Not So Fast!

Yes, I know I said that would be my last blog, but...

To all thoughtful and well-intentioned friends of Tom: please know that as much as Tom would love to visit with good friends, he is still very weak, has a lot of medical hurdles ahead of him and needs rest as much as your good wishes just now. So if you decide to visit him, please be prepared for a wait, because the doctors are still very busy with him. And if you do find him alone and asleep, don't wake him. If awake, make your visit brief. And please, no more books or food. Sorry, flowers are not even allowed in this unit. And finally, rest assured that Tom will be with us for a long while yet and a note or visit a month out will also be welcome!

Stepping Down on the Way Up

We are thrilled! Last Thursday, Tom was in the Operating Room for an excrutiatingly long time with the plastic surgeons who made him a great patch of new skin to cover his wound. When Tom emerged from the anathesia, he declared himself "in one piece again". Tah Dah! And then yesterday, he wanted me to post the following, in his own voice (always a good sign):

"Alarmingly, I have been transferred from the ICU to a somewhat, well, less intensive group called the "Step Down Unit". I have been assured that the beds here can be hard to come by, giving them a certain cachet and more importantly that the transfer means I am getting better.
This serves to assuage any minor injury to my amour propre that Step Down might otherwise import. There is also abroad in Step Down a more unbuttoned air -- "It's New York and It's Saturday Night" sort of thing. Finally, when Sue and I tuned in the Belmont Stakes (will someone please find our Governor a minder!), I saw an ad for an upscale Euro beer, and I thought, "Yes, please!". I am BETTER!"

And just now, he messages me that he is off all support systems. The doctors are pleased with his recovery and they will be working on the next phase: physical therapy. Wow! This is healing on the fast track. All your prayers and great, good wishes have paid off. THANK YOU kind friends, dear family and God. Tom can receive visitors at NY Presbyterian Hospital on 68th&York in the Greenberg Pavillion - 2 West - anytime up to 8pm.

Tom can also be emailed: teengel35@gmail.com or messages can be left for him on his cell (917)355-1814. I wont be blogging anymore, but I think Tom may have grown fond of this new mode of communication so be forewarned! Hugs all around and again, we are forever grateful for your support.

Greetings from the Greenberg Pavillion!

Tom wanted this picture posted so that all dear and concerned ones shouldn't fret, but he insisted on a shave first which didn't happen until last Friday and my blog was closed for the amazingly nice weekend. Today he looks even better, though the doctors have decided to let his leg do more mending before they attempt a graft. After a visit to the OR today the plastic surgeons declared Friday the new target date for that proceedure. The doctors did warn us at the beginning that this would take a long time. Doctors don't lie! But the good news is that if the graft happens on Friday and if it works, we are looking at being out of the ICU (and profound isolation) by the end of next week. Keep your collective fingers crossed.

I messed up awfully on the last blog trying to include all groups of friends in one, sleep deprived, fell swoop. I left out loved ones at St. Thomas Church who've contributed oodles to Tom's spiritual strength and the folks at Vanderbilt Y who can take credit for Tom's physical strength by making laps amusing. Tom's advises anyone listening to be sure to have both fronts, the spiritual and physical, in good shape before taking on a city bus. I will let you know next when the magic grafting begins. Blessings all around.

Taking out the Garbage

Tom's leg was not ready for the grafts today so we will spend a quiet weekend (mercifully) in the ICU while the healing goes on. The laps in the pool have paid off. Tom's lungs are clear and he is on "room air"; aka, off the oxygen, for the first time in two weeks. This is a work in progress. Slow, but progress. So I won't report back to you until we have some significant news, i.e. Visitors Welcome! Until then Tom and I send our sincerest appreciation to all who are wishing well so hard: our Fly/Harvard folk, Columbians (small "c" and large), bikers, bridgers, McKool ones, Beaverkillians, Riverdalians, legal cohorts, the Knickerbockers, family and random friends. You are the best.

