Progress update from Melinda

First of all, both Cheryl and Melinda wish you all a Happy New Year and a fantastic 2007! It’s just under five hours before Cheryl in Vancouver hits 2007, but for Melinda it is all over about 14 hours ago.

Cheryl is now settled into her new private room on the surgical ward, which is where she will now be until the day she leaves the hospital and goes home. She has another spectacular view from her window and is ever so pleased to have a wide window sill where her flowers can be put on display. In the previous private room, friends had put up a friendship wall for family/friend visitors to sign, and that will have to be set up again in the new room, but Cheryl is waiting for Steve to do his creative touches to it. The staff on 10A are absolutely brilliant and Cheryl feels she is going to have a very good time with them. You will also be happy to know that she still has the pole-dancing pole in her bathroom :-)

Cheryl is now getting the TPN (food nourishment) through the PICC line, which goes directly into her aorta vein and the inflammation and pain she experienced the last two days in her right arm (from the IV) has now subsided. The left arm, on the other hand, is still very inflamed from the last IV and the staff are monitoring to bring that down. She no longer has intense pain in her side, which means that the antibiotics are working and the infection in the intestine is obviously subsiding. She will know more about that when Dr Brown comes back Jan 2.

She is so very thankful you are all thinking of her, those that can visit and/or call… She is finding the experience not at all scary because of all of YOU!

Melinda