Sunday, February 22, 2015

A ROUGH RIDE TO A HAPPY ENDING

O Lord, your compassion is great and your mercies are new every morning: We give you thanks for giving Tom both relief from pain and hope of health renewed. Continue in him, we pray, the good work you have begun; that he, daily increasing in bodily strength, and rejoicing in your goodness, may so order his life and conduct that he may always think and do those things that please you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer)

Tom had surgery this past Wednesday to remove a small malignant tumor from his colon. The section of the colon where the tumor was located was removed and the ends stitched together. All went well with the surgery, and he is making an amazing recovery. Thursday evening, I rejoiced at the good news that the pathology report showed that the lymph nodes removed during surgery are all free of cancer, and he will need no further treatment. He came home Friday morning.  We've had a rough ride to a happy ending.

Thanks be to God, the doctors, the hospital staff, and the wonders of technology of surgery by robot...with a doctor standing by, of course.

Tom's recovery continues apace. Scarlett, the Cat, is a wonderful nurse and sleeps by his side every night. She's glad to have him home. I am, too.

13 comments:

  1. TBTG, and more prayers ascending for Tom's complete recovery and renewed health!

    {{{Mimi}}}

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  2. I'm glad to hear this. I'll keep you both in prayer.

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  3. Glad to hear the good news. But robot surgeons?? Oh my, I am way behind the times, I had no idea.

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  4. I rejoice with you and Tom, June, and continue prayers for Tom's recovery, strength and health.

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  5. Thank you all. We had a setback last night when Tom started feeling queasy followed by dry heaves and then vomited a couple of time, but we went to the doctor today. An x-ray showed there was no obvious obstruction, but that he was close to borderline dehydrated. He does not want to drink if he's not thirsty, but he has to drink or he will have to go back to the hospital to be rehydrated with a drip. Men! They are hardheaded sometimes.

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  6. Men, hardheaded? Why, Miss June, I have NO idea what you are talking about. (But I have been married only 44 years, so I probly have a lot to learn yet.)

    Keeping you both in prayer. So glad the surgery went well, and may the recovery be smooth from here on.

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  7. I'm sorry to say that Tom is still vomiting. He is going for tests today, and I expect he will be readmitted to the hospital for rehydration, even if nothing else is found.

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  8. I apologize for leaving you hanging without finishing the story. Tom's complication was caused by his intestine slipping through a tiny hole in the peritoneum, about the size of a pinkie finger, through which a small robot arm is threaded and manipulated. Surgeons never uses stitches because the opening generally closes on its own. In Tom's case, it didn't, resulting in a pinched intestine which caused a blockage. Tom made medical history. The procedure his surgeon used is standard, so the mistake was not in the surgery, but I'm thinking the procedure may need a second look.

    Thank you all for the prayers and good wishes.

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    1. I am glad to hear this. Continued prayers for healing.

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    2. I should have added that after the minor surgery to close the hole, Tom came home, and is now doing well.

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  9. Late to the party...sorry, it surely wasn't a party for either of you...but I hope Tom continues to do well. I'm glad to see Scarlett is doing her job!

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    1. Thanks, Bex. Now that Tom has been home for a while, Scarlett is not staying so close and is back to nighttime wandering about the house and sleeping somewhere else.

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