After 6-Month Checkup: Back to Golf

Sorry to be so late updating Ray's blog after his 6-month checkup on Aug 30, but I couldn't remember the login address. Hmmmmmmm!

Yes, well. At the checkup, we learned that Ray's oxygen utilization was low (85%) and he was going to have to remember to breath deeply and keep up with his breathing exercises. Also, there was a foul-up in getting the CT scan image to Dr. Jones in a timely manner (turns out you have to ask specifically for the image to be sent to the doctor along with the report), but based on the report, Dr. Jones said Ray could go back to playing golf and lifting heavier things. So Ray was a happy man!

In fact, he's already been out in the back yard practicing his swing, and doing a little putting, so he'll be ready for his first golf outing on Monday. And, happily, the hot weather has finally given up and let the cool air in, and Monday it's supposed to be sunny and 82! Hooray.

Ray's Follow-up Visit Today

We went over to Charlottesville last night, and presented ourselves at the UVA Radiology Dept. at 8:30 this morning, followed by a 9 AM appointment with Ray's lung surgeon. The xray looked good, and according to the pathology report, Ray's cancer was a stage 1 cancer (i.e., they caught it really early), the margins are clear and the lymph nodes show no signs of cancer, so he won't have to do anything else--no radiation, for instance. Hoorah!!

The doctor said that Ray is coming along just fine, and doesn't need to see him again for 6 months.

Ray drove the first part of the trip home, the first time he's driven a car since the day of his surgery on Feb 28. He feels like a free man.

And I feel like a free woman! Now Ray can return to his chores and I can start working on our income taxes. Whoopee!

Ray's Follow-up Visit with Dr. Jones

We've had an exciting week, which I doubt seriously that you want to hear about since it involves drainage from the chest tube hole. I've been in touch with Dr. Jones' nurse, and have taken Ray to see our local doctor twice since my last post, and several times to the coumadin clinic to get his blood thinner stabilized, and I think things are going pretty well despite the inconvenience of an unhealed hole in the side of Ray's chest. Anyway, we've been assured that this, too, shall pass.

We will be going over to Charlottesville Monday (3/1/10) afternoon to stay overnight for an early morning appointment for an XRay and Ray's follow-up visit with Dr. Jones, his surgeon at UVA. Will post to the blog the afternoon of 3/2/10 when we return home.

Thoughts and prayers are still very welcome.

WONDERFUL NEWS!

We received word today that Ray's pathology report shows that his lymph nodes are clear. The only cancer was the spot in the lung, and that's now gone thanks to his surgery on Jan 28. He is now CANCER-FREE!

We're Still Home and Feeling Better

I was just talking to a friend who chastised me for not doing another post so she would know if we were OK. So here goes ...

We've had our trials, but we are OK. It has taken some work to make Ray realize that there are some things he shouldn't do (like lifting things over his head), and that a pain pill goes a long way in relieving what he calls pressure in his chest (I call it pain). So now, he takes one of the pain pills the docs sent home with him every three hours. He had such a bad night last night, he even took two this morning.

As for me, I've been working my you-know-what off, since Ray can't do any of the physical things he usually does, like getting the trash together, washing clothes, shoveling snow, etc.

Friends have been bringing us food that we can reheat, which is really wonderful, because Ray usually cooks for us, and this saves me having to take on still two more tasks (grocery shopping and cooking) in my caretaker role, which I appreciate more than I can say. Besides which, it's such good food.

We did have another day-and-a-half snow storm on Tuesday, and Wednesday about noon, it stopped. I looked out the window and there was Frank, our neighbor, snow-blowing our driveway before even taking care of his own. So I went out and shoveled the 6-8 inches high snow away from our door and from around our SUV, then cleaned off the SUV (no easy task), so we could get out if we had to. I've also taken a couple of turns trying to shovel the snow off our deck, but it's been melting down and is so heavy, which--of course--is why I would like to get it off the deck. But 73-year-old women have to be careful about that stuff, especially if they're taking care of a 73-year-old man who's recovering from surgery.

I had to take Ray to the coumadin clinic last Tuesday to get his coumadin levels checked and he's supposed to return next week for another check. (He was off coumadin for two weeks preceding a colonoscopy and his lung surgery, and was just put back on a couple of days before he was discharged from the hospital.) He's also supposed to go see our family doctor on Monday to have the stitches remove, then he has an appointment on March 2 for a follow-up visit with Dr. Jones in Charlottesville.

