The last two weeks have been difficult at best, and horrific at the core.
To catch up, the chemical stress test was completed on September 18, and it was found that Ed's heart would be able to withstand the surgery. So now, we just had to get the surgery rescheduled. Simple, right? Not so much. Dr. Cousins' office called us on Monday, September 21, to tell us that the soonest they could get the surgery scheduled was on Wednesday, September 30. Pre-admission testing was to be done the day before, which is the day I'm posting this entry.
To back up a little, the level of Ed's pain has been steadily increasing and his appetite and mobility decreasing. Things kind of came to a head on Sunday, the 27th, when his breathing began to sound rattly. I called the doctor on call, who told me the only thing he could recommend was to take him to the ER if he was having trouble breathing. Ed adamantly refused going to the hospital. I called Dr. Cousins' office the next morning and was told we had two choices: wait until the surgery which would be in two days, or go to the ER. Again, Ed did not want to go to the ER. He was in so much pain, even with me giving him pain medication every four hours as prescribed, that he couldn't bear the thought of sitting in the ER. So we toughed it out for another day. We told ourselves that surely when we went to pre-admission testing the following day, they would admit him when they saw how bad his condition had become. Secretly, I was praying that they would admit him. I was so worried about him that I felt he may not even be able to have the surgery in his weakened condition.
So Tuesday, September 29, we went to the hospital for PAT. They ran him through another battery of tests, but upon getting the results of his bloodwork, saw that his white blood count was twice the normal level. That fact alone made them decide to admit him and cancel the surgery for the following day. They also did another chest X-ray and CAT scan, which they did not say much about. After a while, he was taken to his hospital room and IV's were started for antibiotics and pain meds - the good stuff. He began to get sleepy and I told him I was going home and to call me if he needed anything.
At home on the computer, I looked up the results of his reports today. I know that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but I was alarmed at the CAT scan report. It said, "Metastatic disease is worsening with increasing chest wall invasion and bone destruction." It doesn't take a rocket scientist (or a brain surgeon) to understand what that means. What I don't understand is that if the difference in this CAT scan and the last one was that pronounced, why weren't we told this by one of the doctors? You can bet I'll be finding out some answers tomorrow.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Thursday, September 17, 2015
September 17, 2015
We live sort of out in the country, so it's very dark at night. We have a rather large dusk-to-dawn light over our garage that has worked great for the last 11 years we've lived here, and we've only had to change the humongous bulb maybe twice. Lately, however, the light has been less dependable, shining on some nights and then not working for the next several nights. There's no rhyme nor reason for this phenomenon. We jokingly refer to it as either "the light gods are with us tonight" or they're not.
It's been a couple of weeks since I last wrote in my blog. To update the situation (and keep the details accurate in my mind), the biopsy done on the lymph node near Ed's heart thankfully showed no malignancy. So, it was decided, that the course of action going forward would be surgery to remove the mass(es) in the right lung. Surgery was scheduled for the following Wednesday, September 9, with pre-admission testing to be done on Tuesday the 8th, the day after my birthday.
We spent my birthday, which was Labor Day, with our daughter, her husband, and our granddaughter, Delilah, who is almost five. Our son had plans and couldn't join us. My daughter's family had just adopted a new puppy a couple of days before. It was decided that, after initial plans for a celebratory dinner out fell through, we would have a simple dinner at our house and enjoy our family time and meeting the new puppy. Ed was unable to eat, but he enjoyed watching Delilah and the puppy play.
The following day, he felt well enough to drive himself to pre-admission testing, as I had an appointment with a client with my small web design business. The doctor's office called shortly after he returned home from the pre-admission testing. They told him the surgery planned for the following day was postponed, pending clearance from a cardiologist. It seemed as though something was different from his EKG than the one he'd had the previous week. The lung doctor's office told us they would make an appointment for him with a cardiologist and proceed with re-scheduling the surgery after the cardiologist gave his approval.
