Update July 9th, 2010 5:32 PM

Thank you all for being so patient until I had time to update.

The procedure this morning went well. The doctor said it looked like it was healing pretty nicely. They will go back in Tuesday to remove the wound vac and finish the closure. If all goes as planned, the wound will hopefully be good and healed up in 10-15 days. Chemo is still at least 4 weeks out.

We spent quite a bit of time with Nick today and he was very emotional from a combination of the steroids, anesthesia, and all around mental exhaustion. They decided to go ahead and put him in a regular (non ICU) room. We asked him if he was ready for visitors, and he said that he might be ready to see people starting Sunday. We are just waiting for him to be ready.

That said, we want to give you full disclosure on the type of infection that the infectious disease team told us he had today. It is called MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus). This is an exceptionally aggressive and hard to treat form of staph infection. The doctor did say that he was probably over the worst of it, but he will still be treated for 6 weeks with rigorous IV antibiotics. He will get a PICC line inserted sometime soon so that when he comes home he can get the IV antibiotics here. As a disclaimer, nobody who so much as has "the sniffles" should visit Nick just yet. Just as with any staph infection, it can be contagious. By Sunday, he'll have been on antibiotics for five days. Basically, it's in everyone's best interest to be healthy going in, and to visit at your discretion. We felt like everyone should be fully informed about what's going on in that respect.

His blood sugar is still rather off kilter (fluctuating between the 200s and 500s). They feel this is because of the steroids. The doctors are working on insulin therapy and a diabetic diet to keep it low. This is very important to get down so that he can heal quickly and properly.

Our Prayer Requests after today are...

1. Quick and complete healing of the infection
2. Quick and complete healing of the wound
3. For Nick to find emotional peace and comfort
4. Blood sugar regulation

Aaron heard it said the other day that effective prayers are "humble, specific, and expectant." I know this is something I will take into my time with God, and I hope that it can be with you in your prayers as well.

Humble, Specific, and Expectant,
The Badidas