Thanksgiving picture, Wound vac restarted, Hearing?

Thanksgiving Day: Here's a picture of us with Denise's mom, dad, & one of her sisters. You know how it is... the probability of getting a good group picture is inversely proportional to the number of members in the group. So I've got my eyes closed. Other than that, it looks pretty good, don't you think?
I was thankful that Denise is not only still alive, but able to speak, eat, breathe without extra oxygen, doesn't need any chest tubes, doesn't need dialysis anymore, isn't jaundiced, can pass food, can move, doesn't need a swan catheter... the list goes on & on. I'm thankful that even if, even *when* things take the ultimate bad turn, as we were worried would happen several times during the last four months, we have the faith & confidence that this life ain't all there is. I'm thankful for the access we've had to top-notch medical professionals (especially THE Great Physician, with whom we're consulting regularly), facilities, and advancements. I'm thankful for your prayers, concern, actions, and every effort that's directed at helping my wife through this. Even with her in the hospital, I think I've got way more things I can be thankful for than things to gripe about.

A family from my school provided us with a heat & serve family meal from Marie Callender's and a real Honeybaked ham (thank you!). Denise got into a wheelchair and joined me & the kids, her parents & one of her sisters for Thanksgiving lunch on a balcony that adjoins a waiting room. Jacob even reached over toward mommy and wanted to sit on her. She ate a lot... and threw up a lot. Feedings have started through the j-tube, and that's staying down. But Denise isn't able to hold much down that she takes by mouth. Today she wanted sushi, so I brought her some California rolls. She ate maybe 1/2 of one. She downed almost an entire strawberry smoothie. Willing to keep trying, she's asked me to bring her some Thai food next time, and more Honeybaked ham. She still wants some tamales, Hawaiian pizza, gyros... she's willing to try anything, even though she's establishing a track record of hurling after eating.

Temps the last two days are not to "fever" level. The ID doctor thought that perhaps she'd aspirated some food, and that triggered the fever response a few days ago. He stated yesterday that if things continue to be stable, they will consider sending her back to the rehab part of the hospital after the weekend. Heart rate has been between 114 & 135. That spike to 135 has been higher than I've heard in a while. Blood pressure has varied between 100 & 120 systolic. Lungs still sound good, though she gets breathing treatments sometimes. The wound vac was restarted yesterday.

Denise said that she feels like her ears are clogged. The left ear is particularly muffled sounding. She thinks she's yelling when she talks, but she's not. I can talk in a normal volume and she can hear. The ID doctor looked in her ears today and found that there is more was buildup in the left ear than the right. So hopefully eardrops to drain the was will do the trick. Otherwise, there's the possibility that the meningitis that she had may have temporarily or permanently damaged her hearing. As is frequently the case, wait & see.

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