What followed was another long, agonizing week of waiting. I have to mention that there was one night that Ed's pain was so intense that he literally cried out a time or two from the rib pain. That night, neither of us slept at all. He then began taking the prescription pain medication on a regular basis. Finally, on Monday, September 14, we got the call from the lung doctor's office saying the cardiologist appointment would be Wednesday the 16th. Two days later, we met Dr. Scott Duffy, the cardiologist. He was very gentle and concerned, taking his time to explain that Ed would need a stress test, and he would have to score either a "low" or "moderate" risk on the stress test before the surgery could be performed. The chemical stress test was scheduled for 9 AM, Friday, September 16.
Praying the light gods are with us.
It's been a couple of weeks since I last wrote in my blog. To update the situation (and keep the details accurate in my mind), the biopsy done on the lymph node near Ed's heart thankfully showed no malignancy. So, it was decided, that the course of action going forward would be surgery to remove the mass(es) in the right lung. Surgery was scheduled for the following Wednesday, September 9, with pre-admission testing to be done on Tuesday the 8th, the day after my birthday.
We spent my birthday, which was Labor Day, with our daughter, her husband, and our granddaughter, Delilah, who is almost five. Our son had plans and couldn't join us. My daughter's family had just adopted a new puppy a couple of days before. It was decided that, after initial plans for a celebratory dinner out fell through, we would have a simple dinner at our house and enjoy our family time and meeting the new puppy. Ed was unable to eat, but he enjoyed watching Delilah and the puppy play.
The following day, he felt well enough to drive himself to pre-admission testing, as I had an appointment with a client with my small web design business. The doctor's office called shortly after he returned home from the pre-admission testing. They told him the surgery planned for the following day was postponed, pending clearance from a cardiologist. It seemed as though something was different from his EKG than the one he'd had the previous week. The lung doctor's office told us they would make an appointment for him with a cardiologist and proceed with re-scheduling the surgery after the cardiologist gave his approval.
What followed was another long, agonizing week of waiting. I have to mention that there was one night that Ed's pain was so intense that he literally cried out a time or two from the rib pain. That night, neither of us slept at all. He then began taking the prescription pain medication on a regular basis. Finally, on Monday, September 14, we got the call from the lung doctor's office saying the cardiologist appointment would be Wednesday the 16th. Two days later, we met Dr. Scott Duffy, the cardiologist. He was very gentle and concerned, taking his time to explain that Ed would need a stress test, and he would have to score either a "low" or "moderate" risk on the stress test before the surgery could be performed. The chemical stress test was scheduled for 9 AM, Friday, September 16.
Praying the light gods are with us.
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
How it started
We've all heard that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. This journey didn't exactly start that way. This journey, now being walked by my husband, Ed, of 43 years, started with a new part-time job after being retired for several years. The TB test required by this job resulted in a reaction. Since the job involved delivering drugs to chemo patients, the positive TB test necessitated a chest x-ray. The chest x-ray revealed something suspicious on the right lung, possibly asbestosis. The radiologist reading the x-ray requested a CAT scan be done. So, off to the family doctor Ed went to get the order for the CAT scan. The CAT scan was performed several days later, on a Thursday, actually on August 27, 2015. The call from the family doctor that evening was not a good sign. Ed was told that he needed to see a pulmonary specialist as soon as possible. We got a call the next morning at 9 AM to be at the pulmonary doctor's office at 11 AM. Dr. Cousins, the pulmonary doctor, was very serious and concerned as he told us right off that the CAT scan results, along with Ed's symptoms, almost certainly indicated lung cancer.
To back up a bit, maybe two months' prior to all of this happening, Ed noticed pain in his right rib area. As I mentioned, he had retired, having been a self-employed heating and cooling contractor for 30 some years. In his semi-retirement, he would do HVAC jobs here and there, mostly for people he knew. He had just done one of these jobs when he noticed the rib pain, so he naturally attributed it to pulling a muscle or twisting too hard. The pain subsided after a couple of days, so he didn't think anymore about it.
