Day 2

A beautiful sunny day in Seattle today. Dad's feeling pretty good. He doesn't have much of a voice today due to the NG tube, and perhaps a bit of the dehydration of yesterday, but he's raring to get up and move. Waiting for his 4th walk of the day (it's only 10:30 here now). He told us that he did 3 laps then 4 laps then 5 laps. To put this into a bit of perspective, we are only 40 hours post-op and each new nurse or doc that  comes in mentions that he should maybe try to walk a bit around the room soon.  I think he likes the shock on their face when he tells them he's ready to go for his 4th round. I really need to get him a pedometer to help him keep track. Some talk about maybe removing one of the drains today, but not sure quite what that means. He's a bit uncomfortable sitting in bed or the chair, which is another reason why he likes to go on walks, to get a new position and just "out" of the same room.

He sings because he can!

One of the potential complications the surgeons mentioned to Dad before the surgery was potential damage to his vocal cords or to a nerve in his neck region very close to where they were working that controls speech.  This was a particular concern for Dad who, of course uses his voice to preach, to comfort, and to minister. So, it was a great comfort for him to be able speak yesterday upon coming out of anesthesia, and while his voice is a bit raspy right now with tubes in his nose, and the workout his lungs went through yesterday, his vocal cords don't seem to have been damaged at all. This morning, as Mom was reading Psalms out loud and dad was drifting in and out of sleep, he stared singing Our God Reigns and was able to actually belt it out. So thankful for this gift.

Tuesday

Day 1 post op and doing well. Dad is sitting up in a chair and they're talking about starting to use his j-tube later today, and possibly even walking around. Lots of tubes, of course. Mom counted 10 last night, down to 9 this morning and possibly 8 by tonight. Hoping Dad can get lots of rest today, and a bit of daytime TV. Praising God for His goodness to us.

Surgery day

6:45. We're sitting with Dad in his room (not ICU!). He's looking good and talking to us and his nurse a bit. He looks really good considering what he's been through. In a little pain, but not too bad. The nurses are making sure he's all hooked up properly and that things are flowing in and out as they should. A long day, thank you do much for your prayers as you've shared this journey with us. I'll update more tomorrow.

5:47. Still waiting for Dad to move from recovery. I don't really have anything to update, but every other time I've started an update, something has happened, so we'll see if this works.

3:29. Got a chance to talk to Dr. Wood and everything went well with the surgery. Just exactly as expected.  Praise to the Lord. He may be able to avoid the ICU altogether, but will have 7 days with the NG tube and 2-3 days with the neck and chest drains no matter where he's at.  He's still in recovery, we're waiting relatively patiently to see him when we get the OK.


3:01 p.m.  Still waiting to talk to Dr Wood. Dad's been in recovery since 1:30. Assume they'll move him to the ICU pretty soon.

1:23 p.m. We hear that Dad is done with surgery. Dr. Wood has to see another patient but will come and talk to us as soon as he's done there.

12:26. Still waiting. Maybe thinking about lunch, but not really.

10:04 Back from breakfast and a tour of the gift shop to a call from the nurse letting us know that Dad is in surgery. It took a little while to make sure all the scopes were placed correctly. Not sure exactly what time he went in but the surgery itself will likely be 4 hours from here.

8:03 am. I've moved over to the surgical waiting room where there's a board to update families on where patients are. Next to Dad's code it still says "arrived" so I'm pretty sure that means they haven't taken him into the OR yet. Also, Mom is still "back" there with him, she will come find me in this waiting room when ...  Ah, she just walked in

8:11. Dad's status has changed to "patient in the OR". Mom said he had a bit of a "vagal event" when administering the epidural, but the anesthioligists were watching him and got him through the feeling of faintness before proceeding.  They assured Mom (and Dad) that things were fine to proceed. So, now the waiting begins. I think mom and I are going to see if we can find some breakfast.

Good morning. It is 5:56 am and Dad is checking in at surgery reception. We were up early this morning to drive through a bit of rain to get to Seattle. We all got a bit of sleep lat night, but it's going to be a long day no matter what.  I'm writing from my phone, so please forgive the many spelling errors there are sure to be

6:40. Dad and Mom were just taken back to pre-op. I'll check in w the desk in a bit to move to the official waiting room. Sudoku and jumble completed.

Getting Ready

A pleasant quiet weekend here in Stanwood.  We've been tranquilly busy getting ready for tomorrow.  Packing, choosing books, Sunday brunch, washing clothes, drinking magnesium, phone calls with family, couple miles around the neighborhood, Sunday naps. 

