Thanksgiving in the Hospital

Today was a big day for Audrey. She went into it cheerful as a lark, giggling and flirting with all the nurses and doctors. Dr. Manfredi says her esophagus had constricted to 10mm, and he brought her back up to 15mm, but in the process two things happened: one, a very small "contained leak" was caused, and two, a long tear formed in the tight area--he said this tear is actually a good thing, we

want it to tear and then scar over in a wider more open way. But the way that it tore if allowed to heal on its own would have tightened her even further, and he wanted to keep the progress we had made, so after careful consideration he placed a very long stent in her throat to hold the tear open and encourage the torn tissue to reconnect it in a more open shape. Essentially the stent is like a long stiff plastic tube almost the full length of her esophagus, and he plans to leave it in for a full week and remove it next Tuesday November 27. Some of you might remember the worries we have had about esophageal stents in the past and that a similar treatment led to the death of a sweet little boy last year in California, so we took this news very seriously and asked many questions. I am very happy to report that the hospital is planning to keep her heavily monitored all week long as an inpatient-- in other words, Audrey and I will be staying in the hospital for the next week, unfortunately yes it is through Thanksgiving weekend, but fortunately in the sense that we are in the best place possible to keep her safe from the potential complications of the stent and the potential serious infection that could result from the perforated esophagus, and also fortunate that we can visit others of our new friends who are also in the hospital over the holiday, giving us the opportunity to bring cheer to them and see a different side of Thanksgiving. This scripture comes to my heart tonight; "By small and simple things are great things brought to pass, and small means in many instances doth confound the wise."