First Sip of Chicken Soup

Associated Press: Dateline 6/30/10 Pittsburgh PA.

Observers witnessed MJ Tocci take her first sip of chicken broth this afternoon at Magee Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA.  Hospital officials had difficulty locating broth of high enough caliber to satisfy Ms. Tocci, a long-time chicken soup aficionado.  After scouring the hospital for several hours, however, they managed to produce a packet of HERBOX CHICKEN BOUILLON. The officials were confident the brew would be satisfactory, even to someone with a palate as sophisticated as Ms. Tocci's. In a press statement issued just prior to the tasting,  McGregor Magee, president of the board of directors of Magee Hospital, was quoted as saying "It's all in the preparation", referring to the manner in which the broth was made. Using the classic heat the water and mix in the powder technique, a steaming Styrofoam cup of broth was placed in front of the eager but relaxed Ms. Tocci. After savoring a mouthful of the Herbox for several long moments MJ declared "It's not as good as mine, but I guess it will do." The official rating was 2.5/10. In comments after the event, Ms. Tocci was heard to remark "If only they'd thrown in a matzo ball or two, they might have earned themselves a decent 5". She was unavailable for further comment, having fallen asleep.

JR

Tube-be-gone YAHOO!!

OMG! The NG tube came out at 6 this morning. What an amazing difference. Big smile this morning. The surgeons want MJ to have the pleurodesis today, but I think we're going to hold off for a day or two, so that she can gain strength. Undoubtedly she'll need to have the procedure at some point, but not yet. We're gonna try to get them to take out her bladder catheter today too --> tube count down from 7 to 5.

This feels like a giant step toward coming home, but we still have a way to go. At the moment, MJ is up in the shower - the first since surgery!

This is a great day....we're happy as clams over here.   By the way, Brother Tim stayed with MJ all night last night - THANK YOU BROTHER TIM. MJ is going to get some chicken soup (broth) today. Probably the best medicine ever invented. Talk to you later...

JR

Better living through chemistry.

 We found a drug that seems to work for MJ's nausea, which is great. This afternoon she took a monster nap and is feeling a little better now.  We're scheduled for the pleurodesis tomorrow, but not sure that MJ is up to it. We'll keep you posted on that....

JR

Cornucopia

Another tough day, unfortunately. That motility God needs more homage paid or whatever, because she's not giving MJ a break. They've added some drugs that are supposed to stimulate the intestine to do its thing, so we'll see. Today's chest x-ray shows no increase in the lung fluid....this is very good. MJ is tentatively scheduled for the pleurodesis on Wed, we may go ahead with it anyway as a preventive measure.



We got our first food delivery today, from Arlene Sanderson (a friend from Yoga class). It is amazing! Chicken, meat loaf and lasagna with salad and roast veges and home made desert. This will clearly last us for several days, and we'll freeze what we don't eat tonight. I just figured out how to edit the task dates on the helpinghands website, so I've deleted many of the dates to more accurately reflect our needs. When MJ comes home, I'll add some more dates, as well as announce them on this blog. Thanks to all involved.

I'm sure the irony is not lost on any of us. Sam and I are trying to figure out how we can manage to eat all this food, whicle MJ is starving in the hospital...

Talk to you tomorrow.

JR

The God of Intestinal Motility

I'm at the hospital early this morning. MJ called around 4 unable to sleep. Naturally when I got here, I awakened her, but I think she was glad to see me. Still some persisting nausea.....we'd love to get the nasogastric tube out (in through the nose and down into the stomach - it sucks out all of the stomach secretions until MJ's own intestinal peristalsis gets things moving southward again). We are now on day #9 without food, so we are really hoping that sometime in the next 24 hours we can get that tube out. Everyone say a prayer to the God of intestinal motility!!

After I arrived, we watched an episode of 30 ROCK on Hulu, then promptly both fell asleep at 5:30. At 6:00, the usual circus began (med students, intern, resident and fellow...followed by nurse, nurses aid, and gyn onc nurse practitioner). Each time we tried to back to sleep, but...  :(

They are going to repeat the chest x-ray today to check on the fluid accumulation in the lungs. We'll keep you posted on that.

