LLAMA WATCH

Thanksgiving wishes

2009-11-26T23:06:00.003-05:00

Here's a picture of Llama with her three little... er, younger... brothers taken at tonight's Thanksgiving dinner in Chattanooga:

Isn't she looking great? We're especially thankful this Thanksgiving for Mom's renewed health, and her fortitude and strength in rebounding from her unexpected surgeries. She couldn't have done it without your support, and we couldn't have either. So, thank you, Llamawatchers! Happy Thanksgiving to all!

A new friend for Llama

2009-11-25T22:12:00.005-05:00

Last weekend, Atlanta played host to a massive international cat show, which Dad, Emily and I obviously had to check it out. Dad tried to convince Mom to go along, but she declined, which was probably her first mistake. Her second mistake was allowing Dad to attend with two kitten-loving enablers. What sealed the deal was the fact that Mom was away from the house and distracted on Sunday afternoon as the cat show was closing down, leaving Dad the perfect opportunity to steal away to the convention center again and sweet-talk his way into a discount on an unsold kitten. I'm sure you know where this is going by now...

Yes, that is a sweet little kitten you see peeking out from behind the laundry! She's another Tonkinese, which is the same breed as Kudzu and Crazy Steve. Mom had instructed Dad that under no circumstance was he allowed to bring home another cat, but who could resist those big ol' saucer eyes? Besides, everyone knows that pets are therapeutic -- maybe a kitten is just what Mom would need to speed her recovery along.

After the initial shock of learning that Dad had not, in fact, been at the office as he had claimed but rather at the cat show procuring her therapy pet, Mom warmed up to the new kitty:

After a day or so, Mom and Dad decided to name the new addition Koshka -- the non-Cyrillic version of the Russian word for "cat."

But what about Kudzu? you might be asking yourselves. Well, Kudzu and Crazy Steve both have done their fair share of sniffing, hissing at and just plain ignoring the interloper in the past couple days. Kudzu in particular seems unimpressed. However angry Kudzu may be, though, she seems to be alright with sharing Llama with the newbie -- just as long as she gets her usual spot.

Kudzu and Koshka sharing Llama real estate!

The first week back...

2009-11-17T10:54:00.002-05:00

Well, Llama's been back at home for a little more than a week now, so I thought it was about time to check in. She returned to Emory briefly this morning to get the staples from her surgery removed, so she's finally all back in one piece and metal-free! She says she is feeling fine and is especially happy to be rid of the staples in her belly.

Otherwise, Mom is doing well and resting up for the holidays. We have a big Thanksgiving dinner coming up in Chattanooga and are particularly thankful that the dry-mouth problem Mom had after this summer's surgeries has not been an issue -- somehow I think soup for Thanksgiving just might not have cut it.

Thanks to all who have provided delicious meals so far, and to those who have signed up for future CareCalendar dates. Mom and Dad are very appreciative -- and so are we kids, when we get to eat with them!

afternoon recap + CareCalendar reminder

2009-11-08T20:55:00.005-05:00

Mom and Dad arrived at home from the hospital around 3 o'clock this afternoon. Kudzu, Mom's kitty, was waiting by the couch for her person to return. It seems a week's absence is forgivable, because no sooner had Llama hit the sofa than Kudzu jumped up and assumed her usual position on Mom's chest. From Kudzu's perspective, all is right with the world again.

happy kitty = happy Llama!

Mom will be recovering at home for a while, and she'll just take it a day at a time in terms of how much she can do. All signs point to a faster rebound from this surgery, which we hope will indeed be the case. Hopefully she'll be back at church/book group/all her other activities in short order, but in the meantime, should you wish to bring Mom and Dad some food in the early stages of recuperation, you can sign up on the CareCalendar (security code: 7005). You can sign up for slots through the end of the month. Otherwise, if you want to visit, please call the house first to see how Mom is feeling and to let her know you'd like to come by.

Thanks again, as ever, for all your support and positive thoughts and prayers. We're all so pleased with how this final surgery went, and I'm sure much of the thanks is due to the care and support we've felt from all of you. It's wonderful to see how many people love our Llama!

Going home!

2009-11-08T09:42:00.003-05:00

Great news, Llamawatchers! Dad informs me that Emory will release Mom this afternoon around lunchtime! In and out in under a week seems positively luxurious this time around. Yesterday afternoon they removed all of the remaining IVs, which was a good indication that today might be the day. Dr. Sweeney will stop by to see Mom one more time this morning, and then it's home sweet home!

Gameday Llama

2009-11-07T15:34:00.003-05:00

Llama's got her game face on today -- she's getting better and she means business! This morning she decided she wanted to go for a walk, so, dangit, she gathered up her IV pole and took a few laps around the floor on her own. Even more impressive, she has been promoted to a diet of regular hospital food! (Generally not something to be excited about, but she's glad to have taken a step in the right direction.) She had a serving of mashed potatoes, a corner of a chicken pot pie, and a spoonful of some particularly unappetizing minestrone and called that lunch. Who knows what delights dinner may bring!

Dr. Sweeney will be back in tomorrow to make rounds and assess the situation. Mom is looking great -- no fever, no more nausea, moving around easily -- so we're hopeful that we can maybe get her home tomorrow evening. In the meantime, she'll be tuned in to the Wake Forest vs. Georgia Tech game this afternoon -- light a candle for Wake on her behalf! Go Deacs!

LlamaWatch 101

2009-11-06T12:59:00.015-05:00

I meant to mark the 100th post when I reached it, but I was so caught up in the developments of yesterday afternoon that I completely forgot. This post is no. 101 on LlamaWatch -- thanks for staying with us through it all! Mom really appreciates it and so do we.

As I type, Mom and I are settling in for Days of Our Lives. A tasty lunch of jello, a mini Italian ice, broth, tea, ginger ale, and apple juice just arrived, though it's not likely that she'll consume it all -- she's been instructed to take it slow. Apparently her stomach is telling her to take things slowly as well, because she experienced some nausea this morning -- perhaps a lingering effect of some medication she took last night to help her sleep. As a result, she hasn't been walking much today, but she's feeling better now and taking it easy in bed.

At this point, it looks like Mom will be hospital-bound for at least part of the weekend. She's hopeful that she'll be home by Sunday evening, but it still seems too early to say anything with certainty. Needless to say, she's relieved that Emory has cable -- even if she's here longer than she wants to be, she won't have to miss any important football games!

Signs of progress!

2009-11-05T17:21:00.006-05:00

If the Gym at Peachtree Presbyterian doesn't have a poster girl already, the folks there should totally sign Mom up for their next ad campaign. I talked to Dad on the phone around 9:30 this morning and he and Mom had already taken four laps around the floor! Emily came and spent her lunch hour here, and Llama logged another two loops. When I arrived around 4:45 this afternoon, Mom was resting in bed after another three laps with Dad at her elbow. And she doesn't even seem tired! What a champ.

Otherwise, Mom has been eager to move on from her diet of sucking on waterlogged green sponges on sticks. Since she has gotten some signs that the plumbing is beginning to work again, so to speak, one of her doctors just informed her that she can graduate to clear liquids this evening. Wahoo! She hasn't had anything to eat since Sunday lunchtime, so who can blame her for being excited about a little hospital broth and jello?

Aside from these highly anticipated and much appreciated signs of progress, it's been another slow day in the hospital. Days of our Lives is in a multiple-day rut, Mom says, and she's not able to focus her eyes well enough to get any significant reading done. Frustrating though these days can be, we're all grateful that this stay at Emory has been an uneventful one.

CareCalendar: back by popular demand!

2009-11-04T22:50:00.004-05:00

As of this evening, Emily has reactivated the CareCalendar account so Mom's adoring public can sign up to feed the Llama! There are slots available every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday starting next Tuesday and continuing until December 1. (Thanksgiving excepted... we should have her covered that day!)

Although Mom's diet should eventually be without restrictions, we're going to play it safe to start and adhere to the same guidelines as last time. Here are the ingredients to be avoided: foods that may cause blockages, such as apple skins, celery, Chinese vegetables, coconut, coleslaw, corn, dried fruit, grapefruit, meats with casings, nuts, orange rinds, popcorn, potato skins, raisins, and seeds. Also, raw vegetables (i.e. salads) are on the no-go list, for the time being. Solid foods are fair game this time around, though, so don't feel the need to stick to soups and stews!

You'll be able to indicate on the calendar what you're bringing over. Please make a note so that others who may want to contribute can keep track of what's been coming in the door. Don't forget to include directions for preparation!

Got all that? OK. Now, here's how you log in to claim your spot:

Click here or copy and paste the following url into your browser's address field: http://www.carecalendar.org/logon/16650

Once you're there, enter the following information:

Calendar ID : 16650
Security code : 7005

Et voilà! You're all set. Bring on the tasty meals! If you have questions or concerns about food, scheduling, or anything else CareCalendar-related, don't hesitate to contact Emily at emilyapoe[at]gmail.com.

sitting pretty (and maybe walking some, too)

2009-11-04T17:36:00.005-05:00

Good evening, ever patient Llamawatchers! Please accept my sincerest apologies for keeping you waiting for so long. These things happen, as I'm sure you know...

Today has been a good day for Llama, though it seemed to start out a bit slow. Her temperature has returned to normal, which is great, but the best part of today is that she is now free of uncomfortable tubes! (Most notably the nasal-gastric one. Oww.) She's still wired up to the IV pole, but since she's no longer tethered to the wall she should be able to start cruising the hallway. This afternoon she sat up in a chair for a while, and tonight, once Dad arrives, he'll squire her about the ninth floor and see how the walking goes. I suspect it will go pretty well, since Mom's been pumping iron with her personal trainer Michael at Peachtree Pres for the past two and a half months and is now strong like an ox. (Or a llama. They're strong too, right?)

Dad shows Mom the blog every morning, so feel free to send a note of encouragement and he'll see to it that she gets it! No report yet on when the Llama will be loosed, but we will keep you advised as we learn more. Thanks, as ever, for all the positive thoughts and prayers!

Tuesday night update

2009-11-03T18:58:00.003-05:00

I don't have too much to report this evening, except to say that Mom continues to look good and feel as well as she can after yesterday's operation. She did a few prolonged stints of sitting up in a chair today, and will probably get up on her feet and about the hallways tomorrow. I'm sure walking around will be a big improvement over the hours of inane daytime television she got watch from her bed this afternoon. The TV schedule has changed since Mom's summer stay, and she is none too pleased about that.

Mom was running a slight temperature this afternoon, although Dr. Sweeney and members of his team have assured us that this is nothing to be alarmed about and is a pretty typical post-operation occurrence. They'll keep an eye on it, regardless. Llama is in good hands at Emory!

I'll post again tomorrow afternoon with a progress report -- she's hoping to lose a few tubes and start walking again, so I'll be sure to let you know how all that goes!

The morning after

2009-11-03T09:16:00.003-05:00

Dad is at the hospital with Mom this morning and had nothing but good things to report when he called me. He even put me on the phone with Mom, who sounded like her usual lovely self. She said she had gotten some sleep despite the constant stream of nurses checking in through the night. This time around, she's hoping she feels well and awake enough to get some reading done while she's laid up -- she brought a bag with about six books, which should hopefully last her through this relatively brief hospital stay.

Dr. Sweeney told us yesterday that today's goals would be to get Mom sitting up and maybe even walking a bit. I'll check back later in the day to let you know how those endeavors go. In the meantime, keep thinking good thoughts for Llama or leave her a note on the blog!

All settled in (minus an old friend)

2009-11-02T19:34:00.005-05:00

We finally got to see Mom at about 4:45 p.m. when they brought her up from recovery and wheeled her down the hallway on the ninth floor. Emily and I could tell she was feeling alright because she held up one finger (number one!) at us as she rolled by. Once the nurses had her settled in the bed, Emily, Dad and I got to visit with her for a while.

Although Mom is in a bit of pain, she is in good spirits, looks great, and has her old friend the PCA pain pump back at her side. The Poe Sister sideshow had her smiling and laughing in no time! Dr. Sweeney came by to check on Mom before he left for the evening and told her all the things he had told us earlier in the waiting room downstairs -- that the surgery was straightforward and he was really happy with how it had gone. It seems as though everyone involved is having an easier time of it this go-round. He was glad to see that Mom was already joking and being sarcastic, even through the post-surgery fog. Shortly after Dr. Sweeney departed, Dr. Wright Caughman stopped by to check on things and was also relieved to see that Mom was in such excellent condition.

As a result of today's surgery, however, there was a minor casualty -- Mom no longer has a belly button! Dr. Sweeney said she must have misplaced it somewhere between here and Moscow. Dad's initial reaction was to call his wife an alien, while I took a more sympathetic approach and pointed out that there is a very famous and successful supermodel who also lacks a belly button. Karolina Kurkova was all over the news for it last year, for whatever reason. We assured her that once all of this is behind us, her bellybuttonless midsection will look just like Karolina's:

Right? I see a second career developing...

Success!

