Dec 27th update

Happy Holidays to all,

Its been a while since my last post, but I'm still around. The nausea is gone for the most part and I'm getting more energy. Overall, things are getting a little bit better each day. I'm having some back spasms, but I'm sure it's just my body trying to readjust to all the changes. I'm much more optimistic now and looking forward to life as normal. Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers.

Cheers,

Rob

Dec 13th update

Hello again,

First of all, let me thank everyone who has been sending up thoughts and prayers for me. I have truely felt all the support. I've had a much more difficult recovery than I expected. The antibiotics which I am still taking for the tooth abcess continue to make me sick to my stomach which makes getting up and around very challenging. So, my recovery has definately been delayed. The good news is that the root canal went fine, and I finish my last dose of antibiotics on Sunday night. I hope after that, I can get back on track with recovering. Hope this finds everyone well.

Cheers,

Rob

Hey guys, sorry it's been a few days, but I had a couple of steps backwards to deal with. I have an abcessed tooth which is going to require a root canal. I started taking antibiotics to deal with the infection earlier this week, which gave me a lot of nausea. So, I was back in bed which caused me to loose some ground that I gained. I'm feeling much better tonight because we switched antibiotics and I've been able to start eating again. I appreciate your continued thoughts and prayers, and hope you are all doing well. Talk to you again soon.

Cheers,

Rob

Wednesday 12/3

Things are getting better each day. Progress seems slow to me, but apparently normal. I switched over to using just a cane today to get around. I found out today that I need a root canal. I'll have it done tomorrow. I'm still at mom's and not sure yet when I'll return home.

Thanks again for all your support,

Rob

Monday: 5:45 PM

This is Rob blogging, not Lewis:

Well, it was quite the experience, but I'm home. I'm staying at Mom's and getting some great home-cooked meals. I'm gaining strength each day, My appetite is good. Progress is slow, but steady - thanks for all your encouragement and prayers.

I'm still using a walker, but just for balance now. Mom and I had a field trip today to the lab and to CVS - it was nice to get some fresh air. The pain is decreasing each day, which is also nice!!

Once again, thanks for your thoughts and I'll keep you updated.

Cheers,

Rob

Saturday- 4:30 PM (after Ga Tech/Ga game

Rob is continuing to improve. He was in the bed all day on Thanksgiving except to eat.

Yesterday, he was up for an hour or so in the afternon and got up for dinner and stayed up until 11:30 PM last night.

He go up arounf 11:00 AM today to eat and watch the Ga Tech/Ga game.

He had a visit for one his college buddies this afternoon.

He was feeling pretty good until Ga lost.

Rob & Angie at Atl Airport

Wednesday, 4:30 PM

Thursday- 6:00 PM

Rob has landed!

Rob and Angie had a very good flight from Baltimore. Rob did very well on the flight. He was tired when we got home and he has gone to bed to rest for a while.

I will have a photo of them at the airport posted in a few minutes.

PLR

Tuesday: 8:20 PM

I would appreciate it if you would send Rob a get well card so that he will know who has been following his blog.

Send to:
Rob "Blogger" Gordon
150 Ben Horton Drive
McDonough, Ga 30253

Tuesday- 7:50 PM

Rob was dismissed from the hospital around 4:30 PM today. He and Angie are spending the night at Homewood Suites in Baltimore, Md. tonight.

He is feeling better everyday. We all are looking forward to them being home for Thanksgiving.
Their flight is scheduled to arrive around 4:30 PM tomorrow.

Rob will be helping me write the blogs when he gets here. I will try to have a photo of him on the blog tomorrow night.

Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers.

PLR

Monday - 7:30 PM

God is good!

Rob is doing much better today. He had a good night last night and pain is finally managed. White cell count is dropping so antibiotics must be kicking in although they still do not know source of infection. An ultra sound taken this morning may give more info. If he continues to progress as he is now, it is possible that he may be discharged tomorrow. Probably will be home Wed. or Thurs as flights permit.

PLR

Sunday- 4:15 PM

From Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore:
The good news:
Rob does not have a fever.
His pain is under control.
The doctor does not think that there is an infection in his spine.

