Linda made it through her third surgery this afternoon in stable condition. They did a little more cleaning of her abdominal cavity and removed some additional tissue that was infected from her abdominal lining.
There were able to completely close the incision in her abdominal wall, leaving open only the top layer of skin. This will be treated with a special vacuum pack dressing that will draw out any excessive fluid from the wound and allow it to heal over the next few weeks. With her abdominal wall now closed, it will allow Linda to be moved more easily as well as letting her sit up and even walk as soon as she is conscious again.
The Neurologist was able to examine Linda following her latest surgery. Although her examination was somewhat limited due to the residual affects from Linda's anesthetic, she (the Neurologist) felt encouraged that Linda should be able to recover from the series of small strokes she suffered earlier in the week.
Test results this afternoon from tissue samples taken during her surgery on Tuesday have confirmed the presence of a VERY aggressive Group A Strep infection. Because of this, Linda is being prepared right now to begin treatments in one of LDS Hospital's three hyperbaric chambers (please see photo). This will increase the amount of oxygen in her system over ten times. The increased amount of oxygen will attack the infection and increase the speed of Linda's recovery. If any of you scuba dive, the pressure is equivalent to diving to a depth of 45 feet below sea level. The treatments will last 90 minutes each (plus 10 minutes to pressurize and 10 minutes to decompress) and she will undergo two treatments each day for the next week.
LDS Hospital is a pioneer in hyperbaric treatment and we consider it fortunate that Linda has access to this specialty. We wish to thank again the team of professionals charged with her care.
One thing that is increasingly evident during Linda's time in the hospital to this point, is the number of people who love and care for her and our entire family. Thank you all for your love and support.
Until tomorrow....
Thank you so much for keeping us up with Linda's recovery progress. She is so delightful, I can't imagine yet what she will say when she realizes what this week of her life has been like! We surely do love her, Lynn and the family and add our prayers for her complete recovery.
ReplyDelete