Then he started to work on his part-time driving job in mid-July. He was noticing being tired, and he mentioned a stark change in his bowel habits. He was also losing weight. He had lost maybe 20 pounds in the month leading up to all of this. He had little to no appetite. These are the symptoms on which the lung doctor was now concentrating.
Dr. Cousins drew us a picture of the CAT scan results.
The dark spot on the middle (M) section of the right (R) lung shows the mass that was pushing into the ribs, causing the pain. The large round circle between the lungs represents the heart. The small circle with dots in it above the heart represents the lymph gland that is near the heart. The doctor wanted to do a two-part operation which required putting Ed to sleep, making an incision in his throat, and doing down alongside his bronchial tube to remove a biopsy of the lymph glad. This was the first part. The second part was going in his lung and taking a biopsy there as well. After many calls and much determination on the doctor's part, the surgery would be performed on Monday, August 31.
I awoke at 3:30 that morning and couldn't go back to sleep. Ed got up at 6 and had to shower with a special soap in preparation for the morning's surgery. We were at CAMC at 7, and our day began. He was being "worked in" to the surgery schedule, so we weren't sure what time the surgery would be. As it turned out, the surgery for someone that was scheduled before was cancelled, so he went in at 10:00, with the doctor telling me that it should take about an hour. I called my daughter, Alison, who had promised to come and sit with me, and she said she'd be right there. Alison arrived, an hour came and went, then another hour. Finally, at 12:30 PM, Dr. Cousins came into the waiting area. He said the delay was from taking several biopsies and checking them in the Lab. The lymph gland was hard, which was unusual. The pathology report would take several days, and that would tell the story. If the lymph gland was clear, they could possible do surgery and remove the mass from the lung. If the lymph gland was affected, that would mean that it's Stage 4 lung cancer and chemo and radiation would follow. Dr. Cousins said we should hear something by the end of the week.
So now, we're on Day 2 (Tuesday) of our wait, trying to live life as relatively normal as possible. Ed is trying to eat, sleeping when tired, and taking as little pain medication - the hard stuff - as possible. He's taking Advil and Aleve, and both of those seem to be working.
To back up a bit, maybe two months' prior to all of this happening, Ed noticed pain in his right rib area. As I mentioned, he had retired, having been a self-employed heating and cooling contractor for 30 some years. In his semi-retirement, he would do HVAC jobs here and there, mostly for people he knew. He had just done one of these jobs when he noticed the rib pain, so he naturally attributed it to pulling a muscle or twisting too hard. The pain subsided after a couple of days, so he didn't think anymore about it.
Then he started to work on his part-time driving job in mid-July. He was noticing being tired, and he mentioned a stark change in his bowel habits. He was also losing weight. He had lost maybe 20 pounds in the month leading up to all of this. He had little to no appetite. These are the symptoms on which the lung doctor was now concentrating.
Dr. Cousins drew us a picture of the CAT scan results.
I awoke at 3:30 that morning and couldn't go back to sleep. Ed got up at 6 and had to shower with a special soap in preparation for the morning's surgery. We were at CAMC at 7, and our day began. He was being "worked in" to the surgery schedule, so we weren't sure what time the surgery would be. As it turned out, the surgery for someone that was scheduled before was cancelled, so he went in at 10:00, with the doctor telling me that it should take about an hour. I called my daughter, Alison, who had promised to come and sit with me, and she said she'd be right there. Alison arrived, an hour came and went, then another hour. Finally, at 12:30 PM, Dr. Cousins came into the waiting area. He said the delay was from taking several biopsies and checking them in the Lab. The lymph gland was hard, which was unusual. The pathology report would take several days, and that would tell the story. If the lymph gland was clear, they could possible do surgery and remove the mass from the lung. If the lymph gland was affected, that would mean that it's Stage 4 lung cancer and chemo and radiation would follow. Dr. Cousins said we should hear something by the end of the week.
So now, we're on Day 2 (Tuesday) of our wait, trying to live life as relatively normal as possible. Ed is trying to eat, sleeping when tired, and taking as little pain medication - the hard stuff - as possible. He's taking Advil and Aleve, and both of those seem to be working.
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