1624 an overdue update

The past few weeks have been extremely emotionally charged. 

There have been moments when I could’ve written something, anything…just to get an update posted.  But honestly, in those moments, the last thing I wanted to do was think about cancer…let alone write about it.  I just couldn’t deal with it.

Long story short…my mommy’s operation was yesterday afternoon.  It was supposed to be 4 hours or so, but it took much longer. 

The following is a re-post of the email my brother wrote so that all friends & family (including you) get the same info:

Hi everyone, we just wanted to send out an update as soon as we caught up on some sleep and were clear-eyed enough to type.

Mom’s surgery at UW – Madison yesterday lasted somewhere between 7 and 8 hours.  Although they attempted initially to perform it laparoscopically, they found that there was too much scar tissue and too many adhesions from her initial cancer treatments (radiation) 17 years ago, so they made a large incision to remove 2/3 of the stomach and free the intestine to connect it to the remaining stomach portion.  The recovery for this procedure is initially very uncomfortable, so she is being treated heavily for pain.

There is good news. The visual inspection of the abdomen showed no signs that tumor growth had spread beyond the walls of the stomach.  Initial inspection of the liver and pancreas showed them to be healthy.  To be extra sure, samples were taken of both, as well as many lymph glands – the pathology reports should be back in several days.  The surgery itself was done by the same surgeon that transplanted the kidney – both the transplant teams and the cancer teams are working in tandem to perform the operation and subsequent treatments.

A feeding tube was put in late last night. It will likely stay in for a while – it will be used as a means of delivering some medications, as well as nutrition – perhaps for as long as she receives chemo treatments.

The transplanted kidney continued to function healthily during the surgery.  The doctors are working hard to find a chemo combination that will not "anger’ the new kidney and either damage it, or cause rejection.

AS ALWAYS, we want to thank you for your support and prayers, and those of your churches and networks, as we are certain that is what is helping us through shuttling between two states to live, work, and go to school, and what put us in touch with a transplant team that works so closely with the cancer team at UW – amazingly both programs "happened" to be rated in the top 20 in the nation. 

Our bosses and employers have proven to be SAINTS in this matter.  "That Girl’s" inlaws have come all the way from Iowa at last minute notice to babysit so she could visit mother and be here for the surgery.  We are so thankful to everyone.  

God bless, The Family

These first post-operative days are always so traumatic.  My poor mommy is in tons of pain.  There is a tube in her nose to drain her little tummy of junk.  They can also use the tube to give her daily regimen of kidney meds (to prevent rejection) in liquid form.   

Her eyes are swollen shut.  Her arms and legs are extremely swollen as well.

I forgot how sour the post-operative smells are. 

We sat in her darkened room with the blinds drawn today.  The light upset her tummy.

I’m grateful that I had yeterday (to help get her admitted & readied for surgery) and today (to sit with her for a few hours).  I’m not sure when I can plan to get back up to Madison.  Certainly not before the weekend.  She’ll be in the hospital for at least 7-10 days of recovery.

Thank you all for your loving support.