I won't be posting as much to this blog in the future, but you can contact us at Ray's blog address by clicking on his picture, then clicking on the Email link under the word "Contact" on the left of that page. I'll answer any emails we receive, so let us hear from you.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers and notes and good food, and everything you've done for us. Much love, Kay

We're Home! We're Home!

That's thanks to the efforts of our neighbors who dug out our driveway so we could get to our door! And that was no easy task!

The trip home was OK most of the way. VA 29 was clear; VA 3 was less clear, but OK.

And already, we've received a pot of soup for lunch, and will receive dinner from another neighbor this evening. I'm so tired, and so grateful to our friends and neighbors that I could easily cry. First, though, I think I'm going to take a nap.

More later.

24 Hours Later

Well, here we are, almost 24 hours after getting released from the hospital, and we both feel so much better after a good night's sleep for probably the first time in 10 days!

We "ate in" last night, thanks to delivery service from a nearby local restaurant. The motel is at "The Corner", a favorite haunt for UVA students with several restaurants up the street. I didn't know cheeseburgers could taste so good! And this morning, we feasted on breakfast bars and clementines that I brought with me from home. Then after a morning nap, we went for a walk down to the lobby and outside for a few minutes, then back upstairs to our 7th floor room. Now Ray's resting up for the Super Bowl game.

But the highlight of the morning was the telephone call we just got that Frank--our next door neighbor--along with other of our neighbors has already dug us out!!! So, we'll give Rt 29 and Rt 3 one more day to get a little clearer and will be heading home tomorrow about midmorning. I'm so excited!!! And so grateful to our wonderful friends and neighbors! We'll have to have a "bash" in a few weeks when Ray is feeling stronger!

Whoopee!! Yah!! Way to go!!!

Free at Last!!! Well, sort of ...

We're out of the hospital and trapped at the Red Roof Inn.

One of Dr. Jones' residents stopped by early this morning and told us that the most recent xray looked good, the air leak has sealed, and that Ray would be released this morning. So after a trip to the hospital pharmacy by me, and a bath and having the last intravenous port removed from his wrist, we made our way down to the Emergency Room Entrance where we waited for a taxi, which arrived within half-an-hour, and a very nice driver ferried us the three blocks on snow-covered streets and got us safely in the door of the motel. Once in our room on the 7th floor (PRAY that the electricity doesn't go out; I'm not sure I can make it down, much less up, 7 flights of stairs in the dark), Ray parked himself in the chair behind the little desk in our room and I scurried back downstairs to get him a subway sandwich at Jimmy John's, just next door through the Inn's lobby. It was really good, too, especially after almost 10 days of hospital food.

So, anyway, I guess we'll be here until our neighbor Frank calls us and tells us that our road and driveway are clear enough to welcome us home.

I don't even like being away from home this long on a vacation, so keep praying and send positive energy! Love, Kay

A Day Of Ups and Downs

When I arrived at Ray's room this morning at 6:05 AM, he was laying in bed surrounded by young doctors discussing his case. The lead resident indicated that he was still leaking air and that he would have to talk to Dr. Jones about the situation. Sometime later, Dr. Jones stopped by and said, yes, there was still a small air leak, but he thought it would be OK to remove the chest tube. So the resident doctor returned sometime later and removed the tube, and covered the resulting hole with gauze pads. I got the impression from the conversation that they were thinking about releasing him sometime today, and I was literally on the verge of panic because I knew that the hole in his chest was going to continue draining copiously and I didn't have any medical supplies at the motel or any way to get any since it was snowing and I wouldn't be able to leave Ray to get any.

Just before I had a heart attack, the resident doctor returned to say that they were keeping him, and would be around again shortly to take him down to xray so they could see how big the leak was. So we waited and the hole did indeed drain copiously, soiling his hospital gown, his bed and my nerves. After harrassing the staff twice to change the dressing on the hole, they finally decided to put a stitch in it, and that stopped the major drainage, although it potentially caused another problem, i.e., if the fluid in his chest could not drain, it would stay in his chest and potentially cause pressure on the lower lobe, exacerbating the air leak. (Can you imagine coping with this at a motel in the middle of a record snowstorm!!!!) When they took another xray, and everything looked the same.

And so the day has gone. They'll be back in the morning, but this time, I'll already be here when they come, instead of having to set the alarm at 5 or 5:30 and rush over here, hoping not to miss the doctoral gathering. I am so going to enjoy sleeping on this window seat tonight.

Ray has been antsy all day, wanting to go home even as the snow continued to get worse, because he felt we would be in worse shape by Monday or Tuesday, because the roads and our street and driveway wouldn't be clear if there was, indeed, over two feet of snow. But I said, I was more willing to take our chances on that than try to get home today with the uncertainty of his medical condition. After having to get the stitch, he was much more amenable to staying, and for the first time in several days, my stomach finally settled into place and I was actually able to eat supper without feeling sick.

