Wild Swings and Other things

Stan Here:

Some of you have heard that the surgery today had the outcome of a very much better report than anything we have had before.  I just drove home and I wanted to give a little more detail to what we learned today.  Many of you know that when Deb was first diagnosed that we were not left with many reasons for optimism for a life that extended much beyond a very short time. The first surgery was was supposed to be 4 hours and when we were called to the room after 2 hours we were told that the cancer was so widespread that the only option was to attempt chemo therapy with the effort of prolonging life to the best of medical ability.  Deb has endured those treatments and dealt with the situation.  As time has past she has reached the conclusion she wanted to do all within her power to fight her way through this and in this past 7 months she has done so.

As this was going on we started to notice that all "the numbers" were pointing in the right direction. At the same time the rigors of chemo were something that you can only experience but you cannot describe.  My take on it is that Deb has endured this in a special way.  She has always handled medical procedures without fear.  With the help of many friends, many appointments, many expressions of concern, and many prayers she has purged through the procedures and events with a confidence that for me has been very special.  If it is was me I would have spent a sleepless night last night.   I had to wake her up this morning and tell her it was time to go.  Something I thought was interesting is that when we arrived at Spectrum a little early she wanted to take a tour of the new childrens hospital.  And that is what I wanted to communicate.  Over these past several weeks I have noticed that the normal Deb was back. It is for this reason that I thought that she had a good chance for a good day.

After the normal delays finally the surgery start around 1:30 PM.  After about 3 hours we were called to the room. Shortly thereafter the Dr came in. The first thing he said was that he had some news that we were going to want to hear.  Deb's body had had a very positive reaction to the chemo at a level that was higher than normal.  In fact most all of the internal organs had a normal look and the large tumors that were present before were gone.  There was a cord like structure near the pancreas about 4 inches long that was removable. Once it was removed the pancreas appeared and felt normal.  There were white specs in some areas that were remnants of the small tumors that once dominated her midsection.  They took biopsies  
of these and he suspected that the reports would come back that some cancer was still present.  At the same time the impact that the chemo had on the disease would lead him to think that some further treatments could further impact the disease and that there existed the chance that the cancer could be put in remission.

So the long and the short of the thing is that for the first time in some while we have some really good news. Not out of the woods yet but some real reason for hope and optimism.  I will keep you posted but I think she really has the chance to whip this thing.

I am tired now but let me give a couple of more things.  She has been placed in a double patient room. (As we speak she just called me and just got transferred to a single room).  Because they did so much work on her  this time her midsection feels more sore than last time.  I think what is smart is to tell you that if people do wish to visit it might be good to give Mieke ( 616-566-8545) a call and see she is ready. Or call or text me ( 616-293-1274) .  The plan right now is that Mieke is staying with her tonight and me on Friday night.

She loves all her friends so much that she will always want to see them.  We will try to appraise what is best
and let you know what is going on.  In the meantime rejoice with us in the good news and many thanks for your concern and care as this whole thing has transpired.  It will never be forgotten by any of us.

Thanks   Stan and Deb