Things we have learned

Good morning loyal followers
John is having a repeat Cat scan to determine if the fluid in his abdomen has dissipated and whether or not they will remove the drain or leave it in for a few more days. Either way, he will be going home either today or Friday. He will continue with a daily one hour IV antibiotic infusion through next Wednesday to make certain all infections are gone.

I find I have not totally lost my sense of humor but I have:
1. Completed my analysis of traffic on I-95 at Old St Augustine Rd. ( the view from John's corner room)
2.Replenished the tea bag supply in the 5th floor Family Retreat room by "borrowing "some from the plentiful supply on the 4th floor retreat.
3. Made friends with others using the numerous family-friendly facilities here at Baptist South
4. Decorated the window sill in John's room with my lovely birthday cards.
5. Used all of our non-AT&T cell phone minutes until early August, but you may use our home number after Saturday.
6. Learned how dependent I have become on my phone and the ability to email and iMessage, search the web for medical info and restaurant menus as well as to take photos and actually TALK.

Thanks to all of you for your love, prayers, and best wishes. We could not have done this without you.

"You can post this on my Facebook page" -JSH

John has spoken, and is quoted above. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately for his children, John does not have a Facebook page. But he has advised that I may update his faithful readers with what's happening here at Baptist South.

(I would like to reiterate that we are not Baptist. In fact, I have only been inside a Baptist church just once and it was for a wedding. As the minister was reciting the vows and he announced that the woman was turned over to her husband's ownership from that of her father, a hand comes flying out from down the aisle to band across my waist, similar to how your mother always did in the car when she had to slam on the brakes. It was in fact my mother, reaching out to restrain me from standing up to object to the bald-faced misogyny of the church. And yes, I was already in motion. She caught me just in time. And to add insult to injury, the reception was dry. There was some sherbet punch nonsense. But, I did enjoy the Swedish meatballs. They would have been better with some Pinot Grigio, though.)

We are beginning our 7th full day (Even God rested on the 7th day!) in the hospital. They have finally located the source of the infection and have found the world's most expensive antibiotics to defeat it. Thankfully my college education is paid for, or I'd have still been working part-time at Chick-Fil-A to pay it off. (They make a mean chicken sandwich, so we're gonna not talk about their social policies. And also, I've never worked in food service. Y'all can chuckle quietly to yourselves while imagining me telling customers to "Have a Blessed Day!")

Word on the street is that John is getting out tomorrow. But, despite being optimistic, we'll believe it when we see it. We were attempting to reconstruct our time here (I'm on my 2nd bottle of wine (OK, OK, 3rd...) and 2nd six pack of Diet Coke since arriving on Thursday. Those are the markers I use to tell time.)

The highlight of our stay here has been the move from 514 to 513, skillfully planned and executed by Trink with a precision and dexterity I have not seen outside of a crowded Outback bar at Happy Hour while angling for a table at which to enjoy one's two for one drink specials. But let me tell you, if you ever end up in Baptist South, make sure you end up in 513. This room is MUCH nicer and infinitely more spacious. If I danced, which the Baptists also frown on, I'd have enough spare space in this room for a jig.

Thanks to all our readers, and we hope this post, while a little low on actual medical information, is high on religious education and alcohol reverence.

Trink's birthday is tomorrow and we'd include a photo of her, but she's still working on her selfie skill with her iPhone. $300 phone and she is still learning it. Yesterday I taught her that a double space autocorrects to a period and how to zoom in while taking a picture. This is my gift to her. That and a Southern Caramel cake I made last night that will send you into sugar shock, but you'll go with a smile on your face. Luckily my father does not have diabetes or I would have had some explaining to do to the hospital staff...

PS: My mother has watched me type this and laugh all the while. So you can rest assured she did not vet it before I posted and probably disapproves of 90% of the content.

Just when I thought I was out...They pull me back in.

John wasn't feeling 100% today so Dr. Cobb had him come into the office. Upon examination, he determined that JSH is dehydrated and anemic so sent him back to the hospital for admission.

They'll fill him full of fluids and blood-type stuff (I know, I know. My "General Hospital" medical education is showing) and hold on to him for a few days to get him back up to par.

I'd go down and check in on the 'rents in person, but the airlines have done lost their minds and have jacked up the price of a RT ticket from DC to Jax to $720. I mean, really. I like Jax and all, but $720? I could go to Europe for that. And maybe even in Premium Economy, where the wine is always free. And plentiful. Kind of like it is here on my sofa, from whence this post originated.

