Today my mom will undergo two minor surgeries to deal with the pleural effusion that has been building up in her right lung. First, they will drain the fluid from the lung via a small tube that is inserted through the chest (or back, I'm not entirely sure which). Then, they will investigate what is causing the pleural effusion by performing Thoracoscopy, which involves inserting a small camera through the chest so that they can look around inside the lung. The final step, as I understand it, is to insert Bleomycin (or something) into the lung through a needle to essentially glue parts of the lung together to prevent fluid from accumulating again.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, the doctors will then focus on diagnosing what is wrong with my mother's abdomen, which has been causing her pain. I am hoping that the abdominal pain is just a symptom of the pleural effusion and not something worse (like ascites).
The picture (from my camera-phone) shows that despite everything, my mom is in good spirits.
-GW
3 comments:
Your picture looks gorgeous -- usually more color around you though. Glad to see you smiling! Are you up to visitors? This is my first time using a "blog". I feel so ultra-modern, now. This is great to keep in touch with you.
Tuesday was a good day for Janet.
She had the surgery to drain her right lung. This was serious process and 5 liters were removed. That much fluid was bearing down and upsetting her abdomen a lot. The lung was full. She is now breathing freely without a tube. There was risk that she could not breath on her own, and that could have led to complications. With luck, a chest drain tube will be removed tomorrow or Thursday and janet will not get an infection. If so, she can leave at the end of this week. The surgery also included a mico camera inspection inside her lung, and the thoracic surgeon saw the damage that the cancer has caused. It really is a stage 4 case, but we already knew this. Surgery or even lung removal is not an option. Joan Chouili was a great help to me in coming to terms with what was happening to Janet this last week.
Chemo lays in store for her.
She was in good spirits and resting comfortably when I left her.
The other good news was that we have succeeded in getting an expedited appointment at Hopkins next week. Janet and I will go up for a consultation. Great! This will bouy Janet's spirits. The next hurdle will be kaiser permanent putting roadblocks in such a referal, but we have some ideas on how to deal with this.
So all the scrambling that you all did was great. We quickly ascertained who was who and what was what. This helped us focus our energies on how to get Janet the best possible care in the shortest possible time, notwithstanding bureaucratic inertia.
And your thoughts and prayers have contributed too. It has given Janet great strength to know that you care so much for her.
george quinn
Aliya,
How nice to see you smiling! I think we must get you a hospital gown in a bright color encrusted with swarovski crystals and sequins for the diva that you are!
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