2009-11-02T13:53:00.002-05:00

Dr. Sweeney just emerged from the O.R. to let us know that Mom's surgery was finished and had gone very well. They started the surgery a little later than planned, around 9:15 a.m. Compared to the last surgery, this one was apparently pretty straightforward, even if it took a couple of hours.

Mom is in recovery now, where she will be for the next few hours. We'll get to go back and see her after she's been recovering for an hour or so. In the meantime, we're gonna go get some lunch! I'll report back later today after we get a chance to talk to the Llama.

Here we go again

2009-11-01T13:14:00.003-05:00

Welcome back, Llamawatchers! As you probably know, Mom will go to Emory in the morning for one final surgery. Dr. John Sweeney will again be taking care of her, which is a great comfort to us all. Mom's is the first operation of the day, so it will probably start around 7 a.m. and continue for several hours. I'll be sure to post an update in the afternoon once the procedure is complete.

Until then, I'll leave you with a picture of Mom and Dad taken a few nights ago after an Atlanta Symphony Orchestra concert:

Don't be fooled -- it takes a lot of work to look this good! Mom has been training at the gym at Peachtree Presbyterian to get in tip-top shape for tomorrow's surgery and the recovery to follow. Start thinking good thoughts for all of us now, and I'll let you know how things go tomorrow!

Breaking News: ANOTHER Poe lawyer!

2009-10-30T16:22:00.003-04:00

Just about 20 minutes ago, we learned that Matt passed the Georgia bar exam! That brings the grand total of people in our family certified to practice law in the state of Georgia to three! And three out of five ain't bad. Here they are, the three Poes esquire:

Emily, Matt and Dad at Matt's law school graduation, May 2009

Needless to say, we're all thrilled and so proud of Matt. Emily called and told mama, who cried tears of joy at the news! Hopefully this will set the tone for more good news next week!

Llamawatch returns!

2009-10-29T16:20:00.002-04:00

Stay tuned for updates...

photo courtesy of Susannah Ware/Dreams Awake Photography

Goodbye, Llamawatch!

2009-08-05T21:50:00.004-04:00

As I wrote in my most recent post, the time has come for Llamawatch to sign off... but before I put the blog to rest, I wanted to share this excellent picture of Mom and Dad from our family beach vacation in South Carolina. It's a beautiful sight, especially after all we've been through this summer!

Thanks again for following Llamawatch with such dedication. Like I mentioned before, if you want to check up on Mom at any time you can contact me through the blog by leaving a comment or you can just look us up in the phone book. And if you've got a big trip coming up, remember Llama's story and get yourself some travel insurance!

Beach-bound Llama!

2009-07-29T14:43:00.004-04:00

Mom had another appointment with Dr. Sweeney yesterday -- her last one for a while -- and he gave her the all-clear to hop in the car this Friday and head to South Carolina for a week of relaxing at the beach with the extended Poe family. Wahoo! She can also get started on a light regimen of physical therapy, which will mostly consist of walking, for now.

Dr. Sweeney continues to be very happy with how everything is healing. After we return from the beach, Mom will have an appointment with the gastrointestinal doctors and will then schedule another time to see Dr. Sweeney to talk about the next steps in her treatment and recovery.

Mom holding the other cat, Crazy Steve, who probably weighs
about as much as Mom is allowed to lift at the moment.
Does cat-lifting count as physical therapy?

In short, things are on the right track. Mom has been a total champ throughout this whole ordeal, and y'all have been an invaluable support and resource for both her and us. Thank you all for the food, flowers, cards, good thoughts, prayers, hugs, phone calls, visits, emails, and countless other things and acts of kindness -- you sustained us through a really tough couple of weeks and months.

With that said, it seems that the time is right for Llamawatch to ride off into the sunset, to be put out to pasture with scores of other seldom-updated blogs. I'll probably post some pictures of Llama and the fam on vacation next week, but beyond that, if you want to check up on Mama, you can get in touch with any of us Poes online, over the phone, or the old fashioned way. You know where to find us! Thanks again for being wonderful friends through all of this -- we hope to be able to repay the kindness someday.

Still Life with Llama and Cat

2009-07-25T22:01:00.003-04:00

Finally captured on film (or digital memory, whatever) -- Kudzu and Llama, together again! Things are getting back to normal...

Just another Llama Monday...

2009-07-20T16:23:00.004-04:00

Greetings, Llamawatchers! Just checking in with a weekly report. Mom doesn't have any appointments this week, so she'll just be kicking around the house and working on getting better and stronger. The big news of recent days is that Kudzu (pictured), the family cat who really only likes Mom, has apparently gotten over the pain of being abandoned by mom for about two months. She's taken up her usual perch on Mom's shoulder again! Unfortunately, she usually likes to try and get there by walking up Mom's stomach, which is a somewhat tender area these days. (Bad kitty!) I'm hoping to get a picture of Llama and Kudzu soon to post here on the blog.

And while we're at it with the photos, I thought I'd give you a glimpse of Llama at her everyday routine. Here she is, sporting an old vacation bible school t-shirt, catching up on correspondence:

Looking good, Llama!

good news from the good doctor

2009-07-14T15:11:00.002-04:00

Llama and Farmer Jim (aka Dad) went in to see Dr. Sweeney this morning and, as expected, everything went swimmingly. Dr. Sweeney is pleased with how Mom looks and is moving around, and he says that her only limitations are the ones she places on herself. She can do pretty much whatever she feels comfortable doing -- unless she decides she wants to take up weight training or something else that involves heavy lifting. While this won't generally cramp her style, it will prevent her from helping either me or my brother move apartments in the next few weeks, which I'm sure she's really broken up about.

There's not too much else to report from today's trip to Emory. Mom goes back to Dr. Sweeney two weeks from today to get final approval before our family beach trip at the start of August, and then she's scheduled to see the gastrointestinal doctors once we get back from South Carolina.

In the past couple weeks, Mom has enjoyed many lovely visits with a lot of you and eaten plenty of tasty food from your kitchens -- thank you so much for your friendship and support! You can still sign up on the CareCalendar (code: 7005) for a time to hang out with Llama if you haven't had your chance yet. She'd love to see you!

Llamawatch continues!

2009-07-13T12:59:00.005-04:00

As our dedicated commenter Kathy remarked yesterday, no news is good news -- but there's still progress to report, so don't give up on Llamawatch yet! I'll keep posting updates until Mom is back 100 percent.

The latest development is that Mom has decided that her walker gets in the way more than it helps her move around, so she's relying on her own two legs to help her get around these days! She's feeling good enough that she puts on real clothes every day instead of staying in a nightgown and house coat, and she's hoping to get out of the house a little more in the coming days and weeks.

Dad is taking Mom back to Emory tomorrow for another follow-up appointment with Dr. Sweeney and others, so check the blog tomorrow for a full report. As ever, thanks for keeping up!

The Star-Spangled Llama

2009-07-04T22:47:00.015-04:00

It's the moment you've all been waiting for... at least those of you who have not yet had a chance to see Mom in person. Today Mom made her first big outing to a pool party my best friend and her family threw in honor of the Fourth of July and my upcoming birthday. She donned her new cute house dress, put on some makeup, and spent the afternoon lounging in the shade with friends by the Wolbes' pool. Since she was all dolled up for her first public appearance, it was the perfect time to snap a few pictures to share with you Llamawatchers. Here she is!

Llama and Emily
(don't worry, the tattoo is temporary -- leftover
from the Peachtree Road Race this morning)

Poe ladies!
That's me on the left, for anyone who needs to put a face with a blogger :)

Llama in the wild!

Doesn't she look good? I think she enjoyed being outside for a change, and the weather was perfect, as long as she stayed in the shade. She even went down the long staircase down to the Wolbes' basement and took it like an absolute champ!

She's got two more doctors appointments scheduled before our family beach trip at the end of July -- we're expecting those will go swimmingly, as her first two have, and she'll be able to enjoy a relaxing week with the family in South Carolina. Between now and then, you can still sign up on the CareCalendar to visit or bring food!

LLAMA PHOTOS

2009-07-03T18:00:00.001-04:00

...coming soon!

Line up to see the Llama!

2009-06-29T23:12:00.002-04:00

It's the moment you've all been waiting for -- now you can sign up for an audience with Llama! Emily spoke with Mom about it tonight and has tweaked the CareCalendar site so that you can register to bring food or simply bring yourself and enjoy catching up with Mom.

As with everything else, we're going to ease in. Since Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays are food drop-off days, we're going to make Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays visiting days. (Food-bringers, you should also feel free to come inside and say hello to Mom when you come by -- we're just trying to limit visits to one a day.) Please call Mom at the house at 4/255-4790 on the day you've planned to visit to confirm and make sure that it's a good time to come see her.

Sign up using the CareCalendar (code: 7005). Mom's looking forward to seeing y'all!

Saturday Llama report

2009-06-27T19:06:00.006-04:00

It remains that things are calm and relatively uneventful in the world of Llama -- you certainly don't see any of us complaining about that! She's eating all kinds of normal food now, though not in great quantities, as she's still having a little bit of trouble with dry mouth. So far the casseroles, soups, and other goodies people have delivered have been delicious -- I won't lie, I've sampled a few of the dishes myself. Y'all know Mom has a very discerning palate, so pat yourselves on the back for passing muster.

Things continue to improve all around: she's eating a wider variety of foods, getting up off the couch and moving around with greater ease (still with a walker), and has read a book and a half already (so what if they're beach reads?). The other good news is that Kudzu the cat has approached Mom, at long last! She hopped up on the couch today and let Mom pet her two or three times before she turned tail and ambled off. Progress!

Since Mom is starting to feel rested and is used to being back at home, we'll probably start to open up "visiting hours," as previously discussed on this blog, sometime this week. Emily, Dad and I will put our heads together to see how best we can organize y'all -- it may well be through the CareCalendar, but we'll let you know when it's all sorted out so you can start figuring out if and when you want to swing by for some face time with Llama. Check up on the blog in the next couple of days for more information! Thanks for llamawatching :)

smooth sailing

2009-06-25T13:29:00.003-04:00

Hello all! There isn't much to report, but I wanted to check in all the same to assure you that that was the case. Mom has been getting reacquainted with her couch at home this week, which suits her much better than the hospital bed she had been confined to (though I do think she sometimes misses the convenience of an adjustable bed!). Steve (the cat) is being very affectionate, but Kudzu is still holding out. She'll come back to Llama eventually!

Mom is moving around the house pretty well. She's using a walker to keep steady, but she doesn't seem to be having any trouble getting up and about, even if it does take her a little longer. Dad and Mom both are being careful to make sure she takes in the appropriate amount of calories each day to help along the healing process. I think we're all encouraged by her progress, even since coming home from the hospital last weekend.

I'll plan to write again on Saturday to let you know how everything is going. We'll alert you when we think Mom is ready for visitors to come through, but in the meantime, don't forget about the CareCalendar (code: 7005). Thanks!

Checkup at Emory

2009-06-23T13:59:00.005-04:00

Mom had her first follow-up appointment this morning over at the Emory Clinic, and everything is looking great! Dr. Sweeney was quite pleased with how her wound is healing up and was glad to see that we have been keeping Mom well hydrated and fed since she left the hospital on Saturday. Just gotta keep packing in the calories so things continue to go in the right direction! Mom's got another appointment next Tuesday, then she'll go back two weeks later, and two weeks after that. The latter checkup comes right before our family beach trip, so that will be the big, important appointment where she'll be approved for beach-going.

In other news, I wanted to let all you llamawatchers know that there may not be a new post on this blog every day, now that we've got Mom home and healing. Quiet days are the kind we want to have, but they don't make for great reading. That said, updates will be frequent and ongoing -- just probably not as regular as they have been.

Finally, if you want to sign up to bring tasty food for Llama, find out how to do that here. Thanks, as ever, for your help and support!

LLAMA: Origins

2009-06-22T15:12:00.009-04:00

In the pileup of mail that has resulted from Mom's extended absence from the house I found the perfect opportunity to explain the origin of our nickname for her, Llama, since many people are probably wondering about it. Those of you who know the story know that there's not much to it -- the moniker's staying power has much more to do with the fact that Emily and I are utterly unwilling to let embarrassing and stupid jokes die.

It all begins with the fact that Mom is a notorious bookworm, and, as such, she receives a fair amount of packages from Amazon.com. (Free shipping on discounted books? Yes please.) One fateful day, many moons ago, we noticed that Mom mistyped her name when she registered her Amazon account... and thus was born Llaura Llama!

No, really. That's it.

OPERATION FEED THE LLAMA

2009-06-21T23:34:00.006-04:00

Greetings Llamawatchers!

