Mommy Says "Update Your Blog"

I know it's time to carve out a few blogging minutes when my mom calls and says "There's nothing new on your blog - is everyone OK?"

Yes, we're OK. Not much more than that, at least for the moment, but OK will cover it.

Kara has been doing well with eating, although not everything is moving as smoothly as we would like. We went to her doctor together yesterday, and he was excited with the way she is handling her food. She has lost 10 pounds since her PICC line came out, but that is just what he expected.

He wants her to hold off on having a new PICC put in. He has been concerned for some time that the polyurethane in the PICC line was causing problems of its own. She has noticed quite a few improvements in different areas that she attributes to the PICC line being out. If she does need a new line, it will be a different material.

She is eating very selectively, and on a rotation diet. That means she eats one food at a time, and doesn't eat that food again for a while. The doctor wants her on a 14-day rotation, which will be a bit of a challenge but I think we can manage.

Coming up with 14 different proteins is a little tricky, especially since she is not doing any seafood. Beef, elk, venison, buffalo, game hen, and lamb have already been on the menu. Ostrich, quail, and chicken are in the freezer, awaiting their turn. Some candidates for the remaining five slots are rabbit, turkey, pheasant, kangaroo, bear, antelope, and camel. It could happen.

The other 2-3 foods she eats each day are vegetables. That adds up to about 35 different veggies. I won't try and list them all. I will say that I admire Kara for being able to eat a pound of asparagus puree for breakfast. She is also rotating through some different oils (safflower, avocado, coconut, etc) which she was not able to do for quite some time before she got her PICC.

Making food takes a lot more time than getting a bottle out of the fridge. Couple this with trips to the hospital last week and the doctor this week, and I have been unfortunately whittling away at my vacation time. Sick time ran out the week before last. But I've been working very hard whenever I can, and I am deludedly hopeful that I can put in a full day at the "office" tomorrow.

The TPN was very expensive, but covered at 100% by insurance. Rabbits and artichokes are not covered at all. Still, both Kara and I have felt for the last little while that we were on the verge of some very great progress. I really think this could be what starts it all.

In other news, Anna lost ANOTHER tooth

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