Trink thanks you for all your positive thoughts during this latest hospitalization. Just a reminder, as always, no visitors so he can heal quickly and get out again.

I know she'd rather they spend her birthday (it's the 17th if you haven't bought a card yet. Which I haven't. Need to get on that. It'll be there on time, Mom. I promise! J-buy a card! And a gift!) at home with JSH and Tralee. I don't imagine hospital cake is anything to write home about. But Cami Cakes are a different story...YUM. (Here's a link - they ship, FYI, and her favorite is Lemon Drop, in case you're stumped for a gift idea: http://camicakes.com/)

And in closing, today's post title comes from The Godfather III. This quote is the only good thing to come out of this film as far as I'm concerned. I am still devastated that when Winona Ryder dropped out of the film to be in Edward Scissorhands, they thought Sofia Coppola was a worthy substitute to step in as Michael's daughter. Thankfully Sofia left acting shortly thereafter and realized directing was something she actually had a talent for, unlike being on camera...

(Written by Lisa, not Trink, which if you don't know by now...well...yeah.)

Playing the "Get out of hospital free card"

Good morning
We are waiting for the discharge instructions as both his surgeon and his nephrologist have given him the green light. So now, nurse Trink and our tuxedo kitty, Tralee, will take over John's .care at home (assisted 2x week by home health).
Thank you again for your continued concern, love, and support .
John, Trink, John Jr, and Lisa

On the move

Hi
Tuesday was busy with John's being disconnected from all IV lines and his subsequent move to a regular  room from progressive care. So he moved up in the world to the 5th floor and will be moving on home possibly as early as Thursday! A great feature of this hospital is that all of the rooms are private! This floor is so quiet, plus he has a room with a view.

His doctors are extremely pleased with his progress. John wants to be a little stronger prior to his going home. He is surprised how much effort it takes to walk the halls or take a shower. To quote a line from one of his favorite movies, What About Bob!, "BABY STEPS!"

I read him all of your emails (and jokes) which we both appreciate. Keep them coming.
Trink

Bring on the food

Dr Cobb , AKA the early bird, came in all cheerful at 6:20 this morning. I must say, it is so much better than waiting all day for a doctor. He advanced John's diet today, so John ate a banana and a few bites of dry toast which he tolerated fine.

Know the PT will be here soon and John will be up walking. He even had therapy yesterday,which apparently is rare on Sunday. She had him marching in place and I lost count when he neared 100 reps.

 He has resumed his interest in the news and is currently reading the Sunday NY Times after watching a little morning news and some Wimbledon.

Keep those emails coming, I read every one to John, although you may email him too :JSHollett@aol.com as he is reading on his phone and iPad .

Free again

6-23
Good news yesterday and action today.
Dr Cobb came in on his weekend off to tell us that the pathology news was all good: the lymph nodes were clear and the carcinoma, while high-grade, had remained "in situ" in the bladder so was non- invasive.

Today the NG tube was removed so his nose feels better already, and he was allowed his first sip of apple juice. (I was thinking champagne when he said "clear liquids", but don't think that's what the Dr had in mind.)

He's not in any hurry for the epidural line to be removed as he has remained pain-free since the surgery started 4 days ago. However, his pain management drug of choice has been ordered PCA so he will be able to push the button as needed.

Only complaint from John is his hiccups! As with his previous abdominal surgeries, he gets the hiccups for hours at a time and it wears him out. Now that the tube is out, we'll see if that remedies the situation. Also, he now has a tight seal with his B-pap machine, so is resting peacefully now.
We tried ALL of the homemade suggestions for getting rid of hiccups several years ago.

We hope you are enjoying a great summer weekend, wherever you may be. It has been a God-send for me having J and Lisa here for support and levity!

Thanks to all of you for your emails, cards, phone messages, humor, positive thoughts, support, and prayers.
Trink

TGIF

Today was John's second full day in the hospital. He is on the road to recovery, but we still have a bit of a way to go. We are waiting for J to arrive from Orlando but he has been stuck in traffic. This post will be short because Lisa is teaching Trink how to use Siri on the iPad to write posts.