It's the moment you've all been waiting for! The CareCalendar site is up and running (sign in details are available at the end of this post). As Kathleen mentioned, we are starting off slowly, with just a few meal sign-ups per week. If there is one thing this ordeal has taught us all, it is the value of baby steps! As mom eases back into her day to day life at home, we'll gradually add more activities (meals, visits, etc)

The CareCalendar website includes guidelines on certain requests/rules regarding meals for mom. She's still struggling with some dry mouth, so foods with high moisture content (soups, stews, dishes with sauces, etc.) are best for the moment. We'll adjust the calendar to reflect her larger, more varied appetite. Also, it is my understanding that you will be able to indicate what sort of delicious treats you're bringing mom; please do take the time to note that on the calendar so that others may keep track of what's been coming in the door as well.

While I'm here, though, I will go ahead and share those foods which are on the "no" list:
foods that may cause blockages:
apple skins, celery, Chinese vegetables, coconut, coleslaw, corn, dried fruit, grapefruit, meats with casings, nuts, orange rinds, popcorn, potato skins, raisins, seeds. Also, raw vegetables (i.e. salads) are in time-out until we get a bit farther down the road.

Finally, as mom continues to transition back to normal food and everyday (read: non-hospital) life, there are still times where her appetite takes a little while to materialize. Foods that we can keep in the freezer provide wonderful options on days where she may not be as hungry when the lunch or dinner hour rolls around. Just make sure you include some sort of instructions so we don't inadvertently mess up your delicious offerings!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact either me (emilyapoe@gmail.com) or Kathleen (kathleenvpoe@gmail.com). As always, we can't thank you enough for all of your support! Keep an eye on the blog for further updates and "heads up" notices for changes to the calendar.

==============================

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The HELPER log-on is used by family and friends that would like to sign up to help a loved one.

To access Laura Poe's personal CareCalendar site,
visit http://www.carecalendar.org/logon/16650 and enter the following information:

CALENDAR ID : 16650
SECURITY CODE : 7005

==============================

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Sunday on the couch, at long last

2009-06-21T19:09:00.007-04:00

Hello Llamawatchers! We are currently hanging out in the den, going through the treasures Mom brought home from her adventures in Russia. Folks at Peachtree Pres, let me just say that you're going to want to hit the Global Christmas Market early this year! Mom got gorgeous carved wooden Santas for me, Emily and Dad and a nice bottle of vodka for Matt (to help with his bar exam preparation). The Russians also sent Mom and her cohort home with gifts for themselves -- the women's group at the partner church outside Perm gave Mom a beautiful folded-paper swan to add to her menagerie, headed up by Stand-in Llama.

Stand-In Llama with her new friends, South African Good-Luck Rhino (courtesy of Emily's Princeton roommate, Abby Neely, who's currently working on a doctoral dissertation in South Africa) and Russian Paper Swan!

The first day at home has been one of adjustments, joys and some difficulties, but we are definitely on the right path. This week we're focusing on making a smooth transition back to home life, and we're going to try to get Mom acclimated without too much stress. As such, we're going to hold off on opening up visiting hours until next week. However, we're going to go live with the CareCalendar tonight so y'all can sign up to drop off food starting later this week. Look out for a post from Emily later on tonight with instructions, links, and dietary concerns!

The Llama has landed!

2009-06-20T13:44:00.003-04:00

Greetings from Londonberry! We are back at the homestead and Mom is situated on her couch. Kudzu, her cat, is being a little standoffish, but Crazy Steve wasted no time sidling up and quickly became a puddle of cat in her hands. Once Kudzu sees Mom in her usual spot, though, I'm sure she'll come around.

Steve is so happy!

Llama's last day!

2009-06-19T13:58:00.004-04:00

By this time tomorrow, Mom will be on the couch at home with a cat on her shoulder... and she'll probably be exhausted. Dr. Sweeney cautioned her this morning that the act of leaving the hospital and getting home would tucker her out pretty thoroughly, but hopefully that just means it will be easier for her to rest once she's there.

Mom and Dad had one more lesson on wound care this morning. Just call him Nurse Jim! Another nickname to add to the list. Then some kindly nurses helped Mom get cleaned up and bathed, after a fashion. I arrived around noon, just in time to run down to the Emory food court to fetch Mom a milkshake to replace today's "country baked steak" with neon yellow rice that arrived on her table. (Again, ew.) Before I left, I tucked Mom in for Days of our Lives. She pulled the sheet up to her chin and asserted that any therapists who came by in the next hour were just going to have to wait -- the Friday episodes are always good ones.

This afternoon she'll take a few laps around the hallway and do some breathing and strengthening exercises, all things we will need to continue doing at home. Meanwhile, Dad has been working behind the scenes to make sure everything is set for her departure. She seems to be in good spirits today, which will hopefully carry over to tomorrow, the great day of homecoming! As Dr. Sweeney said, it's going to be a tiring and trying process. Please keep Mom in your prayers today as she gets ready to leave Emory and return to her own space for the first time in nearly two months, and think happy thoughts for an easy trip home!

The final countdown!

2009-06-18T17:04:00.002-04:00

Great news from Llamaland (also known as E1016) -- Dr. Sweeney dropped by this afternoon and told Mom he would be kicking her out of the hospital on Saturday! Dad, Emily and I have been privy to this information (or at least the suggestion of it) for a few days now, but now that Dr. Sweeney has told Mom, the llama is out of the bag, as it were. The air conditioning at the house has been repaired, arrangements for home nurse visits are underway, Kudzu the cat is waiting, and Mom is SO ready to be out of the hospital and back in her own house. Mom was actually feeling a little down earlier today because she so badly wants to go home. Dr. Sweeney told her that's a good sign that she's ready to go!

Otherwise, today has been like most other recent days in the hospital: a few laps in the morning, visits from various nurses and therapists, multiple bottles of Ensure, and all the NBC daytime television one can tolerate. Mom is currently attempting to enjoy the kitchen's "sirloin pattie" and fruit gelatin salad... a valiant effort, but it's not going well. Something tells me she'll soon opt for one of the two milkshakes we've stockpiled for her in the freezer. Menu control is yet another perk Mom has to look forward to upon her release.

With all this talk of going home, I want to take this opportunity to say a few words about visitors and contributions of food and help. Please wait to hear from us before making plans to come see Mom. It will be wonderful to be at home, but it will also be a massive adjustment for all of us, particularly Mom and Dad. As I mentioned many moons ago, we will most likely institute some sort of visiting hours when one of us will be on hand to help out, so we'll keep you posted as to what we decide.

In terms of meals and other types of assistance, Emily has set up a CareCalendar site for Mom where you can sign up for various helpful things. Mom has some new dietary restrictions, so those will be noted on the CareCalendar as well as suggestions for dishes that Mom particularly likes. As Emily posted earlier, you can't sign up for things just yet, but if you want to take a look at the site, the log-on information for Mom's calendar is as follows:

===================================
The HELPER log-on is used by family and friends that would like to sign up to help a loved one.

To access Laura Poe's personal CareCalendar site,
visit http://www.carecalendar.org/logon/16650 and enter the following information:

CALENDAR ID : 16650
SECURITY CODE : 7005

====================================

Emily will get that all set up shortly so you can duke it out for a prime spot on Mom's meal schedule.

Thank you so much for your love, support and prayers throughout this ordeal. The cards, flowers, emails, blog comments, custom-designed bookmarks, casseroles, phone calls, and other acts of kindness have definitely helped Mom (and us) get through this incredibly trying month and a half without losing our minds!

As ever, stay tuned to LLAMA WATCH for the latest news. We'll soon be reporting from Londonberry HQ!

Wednesday!

2009-06-17T16:53:00.004-04:00

Mom's been busy today, puttering around the halls -- she did two laps in one go this morning and even tried a few stairs! -- and learning with Dad about the wonderful world of home wound care. They have an appointment with another nurse tomorrow to continue their lessons. We will arrange for nurses to come to the house, but the doctors (and Mom) want Dad to be proficient at dressing and changing and all those sorts of things before they send Mom home.

Mom is improving with every day -- unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the food here. Dad has become a familiar face at the Briarcliff Whole Foods, and otherwise Mom is diligently drinking her Ensure. She's still working on that gallon of lemonade, too. Hopefully when we get back to our own kitchen we'll be able to fulfill all of Mom's solid-food wishes.

The rumblings about Llama's release continue, so we're looking forward to having her home soon. Emily and I are particularly looking forward to not having to buy yet another weeklong parking pass! We will keep you posted as appropriate... stay tuned for details, and look out for a post from Emily about the Care Calendar she has set up for Llama!

go big, go home?

2009-06-16T18:31:00.002-04:00

Today has been a lot like yesterday was, only, like, supersized. After lunch, I brought Llama a gallon jug of Chick-fil-A lemonade, which should carry her through the next couple of days... so that was pretty big. The other big thing that happened was that they let her loose from her tubes again -- Llama untethered! They'll hook her back up to a bag o' I.V. nutrition tonight while she sleeps, but henceforth during the day she is free to move about the cabin. It certainly makes the laps around the nurses' station go faster without that extra drag!

Other than those momentous highlights, there is not much to report. We're two weeks away from her epic surgery and things are looking pretty much as they should. As of tomorrow, she'll have been at Emory for a whole month. Mom is eager to get back home to her kitty and her couch -- she's been away since April 28! Please keep thinking positive thoughts and sending up prayers that we'll be able to get Llama back home very soon.

Monday treat: Nectar of the Gods!

2009-06-15T18:04:00.004-04:00

Llama seems to be feeling spunkier today, which is great news! She's been talking back to the television and insists on positioning herself in the bed rather than having any of us help her. This is the kind of thing we like to see! Sassy Llama is returning.

She's taken two walks all the way around the floor today and has done an admirable job of sampling all of the offerings the kitchen puts on her plate. She positively gushed about one treat in particular today: a large, fresh-squeezed lemonade brought to her from Chick-fil-A, which she said she practically chugged. So refreshing! In fact, she just proclaimed to her nurse that she could have bathed in it... We've made a note of her enthusiasm and plan to bring her more such treats in the coming days.

It's been the usual parade of nurses and doctors today, with the addition of a lady from a home nursing company who caught wind of the fact that Mom will eventually be in need of visits from a home nurse. Yes, you know what that means... there has been talk of discharge from the hospital! Of course, my superstitions prevent me from putting any of the dates or details being bandied about in print, so you'll just have to wait and see, which is essentially what we're doing as well. All said, it's been a good day, and we're looking forward to more of the same this week!

Quiet Sunday

2009-06-14T19:36:00.003-04:00

Sorry to once again keep you waiting... while it's been another fairly calm day for Llama, it's been a busy one for the rest of the family (or at least those of us who know how to work the blog). The good news is that there's not much news to report. Dr. Sweeney came to see Mom late this morning and noted that she looks even better than she did last Wednesday, the last time he really had a thorough look at her. Hooray! She also ate a pretty good amount today, supplemented by some Ensure shakes, and took three walks. At the moment she is sitting up in one of the chairs, enjoying Dateline NBC.

Mom seems to be in good spirits this evening, if a bit hospital-weary. We're all hopeful it will be her last Sunday spent at Emory. Keep pulling for Llama as she enters her fifth week (seriously) of this epic hospital stay. What a champ!

Another slow Saturday

2009-06-13T15:59:00.003-04:00

Today has been pretty uneventful, mostly a day of holding steady. I just got home from the hospital -- Mom had taken three walks by the time I arrived around 2 p.m., and just before I left she had a visit from an occupational therapist who put her through some exercises, all of which she did well. The main struggle of today is one of nutrition: the dry mouth problem persists, which makes it hard to eat even the tasty food that is brought in from Whole Foods, but she needs to eat and get nutrients in order to keep her forward momentum. The nurses brought in a stockpile of Ensure milkshakes for mom, so that's a reliable source of nourishment.

Weekends tend to be pretty quiet around the hospital, so I don't have much to report beyond that. Please continue to keep Mom and us in your thoughts and prayers. She's so tired of being in the hospital, after more than three weeks at Emory alone. We're all frustrated, even though we know that Emory is where she needs to be and that she's getting the best help available. Thank you for all your support, hugs, and love for Llama. Check back tomorrow for the latest!

Llamawatchers Worldwide

2009-06-12T12:08:00.008-04:00

One of the best features of this blog is the analytics tracker I added from Site Meter. In addition to displaying a counter at the bottom of the page that tells everyone how many folks are checking up on Mom, it also gives me information about who is visiting the blog in a lot of different ways. My favorite of these is the world map display:

This screenshot was taken around noon (EDT) and it shows the locations of the last 100 visitors to the blog. The red dot is the last visitor, the green dots show the last 10 visitors, and the white dots represent visitors 11-100. The far-flung dots are Fairbanks, Alaska; Nairobi, Kenya; and, of course, Moscow, Russia. (I haven't the foggiest who we know in Fairbanks, but I'm glad they care!)

How cool is this? How popular is Mom?

Splish splash

2009-06-12T10:43:00.004-04:00

Well, this morning has been good enough that Dad thought it merited a blog post already! It's nice when we can get one in before lunchtime with positive news to report. So far today, Mom has been on two walks up and down the hall with Dad and her entourage of helpers and medical equipment. She ate all of her grits at breakfast, and with luck lunch will be more palatable than yesterday's appeared to be. Dad reports that Mom is looking and feeling better than she was yesterday, so hopefully we can get to the afternoon without having tired her out too much from the morning's excitement.

