It has been a long while since we made an entry. This has been good because, for the most part, Sue has been doing very well regarding her TP-IAT. Lately, she has cut back on her enzymes. Sometimes if she forgets it is not the end of the world, but in honesty, she has been doing an amazing job of eating healthy things. Not only has it helped her digestion system but her blood sugar. She runs between 80 and 110 daily with between 8 and 10 units of glucose a day in the evening. No pain except what she is told by her GI is an adhesion acting up, but that tends to be short-lived. For the most part, Sue continues to be remarkably well and continues to amaze her doctors all the time.
To also update you on a couple of other things, Sue had a reverse shoulder replacement in July (yes amid this Covid thing. She did very well, was out of the hospital after a week, and has completed her physical therapy. The pain in her arm is gone and the mobility and motion range is phenomenal. She blew her orthopedic surgeon’s mind also with her remarkable progress and recovery for that as well.
The last thing that we should mention is something we are sure is on the mind of any TP-IAT patient or potential candidate, is Covid. Sue did contract Covid (we have no idea how because she never goes anywhere) in mid-November. She was on the phone with Dr. Beilman to quickly engaged her to advise her on what best to do and what could happen, and also when to look for additional help, and of course, he was available if any doctor needed his input. Sue had some symptoms. A temperature but it stayed under 101.4, coughing with some minor congestion and a sinus irritation that has turned into a serious sinus infection that is only now beginning to dissipate, and a headache. By the Sunday before Thanksgiving, Sue was on the upswing and cleared to be around other people. The rapid blood test showed she had antibodies in her system to fend off the Covid virus. This was an amazing thing because without a spleen which makes the majority part of antibodies in the body for fighting off infections and viruses she was deathly afraid of the consequences this virus poses. Now don’t think we are taking this virus lightly because we are not, but the body is a remarkable thing and thank God she came through pretty good. Sue is still susceptible of contracting it again so she still takes all the safety precautions she and everyone should be taking.
The one point that I will say that is the most important thing regardless of the surgery or other things you deal with medically, always listen to the doctor and do what they say. Sue is a stickler for that and as you can see, she does well. Not all may be as fortunate as she is, but in order to help the doctor take proper courses of action, they need to know the patient is not throwing them a curve by not doing what they say.
Have a happy holiday.