That's kind of it for today, hope you had a great National Flip-Flop Day. And if you live in Jacksonville, there's still time to get your free smoothie at Tropical Smoothie if you wear your flip-flops. Also Happy first day of Summer.

Don't Let the Door Hit Ya Where the Good Lord Split Ya

Apologies for the lateness of this post. Apparently all this sitting around watching JSH heal takes a lot out of us.

But, the headline is, he has been moved out of ICU and into a Progressive Room. This is what's called a step-down room, and is, brace yourselves for this elaborate explanation, a room between ICU and Standard.

He went from having his nurse care for two patients to having his nurse care for four. Today's nurse is from Michigan (which I figured out within moments, because I'd know that accent anywhere. My Michigan-born parents did not appear to hear it.)

This forced inertia has taught me some things about television. Frightening things. Here they are:

1. If you have any sort of job that involves wild animals or what seems like a job you could not possibly make any money at, you can get a show on the Discovery Channel or one of its subsidiaries. 

Gator Boys: http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows/gator-boys

Infested!: http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows/infested

Treehouse Masters: http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows/treehouse-masters

2. Every village needs an idiot. Sometimes two. Naked and Afraid is actually a show. One I won't be watching. http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/naked-and-afraid

3. I could never work at home full-time. Because the TV options are increasingly brain-atrophying. 

As you can tell, busy day here at Baptist South, where their cafeteria is open on alternate Thursdays when the moon is full and the sun doesn't shine. (Last sentence courtesy of Trink, who is still knitting. I suspect this will be a theme.)

Don't F* with Mr. Zero

Oh, yeah, JSH is alive and kicking. He was moved into his ICU room this evening with much fanfare as he wanted to know exactly who was steering the nursing ship. Pity the fool who told him she was a "Flex" nurse rather than a FT ICU nurse.

So, he is VERY lucid, asked lots of questions, and was finally reassured of the staff's proficience. We left him in the capable hands of Krista, who while exceedingly smart, competent, and nice, could really use a better colorist. (Watch my mother make me take this aside out tomorrow. Read it while you can!)

Trink will be back before 6 AM tomorrow morning to be there when Dr. Cobb does his rounds pre-7 AM. This is one of many reasons I could not be a doctor. How on earth do people expect you to not only be coherent that early, but also have people's fates in in your hands before you can truly be appropriately caffeinated?

On that note, I'm going to bed. More from the trenches tomorrow!

(This post's title comes from "When Harry Met Sally," which is MY all-time favorite movie. Possibly because I remember how hard my dad laughed when we saw it together in the theatre when it came out. Back when they made movies that both children and their parents could see together. As I look at the rating for this film, R, and its release date, 1989, I'm ever so slightly curious HOW it was I got to see this with my father, as I was only 14 at the time. Clearly he knew I was wise beyond my years, even then. I bought it again for him on Blu-Ray last Christmas, despite his already having it on VHS and DVD. When he inquired as to why I bought it again, I informed him that Target had it on sale for $4, it was a gift, and to just say thank you. It is not $4 on Amazon, but it is less than $8 if you need to pick it up for yourself. And if you've ever seen me order food in a restaurant, now you know why.)

When d'ju get out?

Surgery is over! Dr. Cobb came out about 3:30 (or 3:31, whatever it takes) to tell us JSH was out of surgery. Said it had gone well. The procedure was as expected, and they saw no signs of anything abnormal. His blood pressure was good, and Dr. Bebeau will extubate him shortly and he will be breathing on his own soon.

Pathology on the removed tissue will be back in about 5 days, but they’re not expecting anything controversial or surprising from that.

He should be in his room in ICU in about an hour and should be in the hospital for up to two weeks - still no visitors during his hospitalization, as they will be watching carefully for infection.

I apologize for the somewhat dry nature of this post. During his last hour of surgery, I discovered some new error with my laptop (DON’T buy a Dell. EVER.) and am not looking forward to having it erased and rebuilt again next week. So some of my energy has been sapped due to the continued failure of this piece of junk. If this had been something I had purchased, you can bet a strongly worded communication would already have been sent to the manufacturer/retailer. This is something I learned from the man who is currently in Recovery. Trust me, you haven’t lived until you’ve heard him say, “Let me speak to your supervisor.”

