In addition to the capture of Saddam Hussein (being reported pretty much everywhere), I came across another news article that bears passing along. Especially in light of certain blogs that, with vitriol and bile, somehow equivocate Bush's actions with Saddam's. They also talk about how no link to 9/11 or Osama has ever been established with Saddam.
I give you this. Commence the arguments that this is a fake, that Bush is a babykiller, etc., ad nauseum.
Nase is coming home today. However, it's not so much a happy homecoming (though it will be that) as a safety precaution.
The nursing staff at LAC-USC has been getting worse and worse. After meeting with her doctor yesterday, Nase realized that the nurses were almost never giving her messages to her doctor (e.g., her pain meds were too low, her foot felt infected, etc.). Also, the nurses were just plain surly in recent days.
Nase saw her surgeon (Lt. Commander Matthew Camuso, Navy surgeon) yesterday, and he described the nature of the injury and possible treatment options. A small bone above her heel and below her leg impacted a piece of cartilage into her heel, and split the heel. One possibility would be to just let it heal, which it would probably do just fine on its own. The only problem with this approach is that she would definitely have chronic stiffness in her foot, which would limit her activity. The other possibility would be to operate. The surgeon said that he was the best in the hospital, that he had done about 50 similar surgeries in 8 years, but that he wasn't particularly an expert.
The surgeon then looked at Nase's foot. The response: "Well, that settles that. I can't operate on you right now--you have an infection." Not surprising, since Nase had been changing her own bandaging when the nurses refused to answer her call light. Not surprising, since Nase hadn't been on an antibiotic regimen... why should she be when her doctor thought everything was just fine? Anyway, the surgeon said that it would be a week or two before she was able to go into surgery. So in addition to the recovery time, she could be expected to stay in that hospital for another 3-4 weeks. Add to the fact that the surgery would be bone-invasive, and the risk of infection would spread to her bones, rather than just the tissue around her laceration, and we were OUT of there. (If the nurses can't treat a simple cut, do we want to risk infection, amputation, or worse with a bone-invasive surgery?!)
So she's coming home. We'll kick the infection here and try going through her primary care physician for further treatment. As far as we can tell, the worst case scenario is that she cannot get medical attention through our primary doctor, and the heel just heals on its own. Best case scenario, we'll be able to see a specialist closer to home. Either way, she will at least be allowed to heal among her family and loved ones, in the comfort of her own home, with the benefit (at the mercy?) of home cooking.
We appreciate all of your prayers, and would appreciate your continued prayers and support.