Surprise From Erin's LAX Team!

Look what a nice surprise I got from Erin's lax team:

All the girls on the lacrosse team surprised me with a big bouquet of good wishes after a lacrosse game this week.  It was a very cold afternoon so I watched them win the game from a nice warm spot in a friend's car.  Erin scored!

Many thanks for all the emails, cards, books, meals, rides and both floral and edible arrangements!! I feel surrounded by love and prayers.     

A bit of new news ...

I am getting stronger every day and relying on pain medicine less and less so that is good news.  I have been able to go on walks every day since I got home from the hospital and several were over an hour long.   Last weekend was busy with a lacrosse tournament and a track meet on Saturday for my daughters.  I went to both events, but only got a picture at the track meet.  My Mom and my runner girl, Katie, are in the picture with me.  I have NOT shrunk - we are standing on stadium steps and I am still taller than both of them!

I did get some bad news today, though, that the cancer has spread outside of the colon.  Of the 25 lymph nodes that the surgeon removed to test for cancer cells, 3 tested positive.  I don't know much more than that except that I will have to have another round of chemotherapy after I heal from the surgery.   I don't return to Duke for a followup appointment with the surgeon and my oncologist until April 10th, so I probably won't know anything more until then.

Chris Is Home.

Chris was discharged at 2:30 today, and is recovering at home.  She is doing very well.

Sorry for the delay in posting news!  Duke Hospital is extremely busy for the patient, and caregivers.  There was rarely been any down.

Done!

I just met the surgeon, and she said everything went "as perfect as she could expect".  The tumor was completely removed, with a sufficient margin.

I am waiting to be called to the recovery room.

Not much from OR...

I just got the informative update from 2:53pm: "We're still working on Chris".  I think they updated me now because we passed the 6 hour mark, and the target range was 6-8 hours.

2 out of 3 Procedures Done

The first 2 procedures, which are the prep work for the oncologist, are done.  I met with one of the surgeons, and he said the tissues surrounding the tumor look good.  The oncologist started her part at about 1PM.

Got Paged!

Don't get too excited.  The message was from the docs at 11:55:  "The procedure started at 10.  We apologize for the delay informing you".  That's it.

So they don't get that 1/2 star back, yet.

She' Probably in the Procedure.

Anesthesia must have forgotten that they were supposed to tell me when they were ready to go.  My pager has been silent, but her status on the patient monitors in the waiting area is now showing 'In Procedure'.  It was 'In Prep'.

I'm going to need to dock them 1/2 star from the 'communication' section of our review.  We'll see if they can earn it back...

She's In!

We arrived at Duke right on time at 6, then waited about 45 min for Chris to get called to pre-op.  After she was prepped, I was allowed back for about 1/2 hour as the surgical team discussed the procedure and did their prep.  She was then taken to anesthesia, and I was banished to the waiting room.  The anesthesia step is supposed to take about 90 min, and I will be updated when that is done.  That will signal the start of the 'real' procedure.

The good news is that the surgeon, who has been very terse, and matter-of-fact when we have met with her in the past, seemed to be in a very good mood.  

Arrival Time is 6AM

As expected, Chris got the scheduling call from Duke today.  She will need to arrive by 6AM.

Surgery Prep is Complete.

After a LONG day visiting Duke for surgery prep, this is what we know:

• The procedure is scheduled for 3/12.  Chris will need to arrive at about 5:30AM, and the procedure will begin at about 8:30AM.  She will get a call with the exact times on 3/11.
• There will be 3 surgeons involved, and each will only be working on Chris.  That is, they have no other patients or appointments scheduled for the day.
• Because Duke is a teaching hospital, there may be residents in the room observing, but none are allowed to participate in the procedure. 
• The procedure will last 6-8 hours, with the clock starting at the first incision.
• Duke has a paging system that will provide me (Dave) with updates from the doctors during the procedure.  In reality, I don't know how often, or how much information they will pass on, but I will make an effort to update this blog during the day if I get meaningful updates.
• Chris is supposed to be up and walking the morning after surgery.
• Chris will stay in the hospital for 2-14 days.  Really, that's the range we were told.  The whisper number from the nurses is 3-5 days.
• Chris will be allowed solid food immediately, and have no diet restrictions.

CT Scan Shows No Spread!

Chris had appointments today for a CT scan, blood tests, a GI Oncology examination, and a Radiation Oncology examination.  The best news we got is that the CT scan showed no spread of the cancer to distant organs.  The blood tests also showed nothing unexpected.  The GI Oncologists and Radiation Oncologists were very pleased with the test results, and the exams Chris received today.

Surgery is now scheduled for Wednesday March 12.  Chris will meet with the surgeons on Thursday (3/6) to discuss the procedure details.

Since the radiation treatment ended, Chris has bounced completely back, and her energy level is as high as ever.