Dad reports to the surgical floor of the Medical Center at the University of Washington at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow, and we've been told to expect surgery to take 6-9 hours.  So it will certainly be a long day for us tomorrow, even though Dad won't be aware of most of the day.  Mom got a hotel room about a mile away for a couple of nights for the two of us, which will be nice both for the shuttle and room. 

I've figured out how to update this blog through my phone, so I'm planning to post periodic updates tomorrow as we know them.  Hope you'll follow along throughout the day if you are interested.

There are a lot of unknowns for the next couple of weeks, but we are so grateful we can trust in the One who does.

We took the day on Thursday to go to Deception Pass and Whidbey Island.  I'll add one of the pictures from Mt. Erie that turned out decently, considering it came from my phone.

Good news

As you are probably aware, Dad had a CT scan this week, and met with Dr. Wood to discuss the scan on Wednesday.  We received the best news possible.  The spots that showed up on his lungs August 1 have not changed in any way, and closer inspection of the 1st scan done in April at another institution (therefore a different machine, and a slightly different angle) show that these spots have likely been there all along.  What does this mean? The cancer has shown no signs of metastasizing (spreading) outside of the esophagus.  And since Dad has gained back quite a bit of strength over the past month, he was OK'd to proceed with surgery to remove the esophagus and pull up his stomach.  This is scheduled for Monday, September 10.

I (Sara) am flying back out to Washington this Sunday (Sept 2) and will be out there for a few weeks.  They were told that Dad will be in the hospital for 7-9 days after surgery, and then a few weeks (months?) of  recovery at home as he works to gain back strength and adjust to the rearrangement of his organs.

In the continuing "God is so good and preparing things in advance" story of my life this year, a good friend from work who is moving away from Rochester the end of September, ends her apartment lease today and will be staying at my place for the next 3 weeks.  She's planning to "move in" on Sunday after giving me a ride to the airport.  Isn't it just crazy/amazing/only-God-arranged, how this has all been working out?

I'll post more next week once I find out a few more details about the surgery to let you know how to be specifically praying for Dad (and Mom).  Are there any questions you have that you'd like me to answer in the blog?

August

How did it get to be August 16 already? This month is just flying by.  So, now in the third week of August, here's where we're at.  Dad had a Pulmonary Function Test, CT, and PET scan on July 31 and on Aug 1 he and Mom met with Dr. Wood (the thoracic surgeon at the University of Washington Medical Center who will be performing the surgery) to discuss the results of the Tuesday tests.  Dad passed the the Pulmonary Function Test that measures his lung function and capacity with flying colors, however the CT scan shows three small spots on Dad's lungs that were not on the scans done in May.  These spots are very small, so small that they can not (yet) be biopsied.  So, Dr. Wood recommended that we wait a month, give Dad some time to gain strength and recover from radiation and chemo, and then do another CT scan to see what's happening with these spots.  Dad is scheduled for that second CT scan on August 28 and a consult with Dr. Wood on August 29.  If these spots have not grown, and are otherwise not worrisome, they'll use that time on the 29th as a pre-op appointment for Dad, meaning (we think) that surgery is likely to be sometime the first week of September.

I (Sara) was able to fly back to Rochester the evening of August 1 and came home to a beautifully kept house thanks to my friends Bobbi and Willi who closed on their own house that same day.  It's nice to be back home, back at work, and back at my home church.  I am planning to go back to Washington Labor Day weekend to be there for the week or two of Dad's surgery, and it sounds like I'll be able to work from Washington again for few weeks beyond that.

It's a bit difficult to know the "best" way to plan when we don't really know what these spots mean.  For most people spots on the lungs could mean many different things, anything from remnants on the scan to scarring from a past respiratory infection to a malignant or benign cancer.  For Dad, it could also mean the same things, with the additional possibility of it being some kind of scarring from radiation. 

So, we are doing as Dr. Wood suggested and waiting a month and giving Dad time to regain strength.  And he has been getting stronger.  He's been able to eat actual food, and has been out walking, and (unbelievably from when I left) gaining weight!  These are all good things.  We are also learning (again) to wait on God and continue to bring our concerns and anxiety to him.  I don't know how it has been for the rest of the family, but for me I seem to experience daily, and sometimes hourly, tides where the waves bring in the refuse of anxiety and concern followed by the reminder that God is in control of all of this, washing away the driftwood of concern as the waves recede and His peace is left in the wake.  I am no closer to knowing or understanding, but I know that the tide waves will pass as surely as sun rises.

I don't think we'll know anything more until the 29th, but I'll try to keep you updated as we press on.