As for the title of this post, it comes from one of JSH’s favorite movie combos: Analyze This and Analyze That. If you haven’t seen them, you owe it to him to rent or buy them today. Look, you can get both for only $6.49 on Amazon. Here’s a handy link: http://www.amazon.com/Analyze-This-That-Double-Feature/dp/B000RETOGU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1371672290&sr=8-2&keywords=analyze+this

You’re welcome. Oh, and they’re rated R for language and violence. But A+ for humor. 

All Day, Every Day

Surgery is still ongoing, and going well. Deb, the surgical nurse from our earlier post, calls about every 60-90 minutes with an update. The bladder is out and they're beginning reconstruction of the area.

We went out to lunch, and did you know that Chili's has Happy Hour All Day, Every Day? Trink stuck to tea, but I availed myself of the House Chardonnay (Bear in mind, I do not prefer Chardonnay. But I do prefer Two for One.) They do heavy pours, in case you're ever in need of this information.

We're still sitting here, minding our own business but making friends. Rose, one of the nurses here, says "Everyone loves your dad!" and another random stranger thought I was a long-lost friend. I'm just grateful she didn't mistake me for Carnie Wilson as so often happens.

The surgery waiting room is still bustling, leading Trink to give me the title I wanted to use for this post, but she rejected, which was: "I woulda thought it'd be dead in here by now." Clearly, you can see this was better than my alternative, but she bought those drinks for me at Chili's, so I had to comply.

In closing, McDonald's has $1 drinks, so I now have a large Diet Coke, in case this was a lingering area of concern from our earlier update.

Here is the surgical board (He's 2nd on the list):

And here JSH is from Pre-Op, roughly 5:55 AM:

In Surgery (Formerly titled Under the Knife, until Trink vetoed that)

We arrived at the hospital this morning at 5:49 AM. Needless to say, we were the first people in the Surgery Waiting Room.

They took JSH back for pre-surgery prep at 6:09 (I was watching the clock. The place that sells Diet Coke doesn't open until 6:30, FYI). We went back to see him around 6:30 and he was in good spirits and all IV'ed up.

His nurse was Adam, who seemed very nice (married) and had taken care of him previously. Then Dr. Bebeau, his anesthesiologist, came in and they discussed drugs. It was riveting.

Following that visit, Dr. Cobb, his surgeon for today, came in to go over the procedure. He estimates the surgery to be approximately 7 1/2 hours, and he drew circles on JSH's abdomen to mark possible sites. I was not allowed to take a photo, per my father, or you'd be seeing it here. I may make off with one of the pens later so I can draw fun purple shapes on people as they sleep in the future.

Deb, his surgical nurse, then came in for the final prep and along, with Chrissy, wheeled him off to the OR.

We have received one update, at 8:34, from Deb that he was under and the incision had been made.

So now, we wait. And if you're curious, the place that sells Diet Coke is closed AGAIN until 11 (it's now 10:07). Alas, I remain undercaffeinated.

-Post by Lisa (obviously), Reluctantly Approved by Trink, who couldn't have written it anyway, as she's knitting.

Radical Cystectomy

Today's procedure is a Radical Cystectomy (aka Bladder Removal). Here is what our friends at WebMD have to say (edited for the relevant bits).

Cystectomy for Bladder Cancer

Cystectomy is the surgical removal of all or part of the bladder. It is used to treat bladder cancer that has spread into the bladder wall or to treat cancer that has come back (recurred) following initial treatment. There are three types of cystectomy:

• Partial cystectomy is the removal of part of the bladder. It is used to treat cancer that has invaded the bladder wall in just one area. Partial cystectomy is only a good choice if the cancer is not near the openings where urine enters or leaves the bladder.
• Simple cystectomy is the removal of all of the bladder.
• Radical cystectomy is the removal of the entire bladder, nearby lymph nodes (lymphadenectomy), part of the urethra, and nearby organs that may contain cancer cells.

Why It Is Done

Cystectomy is used to remove and attempt to cure cancer that has invaded the wall of the bladder or has come back (recurred) following initial treatment or has a high chance of spreading.

The Surgeon

John will be attended by his primary surgeon in addition to a host of medical staff.

Dr. Charles Cobb is John's urologist and has been overseeing his bladder cancer treatment. He is the Chairman of Surgery.



Here's more about Dr. Cobb: http://www.mciverclinic.com/physicians

The Hospital

This is Baptist South Hospital, where John's Surgery will be taking place on Wednesday, June 19th: