A parade of doctors, residents (they say Daddy's is a "very interesting" case), nurses and new procedures left us with better best-case and worse worst-case scenarios.
The strep infection in the leg is in the bloodstream.
The rapidity of Dad's response to the antibiotics might indicate that the infection has not colonized any other part of the body, particularly the previous heart surgeries which would be especially vulnerable. Theoretically, if the infection were in the artificial valve and Pacemaker sites, it should be more resistant. So maybe he will be infection-free fairly soon and the surgeons can proceed with the new valve replacement.
However, if the infection is in the sites of the previous surgeries, they will take longer to recover from the strep and may mean that the Pacemaker and the valve put in four years ago will have to replaced on top of doing the new valve replacement.
Making it a hell of an operation.
The docs are doing a gallium screening (radioactive dye traces the sources of inflammation) over the next few days, plus another TEE to find out the answers.
Daddy will probably be in the hospital until Saturday at least. I will return to SLC on Thursday and possibly come back to Dallas when the surgery is rescheduled.
Meanwhile, Daddy is more cheerful and clearer than yesterday. Will brought him BBQ for dinner tonight: a good sign.
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