January 11, 2012
-
After 5 surgeries, shouldn’t this 6th one be free??
Posted by Stephanie 9:00pm CST from the new apartment Houston, TX
Greetings from Texas! Sammy and I arrived on Monday afternoon (he by car, and I by plane), and we’ve barely had a free moment since. Let’s get right to it, since I’m looking to get an early bedtime tonight for surgery tomorrow!
My second trip to New York City, for the Synergy Education Advanced workshop last week, was truly transformational. I feel empowered and ready to make a difference, in my own life and on a much bigger level. Again, as I said in my last post, I’m looking forward to having enough free time in the near future to really write about the gifts I’ve been given in these workshops!
So, now we’re in Houston, and getting into ‘kick-ass’ mode for tomorrow’s surgery. Monday evening, all day Tuesday, and the first half of today were filled with preparatory tests, procedures and appointments. Here’s the good great news: yesterday’s CT scan showed no new spots, and no growth in the right lung nodule they’re taking out tomorrow. Hooray!! I saw both Dr. Benjamin, my oncologist, and Dr. Swisher, my thoracic surgeon, and they’re both pleased with the scan results. There is a large amount of inflammation in the upper lobe of my left lung on this new set of scans, but we were told that’s most definitely from the proton therapy I underwent two months ago. That should improve over the next several months, though I’ll have some permanent scarring to that area. In addition to the scans, bloodwork and doctor’s followups, I also saw anesthesia, had a pulmonary function test (Sammy calls it my ‘Darth Vader phone booth’ breathing test), and had a special procedure done this morning. Because the lung nodule they’re removing tomorrow is so small, Dr. Swisher wanted to do a needle localization to make it easier to locate during surgery. The procedure involves being partially sedated, then laying on a CT scan table (on my stomach in this case, since the easiest access to the tumor is through my back) while a doctor inserts dye and a small coil into my lung via a long needle to mark the exact location of the tumor. All in all, it took around an hour, since I had to be scanned periodically during the process to ensure the needle was advancing to the correct location. Afterward, I had to remain in the recovery area an additional three hours and have a series of x-rays done to make sure I didn’t suffer a collapsed lung during the procedure (which I didn’t).
After completing the needle localization procedure this afternoon, mom, Ang (who both flew in this morning), Sammy and I all came back to the apartment. Yes, I’m thrilled to share that after putting our name on the waiting list a week and a half ago, we got a call Sunday saying that an apartment was available for us to move into as soon as we arrived (through the church ministry program we’ve used so many times in the past). I’m beyond thrilled that I’ll have the opportunity to recover here, in a spacious, fully-furnished and comfortable space, after I discharge from the hospital, instead of having to be in a cramped hotel room! That, and the apartment is half the cost per day of even the cheapest extended-stay hotel. Truly a blessing. If anyone would like the address (we’ll be here until around January 25th), just let Sammy (sammyminge@gmail.com) or me (stephanieminge@hotmail.com) know.
This evening’s festivities included our usual pre-surgery ritual: dinner at Buca di Beppo’s. We’ve all stuffed ourselves silly (and enjoyed the company of our friends Bryan and Joanna) and are now in a food coma haze. Add that to the dinner Sammy and I had last night with our pals Joe and Sarah at El Tiempo (Sammy’s favorite restaurant ever. Really.), and we’ve certainly made food a central part of our first couple days in town. Certainly a good thing in my case, since I’ll not be eating much for the next few days, and will have a decreased appetite for the next few weeks.
Tomorrow our report time to the hospital is 5:15am. Ouch. The surgery itself will probably start around 7am CST (that’s 8am for all you folk back home) and should only take a couple of hours. Can’t say that I’m really nervous–this is very straight forward compared to my last surgery, where a positive outcome wasn’t guaranteed going in. This will be easy!…..okay, not really, but you get what I mean. Sammy will be posting on Facebook and giving an update here once everything is said and done. Any and all prayers, happy thoughts and good vibes you’d like to send our way are much appreciated. Goodnight!
-Steph
