On March 15th John went to Clear Choice for Dental Implant surgery. Following the surgery he got an infection in the lower jawbone. He had two subsequent surgeries to remove the dead bone caused by the infection and to try to control the spread of the infection. Neither of these procedures worked and the infection continued to spread. He has been in almost unbearable pain along with swelling for over three months now even though he was on antibiotics. Currently he is receiving antibiotics 24/7 through a PICC line for about three weeks now.
Our dear friend, Gretchen Berggren, was able to get John an appointment with the Infectious Diseases Doctors at UC Anschutz Center. Their professional opinion is that it is impossible to contain the spread of the infection and John will now need to have a surgery to remove a large portion of the lower jawbone. Once healed another surgery will be required to build the jawbone back up with cadaver bone.
But keep in mind that John is a very strong person with a good attitude and his always present "Lets keep it fun" personality. He loves his family and friends dearly and wants all of you to know that he will get through this with God's help and all of your prayers.
Thank you so much, dear friends, for all your prayers and healing wishes that you have shared with us. We will keep you posted through this website.
The next appointments at Anschutz will be to determine what the next steps are and when. The first is on July 11th with the surgeon, and then on the 12th with John's Infectious Diseases Dr. Our daughter, Melinda Tolentino, (OR Nurse 22 years) and Gretchen Berggren and David Newberry, both renowned Doctors and close friends will be in attendance at these appointments.
Regarding updates to this site, Melinda will provide updates from a medical professional viewpoint and I will be sending updates for John on a personal level.
