3 Weeks Post Resection, Lung Update, and Ablation

Tim’s liver surgeon resected about 80% of his liver and removed his gallbladder on Friday, February 2.  It was a long, grueling 10-hour procedure, but a dear group of friends came and spent the day with me and kept me distracted from watching the clock all day. After a long wait in PACU, a bed finally became available in extended PACU that night about 10:00.   The next morning Tim was up walking and we were finally moved to a regular room late Saturday afternoon.  The doctor had prepared us for a 7-10 day stay, but Tim did everything he was told and we broke free on Tuesday morning after only four days.

After returning home, we found that energy and appetite have been almost non existent, but he has pushed through and has been walking almost two miles a day.  He’s returned for two follow up visits and the doctor appears to be astonished at how well he’s recovering.

Last week began what feels like daily trips to the medical center - not really, but it feels that way. On Monday he was scheduled for a CT scan to see how the liver is growing back and to get exact locations of the three remaining tumors in the liver.  On Wednesday, we had a consultation with the lung surgeon. He said, “I see nothing to be concerned about, and don’t take this the wrong way, but I hope I never see you again.”  He reassured us that they would continue to monitor and if anything came up, he would have a plan. Praise God! We needed some good news.

We returned Friday for a pre-op for an ablation if the three remaining tumors.  After the weekend enjoying Cooper’s last basketball game and church on Sunday, we left home early this morning for the 4th time in 7 days to check in for the ablation at 7:00 this morning.  Basically, the radiologist used a CT to guide long probes into the liver and microwaves “burned” or ablated the tumors.  We expected to be in recovery 3 hours post procedure, but Tim’s body did not handle the procedure well. He suffered severe pain and vomiting so the decision was made to admit him. We were moved to a room about 4:00 this afternoon and he’s been resting well. The good news in all of this is that his room is in a newer part of the building and much more comfortable than any of the others we’ve been in.

Next steps:
1. Plans are to be discharged tomorrow
2. Appointment with medical oncologist next week - praying we find out what the next treatment protocol entails and a timeline for that.
3. Appointment with colorectal surgeon early April and praying we get a timeline to get the rest of the cancer out of his body.

We’ve been fighting this 5 months and things have gone much better than we could have ever imagined.  Continue to pray for Tim’s recovery and health and for the kids as they are shuffled around on any given day.  We know many others are facing a much worse prognosis and we are not taking anything we are facing for granted.

Gallbladder and Most of Liver are Gone

It’s 8:30 pm and I’m sitting in PACU waiting for a room in extended recovery as Tim dozes in and out.  We checked in this morning at 5:15 and they took him back for surgery just before 7:00.  The surgery lasted right at 10 hours.  Dr. Chun said it went well when she came to see me about 5:00.   I am blessed by wonderful friends as they provided plenty of entertainment to distract me in between the updates every two hours. He’s resting fairly well but know the days ahead are will bring ups and downs.

Preparing for Liver Resection

We arrived at MD Anderson this morning for Anesthesia Assessment and a PreOp appointment with the surgeon.  Everything went smoothly in anesthesia and we were left with almost four hours until the afternoon appointment.

Tim and I ventured over to the McGovern Commons for lunch outside.  It only took us one new elevator, but Tim said he felt like we’d been on six.  After lunch we rode up to the observation deck on the 24th floor.  You can see all of the medical center, the ship channel, and back over to NRG on the side we were on.  From our chairs, all you could see were blue skies and clouds.  It’s supposed to be a quiet place, but others must not have realized that or cared. Nonetheless, we spent several hours reading and relaxing.

This afternoon, we met with Dr. Chun’s fellow who will be in the OR tomorrow morning and she explained that Tim’s case is one of the trickier ones.  When I asked to confirm the six- to eighth- hour length of surgery, she responded with “at least.”  She also explained that he will likely need a blood transfusion and explained the two possibilities for pain management. Dr. Chun and the anesthesiologist have already discussed that he will like have an epidural rather than tap blocks and they would get him up to walk on Saturday.

Basically, the most disappointing news was when the nurse’s aid said that he is on clear liquids from this point forward.  Too bad we didn’t have a good lunch. But then Dr. Chun came in and said he could eat a light supper.  We already knew we liked her, but he sure liked her more with that.

In all seriousness, we both really like her and have confidence in God’s work through her. Her bedside manner is excellent, as was her fellow’s.

We are now off to the Rotary House to attempt to get some much needed rest.  I know it’s going to be a long few days.