The indisputable highlight of the morning, though, was that Mom finally got her hair washed! I haven't talked to her yet, but she must feel like a new Llama. She's been wanting a shampoo for a very long time... I won't say how long ;) Up in Rollins they offered her some magical space-cap that cleans hair via some non-watery process, but Mom would accept nothing less than the real deal. The effort was a messy one, but I'm sure the struggle was worth it in the end!

Mom also got Dad to pass her the laptop this morning so she could read through some of your notes herself. She's still got a lot of catching up to do, but I know she was glad to see how much support and love is coming her way from all directions.

Up & at 'em

2009-06-11T15:12:00.004-04:00

Llama is taking a little catnap at the moment, so I thought I would take the opportunity to check in. It's been a busy day so far, so she's definitely earned some time to rest! She took a walk this morning with Dad here, and I arrived around 12:30 to see Llama cruising around the nurses' station on her walker with two physical therapists and an IV pole in tow. She took a whole lap that time, which is the farthest she's gone yet.

After that she settled into the comfy chair and had her lunch, which, to be frank, looked pretty gross. Just the soup part, though. Ew. She did manage to eat the cup of chocolate ice cream (not so high on pudding, it turns out), but we're hoping for a tastier dinner. Since then it's been a whirlwind of nurses and technicians -- they put in a new pick line, took an X-ray to make sure that was where it needed to be, and are getting ready to remove the central line.

We'll probably have some more doctors visiting over the course of the afternoon, so if there's anything more to report we will certainly pass it on. For now, it looks as though things are still going well in this phase of recovery. Keep thinking happy, healthy thoughts for Llama!

Bring on the pudding

2009-06-10T16:58:00.004-04:00

Good evening, Llama lovers! As I reported earlier, Mom came through this morning's procedure with flying colors -- complete with a note on her leg in red marker to make sure they worked on the correct side. (Totally standard procedure, don't worry.) It's been a big day, and she seems appropriately worn out. Her main complaint this afternoon is that she's had some cramping in her back, but Melissa the friendly nurse brought Mom some percocet that should take the edge off.

Now that we've gotten over the IVC filter speed bump, we're looking forward to more progress. Mom's diet has been advanced to "full liquids" as of this afternoon, so tonight's dinner tray should have such delights as vanilla pudding and soup with more to it than broth. We've even been granted permission, if Mom tolerates this change in diet, to pick up tasty soups from Whole Foods or MetroFresh -- generally preferable to hospital kitchen offerings. Mom will also resume walking and working on her strength, if not tonight then certainly tomorrow morning.

Thanks, as ever, for all the notes, well wishes and offers of help. We especially appreciate your understanding as regards our request for no visitors at the hospital. Keep thinking of Llama and sending up prayers on her behalf as she and the doctors work toward getting her home at long last!

Success!

2009-06-10T12:54:00.006-04:00

Just a quick note to let y'all know that Mom's procedure is done! Everything went smoothly and she's now in the recovery room before returning to the 10th floor. Check back later today for a more substantial update on Llama!

Tuesday...

2009-06-09T19:24:00.003-04:00

Sorry for the late update today -- I just want to make sure I'm bringing you the best information possible as to our Llama's status, and we were waiting to chat with some of the doctors. Today was slightly tumultuous in terms of emotions and frustration, but fortunately about the same as yesterday in terms of health. They did a CT scan this afternoon to follow up a sonogram they did yesterday, looking for things that might be causing mom's elevated white blood cell count. They identified a minor clot in her left side, so tomorrow they are going to do a fairly routine procedure to insert an inferior vena cava (IVC) filter to avert any risk of deep vein thrombosis.

Mom is understandably not pleased that there is another procedure in her future, but the good news is that it shouldn't delay her eventual homecoming at all. Once she's done, she may even get something more substantial to eat than her current diet of clear liquids. She hasn't had any fever since yesterday and she's otherwise looking quite good, so this is just an additional step in the process.

It's hard to stay positive after more than 30 days in a hospital, especially when the complications seem endless. Y'all have been a great support to Mom throughout this process -- she loves getting your cards and hearing the recap of who has posted to the blog. Keep the notes coming! We will report back tomorrow to let you know her procedure (as yet unscheduled) is complete and went swimmingly.

Better than your average Monday

2009-06-08T11:32:00.003-04:00

We're starting off Week 4 (wow) on a high note: Dr. Sweeney thinks Mom is looking good and all the doctors are pleased with her progress! Among today's upcoming highlights are visits from the wound care, occupational therapy and physical therapy specialists. She's gotten pretty good at sitting up in a chair, so the next step would be taking actual steps! (As opposed to the metaphorical ones she has pretty well mastered at this point.) Hopefully she'll be up and about getting some exercise this afternoon.

We are now six days out from last week's surgery. Y'all keep up the good work and continue thinking good thoughts and praying good prayers for our Llama and her excellent doctors! As ever, we will keep you advised of any developments, and we will let you know when she is ready to receive friends in person and/or over the phone. Until then, keep sending her notes and emails of encouragement. I really think she has no idea how popular she is... Silly Llama! We'll show her...

Sunday in the hospital with Llama

2009-06-07T15:32:00.005-04:00

I'm here at the hospital with Llama watching the Braves game on TV, and it seems like Mom's afternoon has at least been better than young Tommy Hanson's! It's been pretty quiet and uneventful, which is how we like these days of recovery to go. Lottie the hospital tech and I just helped Mom from her bed into a chair -- her third venture into the wonderful world of armchairs today! Mom says she is still in pain, but she seems to be in good spirits nonetheless. (Plus, she has her friendly PCA pump to help out when things get uncomfortable.)

A couple of nurses have been in and out today taking blood for various cultures, and they say that everything is draining as it should be, which is good news. Mom still has a little bit of a temperature and she is on antibiotics to try and keep that in check... and that seems to be all there is to report today! Keep sending notes and emails, and check back tomorrow for another update on the llovely Llama!

baby steps

2009-06-06T14:02:00.003-04:00

So far the weekend has brought lots of progress. Mom got rid of the pesky nasal-gastric tube this morning and the doctors even said they would allow her limited servings of delicious ice chips to help soothe her dry mouth. Needless to say, she was quite pleased with these developments. She also took a short walk, with help from Dad and a nurse, from her bed to a chair by the window. After 45 minutes of sitting up and then getting back into bed, she was thoroughly worn out. While we are thrilled that she was able to get through these exertions, this afternoon has reminded us yet again that Mom's rehabilitation is going to be a long, arduous process.

Overall, Mom's condition is steadily improving, but Dr. Sweeney would still like for her while blood cell count and temperature to return to the normal range -- she's had a very slight fever for the past few days. I imagine she'll be up on the 10th floor for most if not all of the next week.

While she's there, please continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers. We will let you know when she is strong enough to see friends and visitors, but for now we're restricting visitors to kin only. (Two of Mom's brothers are here today, giving her a temporary reprieve from our lovely faces.) Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.

Movin' on up!

2009-06-05T17:43:00.003-04:00

This afternoon we moved Llama from the ICU up to the 10th floor of Emory University Hospital, where the nurses specialize in all things surgical. (Well, maybe not all things... but they will take excellent care of Llama!) The day was spent largely in anticipation of said move, though Mom did sit up on the side of her bed and dangle her legs for a few minutes.

In her new, tonier accommodations, Mom has an almost panoramic view of the skyline from downtown to Buckhead. There are two chairs by her bedside for us to sit in (so we don't have to fight over just one) and it's generally more spacious. Of course, the best part of the room is that Mom is no longer in intensive care! We're hoping that she will sleep a little easier tonight in this setting.

Mom has really appreciated your emails, stories and cards, so keep them coming! Until further notice, though, kindly restrict your communications to the written (or typed) kind. Talking on the phone and welcoming visitors requires a lot of energy that Mom will need for getting better. Otherwise, check back tomorrow for another Llama update!

"Ah, me..."

2009-06-04T17:33:00.005-04:00

Today has been another positive and blessedly uneventful day. "Ah, me" seems to be Mom's utterance of choice at this point in the process, which is an endearing way of expressing her frustration at the situation. Today's highlight is that Mom was moved into a chair and sat up for about three hours this afternoon, accomplishing her baby step of the day!

Her vital signs remain stable and there are no serious complications raising flags among the doctors or nurses. They are watching Mom's white blood cell count closely, and she is on a few different kinds of antibiotics to prevent anything from getting out of hand. There has been talk of moving Mom from the ICU to the post-surgical floor where the nurses are used to dealing with patients with her needs, so we will let you know how that develops.

In the meantime, Dad, Emily and I are continuing our daily rotation of sitting with Mom and keeping her optimistic and entertained. Hopefully our future reports will be as dull as this one! Recovery is going to be a long, slow process, but today has been a good start down the road.

Slow and steady

2009-06-03T17:33:00.001-04:00

In comparison with Monday and Tuesday, today has been a spectacularly stress-free day -- and for that we are very thankful. Mom's ventilator came out early this morning and the hulking machine vacated the premises this afternoon. One down! All of Llama's vital signs are completely stable and where they are supposed to be. She has also happily become acquainted with the PCA clicker that controls her pain medication.

Mom is understandably pretty uncomfortable, just 24 hours away from her operation. She's a little frustrated with her lack of mobility at the moment as well. We are trying to assure her that she is doing great for where she is, and that she'll be able to sit up soon and even stand and walk in the not-too-distant future. We hope we will continue to see steady progress and that Mom will be promoted to Rollins from the ICU in the next several days.

Since things are pretty quiet and un-newsworthy on the slow-and-steady path to recovery, we're going to try to be less of a presence in your inboxes. Starting tomorrow, we'll post updates only to the Llama Watch blog -- llamawatch.blogspot.com -- so please rely on that as your best source of information as you follow Mom's progress. Generally there will be one update each day, so if you don't see one when you log on just check back later. If a complication arises that demands more direct information, we'll revert to the email system. I'll also be sure to email out when we finally get to take her home!

Keep the cards, emails and notes coming -- they definitely help lift Llama's spirits. You've heard us ask for no visitors in past emails, but we wanted to add to that a request to please refrain from calling Mom's room once she gets one with a phone. We just want to be sure she can direct all of her energy toward getting better.

Thanks, as ever, for all the love and support. You have been a huge help to mom and all of us!

Waking up...

2009-06-03T09:46:00.001-04:00

Dad has been at the hospital since 6:30 or 7 a.m. and just called to give me an update on Llama, post-ventilator. They removed that this morning, and the reports so far are excellent. All of her saturations are good and her vital signs are stable. Mom says she is in a lot of pain, so she's looking forward to getting hooked up to a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pump, which will allow her to regulate an IV line of pain medicine. Woo!

We are so thankful for all your support in thoughts and prayers, and we ask that you continue to keep thinking of Mom and her doctors as they embark on what will be a long road to full recovery. Please don't plan any visits to see Mom until you hear word from us that she is feeling up to it. We'll pass along all of your messages in the meantime!

Dr. Sweeney for President!

2009-06-02T17:26:00.003-04:00

We are so relieved to announce that, after a 9-hour operation, Mom is safely back in her room in the ICU. At the moment she is under sedation and on a ventilator. We don't expect her to come off the ventilator until early tomorrow morning, and Dad will be here for her when she wakes. The operation was very difficult because of the adhesions (scar tissue) from the surgery in Moscow three weeks ago, but Mom was never unstable during the procedure thanks to the excellent team of nurses and anesthesiologists.

Dr. Sweeney tells us Mom's colon was terribly diseased and clearly needed to come out. He was able to save enough of the sigmoid colon that he expects that a successful reconnection can be made in several months when Mom has regained her strength, and he believes that she will be very close to normal function when all is said and done. They didn't find any Crohn's disease in the small bowel, so all evidence of disease has been excised. The doctors are going to watch very closely for the usual potential dangers of post-operative bleeding and infection, but hopefully those complications will not turn up.

Over the past week, Mom has received more than 24 units of whole blood and 10 units of fresh frozen plasma. During this operation alone, they needed eight units of blood to keep Mom stable. We strongly encourage each of you who is able to donate blood at your friendly local donation center or blood drive, because this has been an invaluable gift.

We simply cannot praise Dr. Sweeney's caring disposition and outstanding professionalism enough. His entire team has gone above and beyond the call of duty while treating Llama. Mom's ICU nurse last night, Anna, did an exceptional job of keeping Mom's fluids under control in very difficult circumstances while also helping to keep Mom (and us) calm.

We will post a new report tomorrow once Mom wakes up. We anticipate that she will be in the ICU for several days, but we won't make any predictions as to her discharge date, lest we jinx anything. Until further notice we ask that you continue to keep Mom in your thoughts and prayers and refrain from visiting. We will let you know as soon as she's up for entertaining!

