The astute reader would have picked up the impatience and -- yes, let's say it -- depression in the last post. The seemingly endless waiting, the eternal quest for just one more piece of information, the underlying fear that the string of good news couldn't last -- it was all taking a terrible toll on me.
But despair has taken a holiday. The doctors now seem to have all the information they need and are ready to move forward. The pathology report came in and showed only one lymph node on the esophagus with cancer. Zero cancer would have been our best hope, but I'm happy with the next best thing.
Surgery has been scheduled for bright and early Wednesday morning February 27. They'll remove that one lymph node and one lobe of my lung, where the lung cancer is. I'll be in the hospital for 3 - 5 days, then recovery at home for about 3 weeks. At some point afterwards, I'll have chemotherapy with perhaps a bit of radiation therapy as well. And no, I don't know when that will start nor how long it will last. I'm pretty committed to the One Step at a Time philosophy of coping.
Sherri will take me to Shelly's place in Seattle on Tuesday evening, then Shelly will deliver me to Swedish Hospital at 6:00 am.
The doctor has told me that the most painful part of the post-op recovery is that they will have to move aside a rib or two to get to the lung. Ouch. He has also assured me that they'll be using "aggressive pain management" afterwards to help ensure that I'll continue to take deep breaths. Most of us are aware that one of the primary concerns after just about any major surgery is getting the patient to breathe deeply and keep the lungs clear. One of the nurses at last Wednesday's biopsy procedure told me that insufficient breathing can bring on pneumonia within a few hours! So as you send out healing thoughts my way, be sure to send them on a wave of a deep breath.
Shelly will come home and stay with me for about 3 days, and after that I'm just not sure what I'm going to want or need. I'm pretty sure I'll continue to need a lot of help for at least a week, but I don't know yet what that help is going to look like. I'll give Shelly access to this blog so she can keep everyone updated.
The love and good wishes of my fabulous family and friends continue to give me strength. Deep thanks to all of you.
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