internet, anyway.

Thank you so much for the prayers and concerns. *I* am absolutely fine, and so is our baby girl. I got a coldsore yesterday morning but have some topical medicine for it. I'm sure it's just due to the higher-than-usual stress of this week. I'm resting plenty and staying hydrated. I'm a little more emotional (dumb pregnancy hormones) but feel great physically, so no worries. :)