Hello all,
Saturday, January 21st marked one month since Anita's second liver transplant. She did have a set back around January 14th that landed her in the hospital again for a few days. The set back was c-diff. Anita lost a lot of fluid & became dehydrated. The doctors have since got the c-diff under control and she is doing much better.
She is doing great with her progress:
-All of her drains are gone! At one point she had SIX drains coming out from her belly doing the work that her liver could not do. All of those are closed & tubes are GONE!
-All of her staples are gone. The doctors estimate she had between 40-60 staples that were used to close her up all the way.
-Her liver is doing great & her blood tests are coming back positive & normal.
Anita's incision location on her belly is shaped like the Mercedes symbol, an upside down Y. The Mercedes logo & brand is easily recognizable! Mercedes logo represents reliability, first class performance & breakthrough engineering. It is strong. And it is the most long standing automobile brand. Much of these traits can be used in talking about the experience that Anita has gone through.
Anita is one of a kind. She is strong, independent, first class & truly amazing. She is long standing. She has shown & demonstrated such strength through this. What the doctors have done to assist has been nothing short of amazing. We are so eternally grateful for doctors in our region who are top of their medical field and are providing first class experiences.
Tomorrow is Anita's birthday- Tuesday, January 24th. We are so happy to celebrate her & let her know how much we love her. She is incredible and we are thrilled she is doing so well.
PLEASE give Anita some birthday love tomorrow! She definitely deserves it.
I love you Anita. Thank you for being you and for always showing unconditional love. I could not have hand picked a better mother-in-law if I tried. I am so lucky you came with the deal when I married your son.
Love,
Whit
Monday, January 30, 2017
Thursday, January 5, 2017
From Anita
This post is from Anita!
Thursday, January 5th, 2017
I've been home three days and it has been heaven. I had my first outpatient visit with the liver team. My reports were all positive.
The key issue right now is the amount of infection that had accumulated in my body. The doctors are not sure that the infection is gone and are concerned it will enter another vital organ. Tomorrow I meet with the Infectious Disease Team.
For the next few weeks, I will be traveling to the hospital daily for tests.
The Doctors take care of healing my body. Family & friends heal my soul.
Ashley & Dr. Kimball took me for blood draws yesterday. Kimball's main concern was "Grandma, Are you feeling better?" His laugh and smile are the medicine for my soul.
Friends, your continued thoughts and prayers medicate my soul.
Hugs to everyone,
Anita
Thursday, January 5th, 2017
I've been home three days and it has been heaven. I had my first outpatient visit with the liver team. My reports were all positive.
The key issue right now is the amount of infection that had accumulated in my body. The doctors are not sure that the infection is gone and are concerned it will enter another vital organ. Tomorrow I meet with the Infectious Disease Team.
For the next few weeks, I will be traveling to the hospital daily for tests.
The Doctors take care of healing my body. Family & friends heal my soul.
Ashley & Dr. Kimball took me for blood draws yesterday. Kimball's main concern was "Grandma, Are you feeling better?" His laugh and smile are the medicine for my soul.
Friends, your continued thoughts and prayers medicate my soul.
Hugs to everyone,
Anita
Monday, January 2, 2017
No Place Like Home
Happy 2017 Family & Friends!
Yesterday Ash, Kimball & I had the opportunity to go visit Anita in the hospital for what we hope is the last time.... for a VERY long time! It was so refreshing to see Anita not connected to any machines, no tubes hanging out of her body and a hopeful light in her eyes. We had great conversations, visited the Gift Shop and ate a great take-out meal as a family!
A funny story.....
Kyle, Anita & Kimball were making laps around the 10th floor when I hear the head surgeon saying "Come on Mate take this shortcut & you can cut Grandma off"... I instantly had a fear that my 3 year old was running the halls wildly and being a disturbance so I ran from Anita's hospital room to the door just to see Kyle and the doctors cheering Kimball on to scare Grandma!
