Update 17 for Mike Pless (by Mike Pless): Sunday, March 17, 2024 - 1 PM

Welcome back dear friends! We last left off a week ago on Sunday afternoon and I was expecting to be dismissed the next day. That didn’t happen.

Monday, a swab taken from my neck wound showed Candida auris (C.auris). That put a big hold on everything. Infectious Disease was notified, I was essentially confined to my room and ppe gowns were required for anyone entering my room. As Infectious Disease doctors investigated, we waited.

Tuesday saw Infectious Disease doctors continuing their investigation which concluded that afternoon with an all clear. By 7:30pm Teri and I were in the car but since we had two appointments the next morning starting at 8am, we decided to spend the night close. Unfortunately there was an event or two in downtown Atlanta and all the hotels for twenty miles were booked. Except for a couple places for $500+ per night. We found a Holiday Inn in Stockbridge.

Wednesday morning we arrived back at Emory just to find we were in a catch 22. Between hospital policy and insurance practices there is a 24 hour period after dismissal from the hospital that you can’t have an appointment. Not even a previously scheduled appointment. So after an hour and a half we were headed home!

Since returning home, Teri is doing an awesome job packing my wounds and helping clean up my neck. I thank God for such a beautiful and faithful wife. I feel bad because she’s so busy all the time and I’m so limited right now. I hope I can be a good patient and not frustrate her. It’s a real challenge managing the new normal and recovery.

I am humbled by the outpouring of prayers, support, and concern for what I and my family have been going through. I’m actually a little overwhelmed most of the time.

I’m so grateful for God’s grace and mercy to me, grateful for my family, my church family, my Bumper Man family, my many friends, the amazing nurses, techs, and doctors at Emory, and so many people who have helped along the way.

We still have a long ways to go but having made it this far has deepened my faith in God. He alone is my hope and my life.

I’ll update by next week, if not before. Love y’all!

But Job replied, “You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.

Job 2:10 [NLT]