Valley Fever Whipped? Hug! Mission Impossible 3

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Much more good than bad news today!

THE GOOD: Latest tests for the presence of cocci (the Valley Fever fungus) came back empty. So it looks like that infection may finally be whipped. I assume they will keep her on the meds & do another culture or two in the future, just to be sure. The only other confirmed infection that we're currently dealing with is clostridium difficile, which has been detected in the stools (those of you sitting in chairs need not worry, I guess). I got the impression that it is something that can be dealt with and is not life-threatening at this point, as Denise is in no danger of dehydration. If I understood correctly, the only things she's currently taking for the infections are Amphotericin B and Fluconazole. The fancy ventilator that Denise was on has done all it can for her... she's been changed over to a more conventional vent mode (PRVC) on a different ventilator and so far is doing OK. This evening I was told by the respiratory therapist that today's arterial blood gas workup was perfect (essentially normal, as in a reasonably healthy person). The chest x-rays have improved. We can focus on rehabilitation and weaning from the ventilator. It's not currently thought that she has septic pelvic thromboflibitis (SPT). The fluid & ab swelling is most likely from lack of protein (think of what we've seen with starving children in Africa) rather than SPT. Someone from the Los Angeles County Health Department paid a visit to our house today. What's dealing with a government entity doing here among the good news? The rep was very, very nice. We were trying to pin down specific dates & places in relation to contracting the Valley Fever. The financial counsellor at the hospital said that it looks like we're covered 100% (Whew!).
My favorite thing: I got a hug! Denise flopped her arm over the side of the bed and was trying to hang onto me. I asked if she was trying to get a hug & she nodded. Pretty awkward with all the hoses & wires, but I was happy!

THE BAD: A couple of blood transfusions (while the blood gas was good, the blood composition is still very low in hemoglobin). Same colitis. Same massive protein requirements. More coughing than usual (it gets the crud up & out of her lungs, but it's really uncomfy for her). And of course, we still have months to go in the hospital.

On a side note, a movie scene will be filmed at the hospital overnight. They have palm trees in the parking lot, but the movie crew tied pine trees to them (a worker said the hospital is supposed to look like it's in Maryland). They also covered the hospital's sign at the car dropoff with a fake sign (I didn't see the name... it's covered). A volunteer told me that the movie is Mission Impossible 3 (hardcore fans of the TV series may be wondering why I didn't include this news of this movie sequel with the "bad news" paragraph above).
A nurse indicated that Tom Cruise would be there.
Filming starts at 4am Thursday.
Shhhh... don't tell anyone.

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