Update IV

We are still at UCLA and Jess is currently doing very well. Previously there had been talk of her being released this morning, but we are still attempting to gain control of her pain medication. The main issue is that Jess's pain management is dependent upon a drug that is administered through an I.V. In order for Jess to be released she needs to be on a pain management regiment that can be administered in pill form, thus allowing us to administer her medication at home. We attempted to reduce her I.V. medication last night, and ended up in an whirlwind of pain and frustration. I will allow Jess to revisit the ordeal in detail once she regains control of the blog. To sum it up, protests were made, higher ups were talked to and a nurse was barred from entering our room. It was very disappointing and frustrating for Jess's family and I, and extremely painful for Jess. We are now taking a different, more gentle, approach to the reduction/changing of her pain medication. Once we have a successful regiment to control Jess's pain we will be allowed to leave the hospital.

At this point I would like to send out a special thank you to Tia. She is a close family friend to the Oldwyn family and helped guide us through a tough situation last night. You saved Jess a tremendous amount of pain, and for that we will always be appreciative. Thank you.

*Special note from Jess*
Due to my ineffective blogging, I failed to mention that Jess received a "total and complete resection". She wanted to make sure everybody knew that.

Jess Update III

Jess has been moved out of the ICU and into her own room. The move was tough as we had to adjust to new nurses and new routines. She still has an significant amount of pain to deal with, but we managed it well enough for her to get some sleep last night. She says she got about five hours, but I would predict three, maybe four tops. She is having trouble with the dexterity and coordination of her right hand. It is a similar condition to what she dealt with after the first surgery. It is not as significant of an limitation but still something that requires a tremendous amount of attention. She can communicate and read effectively, but has found a problem with writing. She has difficulty identifying the correct letters to create the words she is searching for. We have every confidence these issues will subside in correlation with the swelling surrounding her brain. The deficits are serious and extremely scary, but at the same time they are much less intimidating then the deficits she faced after the first surgery.

Last night, or maybe early this morning, Jess fell asleep reading emails and text messages from the vast amount of people supporting her. The support she gets is a continual inspiration and source of happiness for her. I cannot thank all of you enough.