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Update 8/20/11

Today is Keith's birthday, and it was one of his best ever! He enjoyed the day by relaxing in front of the TV watching the Little League World Series for most of the day. His cousin and his wife brought dinner over, and his brother and brother-in-law joined us for dinner and cake.

Keith went to the ear doctor on Thursday and had an audiogram done, which confirmed that he has a 50% hearing loss in his left ear due to the medication he was given for the C-Diff infection he had in his intestines when he was originally taken to the ER in the Outer Banks on July 5th. He returns back to the ear doctor in October to have another audiogram done for comparison.
Thank you all again for your continued love, support and prayers.

Update 7/30/11

Keith woke up this morning and said "I feel great!!".

He had his first full day at St. Lawrence Rehab and had physical therapy at 2:00 pm.

He came back from therapy today with a smile from ear to ear - he was so proud that he was able to walk 38 feet today!

We are having a hard time with the rules here - they only want 2 people at a time in the room - very different from Sentara Norfolk General Hospital!

Somehow he always ends up with more than that!

5:00 pm

Update 7/31/11

Not much to report today -- it's pretty quiet at the rehab on the weekends -- no physical therapy on Sunday's! The food is not the best here - he had a grilled chicken caesar salad from Greenacres Country Club for lunch on Friday, a margarita bar pie from Pete's Steakhouse on Friday night, and a Little Pete's steak from Pete's Steakhouse for lunch today.

Keith slept great last night and has been enjoying his daily visitors.

More doctors will visit with Keith tomorrow so we should have more updates tomorrow.

1:30 pm

Update 8/1/11

Keith had occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) today and a one week stay here could be very realistic!

We received some good news today ... positive results came back on rocky mountain spotted fever (tick bite) which triggered the systemic vasculitis (microscopic polyangiitis/Churg-Strauss Syndrome). The "dream team" of doctors in Virginia treated Keith for rocky mountain spotted fever even though they did not have test results back at that time. In fact, they treated him for everything he was tested for regardless of whether or not the results were positive.

The VA doctors would like Keith's NJ rheumatologist to review the reports as well, and if they agree, they could taper him off of the steroids in 2-3 weeks and there will be no need for the immuno-supressant drug Imuran.

Keith has appointments later this week with a plastic surgeon and vascular surgeon to evaluate his feet.

8:00 pm

Update 8/2/11

Physical therapy and occupational therapy are going well! In fact, they are going so well that they told Keith he could go home on Saturday!!

He has two doctor appointments on Wednesday which will get him out of St. Lawrence for most of the afternoon.

11:00 am

Update 8/3/11

Keith went to physical therapy today and walked about 150 ft. with a cane, then about 75 ft. with a walker, then up and down stairs with a cane. He said he still feels like a newborn baby giraffe when he goes up and down stairs!

Keith is still on track for being discharged on Saturday, August 6th! He will return home and continue physical therapy on an out-patient basis.

He left the rehab today for two doctors appointments and spent about 2.5 hours outside of the building. When we returned to the building he sat outside under the overhang and enjoyed the smell of the rain.

Keith wanted to let everyone know that he stood up in front of the toilet today totally unassisted -- he was so proud of himself!

Thank you in advance to everyone who is attending the fundraiser at Killarney's tonight!

5:00 pm

Update 8/4/11

Keith had good physical and occupational therapy sessions today.

St. Lawrence Rehab scheduled today's doctors appointment with the wrong doctor, so it was a useless appointment - but it was nice to get out.

We are having the usual "fun" with the insurance company regarding the length of his stay here.

He is scheduled to be discharged on Saturday, August 6th -- could be around noon.

He cannot wait to walk through the front door and see his dog, Hootie!!

7:00 pm

Update 8/5/11

Occupational and physical therapy went very well today - Keith walked up and down a full flight of stairs (with a cane) and took a walk outside and read the newspaper.

He has a busy night planned -- he has to pack because he's GOING HOME tomorrow!!! We should be home by noon!

We cannot wait to have him home again!

He has a busy week planned with doctors appointments and physical therapy - but at least he will be home!!

Update 8/11/11

Keith came home from St. Lawrence Rehab on Saturday, August 6th and hasn't looked back! He is making great progress every day. He started physical therapy on Monday, and will continue that 3 times a week for 4 weeks and then he will be re-evaluated to see if additional therapy is needed.

Last night he walked up to bed in one continuous movement. He walked up the steps, one foot after the other, without stopping. He was worn out when he got to the top, but HE DID IT! This morning he walked through the living room and took 10 steps without his cane!

