Looking Good

Dear Friends and Family of Joy:

Joy's surgery appears to have been a success.  The procedure was a little more problematic than I understood it to be.  There was a chance that they would have had to remove a portion of her skull if it showed signs of osteomyelitis.  Although tests are being performed in the lab on the plate and screws that were removed, Doctor Sanchez was in general pleased at what he found.

Joy will spend at least tonight and probably tomorrow night in the hospital.  She is responsive, but needs to rest and recover.  She does not appear to be in pain.

We had one of those small and subtle instances of progress on the way down to the hospital.  I was driving and Joy was sitting in the front passenger seat.  At one point, she reached over to the air conditioning vent in the center of the dashboard and deftly turned the knurled dial to divert the air away from blowing on her.  This suggested to me that she may be recovering some of her memory and her motor skills.  It was all very natural.      

Thank you for your kind thoughts and prayers.  I'll post another update in a few days.

Love,

Doug

[UPDATE, Tuesday, 10/25]:  Joy is home and doing well.  She's had a low grade fever off and on, but is lively, energetic and glad to be home.  Tylenol should take care of the fever.  We will spend the next couple of days replenishing her with the nourishment that she didn't get for nearly 24 hours.  Dr. Sanchez also adjusted her shunt so that it was pumping less and will want to see her again next Tuesday to see how that is working.  Joy will likely have her angioplasty procedure sometime in the next two to four weeks.  We will keep you posted.  .......... Doug