Thursday, January 14, 2010

After the second surgery Elizabeth's room was on the south side of the "J Wing" and faced Mt. Rainier. She loved having that view. She said she loved looking out the window at the sky, and being able to see the mountain early in the morning.

On Thursday her father joined her again at breakfast time for their daily time together. She says he can fall asleep while visiting her, a phenomenon not limited to visiting her (ask Doug Rohner, Frank Hayes or Frank Foster — he's slept while visiting anyone one of them in the hospital) but they enjoy watching the early news, playing cribbage and just talking. Elizabeth is a real Daddy's girl. So he makes sure to give her plenty of his time.

The turban was rewrapped on Thursday and looked pretty good. The soaked old one was gone and now we just needed to keep a watch on the clean one. We were all glad when she was declared "good to go".

She went to Karyn's house where Karyn has had to do some special cleaning and preparing. No pet dander, no stairs, all surfaces to be disinfected, etc. It is the reason she did NOT go to her parents' home. Jim and Kathryn have two dogs and two flights of stairs. Karyn has a cat and no stairs that would be in play if Elizabeth stayed there. It was only after the first surgery that we learned there can be no pet dander in the home... duhhh. Well, that definitely put Jim and Kathryn's home off the list. Two long haired dogs definitely have dander. Then the shower must be spotless and no one can use it without scrubbing it down again to make it spotless. A lot of work, so that would be hard for three to share the shower at her parents. So Karyn has decided to dedicate the shower to Elizabeth and will take care of grooming at a friends or her parents. That way the labor to keep the bathroom spotless is much easier.

Thursday night a yummy meal of Spanish rice and pork chops was shared by Karyn, Elizabeth and Kathryn (Mom) and the Thirteenth book about Stephanie Plum was continued. Howling was heard from the bedroom, where the book was being read, for minutes at a time. The Lula character is one that is really enjoyed by all, and Kathryn works hard to read Lula's parts with a lot of energy, because she knows Elizabeth enjoys it so much.

Elizabeth continues to make good progress in mending from the surgery. She will, however, need daily treatments for about a month with radiation. Yes, her tumor was malignant and it was a phase three. So treatment is important to be sure this "bad boy" doesn't come back.

So please keep praying for Elizabeth and know that she is ever so grateful to each of you for your well-wishes, comments, and love.