The Not so good news:
His urine is dark and they don't know what is causing it (could be liver infection)
We don't know when he will be able to come home
He is still nauseated
He will leave the Rehab center tomorrow and will go back the hospital (on the internal medicine floor)
The doctors from different specialities will meet tomorrow to determine what is causing the infection.

Sunday- 9:30 AM

Angie called this morning at 3:00 AM and said Rob was having a lot of pain (10 out of a level of 10). They took him to have a CT scan.
She called back in an hour or so and said the CT scan was normal.

Angie called back around 9:00 AM and said his pain seemed to be under control at a level of 5.

His white blood count is elevated and they are trying to find out why.

He was in pretty good spirits this morning even cracking a joke about calling for Dr. House.

They will be doing more test this morning and I will update the blog when we hear the results.

PLR

Friday- 7:40 PM

Pat is home and I am very glad.
Rob and Angie will be coming home next Tuesday.
Despite a rough Thursday night with pain and nausea, therapies went very well today.

He is doing so well that they will discharge him on Monday. They will spend the night in a hotel in Baltimore and fly home on Tuesday.

Pat said that the care and attention that Rob received at Johns Hopkins Hospital was phenomenal. They could not be more pleased.

PLR

Thursday, 8:10 PM

Pat said the therapy sessions had gone well. He will have a evaluation tomorrow. We should know then when he will be able to come home after the evaluation

Pat is coming home tomorrow. She should be in around 5:00 PM tomorrow.

Thursday - 7:50 AM

Rob went to the Rehab center at the hospital last night and is doing good.

Pat will come home Friday afternoon.

PLR

Address correction

Pat said Rob has received several cards at the Baltimore address. But she said it was the wrong address. I chcked my post and found that I had misspelled the strert.

The correct address is

Rob Gordon
2012 McElderry (not McElderberry)
Baltimore, MD 21205

I know Pat said he received cards from the following:
Dudley, Andy & Carrie

Just for a break!

Chloe & Tommy (he has just been clipped)

(Both are Havanese)

Tuesday- 10:06 PM

Pat said the the PT scan was fine. The doctor says the chest pain is probably fom the repositioning of the ribs and other parts from the surgery.

They are waiting on someone to evaluate him before he goes to rehab. Maybe tomorrow.

Still don't know when everyone will be home. Surely it will be before Thanksgiving.

I have been baby sitting our dogs (one new puppy that is 4 months old, another one that is a year old plus our old faithful, Barney who is 17 years old).

PLR

Tuesday 7:20 PM

Rob had some pain in his chest today. They did a CT scan and are waiting on the results. He can not go to the rehab until they get the results. He was not having pain in his chest this afternoon.

Pat said they found a position that Rob could sit comfortable in a chair today. When I called at 5:20 PM, he had been in the chair since 3:00 PM.

PLR

Monday- 6:35 PM

I talked with Rob yesterday and he sounded in good spirits.
Today was not quite as good but not bad. He did not go to the Rehab center today. Hopefully, he will in the next day or so.

They are now thinking it will be Sunday or Monday before he can come home. Pat said she may come home on Friday if they don't need her.

PLR

Saturday, 11:10 AM

Just talked with Pat.
They are expecting Rob to go the hospital's Rehab center on Monday. He will probably stay there until he comes back to Georgia.

He want be able to climb steps for a while. Since their condo is on the second floor and has a lot of steps, he want be able to go to their home for a while.

When he is released from Rehab he will fly home and stay with us while he recuperates. We expect Rob and Angie to be at house at least through the weekend after Thanksgiving.

If you want to send him cards, you can send them to our address. It is 150 Ben Horton Drive, McDonough, Ga 30253.

Friday, 8:00 PM

I talked with Pat tonight after I got home from my partners' meeting. She said Rob is in a private room and has had a wonderful day. He has had very litte pain.
He also set up today and walked down the hall. Seems to be in very good frame of mind (as we know Rob would be).

What a man!