And the lotsahelpinghands website is taking off....it's so good it almost feels illegal. Thanks to all involved.

Talk to you later today,

JR

Maintaining Perspective

Today has been a slow news day as the weekend winds to an end. Not too many Dr’s around or procedures performed on the weekends, so the emphasis was on MJ's continuing battle to get stronger each and every day. Although she sometimes finds it hard to see the improvements she is making every day, they are exceedingly apparent to those of us who are watching her. She is standing longer, walking further with a stronger gait each day. The toll for these tremendous efforts however are bouts of nausea and fatigue, which of course bring on frustration. The next major milestone for MJ is “passing gas”, which will mean the removal what she currently informs us is the most annoying of her tubes.

I believe the hardest place to maintain perspective is in a hospital bed.

So with the Doc’s returning to work after their arduous golf outings of the weekend, we will expect to start receiving more medical news perhaps as early as tomorrow. As that is just a guess, please be patient if there is nothing significant to report tomorrow.

As you have all seen the June 25th post which included the letter supporting MJ’s nomination for the Athena award by Justice Carol Corrigan, you are aware of the significant achievements she has made towards gender equality and supporting the advancement of women. I’m sure that you all thought that all of those achievements were wonderful. Apparently though she has also captured the eye of those who do not think so highly of what she has accomplished or who support her views. Brother Joe is currently in China on a business trip, and of course, expected to be able to be kept abreast of any developments through this blog. Surprise. MJ’s blog is being censored in China.

Thanks for all who have sent flower to MJ. I think that she has reached the hospital limit, so she has asked anyone who would still like to send something, that they please send her a gift certificate to The Urban Gardener so that when she is home and stronger she can plant flowers in her yard to give her a continuous vibrant reminder of the support she has received.

Last, but certainly not least, we would like to thank Heather for setting up a lotsahelpinghands Community website, of which she and Jonathan are coordinators. The site is: http://www.lotsahelpinghands.com/c/627958/

Brother Tim

MJ's Walk-a-thon

Tim was here this morning to cheer as MJ strolled out the door, down the hall and around the bend. And this  afternoon's walk was even longer - strong and steady. Upon return to the room, MJ promptly fell asleep for 4 hours. Felt good. And Sam will spend the night with his Mom in the hospital tonight - on a blow-up bed.

Not much new to report medically. I'm sure things will pick up on Monday. MJ's voice is as strong as ever. It sounds normal :)

Talk to you tomorrow....JR

Blessings and curses.

Well, the chest x-ray was unchanged. So no answer there. We're going to repeat it on Monday, and if the fluid level goes down, that's good news. If not, MJ may have to undergo something called a pleurodesis, a procedure to eliminate the pleural space where the fluid accumulates. More on that Monday.

Today was a tough day - pain, nausea etc, but this evening was better. This afternoon we scored a big triumph when MJ walked about 15 feet with help....YAHOO! That's cool.  And then there was the Shabbat service at Rodef that I attended with the two Sams (son and brother). It was a lovely service with about 40 of MJ's friends in attendance (thank you Heather and Lynne for helping to arrange this). We said a Mishabarach prayer for MJ. Rabbi Aaron Bisno talked about blessings and curses, and how language facilitates communication, despite the potential for misunderstanding. He also mentioned how language helps us lend support to one another in the face of adversity (I believe he looked directly at me when he said this). We took a photo of all those in attendance which you see above.

Rebecca Harris delivered MJ's Athena Award nomination booklet to me at the synagogue. We thumbed through it briefly when we got back to the hospital.  I was reminded (again) what an amazing person MJ is. I thought you might like to see one of the recommendation letters included in the nomination. This letter was written by Justice Carol A. Corrigan, who sits on the California Supreme Court. Here is the letter verbatim:

So that brings us up to date. Have a good weekend....I'll be posting throughout.


JR

We're waiting on the chest x-ray....

The lung question is still on our minds. We're waiting for a result on the x-ray from early this morning. Nothing much else to report today. We may try to walk a few feet this afternoon.

Rodef tomorrow evening at 5:30

Sam and I will do our best to be at Rodef tomorrow evening. After the service I would like to take a photo of everyone who knows MJ.

Thanks

JR