We Celebrate

Lord, we give you all the glory! You have heard our cries, bent down to hear us, and answered our pleas...

Dr. Lin just stopped in for a visit and gave us the best news we could possibly get. The pathology report came back and there were no lymph nodes involved and he felt like he got it all. It was still at Stage One. The cancer was found at its earliest stage. His recommendation was no further treatment. I brought up the discussion that Pat and I had with the first oncologist about microscopic cancer cells that can't be seen. He said that we should keep our oncologist appointment and discuss it further, but he said you have to weigh the effects of chemo and radiation. So, Dr. Lin's final recommendation is no further treatment. We will see the oncologist on September 9th and go from there. Also the CAT scan came back on his head and all is well there. The plan now is to continue to allow Pat to rest and heal this next week. He will do the swallowing test on Tuesday. If that test is successful we will start introducing liquids, but keep the feeding tube. Actually the feeding tube will go home with us for about a month. Pat did not sleep well last night, but is more comfortable than the night before. Dr. Lin prescribed a sleeping aide for tonight so that Pat can cut back on the pain medication. Pain medication is prescribed as needed from now on. He is still requesting the medication about every four to six hours as well as ibuprofen for his headache every four to six hours. This morning at 5:20 he got his shower, blew dry his hair and went for a walk. Pat looks absolutely normal except for the NRG tube coming out of his nose which drains his stomach and he has his feeding tube. He also has about a 8" scar on his stomach and about 5" scar on his neck. He is getting stronger each day and he is able to get up and down by himself. He is being a good patient and I am so proud of him. He did tell me yesterday "this has been hard". Pat and I knew that surgery would be a difficult one, but I guess we weren't prepared for how tough it has been! I guess if we really knew what we were facing it would have scared us even more. I slept good last night and went back to bed after 6:00 this morning for a couple of hours. I feel more like myself today after I showered and put on makeup for the first time in two days. It is going to be a great day! Pat was too drowsy to really comprehend what the doctor said this morning, so I get to tell him this great news when he wakes up from La-La Land! I am so excited!

Hugs!