As you know, if you’ve been reading these updates, Jack came home on Sunday, 23 May. He was released from the hospital because his kidneys were showing signs of recovery. The creatinine numbers were decreasing steadily enough for the kidney doc to feel OK about Jack continuing his recuperation at home.

As you can imagine, Jack is much happier at home where he can nap in his bed OR a recliner. Where he can scratch Lizzy’s ears. And where he has the care and attention of Naomi who is not poking him with needles all the time.

Jack’s strength is increasing each day. On Sunday when he came home, he steadied himself with a walker when walking indoors and outdoors. Before Naomi knew it, he set the walker aside in favor a canes. Now he’s just carrying a cane as an affectation, like an English dandy.

Even though he’s walking around with confidence, he does so carefully. And hei quick to fatigue. That hasn’t improved much since he’s returned from the hospital. It also seems like his hearing has gotten a bit worse, and he has moments of dizziness when he moves quickly.

Jason tries to keep Jack busy during the day by touring the property looking for stumps that need to be ground out, looking for areas that need to be mowed (e.g., around the pole barn), and organizing Jack’s new workshop under Jack’s watchful eye.

At the time Jack left the hospital there were two things we didn’t know:

  1. We didn’t know what needs to be done about Jack’s thymoma. The St. John’s oncologist insisted that it would have to come out, but that it need not happen immediately.
  2. We didn’t know what put Jack in the hospital in the first place. First, it was a TIA and later it wasn’t. Then it became a mystery that persists.

Some new news arrived yesterday from the hospital. The infectious disease team called Naomi to share that a test for West Nile virus came back positive. The doctor noted that there is no treatment for West Nile virus, only treatment for its symptoms.

Meanwhile, Naomi is communicating with a team at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, hoping to arrange for a consultation on the thymoma and to get more insight into what might have put Jack in the hospital.

That’s where things stand here at the Millers’ home. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.