We have Turnaround

So many good signs! They took the dialysis hook-ups out of Tom's neck because his kidneys are doing so well on their own he won't need it again. The nurse could finally give him a shave because he doesn't need the blood thinner for the embolism threat. Looking more like himself, if a bit less a la mode! His white cell count is down so today he is having another visit to the OR to clean the leg again, but this time the plastic surgeons will be there ready to work their magic with the grafting. This means the doctors are hopeful that they will find the leg muscle healthy enough to support new skin. And the pain had diminished somewhat. Tom is still very logy with morphine but I sense upbeat. So let the healing begin. Enchallah!

Thank Heaven for Doctors

This is what the doctors say: the wound is okay, the kidneys are doing what they ought to do and Tom is a strong guy. Whenever you ask them for time parameters they always say: "don't hold me to it". My take on all this is that Tom is making progress but we have to be prepared for a long recovery. We are blessed with a fantastic team of doctors, great and caring nurses and a most marvelous band of dear friends. Thank you all. Your letters and kindnesses are a tonic to Tom. That's Marion to the right with her mom, our Phoebe.

The week of the wound

Dear all dedicated blogspotters: I apologize for taking so long to update. I made my first mistake by pronouncing that "not much happens on weekends" in hospitals. I jinxed it! Tom was doing well when I left him Saturday night. He was demanding mozarella and had tuned into the Yankees. But then on Sunday his temperature spiked dramatically because the wound had become badly infected. He was taken to the OR. The wound opened again. Dead tissue was cleaned out. The leg was declared a mess. Poor Tom was left sedated for the night because the dotors wanted to have at him again today. The second operation was performed this afternoon and we are all, Tom included, satisfied that as much as can be done has been done. The miracle is that all his other body parts are holding up, most importantly his kidneys. The lungs are good too. The swimming has paid off. So I venture, hesitantly (jinx), to say that progress is occurring. The focus is now on healing the wound. While all this was going down at NY Presbyterian Hospital, Marion Breed Lindsay, Tom's fourth grandchild, was welcomed into the community of Christian souls by way of baptism. One more voice of suppliction for Tom's total recovery. We are grateful for every blessing, little Marion's especially.

.

we love flowers too

To all you good souls who have sent such lovely flowers, delicious meals and beautiful thoughts: thank you a thousand times. Tom will probably be, this is a guess, in ICU through next week but I know he can feel the force. I take him printouts of your emails, cards and the blog comments so he knows you care. Today he had another dialysis to relieve the kidneys and they redressed his leg which is looking better every time. The medical staff is awesome and they say he's a charmer. That helps! I probably won't post anything till Monday because not much happens in hospitals on weekends. Besides, I hope you are all too happily busy to check in. A bientot.

room with a view

Tom has excellent real estate at our new outpost at NY Presbyterian. He made progress today with the help of dialysis, which reduced the swelling and eased his breathing. However, test results from his wound show that he has a bacteria that proves resistant to antibiotics. Extra precautions will be taken to prevent the bacteria from spreading. This means he will be in the ICU for the next week. Your comments and wishes are a tonic to him. Thank you all for your concern and prayers.

one week tomorrow

Tom's whole self is working very hard now to process the damage done to his leg. The doctors are giving him lots of necessary fluid, but this has led to a build up in his lungs as well as wear and tear on his kidneys. And this, on top of a pulmonary embollism. Pretty miserable but not unexpected complications. Today he underwent dialysis to clear his system and relieve the kidneys. It really did make a difference. Much more lucid and energetic when I left him. Even hungry and a bit feisty. More of the same tomorrow. He will be in the ICU through the weekend. Oh. I almost forgot, the leg is doing well.

bike accident

Last Thursday, Tom was biking up 6th Avenue when a city bus struck him. He was knocked off his bike, at which point the bus rolled over his left leg. He has been in the ICU at NY Presbyterian since, and is being cared for by the best doctors with the best medical technologies. The good news is they have been able to save his leg and he is very fit. The foot, femur, knee and ankle were miraculously not broken. A few complications have arisen, not unpredictably, with such trauma, so it may be days and more operations before he will be transferred to a regular ward. Because he can't take calls or visitors, I will post updates on this site to keep you all in the loop.

Meanwhile, Tom and I want to express our gratitude to all who have sent their sincere sympathies and well-wishes. This is a trying time for Tom and his friends and family mean everything to him.

we love legs!