PLR

Third model photo

Another model photo

Model of vertebra with rods

This is a photo of a vertebra with the rods attached like Rob now has. His is much longer than this one. The doctor said it would be between 20 and 22 inches. I don't know the actual length that they used.

I talked with Pat again and she said was about the same, that is having a lot of pain.

PLR

Thursday, 8:00 PM

Sorry for the late posting. I just got in from my meeting at Lake Oconee.

I talked with Pat on the way from Lake Oconee and she said Rob was doing fine but was having a lot of pain. They took away the morphin drip today.

I am going to post a photo that I made of the model of a verterbra when we visited the doctor with Rob in October. This model will show how the rods that were attached look.

PLR

Notice for Thursday

I will be in a partners' meeting all day tomorrow (Thursday) and it will be tomorrow night before I make another posting. If there are any major changes, I will try to break from my meeting and make a posting if I have internet access.

PLR

Wednesday, 9:35 PM

Rob is in his room now. Pain is controlled and he is in good spirits. He is in a semi-private room and hopes to get in a private room in next day or so.

PLR

Wednesday 9:15 PM

Sorry for the being late in posting. Had a Finance Committee meeting at my church.

Pat called and said Rob is doing very good. At 7:30PM they were told that he would be leaving the ICU for a regular hospital room. He is weak as would be expected.

I may have another posting later tonight.

Stay tuned.

PLR

Wednesday, 11:30 AM

Just talked with Pat. They saw Rob and said he looks great. Also, does not have a lot of pain now.

PLR

Get Well Cards!

Someone asked me where to send cards to Rob.

I talked with Angie this morning to get addresses. Angie is staying in a town house in Baltimore near the hospital and Rob will come there when he gets out of the hospital. They don't know when they will be leaving Baltimore and coming home. Angie anticipates that it will be next Thursday or Friday before they come home.

I will give you their address in Baltimore and Decatur. If you mail a card in the next day or so, they should get it before they leave.

Rob Gordon
2012 McElderberry
Baltimore, MD 21205

Rob Gordon
579 Emory Oaks Way
Decatur, GA 30033

PLR

Tuesday, 10:15 PM

The family saw Rob tonight around 10:00 PM. He was not awake yet. Everyhting seems to be good.
Visiting hours are after 12:00 AM tomorrow (Wednesday). So it will probably be after lunch tomorrow before I have another posting.

Tuesday, 8:00 PM

Pat just called and said Rob was out of surgery (8:00 PM). They talked with Dr. Sponseller and he said everything went fine. They were able to stop the rod at L5 rather than having to go all the way to the sacrum.
The doctor said Rob would be straighter and taller.
Thanks for all of your prayers & support.
PLR

Tuesday, 7:30 PM

Still in surgery at 7:30 PM. They said he was doing fine.

PLR

Tues, 4:30 PM report

Talked with Pat around 5:00 PM. He went into surgery around 2:30 PM. Word from the operating room that he is doing good. They were starting to put the rods in.
PLR

Tuesday Midday report

Pat called around 1:15PM today (Tuesday) and said they had just taken Rob to the operating room. She said he was in good spirits.

I will update blog tonight after I hear from Pat.

PLR

Monday night

Rob will report to the hospital at 8:30 AM in the morning (Tuesday). Don't know when the surgery will begin. His doctor estimated that it will be a five hour surgery.

PLR

Monday, Nov 10, 2008 Update

Surgery is scheduled for tomorrow at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

Rob and his family support will be leaving today at 11:10 AM for Baltimore.

Members of his family support are:
Angie (wife)
Pat (mother)
Bobby (father)
Betsy (sister)

Pat will be calling me each night so I can update this blog.

PLR

Rob & his surgeon

His doctor is holding a model of a spine with rods attached as he will do on Rob's vertrebra. The doctor expects the rod to be between 20 and 22 inch long which is longer than the one on the model.

Rob's Surgery is scheduled for November 11, 2008

Rob's surgery is scheduled for November 11, 2008 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Md. I will keep updates on this blog as I hear from him.

If you have a question, send me an email at plrcpa@bellsouth.net.

Lewis Robinson