After the marathon around the halls, we went downstairs to the cafeteria to enjoy dinner and came back up to find out that none of us told the nursing staff we were heading downstairs for a little bit. Each of the nurses said they were looking for us! OOPS!
As Ash, Kimball & I were leaving last night we said a quick goodbye to the nurses as we headed to the elevator when our 3 year old said, "Goodbye. Thank you for taking care of Grandma." Ash and I looked at each other with sweet smiles on our face as our child did something that we should have done. We are all so thankful for the wonderful nurses & team at IMC that have cared for Anita these past 30 days. The staff at IMC has been wonderful!!
So many of the staff have commented that Anita's cheerful personality and positive outlook on life reminded them why they do what they do. Our family has sure missed Anita's contagious smile as she battled for her life.
Well, Anita is HOME. She says it feels so good. She has missed the cows, horses and her beautiful scenery! Thank you to the Hanson family for putting Kyle & Anita's Christmas Tree into their home early in December while we were all at the hospital. She is enjoying looking at it!
Anita is home with tears in her eyes as she thinks of the donor & their family. She expresses her deep love to them and is so grateful. She is thankful for her Christmas gift this year... LIFE.
Some of Anita's thoughts for today:
"Life is a precious gift. In this new year, may we acknowledge and be thankful for all opportunities that pass our way."
We are so excited to have Anita home where she belongs! Here is to a healthy & safe 2017 to all of our loved ones! We plan to spend a lot of time as family and remembering the important things in life.
Love,
Whit & the rest of the Lewis Family
PS- below is a picture of "Dr. Kimball" taking care of Grandma with all of his doctor tools!
Yesterday Ash, Kimball & I had the opportunity to go visit Anita in the hospital for what we hope is the last time.... for a VERY long time! It was so refreshing to see Anita not connected to any machines, no tubes hanging out of her body and a hopeful light in her eyes. We had great conversations, visited the Gift Shop and ate a great take-out meal as a family!
A funny story.....
Kyle, Anita & Kimball were making laps around the 10th floor when I hear the head surgeon saying "Come on Mate take this shortcut & you can cut Grandma off"... I instantly had a fear that my 3 year old was running the halls wildly and being a disturbance so I ran from Anita's hospital room to the door just to see Kyle and the doctors cheering Kimball on to scare Grandma!
After the marathon around the halls, we went downstairs to the cafeteria to enjoy dinner and came back up to find out that none of us told the nursing staff we were heading downstairs for a little bit. Each of the nurses said they were looking for us! OOPS!
As Ash, Kimball & I were leaving last night we said a quick goodbye to the nurses as we headed to the elevator when our 3 year old said, "Goodbye. Thank you for taking care of Grandma." Ash and I looked at each other with sweet smiles on our face as our child did something that we should have done. We are all so thankful for the wonderful nurses & team at IMC that have cared for Anita these past 30 days. The staff at IMC has been wonderful!!
So many of the staff have commented that Anita's cheerful personality and positive outlook on life reminded them why they do what they do. Our family has sure missed Anita's contagious smile as she battled for her life.
Well, Anita is HOME. She says it feels so good. She has missed the cows, horses and her beautiful scenery! Thank you to the Hanson family for putting Kyle & Anita's Christmas Tree into their home early in December while we were all at the hospital. She is enjoying looking at it!
Anita is home with tears in her eyes as she thinks of the donor & their family. She expresses her deep love to them and is so grateful. She is thankful for her Christmas gift this year... LIFE.
Some of Anita's thoughts for today:
"Life is a precious gift. In this new year, may we acknowledge and be thankful for all opportunities that pass our way."
We are so excited to have Anita home where she belongs! Here is to a healthy & safe 2017 to all of our loved ones! We plan to spend a lot of time as family and remembering the important things in life.
Love,
Whit & the rest of the Lewis Family
PS- below is a picture of "Dr. Kimball" taking care of Grandma with all of his doctor tools!
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