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We arrived here at Walter Reed Army Medical Center ("Home of the Wounded Warrior") exactly 4 weeks ago today. Billy has made AMAZING strides since that day, and continues to "do one better" each day. The changes seem minute based on a 24-hour day, but when you put them in perspective to how sick he was, he's doing great!
Yesterday (Tuesday) morning, Billy opted to have the catheter tube inserted. It should help to drain the sack of fluid which is under his infectious spot on his left side. That procedure took about an hour. The purpose of the catheter is to try to clear out as much of the infected fluid as possible, so that he won't need to be on antibiotics all of the time. However, along with that comes increased risk for more infection. It is a catch-22. This morning they took a sample of the fluid to culture. Because of the strength of the antibiotic he is on, even if there is any bacteria, it may not show itself. It would be a while before they could really determine if the antibiotics are still needed. All other vitals continue to stay strong.
When he got back to the room, I expected him to sleep the rest of the day. But to my surprise, he only nodded off a few times. He was sure that his side was really going to hurt once the anesthesia wore off, yet not once did he mention it. And today again he walked around the entire 7th floor with the Physical Therapist, without the aid of the walker! Of course, he has the antibiotics, nutrition supplement (his liquid diet) and pain meds in tow. It's not like he can just get up and take a quick jaunt around the floor. It takes planning, and there's still a great deal of pain getting in and out of bed. His stomach is still one solid mass as far as we can tell, and the fluids around the stomach and around his lungs are tough to deal with. They make getting out of bed that much harder.
But again, today, he has only nodded off a few times.
Even visitors say that he looks better today than he did as recent as last week, and we know that last week was a vast improvement over just three weeks prior.
If you have his number and would like to call him, I'm sure he would love to hear from you. Or shoot him a text. Better yet, if at all possible,come on by! He loves seeing army buddies walk in to visit. Just this evening he had his youngest visitor yet, 6 1/2-week-old Nathaniel, son of Joey and Naomi.
Thank you all for the cards and letters. They encourage all of us.
Thank you also for joining us in our "march" around his stomach. That was an amazing example of people united in prayer. We continue to pray that his stomach will become pliable again so that he will be able to eat some real food by Thanksgiving.
Jill Bohren (Billy's Mom)
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From Michelle: A note on the trip to PA... We left early Tuesday morning and returned late tonight (Wednesday night). My dad and two of my brothers (Bobby and Danny) came along, and they did some amazing work on my house! It was the first time any of them had seen my new-(ish) house, and it was fun to host them for a night. I am incredibly blessed to have the family that I do. :-) While we were in State College, I got to introduce them to the wonders of Wegmans. I thought I'd include a picture...just for fun.
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| Bobby and my dad (Ken)...need I say more? |
