March 6, 2010 [edit: first debridement complete]

the second surgery was completed a few hours ago [this was the first debridement, or cleanout. the first surgery was the fasciotomy] and i am sitting by kristen's side as she sleeps. they found more dead tissue. as the surgeon, dr. lee described it, he saw more "gray fluid" and made an additional medial incision on the lower leg to drain fluid and excavate the dead tissue. necrotizing fasciitis is the scary word for this. i don't dwell on scary words.

the redness on her thigh is being closely monitored and presumed to be a superficial infection. on a positive note, the redness appears to have receded slightly from last night which may suggest a response to the antibiotics. an mri will follow this afternoon to see if the bacteria is moving up her leg and attacking her thigh. that would be bad.

if everything goes well from here, we now are looking at at least one more flush-out/excavation procedure (probably monday) followed by as many as are necessary to clear out the actively infected tissue. then they will work to close the wounds and graft healthy skin to complete the treatment of the leg. lastly, she will undergo a long course of iv antibiotic treatment.

it is good to be by her side and see her face. at times, she is herself. she is scared, but as the doctors say, she is a strong host. more family is on the way and all the emails we've received have been a source of strength. thanks to everyone for your love and caring.