March 6th

I couldn't get online yesterday, so have a bit of catching up to do.

On Tuesday, the breast surgeon drained some fluid off, 130 ccs.
It provided very some relief in that the pressure was reduced.
Her temp remained stable, thanks to the Christmas tree of antibiotics rotating first place at the IV hub.

But she still was in a lot of pain, and getting really discouraged.
At the same time she was worrying about all of us - are we getting enough sleep? are we eating enough? is Lal OK?

Wednesday morning, we learned that the fluid was cultured positive for staph.
Dr. Deetz, our fabulous infectious disease guy, had already added vancomycin to her tree.
Yesterday, the surgeon, Dr. Fabry, decided that he would take her this morning to the OR for an "incision and drainage."

Bruce arrived yesterday afternoon, chauffeured from SJC by Oliver, who is waiting to resume Tashie's training for the next championship.
Tashie was thrilled to see him, and laughed and chuckled listening to his running (and risqué) commentary.

Jen came up for a brief visit, as did Amey, hours off the plane from China!
After a quiet morning visit, Lal and Sally returned later in the day, and Tashie seemed markedly better, possibly upon the news that a proactive plan for surgery was in place, possibly upon the news that the infection was staph but NOT MRSA.

Amey came by, hours off the plane from China, and Jen came up from admitting.
Cynthia and Bill apparently left their suitcases unpacked, and came for an evening chin wag.
So those hours before surgery, Tashie was surrounded by loving, laughing, and tender family - she was a real trooper, commenting occasionally on how she would do things if she were boss: wider beds, softer sheets, squishier pillows, trees and garden out the window, and especially, she would like to be roused at a later time!

When the night nurse said, Is it OK if we wake you up at 6:30 for your shower?
Tashie responded drily, No, it is not OK.
I suppose they don't hear that very often.
So she was allowed to sleep until 7, which made that hour before transport a bit rushed.

So right now she is in the recovery room, and Sara and Bruce and I are waiting to see her emerge.
The surgeon said that everything went well, and that he expects she'll feel better quickly.
She will have a drain for up to a week, and will probably be here for another few days.

We are reading your emails and messages to her . . . she is touched by all the love coming her way.
She is eager to respond to them herself, but the Percoset makes that difficult, and unlikely in the near future.

Thank you for your prayers, your sweet notes, your cheer-leading -
Eliza