RE: maggie update

[Guest guest]

reagan, thank you for the update on our dear friend maggie........it's been a long month for both of you and my prayers are ongoing.

yes, you can call national jewish and talk with a counsellor/nurse.

pse give maggie a gentle hug from me.

sincerely

jennifer in canadaMaggie wrote:

Well.. Maggie is still in the hospital. The surgeon finally got an infectious disease specialist involved and he changed her antibiotics to ones we've never heard of. She's been on them for a week and feels better, but she still has the air leak, so the chest tubes are still in. The leak stopped about a week ago, and the surgeon and her pulmonologist decided to do a bronchoscopy, which was good in the sense that they sucked a lot of gunk out of her and got a good deep culture, but they must have jostled things around because the leak was back the next day.And now, a week later the leak is still present. The surgeon is convinced that if it healed once, it will heal again, especially with the new antibiotics, but who knows. If he starts talking again about the second surgery to seal the leak, we're

going to think about other opinions, because the surgery he described seems very radical.He says that it doesn't appear that the sutures are bad, but that the air leak is somewhere along the part that got cut off, but maybe was rotted out and can't heal well. He describes the operation saying he'd remove 3 or 4 ribs permanently and take skin and tissue that overlays the ribs and tuck them into her chest cavity over the top of her middle lobe (the top one was removed) and that will form a seal over the top of the lung. He's done it before and it works. However, he says it leaves you very disfigured and it's very painful.Has anyone heard of this? Are there any other ways to seal a leak besides something so radical? How can I find about this or alternate procedures? Can I email or phone the Jewish Hospital in Colorado and will they counsel me about that, or will they talk only if she's a

patient or is referred by Maggie's surgeon.Like I said, she may heal up fine on her own, but I want info if it comes down to the second surgery. It's been almost a month since the first surgery.On the positive side, the she looks and feels great. She can breathe easier and isn't coughing much, and what she does cough up is clearing up. If she can just get those freakin' tubes out, she can go home.Thanks.- ReaganPost your free ad now! Yahoo! Canada Personals

[Guest guest]

Reagan.

I just called National Jewish in Denver this afternoon as I make a small donation yearly and receive their online newsletter. Since I am 69 and primary Medicare and have a supplemental insurance plan I wanted to be sure that my treatment would be paid by my insurance if I went for consultation. They referred me to the infectious disease program where I left my name and telephone number. I also have non-tuberculosis mycobacterium fortuitum colonization in my lungs diagnosed from my initial bronchoscopy in 2000. I have been seeing an infectious disease doctor here in Austin since they discovered pseudomonas in my sinuses following sinus surgery several years ago. This same doctor was called in last July when I was hospitalized for growing pseudomonas. That is when they decided that I should inhale Tobramycin the last two weeks of each month to keep the pseudomonas under control. I would like a second opinion but do not want my pulmonary doctor and infectious doctor to think that I don't trust them as I think they are probably treating me properly. From what the Lung Line Nurse said this afternoon, I would have to go to Denver and take my medical records with me to be evaluated. You can call and just see what they tell you. It never hurts to ask.

Good Luck and God Bless.

Norma in Round Rock, Texas (near Austin)

[Guest guest]

Reagan,

Please give Maggie a gentle hug from me too. You both continue to be in my daily thoughts and prayers.

Norma (your Texas neighbor)

[Guest guest]

Reagan, it’s good to know that Maggie is feeling better, if not as good as you both expected. Lung

surgery is major surgery, so I would have expected some problems.

I agree with

you – you need to get other opinions, if for no other reason but put your

mind at rest.

A year and a

half ago, my specialist insisted I had the lower left lobe removed as it is ‘so

badly damaged’. It freaked me out so I asked

for a second opinion. I ended up getting two ‘second opinions’ in

the end. They both told me not to do it.

So I didn’t, and I’ve been okay.

You have to do

what you feel in your gut, and in your heart. If you don’t feel

comfortable, get that other opinion; at least then you’ll know whether or

not you’re making the right decision.

Give Maggie my love – I’ve been thinking of her often. And you have

also been in my thoughts.

Cheryl

==========

Cheryl

– http://www.cheryl-wright.com

Think Outside the Square: Writing Publishable (Short) Stories

For more

information go to http://www.writer2writer.com

Saving Emma

– coming to Whiskey Creek Press January 2005

maggie

update

Well.. Maggie is still in the

hospital. The surgeon finally got an

infectious disease specialist involved and he

changed her antibiotics

to ones we've never heard of. She's been on

them for a week and feels

better, but she still has the air leak, so the

chest tubes are still

in. The leak stopped about a week ago, and

the surgeon and her

pulmonologist decided to do a bronchoscopy, which

was good in the sense

that they sucked a lot of gunk out of her and got

a good deep culture,

but they must have jostled things around because

the leak was back the

next day.

And now, a week later the leak is still

present. The surgeon is

convinced that if it healed once, it will heal

again, especially with

the new antibiotics, but who knows. If he

starts talking again about

the second surgery to seal the leak, we're going

to think about other

opinions, because the surgery he described seems

very radical.

He says that it doesn't appear that the sutures

are bad, but that the

air leak is somewhere along the part that got cut

off, but maybe was

rotted out and can't heal well. He describes

the operation saying he'd

remove 3 or 4 ribs permanently and take skin and

tissue that overlays

the ribs and tuck them into her chest cavity over

the top of her middle

lobe (the top one was removed) and that will form

a seal over the top

of the lung. He's done it before and it

works. However, he says it

leaves you very disfigured and it's very painful.

Has anyone heard of this? Are there any

other ways to seal a leak

besides something so radical? How can I find

about this or alternate

procedures? Can I email or phone the Jewish

Hospital in Colorado and

will they counsel me about that, or will they talk

only if she's a

patient or is referred by Maggie's surgeon.

Like I said, she may heal up fine on her own, but

I want info if it

comes down to the second surgery. It's been

almost a month since the

first surgery.

On the positive side, the she looks and feels

great. She can breathe

easier and isn't coughing much, and what she does

cough up is clearing

up. If she can just get those freakin' tubes

out, she can go home.

Thanks.

- Reagan