Keith and I spent the day today at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia and met with a rheumatologist and vascular surgeon and was very happy with the news! The rheumatologist (Dr. Anu Shahane) wants to slow down the tapering of the steriods. His doctor at the rehab wanted him to taper down 5 mg every 2 days, but Dr. Shahane wants to drop him 5 mg every 2 weeks. She is afraid if he tapers down too quickly, he may have symptoms again.

The vascular surgeon (Dr. Edward Woo) was very impressed with the change that have already occurred in his feet. He is confident that Keith's left foot (toes and heel) will fully recover and his right foot shows definite signs of new skin growth on the bottom of his foot where his toes meet his foot, and his heel already shows signs of improvement. He may still lose the tips of the toes on his right foot, but he is very satisfied with the changes.

Keith has an appointment with his ear doctor (Dr. Farzad) next Thursday to check out the hearing loss in his left ear, and he has an eye doctor appointment coming up.

Keith is exhausted from today's visit and he has physical therapy tonight at 7:00 p.m. I suggested that he move tonight's PT appointment to Saturday, but he insisted that he goes tonight. What a fighter!!

Thank you all again for your continued love, support and prayers!

Update 8/15/11

Keith had an appointment with his opthamalogist first thing this morning and got a thorough eye exam - no effects or damage to his retina from the vasculitis - his eyes are absolutely clear.

He has another physical therapy appointment again this afternoon and is continuing to work hard to rebuild his strength and balance.

Update 9/13/11

Keith went back to the dermatologist today and he does not need to see him again unless he is having a problem. The rash is much better today than it was on Wednesday and they feel it is related to the Prednisone taper and NOT vascular! They agree with the rheumatologist re: tapering down the Prednisone even slower. The results of the skin punch will take a couple of weeks, so stay tuned!

Update 9/09/11

Keith saw his dermatologist on Wednesday for something unrelated to his current medical problems. On the morning of the dermatologist appointment we noticed a slight rash on his legs (little red dots) so we had the dermatologist check it. He seems to think it could be related to coming off the prednisone or it could be related to the vasculitis. He took a skin punch of the rash and wants to see Keith again on Monday. He deferred all treatment of this to his rheumatologist, who he was scheduled to see today anyway. The dermatologist asked for a report from the rheumatologist visit.

Keith visited his rheumatologist and the nurse practitioner from his vascular surgeon's office today at the University of Pennsylvania.

He had a venous doppler done of his lower extremities last week to check the blood clots and there are no new clots. The rheumatologist wants him to continue with coumadin for up to 6 months. She ordered additional bloodwork to check all of his levels again. She also wants to slow down the prednisone taper again -- she wants him to stay at 15mg for another week (so that will be 3 weeks total) and then drop down to 12.5mg until we see her again on October 7th.

Since his illness in July, he has gained back 23 lbs. of the 40 he lost!!

We also visited the nurse practitioner at the vascular surgeon's office to have her look at his toes to make sure everything looks OK. Her first comment was, "Wow, they look great!" She said she definitely sees things happening with his toes. Several have begun the separation process but it could take several months and his heels could taken even longer. She said it will be like a loose tooth -- the black part will get looser all the time.

Both the rheumatologist and nurse practitioner said there is no reason (right now) why we cannot go to Key West in November -- so we are going!!

Thank you all again for your continued support, love and prayers!

Update 9/15/11

Since we have been back in New Jersey, Keith has had to go for bloodwork to check his INR (related to coumadin dosage) two times a week, then it was reduced to once a week. His primary care doctor called today and told us since his INR has been stable and he has remained at the same dosage for over a month, he can now have the bloodwork done monthly! Another step in the right direction!!

Update 9/19/11

We had a good weekend! We went to a wedding Saturday night -- we only went to the reception. It was nice to see him dressed up and out for a couple of hours. It's the first time we were home from a wedding by 11:00 pm!

We went to the Septemberfest at Veteran's Park for a little while on Sunday to see our friend's band, "Jimmy and the Parrots" play. They are a Jimmy Buffet cover band and we will be hanging out with them in Key West in November.

Keith went to his primary care doctor today because he felt like he had a cold -- he has a sinus infection. His doctor put him on an antibiotic and told him to take it on a full stomach and with Activia yogurt. Ordinarily we wouldn't call the doctor for a cold but because of what Keith recently went through, we are not taking any chances.

We did not get the results back yet from the skin punch that was taken on September 7th when he had the rash -- we should get them by the end of the week.

We will send an update in a few days to let you know how he is feeling.