Back in the hospital : (

The past few days, Kim had been experiencing some leakage from her incision. Yesterday she went to our local hospital ER (Condell) to have it checked out. She fully expected to be given some oral antibiotics and be sent home. Turns out it is more serious than that. They talked about opening up the incision and cleaning it out. So, she decided she would rather be at Northwestern hospital in Chicago where all of her doctors are. She was transferred there last night by ambulance. The neurosurgeons there said that she is leaking spinal fluid. There is also a localized infection, but they think that can be controlled with antibiotics. She was being given three different heavy-duty antibiotics through her IV. The biggest concern is that if spinal fluid is getting out that infection could get in and cause meningitis. The most aggressive approach would be to open up entire incision to find where it is leaking & fix it. However, because she was not exhibiting any symptoms of being "sick," they are going to start with less aggressive approach. Last night, at bedside, they inserted a lumbar drain into her spine. They can extract spinal fluid in a controlled manner and hopefully divert it away from where it was leaking so her incision can heal (thus preventing the opportunity for infection). They will keep testing fluid to be sure there is no infection. She will remain in Neuro ICU during this time & they will re-evaluate in approximately five days whether this approach is working or if they have to open it up. The doctors said that this happens in 1-2% of cases, not because they did anything wrong at MD Anderson. They also put in another stitch along the incision where he saw a little hole.

Her legs hurt because of where the drain is located - so many nerves there along the lower spine. Other than that and having a headache, she's doing pretty well. Kim is pretty bummed to be back in the hospital, but is glad she is at NW being treated well. It is a VERY good thing that she went when she did. Untreated, it could have been much worse. Unfortunately, the kids won't be able to visit her. Like most hospitals recently, they are not letting kids under 18 visit patients due to the prevalence of flu.

Keep prayin', folks! We'll keep you up to date...