Janet Update ... from Bill Conte

My birthday was yesterday and I had many who wished me a Happy Birthday and wished also that all of my dreams would come true. But, it would have been much better if all of my wishes and dreams had indeed come true. I must admit that I had a good time with local and even a long-distance family member here at the house, but there was one local family member missing ... Janet. Her being here would have gone a long way to making my dreams and wishes come true. And to make all of my dreams come true, well, that would have been for all of my family members to have been here, to be happy. I know this blog is supposed to be about Janet, and you may think that all I've talked about thus far is me, but in my mind, not really ... You see, Janet is my step-daughter, but she is really like a daughter of my own. And, she treats me as she would her own father. There is a bond there that transcends or equals any relationship by blood. I missed Janet because, if she were here, she would have remembered my birthday in some special way, like she has for many years ... with a personally written, decorated card. And she probably would have baked or prepared a special dessert or part of a meal for me. It all would have been, you know, just a little something special and personal. (BTW -- As of today, she has been hospitalized for over 2 weeks ... and she did wish me a Happy Birthday anyway from her hospital bed). Did I tell you about Father's Day last year? No? Well, early that Sunday morning we found Janet lying in bed ... somewhat comatose and unresponsive from really low blood-sugar levels. (As sick as she had been for may weeks, she was going to make a special effort on this Sunday to come to church with her mom and me for Father's Day). Well, we couldn't revive her quickly and we called the paramedics. They came and administered to her. After about 30-minutes and as she was coming to, the paramedics were asking her questions to determine her awareness and condition. I was standing at the foot of her bed as the paramedics called to her: "Janet! Janet! Do you know where you are? Do you know what day it is?" We were all silent as she turned her head, looked right at me and with a weak but clearly audible voice said: "Happy Father's Day!" That's just a few examples of who Janet is and what she is all about. As I said earlier, Janet has been hospitalized for over 2 weeks now. She was admitted to the hospital with sever nausea and abdominal pains. A few days ago, a blood test confirmed an infection somewhere in her system. And, about 5 days ago, a gastric emptying test showed that right now she has 0% digestion. And, a few days ago, there was talk of inserting a feeding tube so that she can receive needed nutrition. And, after 2 weeks, it seems that we still do not know the cause of these problems. It is now Sunday afternoon, April 17th, and a beautiful day here in Melbourne, FL. But for Janet it is just another of too may days in the hospital. Would you think that her spirits were low and depression high? Well, yes, they sure have been several times during this hospital stay. But today, she seemed a little bit better. She was tired, sure. She dozed in and out. But I sensed a little bit of difference today. Maybe that was because she is getting the upper hand on beating this infection. Maybe it is because the docs will try one more procedure to try to kick-start her stomach to digest before they resort to the feeding tube. Maybe it is because she knows that she will have to fight, to dig deep within herself ... deeper than ever before and to once again find the strength, courage, and determination to beat this thing ... to recover ... to get healthier and be stable again ... things she needs to do to get her name on the Kidney/Pancreas transplant list. Maybe it's because she is braver than many people I know ... including myself. And maybe that's why I refer to her as 'My Hero". And maybe, just maybe it was the beginning of one of my birthday wishes coming true. Time will tell. Prayers and love and support and good vibes and well-wishes will help too. Please keep them coming. And hopefully in a few days, I can give another updated report telling of how Janet is improving and able to come home. That would fulfill one of my wishes.