4/29-4/30 Status Report

Jake would have had a tough day, except he slept through much of it. He's got a clostridium difficile ("C.Diff") infection, which makes his tummy hurt. They are treating it with antibiotics, which also takes something out of him. It's the type of infection that normally comes from extended hospital exposure, and normally only infects patients and the immune challenged. It's our first hospital-based illness -- unless you count the fact they almost killed him on day 2 (pre-ICU) by giving him antibiotics. More on that in a future edition.

C.Diff. is only contageous if you come in contact with his poopie, but as a precaution they've put him on "restricted contact." That means no hugging and no hospital grand tours. In any event, Monday will be a very difficult day to visit because he's got dialysis and because we're trying to get ready for a Tuesday hospital departure.

On the recuperation front, his hand-eye coordination seems good. I'm watching him play Spyro 3 (a difficult game) on our portable Playstation One. He's able to hold the controller with both hands and his muscle memory seems complete. Going forward, physical therapy and occupational therapy will probably focus on building strength.

He's making a urine on a semi-regular basis. It's coming in very, very small amounts, but it's visible. They are going to do a protein analysis on a sample I collected to see what he's really putting out. A good development, but we're going to reserve judgment until we see what the tests say.


Faith is an important part of recovery. On the other hand, there's this February 2, 2005 article from SportsPickle:

God Denies Any Involvement in T.O. Healing

Faced with questions as to why He would waste time and effort on healing Terrell Owens after the injured wide receiver stated: “spiritually God is healing me,” God stepped forward today and adamantly denied any role in fixing Owens’s ankle.
“I know I rarely come out and speak publicly,” God said in a prepared statement, “but there is no way I’m going to let Terrell Owens pin his healing on Me. I have a lot more important things to do than speed the recovery of a self-centered malcontent like him. Of course, I could have healed him if I wanted to – being that I’m omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent – but I have to draw the line somewhere. And it’s definitely drawn well above someone with as little class as T.O.”
Owens is now expected to play in Sunday’s game, coming back several weeks ahead of most medical estimates that set a recuperation time of eight to 10 weeks for such a serious injury; Owens’s injury came just six and one-half weeks ago. Many have even called his recovery a “miracle,” something God took issue with.