September 29th 1st post

Greetings,

Last night was a much better night for many reasons. The pain medications were more effective and given at closer intervals, my Mom was at his side all night and the room was super comfortable. My Mom said that he needed quite a bit of assistance all through the night as he is a light sleeper and he needs to be readjusted with all his pillows all the time. From 2AM to about 4:30AM it was a really tough time for him. He got to be real uncomfortable and nothing they did could ease his discomfort but after about 4:30AM he settled down and got a couple hours of good sleep. My Mom says that he only slept about 2 1/2 hours with the assistance of a sleeping pill that usually lasts 6-8 hours.

My Mom had him all bathed and sheets changed before I even got here this morning. She is real big about the TLC part of patient care. It not only keeps their circulation going but their feeling about themselves is so much better and they heal faster if they feel clean, dry and fresh.

We've been doing some dry skin brushing on him along with the healing Essential Oils and he is just loving it. It is really getting his circulation going and the bruising is improving because of it too.

The doctor came in about 1PM today and had a conference with Mom, Donnie and me. He said that even though Donnie has been on antibiotics and the wound vac (which is not keeping up with the wound output) his white blood cell count is continuing to go up which means there is infection in that big wound on his buttocks. The hole looks like it is about 2 inches in diameter from the outside but he said that the wound is much, much bigger on the inside and the infection is collecting in the tissue because the hole is not as big as the wound itself. He said it is a "deglove" wound and is extremely rare. The wound has to be cut open by slicing the sides of the hole and then wash it out good and then put the wound vac on to see if it will get it dried out so it can heal before reconstructive surgery can start. Tomorrow "late morning" is what they gave us for an estimated surgery time. Please be in prayer for the surgeons and for Donnie as he undergoes this surgery. We are applying the "pre-surgery protocol" with the Essential Oils which will prevent him from having inflammation and keep his white blood cell count from surging as it usually does during any surgery. This will eliminate any additional pain he may be suffering currently because inflammation = pain. We wish we could have been here before his first surgery so we wouldn't be fighting the pain so badly. We are so glad that this time we can have the oils in tact.

Don is in good spirits and is asking for more prayers. We appreciate all that you are doing on the intercession part.

It is a big job and it is very effective!

We love you all,