Surgery update

2009-06-02T07:38:00.001-04:00

Dr. Sweeney and his team took Mom in for a subtotal colectomy around 7 a.m. The nuclear medicine scan they did in the wee hours this morning identified the sources of the bleeding, which all fortunately appeared to be in the colon. It should be possible to remove all of the offending leaky tissue and stop the bleeding with this lengthy and difficult surgery. We have every confidence in Dr. Sweeney and Dr. Cavitt, two members of the surgical team who are operating on Mom.

As before, we're camped out in the ICU. We'll send another update as we have more to report. Please keep Llama in your thoughts and prayers this morning.

Prayers for Llama!!

2009-06-02T01:08:00.001-04:00

On the heels of Mom's good weekend, we had hoped to be able to finally bring her home from the hospital on Wednesday. Unfortunately, early this evening Mom developed a very serious complication which has led to the decision that most of her colon will have to be removed.

Late in the afternoon she began losing blood again, and the ICU staff immediately turned to stabilizing her with transfusions. Dr. Sweeney came in at 12:45 a.m., reviewed the situation and has concluded that the only appropriate answer is to remove the tissue that is bleeding so profusely. If they can stabilize her sufficiently, they are going to do several tests and review the MRI from this afternoon to make sure that they know where all of the damaged tissue is so they can remove all of it. If all goes properly, the operation will begin early Tuesday morning.

Please say a prayer for Mom and send her all good thoughts for healing and strength through this traumatic process. She's really scared, as are we, but we trust that we are in excellent hands here at Emory and are constantly comforted by your love and support. We'll keep you posted -- in the meantime, we'll be hanging out in the ICU hallway.

MRI Monday

2009-06-01T13:51:00.001-04:00

Nothing to report so far today. Mom is anxiously awaiting her MRI, emphasis on the anxious, I think. The unpredictable hospital schedule isn't helping anything, but sooner or later they'll get her down there for a closer look. Apparently the Rollins Pavilion has no other patients at the moment, so rather than open the whole wing up just to tend to Llama, the doctors are keeping mom in ICU as a non-ICU patient. That may change tomorrow if someone else checks in.

Otherwise, Mom is continuing to do well. Dad said that the nurses will start to disconnect some of mom's myriad tubes soon, and, whether or not she moves out of ICU, we're looking forward to having her home by the middle of the week or so.

We'll check in later today if there's anything to report from the MRI. Keep thinking happy thoughts for Llama!

Yep, we've been here two weeks.

2009-05-31T15:12:00.001-04:00

It's been another quiet afternoon in the ICU, but there are a few signs of progress to pass along. The numbers we are watching most closely are still doing well, and Mom was sitting up for a few hours this morning, much to her back's relief. She had her usual meal of sherbet, ginger ale, jello and broth, but at some point it was decided her diet could progress, so they brought her a second lunch. Expecting a "soft" meal, Mom was quite surprised when the cover was removed to reveal beef short ribs, steamed vegetables and a baked potato! She was slightly overwhelmed by this drastic and sudden change in approved foods, and made the nurse check and double-check that it was not a mistake that this food was delivered to her. Apparently the kitchen produces meals based on calories and not on menu items, and the intermediate option between liquid and normal is where they just puree everything, Bass-o-Matic style. The nurse told Mom it was pretty gross and that the hospital food in its original, solid form was far preferable. Mom had a few bites of meat and potatoes and put back some Fresca I brought her yesterday on the sly, but didn't want to overdo it. Plus, she'd already had her liquid lunch. It's encouraging to see that she won't have to be on an all-milkshake diet once we get her home!

There was also a chance that they would take Mom down for the MRI this afternoon, but no sooner had the nurse gotten everything prepared and zonked Mom out than one of the doctors called and said they wanted to wait until tomorrow. Oh well. This way she'll have Dad on hand and a fully staffed MRI lab. The plan for tomorrow also includes a move back upstairs to the luxurious Rollins Pavilion. Wohoo! If all goes to plan (for real this time) we'll have her home by Wednesday or Thursday.

Check back tomorrow for more Llama reports!

No news is good news!

2009-05-30T19:04:00.000-04:00

I just returned from an uneventful afternoon at the hospital with Mom and wanted to send out an email to follow up the note this morning. Mom's hemoglobin and hematocrit levels are maintaining properly, which is great news! She wanted me to be sure and let everybody know that she is continuing to make progress.

As I said this morning, Mom will be in ICU through the weekend so we can keep a close watch on everything. It seems like they will try to do another MRI to get a good look at the small bowel and colon (so they can tell if the inflammatory bowel disease is only in her colon or more widespread) on Monday. She will most likely move back to the Rollins Pavilion for a night before they set her loose.

Today has been a really good day -- let's hope we can keep this momentum going and get Llama back home soon!

Saturday forecast: watching, waiting

2009-05-30T10:04:00.000-04:00

Mom had some additional bleeding overnight and was given two units of blood -- the only blood she has received since late on Thursday -- to get her hematocrit level back to where the doctors want it. The good news is that, while the bleeding obviously has not stopped completely, it has slowed significantly. In order to be able to watch Mom appropriately, Dr. Sweeney plans to keep her in the ICU through the weekend so that she will be closely monitored and the nurses and doctors can respond quickly if needed.

We continue to be in watch-and-wait mode, which will give the medications and steroids directed toward the Crohn's disease more opportunity to work, and we'll just have to see where we are on Monday. Dr. Sweeney plans to evaluate the entire situation at that time to see what the best course of action would be. In the meantime, Mom will be limited to her clear liquid diet, but she's receiving additional nutrition intravenously.

As ever, keep pulling for mama! Dad, Matt and I will be rotating through the hospital today to keep her company, and we'll read her the notes you send. Thank you for all your support through this whole process -- hopefully the hospital portion of this adventure will be over soon!

Friday wrap-up

2009-05-29T20:31:00.000-04:00

Last update of the day, I promise. Dad just wanted me to send out another note to say that it really appears Mom has turned a corner. We both agree that she looks the best that she's looked since she arrived back home from Russia, and she's in high spirits -- she even cautioned Dad that he'll have to watch what he says now, because she'll talk back. Sassy Llama!

She had a veritable feast of ginger ale, jello, broth, tea, and frozen lemonade and a popsicle for dinner, and the doctors say that if she's good she can earn herself even more liberty in her diet. She will probably remain in the ICU tomorrow as the doctors fiddle with medication levels and all that, but we are entering the weekend feeling great about how Mom is doing.

I'll update again tomorrow. Thanks for all your support and good thoughts and prayers through this whole process, and keep all of it coming!

Popsicle wishes, solid food dreams

2009-05-29T16:13:00.004-04:00

Oh, and there's one more bit of good news this afternoon: In a particularly sweet victory for Mom, the doctors have said she can be on a diet of clear liquids! This may not sound too exciting, except that Mom has been asking for a popsicle for at least 2 days now and waxing nostalgic for the past 12 hours about how good that last Sprite she had tasted.

These popsicles were lovingly couried to the hospital last night by Jon Ross (my excellent fiance), who called me from the freezer section of two different Kroger stores to be sure he had the right kind, and stowed away in the ICU freezer with Mom's name on them so no one could make off with them. I left the hospital about 30 minutes ago to come home and take a nap, and by the time Dad had me on the phone to tell me of this change in diet, Mom was already gleefully finishing off a lime one. Happy Llama!

How's that for a good start to the weekend? We're hoping the positive news keeps coming.

Well played, Peachtree Pres...

2009-05-29T15:54:00.002-04:00

After a full morning of pretend margaritas from a styrofoam cup, this perfect arrangement arrived from Vic Pentz and the folks at Peachtree Presbyterian and gave mom a good laugh. Another round of fake drinks for everybody!

sitting pretty

2009-05-29T15:08:00.002-04:00

Fortunately, today appears to be treating Mom much better than the past few days have. The blood loss has been minimal so far, and they have not had to perform additional transfusions on top of the ones they did last night. This means we are able to give the new medications time to work and can avoid the risks of surgery, at least for the time being. We are all very pleased by these results, and no one more so than Mom.

In all other aspects as well, Llama has improved. I forgot to mention that yesterday, before all the evening's excitement really got underway, two nice young doctors came to remove the staples in Mom's midsection. She says it's much more comfortable to not feel as though you have a zipper running down your front.

The doctors want to keep her in the ICU where she is very closely monitored, and we certainly aren't arguing with that decision. The main disadvantage for Mom here is that the nurses won't let her eat or drink anything as long as the possibility of intestinal bleeding still exists, in case they have to do surgery all of a sudden. Her most recent "meals" have all consisted of sucking on mouth swab/spongey things on sticks that have been soaking in ice water -- fortunately, she has an active imagination and is telling herself those two styrofoam cups contain a margarita and a daiquiri. ;) Hopefully she'll be drinking the real thing before too long!

Matt is coming in from Athens this afternoon to visit with mom and help out for the weekend. We're all hoping the weekend will continue its good start and that we can start to think about getting her home early next week.

A good start to the weekend

2009-05-29T10:07:00.000-04:00

We seem to be starting the day off on the right foot here in the ICU! The really good news is that the new medications seem to have significantly slowed the intestinal bleeding that precipitated last night's move to the ICU, and the important vital signs and measurements have responded well to the transfusions she received overnight. The question remains whether this is merely a temporary improvement or true positive progress. Our game plan at the moment is one of watchful waiting, closely supervised by Dr. Sweeney and the ICU team in the hope that further surgery can be avoided. We expect to have final pathology reports from the colonoscopy later this afternoon that will show us more specifically how to proceed.

According to Dad, the only downside to our move from the Rollins wing to the ICU is that the overnight accommodations available in the ICU hallway leave something to be desired. Of course, that's a small price to pay for the improvement we've seen in her condition. She has more energy and color -- pep, even -- this morning, which is really encouraging. Throughout this whole process she has never lost her humor, but, then again, it's not all that surprising coming from Mom.

We will report back in the afternoon on how Mom is doing -- hopefully we'll be able to tell you about more progress!

ICU Llama

2009-05-28T22:00:00.001-04:00

Dad and I are sitting in the hallway outside the ICU, where Mom has been transferred. Late this afternoon, the doctors decided that Mom was losing too much blood, and in order to better respond to and monitor the situation they moved her down here from the Rollins Pavilion. Mom will be more closely observed in the ICU and her vital signs will be monitored continuously via telemetry. (If you're not familiar with hospital lingo, like me, this means that her vitals will be electronically transmitted to the nurses' station.)

There is preliminary confirmation from the pathology report that the ulcers seen during the colonoscopy indicate inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease, most likely), so the doctors are starting Mom on steroids in an effort to control the bleeding as quickly as possible and avoid surgery. If they are unable to significantly slow down the bleeding, then they will very shortly proceed to a surgical answer. Everyone hopes that surgery can be avoided, but continued blood loss at the current rate is not an option.

Dad is spending the night here tonight to keep a close watch on Mom and to be able to talk with the doctors as soon as possible in the morning. We have every confidence in our surgeon, Dr. Sweeney, and his team. Dr. Wright Caughman, while not one of Mom's physicians in this case, has been a great comfort and help to all of us, and we are so grateful for his friendship and expertise. We will, of course, keep you advised as soon as we have anything further to report. Keep praying and sending good thoughts and love toward Emory University Hospital!

Thursday report

2009-05-28T15:04:00.001-04:00

Mom went in for her colonoscopy around 10:30 this morning. Ultimately, the procedure identified the source of the bleeding as extensive areas of her colon that are ulcerated. The doctors now believe this is Crohn's disease, although there are other possibilities that cannot yet be completely eliminated from consideration. Pathology tests are underway, and Mom is going to have an MRI this afternoon to see if we can confirm the doctors' suspicions and be more definitive about this potential diagnosis.

Unfortunately, given the ongoing bleeding from these ulcers, it is clear that Llama won't be leaving the hospital in the next few days, and she'll likely require additional transfusions and treatment to get the bleeding under control. The possibility of additional surgery also can't be completely ruled out, but the doctors would like to avoid that form of treatment if possible. How the continuing blood loss proceeds will have a lot to do with that call, so it looks as though we are in for another period of watching and waiting.

Mom is not thrilled with this potential diagnosis, but she is pleased that the doctors may finally be reaching a root cause that can be addressed and will eventually liberate her from a hospital bed. Dr. John Sweeney, mom's main doctor, has been very attentive and has a wonderfully comforting and reassuring bedside manner. Mom's only complaint about her care here so far is that it has seemed that one cannot have an important conversation with a doctor about surgery if it isn't in the middle of Days of our Lives.

We bring her all your cards and emails and comments, and it seems she has an incredible support network -- so thank you! Keep pulling for Llama as she and her doctors work to restore her health.

Wednesday recap

2009-05-27T22:29:00.000-04:00

Well, Wednesday is almost over, and we hope that tomorrow will be better. Today was a disheartening, scary day for Mom, what with the new complication of intestinal bleeding that has delayed her homecoming. The good doctors at Emory won't let her loose until they have thoroughly investigated the issue and resolved it.

