Hello all,

Drew and I are having a bit of a rough day today. His white blood cell count has gone up and he is continuing to deal with intermittent fevers, so the doctors now believe that he has an infection in his pancreas. The infectious disease specialist here is excellent and already has Drew on two powerful antibiotics and an anti-fungal, so we are hopeful that the drugs will resolve the problem. They are still trying to avoid surgery, which is risky, but it may become necessary if the infection and necrotic tissue does not resolve. I wish I could tell you when we will have more answers, but no one knows. It's all time and patience and testing, which takes more time and patience. There are continued good signs, but this infection is serious and scary for both of us.

I am taking a day or two off of work in order to be here with Drew as we wait to see if this situation is going to improve or get worse. There is the possibility he might get moved into the direct observation ward if his condition deteriorates, but for now he is doing well enough to stay in a normal room. We are heading into Day 10 of being here with no clear end in sight, and both of our spirits are flagging a bit. The cards and emails and flowers and words of love you have all sent us have meant so much. Thank you.

Massive, massive amounts of get-better~ma heading Drew's way. We're all pulling for you and keeping you in our thoughts.

In other news: I got hitched! It was a gorgeous day, and everyone (including us) had a great time. The whole weekend was a blur of total happiness. I got to see old friends and meet new ones; I got to spend time with my family and was welcomed warmly into Mark's; and I'm now married to a truly wonderful man. It's funny, after all the buildup and anticipation leading up to the wedding, saying "I do" and taking my wedding vows was as easy and natural as breathing.

There were approximately a gazillion photos taken, but none by me, so I don't have a link to any of them yet (apart from the ones showing up on Facebook), but I will post again when they're available for viewing. Thanks for all of your good wishes, everyone!

Well the good news is that Drew got a good night's sleep and is feeling a bit better today. The bad news is that we got word from the doctor that the next step in Drew's recovery is going to be switching from central line feeding (which goes in much like an IV) to tube feeding through the nose. This procedure bypasses the pancreas but allows the intestines to start working more normally, which research shows helps long term recovery odds. Unfortunately, it's not the most comfortable or pleasant experience. They do not think Drew will get out of here for at least 2-3 weeks but have said it could be months, and he may end up having to go home with the tube still in. We are hoping (a lot) that this is not the case since I would need to be trained to perform tube feedings or hire a caregiving agency to do so when I am at work for several months.

Although the prognosis long term continues to be fairly positive, we are both pretty down about this news and the potential timeline. Please send good vibes for the best case scenario, which is a couple of weeks in here with tube feeding and then going home for a relatively quick home recovery.

The Buffista health-ma defnitely helped. Mom is home from the rehabilitation facility and walking better than she was before the operation. She also seems in very good spirits. Currently, she still needs a cane (or a walker) but eventually she may not need either, at least for a few more years.

Sadly, if I could request a transfer of the -ma to my nephew, I'd really appreciate it. He was born with a defective heart (which he didn't find out until he went to college), and has had a pacemaker since he was 19, but the condition is now rapidly deteriorating, and he made need a heart transplant.

Please, please vibe for me. I am on my way to the emergency room with the fever and lymph pain.

Please let it be easily fixed, not break me financially and not involve staying overnight.

I have taken care of Bartleby, which is all that really matters to me, but should the time come, my friends Jay & Micheal, (monkey's uncle on Capitol Hill--children's consignment), could probably use help finding Bartleby a new me.

I'm pretty scared.

My best friend's brother was admitted to the hospital tonight with what they think may be a stroke. He's only a couple of years older than us. Good thoughts his way would be appreciated.

Good news: Probably not an infection after all, which would be excellent. Bad news: Although the initial feeding tube insertion was okay, the secondary, longer one was very traumatic. Terrible doctor who didn't seem to notice or care how much he was hurting Drew (which is luckily not the norm--we've generally been very impressed with the docs and nurses.) Drew had a pretty awful day. Keep those healing vibes coming. This has to be a turning point, right?

Who's got two thumbs and no job??

THIS GIRL!!

Got laid off. Agency making cuts. Noone's fault but the economy. My bosses and the president of our board were all crying.

So some job~~ma wouldn't be remiss.

I have spoken to bonny! She is still in the hospital, and will be there until tomorrow, at least. She would like you all to know how very much she appreciates your good thoughts.

If you'd like to call her while she's in hospital, ping me at my profile addy - she's given me the okay to hand out the number. She is conscious, but a wee bit loopy because of the Ativan the doctors are giving her.

Starting 4 PM EST, send me some interview savoir faire and hitting-technical-questions-out-of-the-ballpark. At least enough to convince the interviewers that I'm just what they want for an employee....