A Long Slow Slog

The weekend was mostly devoted to the incremental, slow process of healing. On Friday Faina had a drain put in to clear the fluid that had pooled up in her pelvic region. By late afternoon Sunday, that appeared to have been effective. The staples that were removed from just below her navel continue to allow the draining of the slowly leaking bile from some small hole, probably at the connection between the esophagus and the intestine. The doctors advise that this can be expected to heal on its own. Dr. Sichar, one of Dr. Schulick's residents, gave a clear explanation of this less than rare occurance.

Faina's hemoglobin count dropped and so on Saturday and Sunday she received transfusions of blood. Given the choice between a new IV line and using the port she had put into her chest for the chemotherapy she opted for the port, even though that meant more than an hour without the pain killing morphine.

All of the doctors and nurses encourage walking and Faina is getting the reputation of a marathon walker. We were given the opportunity to leave the 4th floor and the suggestion was made to go to the "Jesus statue." The statue is a bit of a curiosity since Johns Hopkins was a Quaker and founded the university, hospital and medical school to be a non-sectarian institution. This was a heretical concept in 19th century Baltimore and was righted, somewhat, some would say, by installing this 10.5 foot work. The highly polished foot was clear evidence that people touch the foot of the statue, presumably accompanied by a prayer or a meditative hope for healing. At any rate, the statue has taken on secular meaning and it served as a milestone, a destination, a measure of progress from the limits of the 4th floor of the Weinberg building.