Mom has received multiple transfusions today to replace the blood she has lost over the last several weeks. The doctors are watching her and her vitals very closely to see if the new blood can help some of her numbers, and also to make sure nothing changes drastically. At last check she had no fever, 100% blood oxygen and good blood pressure. She also began preparations (read: drinking many quarts of icky stuff) for a full colonoscopy, which will take place midday tomorrow. We hope the procedure will identify and solve this new problem and that we'll have some answers by late in the day.

Keep Llama and her doctors in your thoughts and prayers -- tomorrow promises to be another strenuous day, but with any luck we will again be on the path toward home by the end of it.

an unexpected setback

2009-05-27T10:30:00.000-04:00

The news this morning isn't nearly as good as it was yesterday. Although Mom was able to get a little bit more sleep last night than she had been averaging, she developed some gastrointestinal bleeding overnight. Needless to say, she won't be going home today. Dad has gone to retrieve the records of her colonoscopy of a few years back, which may help shed some light on the issue. The doctors at Emory are working hard to determine the cause and significance of the bleeding, so once we've got that pegged we will know more about when she can leave.

Mom is understandably upset by this turn of events, so please keep her in your thoughts today as she endures more testing and procedures, potentially. Dad has depositions in Carrollton this afternoon, so Emily and I will be tag-teaming bedside duties until he returns tonight. I hope to write with more (better) news later on.

Free-range Llama!

2009-05-26T18:39:00.003-04:00

The Llama is unleashed! Or untethered, I suppose -- she's not out yet. Dr. Sweeney stopped in this afternoon to give us the rundown and said they were stopping the IV antibiotics, so that was one tube gone. They also stopped giving her fluids intravenously since she's getting plenty on her own, so now she's pole-free! No more pesky medication bags to roll along down the hall when she takes a walk!

Mom was especially pleased to learn that, in addition to the other medications that had been canceled, she no longer needs to choke down metamucil -- she even did a little Llama dance in her bed. (Don't you all wish you were there to see it!) Another bonus of stopping the antibiotics and other medications is that it may relieve her very dry mouth. Tonight she is attempting mashed potatoes and bouillon for dinner, so we'll see how that goes.

She hasn't had any fever for days now, and she looks better every time we see her. Dr. Sweeney says he sees the light at the end of the tunnel, and hopefully Mom does too. He'll be by again in the morning to check on Llama and start to map out a plan for getting her sprung from the hospital. Hooray!

As ever, we'll keep you advised of any developments -- especially those that will bring her back home. Thank you for all the cards and blog comments and happy thoughts! Keep 'em coming!

Captain's Log: Progress as week 2 at Emory begins

2009-05-25T14:37:00.002-04:00

Greetings from the sitting room! It's been a pretty slow morning here in the Rollins Pavilion, but sometimes slow is good, even if it's boring. The parade of doctors has been much smaller today, presumably because of the holiday. Dr. Sweeney, the main doctor we want to hear from every day, stopped by around 2 o'clock to check in. Mom hasn't been running a fever for more than 24 hours now, which is really encouraging progress. It seems like the antibiotics are working!

On the gastrointestinal front, they have changed up her medications to hopefully relieve her dry mouth, which is keeping her from enjoying the full range of hospital kitchen offerings, while still keeping everything else relatively under control. They only made the switch this morning, so it may be dinnertime or breakfast tomorrow until we know if she's able to ingest anything that isn't a milkshake.

Dr. Sweeney gave us a more concrete timetable for getting Mom back home. He said that the infectious disease doctors would like to give Mom a full 8-day course of IV antibiotics, which puts us at Wednesday for the transition to oral antibiotics. Seems like Thursday is now our best estimate for when the Llama will be back on the couch with a book and a kitty on her shoulder! We're grateful to have that firmed up so we can plan accordingly. I don't think Mom is thrilled about two or three more days in the hospital, but it should pay off in the long run.

Keep thinking happy thoughts for Mom as she looks forward to getting home. We will let you know as the date gets closer what sort of visitor- and food-receiving schedule it looks like she can handle. Thanks as always for your support, both of mom and of us!

Also, if you haven't seen it yet, check out the previous blog entry for a photo essay documenting the travels of our Stand-in Llama, who enjoyed ridiculous amounts of delicious food at a family cookout in Greenville, S.C., yesterday in Mom's absence. Hopefully she'll be there herself at the next one!

Adventures of Stand-in Llama: Memorial Day Feed

2009-05-25T00:32:00.017-04:00

Stand-in llama checks out the scene at the smoker

Actually, we're in South Carolina, but anywhere the
Abernathy brothers are tends to be big orange country.

Stand-in llama gives Ben a pat on the head on her way to the porch for a beverage

Refreshing chardonnay for Llama!

Back to the carport to check out the meat as it comes off the smoker

Shootin' the breeze with her brothers while they go to work

RIBS FOR LLAMA

Time to eat! Llama surveys the offerings. Smoked bologna, yes please!

Making sure she hasn't missed anything...

Mmmmmmac&cheese

Ready to dig in! Emily gives the spread an enthusiastic two thumbs up.

Llama down! Too much delicious food.

What's this? Ginny Snow's honey bun cake, made with Legal Bees honey?
Well, I suppose there is room yet for dessert...

Another successful throwdown! Next time we'll need the real Llama though -- I don't
think Stand-in Llama can handle any more of these without busting at the seams.

Sunday Sunday Sunday!

2009-05-24T12:31:00.001-04:00

Emily and I are about to head out for Greenville, but I wanted to send a noontime report since we'll be out for the rest of the day. Emily spent the morning with Mom, and Dad has now taken over. Dr. Sweeney checked by and said that everything is trending the right way -- her fever, for example, was down under 100 again, which is good -- and that he will talk to the infectious disease doctors about switching mom from IV antibiotics to an oral antibiotic. Getting off of the IV antibiotic is one step closer to getting home.

Emily said Mom is looking good, and she isn't wearing the nasal oxygen tube all the time anymore. She's been doing breathing exercises every hour, and she and dad will likely take a few walks down the hallway today. Since variety is the spice of life, she's changed things up and ordered a vanilla-Ensure shake for lunch instead of her now customary chocolate-Ensure shake. It's probably not as good as ribs and Abernathy-style macaroni & cheese, but at least it's not Russian wallpaper-paste oatmeal! Things are improving slowly but surely, so we're optimistic about getting her home within a few days.

Enjoy your memorial day festivities, and raise a glass (or a fork) to Llama's health and healing! Lord knows that's what the Abernathy side of the family has planned for today. :) Look for another report from the hospital tomorrow.

Slow Saturday

2009-05-23T17:34:00.002-04:00

Like the weather in Atlanta this holiday weekend, our report from Emory today is mixed. Mom's fever is being stubborn and sticking around, but the temperatures are somewhat lower, suggesting slow progress. Not much to be done besides watch and wait, and take Tylenol when things heat up. It's been a quiet day, but Mom, Emily and I enjoyed watching the national college lacrosse semifinals this afternoon. (Actually, it might have been just me enjoying the games, since mine was the only team that won ;) Go Syracuse!)

The investigation of the bowel problems remains enigmatic. The pathology reports from Thursday's sigmoidoscopy came back negative (which is a good thing), eliminating concerns but leaving unanswered the question of exactly what is behind the problems. Those issues seem to be improving also, but progress is slow -- kind of two steps forward, then one back.

Dr. Sweeney will be back in tomorrow morning (yay for doctors working on holiday weekends!) to check in on Mom. Emily will be here in the morning and then dad will take over in the afternoon as the kids journey up to South Carolina for an Abernathy family feed. Mom has instructed us to take the stand-in llama again so she can vicariously enjoy the ribs, fried turkey, and other healthy cookout foods. Even though we'll be traveling, I will do my best to get out an update email tomorrow at some point.

Keep thinking happy thoughts for our Llama so we can bring her home soon!

FRIDAY BONUS!

2009-05-22T18:44:00.003-04:00

In a bout of hospital-induced boredom, we're going to entertain ourselves (and hopefully you) by composing some fourth-grade-level acrostic poetry. Enjoy.

EMORY

Excellent
Mom
Often
Reads
Your notes!

LAURA LLAMA

Like
A
Ural Mountain
Rabbit
After

Lunch,
Laura
Ambles
Majestically
Away.

fin

Check back tomorrow for more poetry delights from Emily and Kathleen! Saturday's form of the day will be the haiku.

End-of-the-work-week report

2009-05-22T18:17:00.005-04:00

Well, we're still here at Emory. On balance, it has been a good day, though we've had a few setbacks. Mom's fever was down overnight, but it returned today after lunch. Fortunately her temperature never got as high as it was yesterday, so overall we're seeing improvement. With the help of a walker, Mom has taken two constitutionals down the hall to the nurses' station and back. She has been sitting up higher in bed and even ate her lunch of potato soup and grapes at the table in the sitting room attached to her bedroom. She's attempting to eat more food in order to give her digestive system something to work with, even though she says things aren't smelling or tasting particularly good at this point.

Mom is anxious to rid herself of the persisting problems and get out of the hospital. If she can make the same sort of progress in the next two days that she made in the past 36 hours, we may be able to spring her from the Rollins Pavilion by the end of the long weekend. All of this depends on the doctors' being convinced that Mom is ready to safely go home. While we share Mom's frustration at the fact that she's still laid up in the hospital, we will be careful to make sure she is ready to leave the watchful care here at Emory. Besides, it's going to be a rainy Memorial Day weekend anyway ;)

Please keep sending notes and commenting on the blog (llamawatch.blogspot.com). Mom really appreciates your thoughts and encouraging words, as do we. She's looking better every day, and told me last night she might even try reading a book soon, which many of you know signals a return to the Laura we are used to!

Have a safe and restful holiday weekend. We will report back with whatever news we have tomorrow!

Grumpy is good!

2009-05-21T16:54:00.001-04:00

We figured we would shift to an afternoon update schedule, as afternoons tend to be the time when we get the most useful information around here. Dr. Sweeney and his surgical team have been by to talk to Mom in the past hour, and a few other infectious disease doctors stopped in as well. Today's good news is that they have concluded, with the aid of many tests and a sigmoidoscopic exam this morning, that an infectious process is not the cause of her beleaguered bowel. Her lower intestine looks good, and they have told her she can graduate from a soft diet to regular hospital food. For tonight, however, she is opting to stick with the chocolate-Ensure milkshake she already ordered. :)

The doctors have also diagnosed a small spot of pneumonia in Mom's right lung, which is the probable cause of her fever over the last couple of days. The fact that the new antibiotic they started Mom on last night is already taking effect and slowly lowering her temperature helps to confirm this diagnosis. Her fever has not gotten as high today as it did yesterday or the day before, and we've all noticed that she is breathing easier and generally looks better, so these are all good things. Dr. Sweeney even told Mom it was a good thing that she was feeling grumpy, because it's usually the people who are getting better who start to get cranky.

Now that the doctors have ruled out an infection, they can start to treat some of Mom's symptoms with different medications. They are still investigating other causes and have ordered a few more tests to determine why certain symptoms are still present. If Mom continues to make strong progress, there is some possibility that she may get to go home before the holiday weekend is out.

We'll send another update tomorrow afternoon. Keep thinking of our mama and sending good thoughts to her and her doctors! Hopefully we'll have her home before too long.

Hump day

2009-05-20T15:36:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been a parade of doctors today. Mom is currently under examination of Dr. Sweeney's surgical team, and since I arrived around lunchtime she has had visits from the physical therapist, an infectious disease doctor, an internist, and the respiratory therapist. Yesterday the gastroenterologist stopped in, and he may yet turn up today. In theory, there is another CT scan coming up so the internist can get another look at her lungs from a different angle.

Mom's fever persists, and she's still having some bowel difficulties, which is a source of great frustration. Unfortunately, because of these ongoing problems, there is no definite time table for Mom's release. As evidenced by the onslaught of specialists, the doctors here are determined to get to the bottom of what is causing these complications. Mom generally feels pretty good, although she warned me that she is getting close to crossing into "crotchety" territory.

At this point Mom still isn't ready to have visitors, but you can always send snail-mail notes to the house, post comments on the blog, or send any of us an email to bring to Mom. She appreciates the thoughts and encouragement and will be much happier when she feels comfortable enough to be able to see all of her well-wishers in person!

Stay tuned for updates. If you don't hear anything for a while, you can safely assume that the silence simply means that we don't have any additional news to report. Thanks, as always, for your thoughts and prayers.

Tuesday night update

2009-05-19T22:48:00.000-04:00

Emily and I are here at the hospital watching the finale of Dancing with the Stars with Mom. Dad left here in the 9 o'clock hour, after we had all enjoyed the American Idol finals together. Mom says that Adam should win, and that his second song was the best performance of the night; we all agreed that the new song both contestants finished with was totally awful.

