"Today, Judy is alert, eating sort of well, and is carrying on coherent conversations. She even watched her soap this morning and fussed at one of the characters. Not the same person she was yesterday.
I met with the parade of her doctors today and they indicate that Judy continues to improve -- which means that there will be less of a chance of complications when they do the surgery on Friday.
Infectious disease doctor says that Judy's white count is decreasing though slowly. They want to make sure that the cancer has not returned and that there are no other outliers.
Cardiologist says that since the infection is decreasing, there is less likelihood of infection in the heart. Her blood pressure and pulse are both within normal limits and she has not had any rapid breathing issues in over 24 hours.
Since Judy has been on blood thinners since she received the prosthetic in 2008, the orthopedic surgeon ordered vitamin K and platelets to thicken her blood for the surgery.
The plan is still to remove the prosthesis (which runs from 6 inches below the hip joint, includes the length of the femur and the knee joint, and extends to 6 inches below the knee) and replace it with an external structure which includes two halos, one above the knee and one below the knee, with rods to keep the leg extended and functional. This will allow the bone and tissue to heal to receive another prosthetic insert later down the road.
Worst case scenario -- if there is not much healthy bone on which to eventually attach a new prosthetic, the leg will have to be amputated."
We're holding our breath.
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