Finally, I have some GOOD medical news to report on here! We went out to West Chester to see John R. today. He's recovering nicely from triple bypass surgery which he had about three weeks ago. They're still trying to calculate what his dry weight is for dialysis, now that he has lost some weight due to illness and keeping a healthier diet. Seems that they weren't taking out enough fluid anymore during dialysis, since he has lost weight, and that's what landed him in the hospital earlier in the week with pneumonia-like symptoms. Yikes.

I'm not sure exactly how a person's dry weight, which is what a person weighs after dialysis removes excess fluid and other assorted unwanted things from the bloodstream, is calculated. But if John continues to follow the new, healthier dietary regimen, he's probably going to continue to lose weight. In that case, they might have to recalculate his dry weight now and then, to ensure that their data is current and accurate.

He played his first Mass this afternoon since the heart attack a few weeks ago; he did a wedding. He felt great to be back playing the organ. He even managed the stairs up to the choir loft without much difficulty, other than being tired at the end of the climb. That was my biggest concern, because I know what a bear those stairs are to navigate.

He'll be playing some Masses next week, and the week after that, he'll be back on a full schedule. I hope he's up to it, because he's going stir crazy in the apartment. Recuperation is boring with a capital B, so I don't blame him for wanting to resume normal activities ASAP.

The other good medical news I've got is that one of our family friends, whom I'll call "B" and who recently had cancer surgery, has been told that the surgery was successful and they got it all out. She will still need chemo, just to make certain that there aren't any little microscopic cells left that need to be eliminated. However, the docs were a bit concerned that the original surgery hadn't gotten everything, so it's great to hear that she passed the followup testing with flying colors.

I hope my dad's friend, who had surgery around the same time as B had her operation, will soon be on the receiving end of similar good news. He's had a setback or two since his surgery, but if they can determine that they got everything during his surgery, that will be great. Then he can just focus on healing and taking care of himself. So do please keep sending the prayers and good thoughts -- we still have a few people on this end who are in need of them.