Today has been a difficult day, as the doctors commenced an all-out search for the cause of Mom's ongoing problems. They did CT scans of Mom's chest and abdomen, ultrasounds to make sure no clots have developed, blood tests and several other diagnostic tests, the results of which should be back tomorrow. We're hopeful that Wednesday will bring some answers and solutions that will allow Mom to come home later this week.

We are so thankful for the attentive Emory medical staff that Dr. Wright Caughman has helped assemble to look after mom and are confident that if anyone can get to the bottom of this, these doctors can and will. We will let you know what we find out from the tests once we hear from the doctors. In the meantime, please continue keep Mom, Dad and the doctors in your thoughts and prayers!

Llama at Emory, day 2

2009-05-19T09:06:00.000-04:00

I just heard from Dad at the hospital. Mom had a restful night last night, but she is still running a fever, which they are investigating. As a result, the doctor will definitely not be releasing her today. We don't want to let Mom entertain visitors just yet, but please feel free to send flowers or cards, if you are so inclined, to help lift her spirits.

It's a somewhat disappointing reality check -- I think a lot of us (Mom included) had hoped that, once she got back stateside, she would only make a pit stop at the hospital and then be able to be at home, so we've had to adjust our expectations. The good part is that we know she is getting the very best care. We are truly thankful for the (English-speaking!) staff and doctors at Emory who are being so attentive and helpful.

We will keep you informed of any developments. In the meantime, keep sending good thoughts and prayers Mom's way!

Captain's Log: Emory University Hospital, day 1

2009-05-18T15:33:00.005-04:00

Mom had a good night's sleep last night in the Rollins wing of Emory University Hospital, and things are looking good, generally speaking. She has been running a bit of a fever, so the plan at the moment is to keep her at the hospital one more night while they try to figure out the cause of said fever. If all goes to plan, though, the doctor says he thinks he will be able to release her to go home tomorrow afternoon.

Mom's had a couple of meals today -- lunch was macaroni & cheese, spinach, and orange sorbet. Just look at how fancy the service looks! Nurses periodically come by to poke and prod, but she takes it to be a good sign that they are working behind the scenes when they aren't in the room. She says the nurses and staff have been very kind and easy to work with. Dr. Wright Caughman, who hooked mom up with Dr. Sweeney, also stopped by during lunch to say hello and check in on Mom.

You can expect to hear from us again tomorrow as we await the time when we can take Mom back to the house. Hopefully she'll make it back in time for the American Idol finale! ;) We will let you know as soon as we have determined what the best plan of action is in terms of setting times to visit once we have Mom home. In the meantime, keep sending messages on the blog and we'll take them to her at the hospital.

Llama food and visits

2009-05-18T10:02:00.000-04:00

Emily here, with a brief update this morning for those of you looking forward to helping mom out with a meal or a visit in the days ahead.

First of all, we all want to say a big THANK YOU to all of you, both for your support over the past week or so and for the outpouring of offers to help going forward through this recovery process! It has been overwhelming in the best possible way, and we are so humbled and grateful to have so many amazing friends!

Secondly, in an effort to organize everything going forward, I was tipped off by a friend from Peachtree, Beth Figaretti, to the website CareCalendar, which will help us coordinate the arrival of both food and visitors for mom in the days and weeks ahead. Because we are still waiting to see when the good doctors of Emory will release mom to go home, you can't sign up for things just yet, but if you want to take a look at the site, the "Helper" sign on information for Mom's Calendar is as follows:

==============================

=====

HELPER LOGON
===================================
The HELPER logon is used by family and friends
that would like to sign-up to help a loved one.

To access Laura Poe's personal CareCalendar site,
visit http://www.carecalendar.org/logon/16650 and enter the following
information in the appropriate spaces:

CALENDAR ID : 16650
SECURITY CODE : 7005

====================================

We'll send out another email when we have a schedule in place. In the meantime, please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions you may have. You can also continue to visit the blog and leave notes there for Mom. We're hoping to get a computer over to her at some point today so Kathleen can show mom the site. We were proudly telling mom last night that she managed over 1,000 hits in just 7 days! Impressive stuff, indeed!

As always, a thousand thank yous for all you have done and continue to do for us and our dear Llama!

Home sweet Llama!

2009-05-17T22:28:00.004-04:00

I'm sure many of you have been waiting for word from us on Mom's safe arrival back in Atlanta, so here it is. Sorry it's a bit late in the evening -- we picked her up at the airport and went straight to Emory, where we got Mom all checked in and visited for a while. She seemed quite tired from the flight when we first saw her, but after a couple hours of getting situated at Emory and having talked with many doctors and nurses who not only understood her questions but could reply in English, she was somewhat energized. The chief resident came and got the whole story from Mom, and tomorrow Dr. Sweeney will see Mom sometime in the morning. At that point we'll know more about how long she will be at the hospital and when she can be back at home on the couch! I will of course keep you posted.

Otherwise, many of you have contacted us about the possibility of bringing food by or coming to visit. Emily will be taking charge of coordinating food and visitors for the time being. Contact her at emilyapoe[at]gmail.com if you'd like to drop something (food or otherwise) at the house on Londonberry. Since Mom isn't up and about much yet, we're going to institute "visiting hours" at the house, limited most likely to post-work hours when one of us can be there to answer the door, bring drinks, and otherwise play hostess. Please let us know if you would like to come by. As Mom gets better we won't need to play middleman as much, but starting out it feels like the best plan.

I told mom I'd give her a day or two to get ready for her close-up, for those in her adoring public who are not nearby, but as a teaser, I've posted some shots of the welcoming committee at the airport and the lovely welcome basket Emory University Hospital gave us. (At the suggestion of some friends, we have set mom up on a hallway with private suites, where she has her own bedroom, a big bathroom, and there's another adjoining room for family and friends to hang out -- apparently this also includes a welcome basket!)

We're so happy to have her back home, and she is relieved to be here. We've passed on all of your kind words, notes, calls, texts and phone messages, so she knows there is a ton of love directed her way. Keep thinking positive thoughts and praying for mom's full recovery! Thank you so much for all your support -- it's a wonderful feeling to know so many people care for our Llama so deeply.

Kathleen and Emily wait to greet Llama at the airport

Emily enjoy some refreshing water courtesy of the Emory welcome basket.
(Russian champagne courtesy of Llama. We're saving that for a special occasion!)

Air Llama!

2009-05-17T09:43:00.002-04:00

T-minus seven hours...

Blog exclusive: Graduation photos

2009-05-16T16:20:00.008-04:00

Because our Llama couldn't be with us in person at Matt's graduation this morning, we brought along a stand-in llama. Emily brought this llama home for Mom from her trip to El Salvador to visit Sarah and John Pette (our friends in the foreign service).

Stand-in llama waiting for the ceremony to start

Dad and Emily with the llama

The newly minted J.D. with his happy parent(s)

All the Poes!

Stand-in llama with Matt's graduation souvenirs

The final countdown!

2009-05-16T08:23:00.001-04:00

Greetings from Athens!

Dad and I just talked to Mom and Ellen for about 30 minutes, and mom is definitely ready to come home. She has been up and about walking (short distances) quite a bit, though she's wary of overdoing it. The medic has arrived and is apparently something of a cowboy -- mom half expects him to toss her over his shoulder and carry her onto the plane, but they've arranged for a wheelchair to meet her at the curb at the airport, so that probably won't be necessary. They've also arranged for Mom to get the "soft" meal on the plane, and Mom is glad that she'll have the right of refusal once she's out of the hospital. She's hoping that Delta plane food is a step up from Russian hospital food.

Ellen reports that Mom is progressing each day and, aside from being emotionally ready to come home, is physically ready as well. They will part ways at the airport tomorrow, where Ellen is in charge of procuring Mom's wheelchair with her Russian skills. Ellen has been an absolute godsend for us this week (which has felt more like a month). She has stayed by Mom's side through some very scary times and kept us informed all along the way. We can't thank her enough! She and Al have been a huge help and comfort for us, and for all of you as well, I'm sure. If you want to join us in telling Ellen and Al how grateful we are, drop her a note at elalsmith[at]eamail.net. We're still figuring out how to appropriately thank the Smiths for taking such good care of our Llama, but we figure this is good way to start.

At this point, Mom has about 18 hours of hospital time left -- let the countdown begin! We will be meeting her Sunday afternoon at about 5 or 5:30 (once she gets through customs) in the arrivals hall at the Atlanta airport, and then we'll follow her to Emory where we'll get her checked out. We expect an email in the wee hours of tonight (Atlanta time) from Ellen telling us that Mom is en route, so the next you'll hear from us will be confirmation that Llama is in the air.

We're off to Matt's graduation ceremony in an hour or so. Mom will definitely be missed, but we're so happy to know that she'll be with us soon. Thanks as always for your thoughts and prayers. Keep thinking and praying for a smooth trip back home for Mom and her medical escort!

Friday morning check-in

2009-05-15T07:44:00.000-04:00

It's a short and sweet update this morning. Mom is tube-free -- Llama unleashed! (Her words.) Best of all, she has a medical report from the doctor that says she can come home! Apparently there is a different, older physical therapist working with Mom today who, while less balletic, makes more sense. It probably helps that the therapist speaks some English. Mom has been able to walk to the bathroom and even up and down the hallway of the hospital. She's had two meals today, only one of which consisted of the wonderful protein paste -- though she thinks there may be more of that for dinner -- and she enjoyed a cup of tea while sitting up on the side of her bed.

When she answered the phone, she sounded pretty much like she always does under normal circumstances, which I take as a good sign that she's gotten plenty of rest -- in fact, I think Dad sounded more tired on the phone than Mom. She is in good spirits and is really eager to come home.

Dad, Emily and I are headed up to Athens this afternoon to celebrate Matt's graduation from UGA Law School. We have plans to speak to Mom tomorrow sometime, and I believe Ellen will check in with Dad later this afternoon. I'll be on the road after about 2 p.m., but I'll try to send/post another update before tomorrow. Regardless of what you hear from us, keep thinking good thoughts for Llama as she gets ready to come home!

Permission to come aboard

2009-05-14T12:11:00.001-04:00

Dad just got off the phone with the medical director of the travel insurance company, who spoke again today with the surgeon in Russia. Mom is on track for release to travel on Sunday! The last of the tubes will be removed tomorrow, so she'll be sans tubes for at least a day before heading to the airport. The medical director has arranged for Ellen Smith to meet the evacuation medic when he arrives in Russia on Saturday, and he'll be staying at a hotel very close to the hospital. Come Sunday, Llama will be winging her way back to us in Atlanta!

Please keep Mom in your thoughts and prayers as she prepares for the journey home!

Thursday morning check-in

2009-05-14T07:56:00.000-04:00

Dad and I just got off the phone with Mom, who is in good spirits and progressing as the doctors would like her to. They removed the surgical drain and hope to remove the remaining tubes within the next day or so to get her ready for travel. She has had one physical therapy session so far today and will have one more before the day is out. This morning she was able to stand and take three steps forward and three steps back, and tomorrow she'll attempt walking to the bathroom. Her doctors are pleased with her progress but are watching closely to make sure Mom doesn't do too much too soon.

Mom's intestinal function continues to return to normal, and she's eating soft foods with no trouble. Although she had to throw back another 8 or 9 oz. of wallpaper paste, she did get to have ice cream (and tea) for breakfast.

Ellen is faithfully bringing Mom your notes from the website (llamawatch.blogspot.com), which Mom is really enjoying. I told Mom who had made the American Idol finals, and she was quite surprised to hear that Kris Allen had made it this far. Her prediction is that Adam will win it all -- and the best part is that she'll be home to watch it! (I did tell her that the Eurovision Song Contest finals, a Europe-wide pop song competition, are taking place in Moscow on Saturday, so she should have Ellen tune the TV accordingly, especially since many of the songs are in English. Beats MTV any day!)

Mom assures us that she is feeling OK and is doing the best she can, given the circumstances. She misses home terribly and is really looking forward to arriving back in Atlanta.

Wednesday afternoon briefing

2009-05-13T14:37:00.000-04:00

Dad just spoke with Ellen for their regular 2 p.m./10 p.m. check-in. Things continue to go well at the European Medical Center. Mom is taking soft solid foods in small quantities, and, now that the discomfort associated with her reawakened intestine has passed, she is once again in good spirits. We do hear, however, that the Russian Old Man doctor is not high on Mom's list. By the time Ellen left the hospital Mom had not yet had another round of physical therapy, but that may well have happened since then.

More tomorrow after the morning chat with Llama!

Revising the game plan

2009-05-13T10:46:00.000-04:00

Well, I have good news and somewhat disappointing news -- but ultimately, it's all good. The doctors have determined that Mom's condition has improved so much that they want to put her on the Delta nonstop flight from Moscow to Atlanta on Sunday rather than fly her in the air ambulance. While a private jet sounds pretty swanky, we're told that travel by air ambulance is quite uncomfortable. Mom would basically be strapped to a gurney for the duration, unable to sit up above a 30-degree angle, move about or dangle her legs.

