Going Through The Motions

I guess thinking I would actually blog this weekend was unrealistic. I had my times of feeling okay, and other times feeling poorly. I get tired of battling the nausea. Oh well...

The outpatient surgery center at City of Hope was wonderful. The only thing missing were the girls at Corona Regional (I just love them). I find I'm getting excellent care at COH, but I miss having my friends - people I’m familiar with. I haven’t yet felt connected at COH. It’s just all new.

My surgeon was very kind. He spent a lot of time with Jim when I was in recovery. My surgery was about an hour and a half, plus recovery. Jim said it took much longer than they expected. The problem ended up being an infested stitch. Once the infection gets around the plastic of the port the only thing they can do is remove the port.

Once I was released from recovery I went with Kellie to find Jim who was trying to refill a prescription, plus get new bandages for my dressing. I was so out of it but wanted to help him. I had Kellie put me in a wheelchair and off we went. I helped make some phone calls and then everything got cleared up. Typically this wouldn’t be something you do after surgery. But since when have I been typical?

I slept and rested all of Friday, and most of Saturday. Jim’s parents came out to visit and see Katelynn during her golf lesson. Our youngest nephew Jack was with them and got to go hit some balls up at the range. While Judy and I were visiting she received a call from Jim’s youngest brother, Rich. He was telling her our older nephew (Jack’s brother) was at baseball and a foul ball hit him in the head. Both my sister-in-law and brother-in-law were at work, but one of the father’s noticed our nephew Owen wasn’t acting right so he decided to take him to the emergency room.

He was taken to St. Jude’s Hospital were they immediately did a CT Scan. The scan showed a cyst, so they decided to do an MRI. This test showed a large tumor. The doctors have been amazed that he hadn’t showed any signs. Getting hit with the ball seems God’s way of getting this taken care of right away. Another specialist from CHOC came to see Owen yesterday. He has done these surgeries several times and believes the CHOC team would be the best to operate.

My heart and mind have constantly been on Owen (it hasn’t helped my nausea though - smile). Katelynn of course hasn’t taken it well. They got really close on the cruise we were just on.

Owen was transferred to CHOC early this morning and in ICU. They are planning on operating tomorrow. The tumor is very large but at this point there are signs that it might not be cancer. The whole thing still has me in shock. How does life change in one second? Please keep him in your prayers.

I wish I could be there tomorrow supporting Owen and his family, but I start another phase at COH. I leave tonight for Kel’s and then I am scheduled for my picc line at 9:00 am, and then if all goes well I will begin chemo and 8 hour blood draws. I’m also scheduled to see my oncologist, plus if I can fit time in, see my surgeon. If I can’t see the surgeon tomorrow I am scheduled to see him on Thursday. Tomorrow will be a very long and exhausting day.

It’s hard to know what to expect or feel. I’m just going through the motions. I feel so unproductive because of feeling unwell again. My hand and arm hurt so bad, that I just have to keep them up all the time. How does one feel wiped out when one isn’t doing anything?

Off to go pack AGAIN, rest, and then head out again. Just thinking about it makes me miss my family already, but they are the reason I keep doing this.

I hang on to the faithfulness of God!