Hi Everyone-Jodi here now.  JT’s surgery went really well today.  It was so awesome – there was an opening in the OR at 9:00am today so JT got to get his arm all sewn up by 10:30am.  The Orthopedic Surgeon said the swelling was gone, the lines were clear and straight and he was able to close JT’s arm up without needing the plastic surgery team.  Dr. Wall told Brian that he felt confident JT would get back the full use of his arm, a rare thing where necrotizing fasciitis has been.  He placed several sutures on the outside of his arm but chose not to use any inside as they can be sites for infection.  They plan to take the bandage off on Thursday and JT may need some physical therapy.

I ran into Dr. Marsh, the immunology attending, on my way into the hospital today.  She said that we should plan on staying through next week and having antibiotics on board for 3-4 weeks.  I asked her the likelihood of JT getting this NF again and she said it’s very, very unlikely.  That was a relief.  I’m so glad that JT’s arm is closed back up and he’s had lots of antibiotics on board for a few days now.

 We had a wonderful birthday celebration today at the hospital.  JT thought the best gift was getting his arm all sewn back up again.  Brian and I agreed. 

 Brian left for home around 5:30pm.  I just talked to him on the road.  He said he was pretty tired, even more than he thought he was.  He did an incredible job with an incredibly stressful situation at the hospital for the last six days.  It will be good for him to be home to rest and play with Justy.

 Please continue to pray for complete healing for JT.  Everything seems to be going pretty well.  The only strange thing that we’re watching is that his hand and fingers on the surgery arm are cold to the touch and have been most of the day.  The orthopedic surgery doc will be back up to check it again in a little while.

 Thanks for checking in on us.  JT’s a remarkable child and it was sooooo good for me to see him today and get my arms around him.