What about her pneumonia? you might be thinking. Well, the medical director of the travel insurance company spoke with Mom's surgeon today and clarified that situation. The surgeon doesn't think Mom ever had pneumonia (which explains why that term was never used in the Russian hospital with Ellen). He believes that the breathing difficulties Mom was experiencing were related to the swelling in her bowel and the fact that no content had been able to pass through. Now that pressure has been relieved. The surgeon and the medical director communicated in French (the surgeon's native tongue) and English.

All of this means that our plans for a Friday arrival are off. (As we said, everything is subject to change!) That is the disappointing part. But the best news of all is how much stronger Mom is getting every day. Mom is encouraged by this and understands that her improving condition is the most important part, but of course wishes she could be home sooner. Mom will have the seasoned medic with her in first-class on the Delta flight, and she'll have supplemental oxygen should she require it. When she arrives on Sunday, we are planning to have her admitted to Emory. If anything changes and mom's condition worsens, they won't hesitate to send over the air ambulance.

Thanks for all your support -- we know Mom is heartened by your prayers, thoughts and notes, as are we.

Wednesday morning check-in

2009-05-13T08:06:00.002-04:00

We just got off the phone for our regular morning (afternoon, for Mom) check-in and have good news to report. Without being too crass about it, the best development is that it appears that Mom's intestine works. This is of course wonderful news following an operation that focused on that area, and is a sign that things are starting to function again as they should on their own. The fever that flared up yesterday has not returned, and she has been able to put down some food without feeling ill. On the menu today was a tart cranberry-flavored drink, ice cream, and a substance that Mom likened to wallpaper paste. Unfortunately, the latter was something that she had to drink whether she wanted to or not, so she did as she was told and soldiered through.

Mom also had visitors from the American Embassy earlier today -- someone from their office called Dad last night around 12:30 a.m. to get the rundown on her situation. Special thanks to Emily's friends Sarah Currier Pette and John Pette for getting in touch with the embassy in Moscow!

The ballerina physical therapist hadn't been back today yet when we spoke to Mom, but she has been turning herself every thirty minutes to work on her strength. Ellen says that the doctors are very pleased with Mom's progress and they feel that she has passed a barrier and is coming out of the valley, so to speak.

Progress is hard work though, and Mom sounded more tired today than she has during past phone calls. She told us how badly she wants to be back home, and she was very glad to hear that Dad has been hard at work making arrangements to get her back to Atlanta by the weekend. She told us to keep pulling for her, and we assured her that we were and we would -- not only that, but a vast network of people who have been emailing and sending notes and keeping her in their thoughts and prayers are pulling for her too.

We'll let you know when we have confirmed plans for Mom's transportation home. Thank you for your support and continued thoughts and prayers, and for all the wonderful notes you've left for mom on the blog (llamawatch.blogspot.com).

She's got a ticket to ride

2009-05-12T23:29:00.001-04:00

Late this afternoon Dad spoke with the air ambulance company folks, who confirmed that all of the necessary stateside approvals have been obtained for them to go to Russia to pick Mom up and bring her back to Atlanta. Huzzah! The timing is tentative and depends on the medical staff of the air ambulance company and the Russian doctors coming to a consensus that Mom can be safely transported.

The plan is for the air ambulance plane to leave the U.S. late Wednesday to fly to Moscow, arriving Thursday, so that the crew can get the necessary amount of rest to be able to make the return trip beginning Friday morning. They will depart Moscow around 9 a.m. local time (1 a.m. in Atlanta) and get into DeKalb-Peachtree airport around 5:30 p.m. Since the plane is a small jet, it will have to make two refueling stops along the way.

Of course, this is subject to change if Mom's condition changes substantially.The only other contingency is if for some reason the doctors decide that Mom can't safely travel at this point, but they feel the likelihood of that is pretty minimal, based on experience, and they wouldn't be likely to incur the expense of sending the plane to Russia if they weren't fairly certain they would be able to bring her home. We are hoping to have confirmation Wednesday afternoon.

Please continue to pray and think positive thoughts and send good vibes to Mom in Moscow!

A change of plans

2009-05-12T16:38:00.001-04:00

Well, it's been another busy day for Dad on the phones. There have been many developments in Mom's situation today. It seems Mom has developed a little bit of pneumonia, which the doctors say is neither unusual in a patient of her age who has gone through what she has, nor is it cause for alarm. It is cause for concern, but it's a very common complication and not entirely unexpected in this case.

As complications tend to, however, this development has thrown a wrench in the plans we were discussing just this morning. The medical insurance people have decided that the best plan of action is to transport Mom back to the states on an air ambulance -- which, even coming from RUSSIA, is covered by Mom's travel insurance policy. BEST $45 DOLLARS SHE HAS EVER SPENT. No joke.

The insurance people will talk to the doctors in Moscow tomorrow to determine when they will be able to release Mom from the hospital and approve her for air ambulance travel. (If they were to wait until Mom was strong enough to send her on a commercial flight, she would have to wait two to three weeks before she would be able to come home.) At this point, they're hoping she can start the journey home with a doctor and nurse on board on Thursday or Friday. With the help of our friend Dr. Wright Caughman, we have made arrangements for Mom to be admitted to Emory University Hospital once she gets to Atlanta.

Dad has discussed these plans with Ellen Smith, but not Mom. We don't want to upset her with worry about her condition or anticipation about coming home, so we're going to wait until the details have been firmed up. Please phrase your comments appropriately! Try to self-edit so Ellen doesn't have to feel like she's withholding information from Mom if she can't share your notes!

As a note to all you travelers out there, let this be a lesson to never underestimate the value of an insurance policy! This one was only $45, and it's covering thousands upon thousands (upon thousands) of dollars in medical and evacuation expenses that will soon bring our Mom safely back to Atlanta.

Keep those prayers and kind thoughts coming, and leave mom a note on her blog: llamawatch.blogspot.com.

Tuesday Morning check-in

2009-05-12T09:45:00.002-04:00

Good morning all,

Dad and I spoke with Mom and Ellen about an hour ago, and once we had finished up, Emily called Mom from Alabama, where she’s working for a few days this week. Mom sounded stronger still, which was great to hear, and she seemed to be in good spirits. She has three vases full of beautiful flowers to brighten the room, and she particularly enjoyed the comments and notes everyone left for her on the blog! Ellen printed them out and read them to her.

It sounds like she’s had another big day, though it wasn’t all forward motion. Having enjoyed some black tea and bouillon (which was more like a thin soup than a broth) yesterday, she moved onto plain yogurt, which was, in retrospect, not such a good call. Not long after it went in, the doctors decided to take it back out via a tube through the nose. Ellen was a real trooper at this point and stayed by mom’s side to keep her calm while they pumped her stomach. Mom is back on a diet of black tea with sugar, plus the nourishment from the bags. Earlier this morning Mom also spiked a fever of about 100 degrees, but her temperature returned to normal pretty quickly.

In better news, mom assures us that she is really feeling good. She found the reading light near her bed, and now that she can pick up a book on her own and read, she is glad to have a way to do that if she wakes up in the middle of the night. She had another session with the physical therapist, a gorgeous blond ballerina/gymnast with excellent posture. Mom is not quite able to replicate all of the movements, but she has enjoyed waving her hands around in funny ways and blowing bubbles and sitting up on the side of the bed to do leg exercises. Ellen said she did a great job with her regimen! Once Mom gets out of the tangle of tubes, they’ll have her try walking.

The doctors seem to be pleased with mom’s progress, and she thinks that at this point Sunday is still a feasible return date. Mom gave us a rundown of the various doctors who have been tending to her: the Russian Artist doctor (the main guy), the Russian Old Man doctor, the Cool Dude doctor, and the gorgeous Ski Instructor and Ballerina/Gymnast nurses. Mom joked that she was glad dad wasn’t there to be distracted by the hospital staff. ;) Mom has been awake most of today, where yesterday and the day before she was sleeping a lot. She’s had her teeth brushed and her face washed, and she hopes that if she smiles pretty for the staff they will wash her hair.

Dad has a phone date with Ellen at around 2 p.m. our time (10 p.m. in Moscow) to check in, and in the meantime he will talk to the medical director of the travel insurance company for more details. The American Embassy has also been in touch with Ellen and Mom at the hospital (thanks, Sarah and Jon!).

Keep the notes coming – mom really loves to read them! I’ll update again later this afternoon.

Quick Update!

2009-05-12T00:53:00.003-04:00

Emily here, hijacking Llama Watch for a quick update! We just got our last update of the night from Ellen, who says that morning reports from the hospital are all good. Mom had a restful night and remains stable. Ellen will stop by for a visit after her morning class, and plans are in place for Dad and Kathleen to call in the morning (and I hope to drop her a line after their call, if everything works out). We'll have more updates for you in the morning!

Evening report

2009-05-11T18:20:00.001-04:00

Dad has been working the phone all day and has been in touch with Ellen and lots of insurance types since this morning. By all accounts, things are looking pretty good, relatively speaking. This afternoon mom sipped some black tea and enjoyed some bouillon. Ellen said that mom was perkier today and was able to drink from a water bottle and hold the telephone without Ellen's assistance, which is an improvement. She was sitting higher up in the bed, which made breathing easier. She's still connected to a lot of tubes, but she did an initial round of physical therapy late in the day that included some breathing exercises and arm and leg movement. It apparently wore her out pretty quickly, but Ellen assured us that it was a lot of work!

Ellen has also seen the Llama Watch blog we set up and said she will copy the comments and notes people have left for mom and take them to her tomorrow -- send mom some encouraging words at llamawatch.blogspot.com :) The "guestbook" is on the right side, and you can also click on the word "comment" under any post and leave notes there as well.

Otherwise, dad is working with the various insurance companies to make sure we can get mom back and cared for. The big news on this front is that the med-evac company has made place reservations and is tentatively planning to bring mom back to us on Sunday -- hooray!!! They will fly a medic to Moscow who will arrive on Friday, and he will escort mom back to the states. Dad talked to mom's doctor here in town to make arrangements to get her admitted to Piedmont Hospital on Sunday evening so the doctors here can make sure everything is in order.

Tomorrow, the medical director of the travel insurance company will finally get to speak directly to the surgeon who performed the operation, so there may be some new information from that. If everything progresses as he is hoping, we will have mom back by this time next week.

I am going over to my parents' house in the morning tomorrow so I can join dad for the morning phone call to mom. We will report back with the latest news from Russia as soon as we have it!

Friends in all the right places

2009-05-11T14:20:00.004-04:00

Just a quick update to let you know of a positive development. Emily has a friend from high school whose husband is in the foreign service -- he is an officer at the embassy in El Salvador. They have thoughtfully contacted Moscow American Citizen Services to alert them that mom is in the hospital there recovering after surgery, and a representative from the embassy should be going to check on mom at some point. ACS can apparently provide a translator, someone to help deal with the bills, and an expediter to help get mom safely out of the country if needed, among other things. Sarah (Emily's friend) also said she and her husband will be in touch with a friend who works at the embassy there so they can keep a more personal eye on mom.

It's nice to know that our extended family of friends can reach mom all the way in Russia even though none of us live there! (Except for Ellen and Al Smith, of course.)

Why is Laura in Russia?

2009-05-11T08:52:00.004-04:00

If you've been getting our updates, it's possible that you've asked yourself this very question. How did Laura end up in Moscow? I wanted to provide some context for those who might not be aware.

Years ago, Mom was recruited to be the staff sponsor for a mission group from Peachtree Presbyterian Church to Perm, Russia. She so enjoyed her work at the orphanage in Perm and the people she met there that she returned for many subsequent chuch trips to Russia. After about four years, the trip was discontinued -- maybe for timing, personnel or logistical reasons, I can't quite remember. This past fall, Mom attended a global mission conference on behalf of Peachtree Pres and came across a Presbyterian church from Charleston, S.C., that was planning a trip to the very same church in Perm for this spring. The wheels started turning right away, and she soon made arrangements to join that group so she could return to Perm again and see some of her old friends.

The group left on April 28 and spent about a week in Perm before traveling to Moscow for their flight back to the states. Everyone else in the group returned safely home late last Friday, May 8. We are so thankful for Ellen and Al Smith in Moscow, who have taken such good care of our Llama ever since!

Monday morning check-in

2009-05-11T08:49:00.002-04:00

Dad just got off the phone with Mom in Russia for his morning check-in. He says she sounds stronger, and, indeed, she is feeling stronger. She's progressing appropriately with no signs of fever, and they're hoping to remove more tubes soon so that she can begin to get out of bed and walk. In the meantime, she's been doing some isometric exercises on her own, though she says that occasionally she'll move in a direction that reminds her of why she is in a hospital.

We're also happy to report that the flowers Matt and Emily ordered online have been delivered to her bedside. (I'm on floral detail for tomorrow.) Mom told dad that Russians definitely know how to do flowers, that she will have Ellen take a picture of the arrangements for us, and that they are doing their job and lifting her spirits. Otherwise she's looking forward to tomorrow, when she may get to sip down some bouillon!

As ever, thanks for your love, support, offers of help, thoughts and prayers.