Mr. See is back on 4 West, with color in his face, and enthusiasm in his voice and demeanor. Amazing what a new lung will do for you!

I'm sorry I can't send out email on the hospital's network in reply to those we've received, but we are grateful to hear from you and thank you for you thoughts and prayers and positive energy.

Anticipating Spending Two Nights on a Window Seat

That's right. I'll be up at 5:30 in the morning trying to get to the hospital where I'll stay for the duration of the storm. I can't bear the thought of staying over here at the motel all alone while Ray is just 3 blocks away.

On the other hand, I keep running into people who make me feel really fortunate. I met a lady in the elevator when I came "home" from the hospital whose husband is supposed to check into the hospital tomorrow morning at 5:30 for surgery. She didn't know she could get a taxi over there, and I can't imagine what a hassle it would be to have to drive over in your own car and find a place in the parking garage, especially when you're under the kind of stress she's under, and are unfamiliar with the area.

I can't seem to send out emails on the hospitals network, but you can call me on my cell phone, and I will try to post to the blog several times tomorrow and next day.

Looks Like We're Staying for the Storm

The leak is still leaking so it looks like they're going to keep Ray overnight again. And keeping him overnight means we'll be there until Sunday or Monday, or whenever the roads are passable after this weekend's big storm. (The taxi driver who brought me back to the motel this morning at 6:15 AM to get my car and drive home, says he has a 4-wheel drive, so if I can get him again, maybe I'll be able to go back and forth to the hospital. Otherwise, I'm going to end up staying one place or another, and I'm going to op for the hospital. They moved Ray's bed to the window side of his room and there's a window seat that I can stretch out on.

At the moment, I'm at home washing clothes and replenishing my supplements and meds. Cliff and Anne are going to drive me back early this afternoon in their car and mine, because I'm not sure I'm up to another drive.

Will post again tonight when I know more. Kay

Did I Really Say ...

... that we would know more this afternoon? Dream on. I left the hospital at 8 PM, and we still don't know any more than we knew this morning at 6:30. So crank up those thoughts and and prayers, folks, and get us home before the big snow storm.

Will post again in the morning.

Still No ­­ Release Today, Either

I was so tired yesterday that I went back to the motel about 4:30 PM and was asleep almost before I got my my shoes off. When I awoke a couple of hours later, I splurged on a subway sandwich for supper from the little shop immediately next door to the motel, took a shower, checked my email, watched TV until my hair dried, then passed out again. That's when I discovered that the old saying "early to bed, early to rise" isn't just an old saying; it's the literal truth. My eyes popped open at 5 AM and there was no going back to sleep. So I was up by 5:30, downstairs waiting for a taxi by 6, and in Ray's room before the doctor's made rounds (for the first time).

He still has a tiny "leak", so they still can't remove his chest tube and release him. Even with the delay, he's a little happier this morning than he was yesterday because they swapped out the bed he's been in since they brought him back from the operating room, which is very high and difficult to get out of. Now he's in a lower bed, and can get in and out by himself. (Ah! The return of self-control! So great!)

Ray and I both have been a little confused about this "leak" business because he has a dressing around the tube where it enters his chest which has to be changed several times a day, so we weren't sure whether they were referring to that leaking fluids or the remaining lobe of his left lung leaking air. Since I was here for rounds this morning, with my usual questioning, we learned that they are talking about an air leak. Apparently there is not a clear demarcation between the lobes of the lungs, so when they removed the upper lobe, they had to "dissect" it away from the lower lobe, and the lower lobe was "nicked" leaving a small hole in it, allowing air to escape into the chest cavity where the upper lobe once resided. The chest tube allows both air and fluids to drain out of the chest cavity, and keeps the chest cavity from filling with air, and enough pressure to collapse the lower lobe. So they want that "leak" to heal before they remove the chest tube, else he will just have to return to the hospital and have another chest tube installed.

They will check the situation again this afternoon, and if the leak has sealed itself, they will remove the tube. Four hours later they will do another xray to see how things look, and if everything's OK, he will be discharged tomorrow.

So, obviously, your thoughts and prayers are still very muchneeded. We sure would like to be home before the big snow storm starts moving across Virginia on Friday! Love, Kay

PS: The times on these posts are West Coast time because that's where the server is located. So if you want to know when it was relly posted, add 3 hours.

No ­­ Release Today, Either

Last night,I set a wake-up call for 7 AM, so I was a little confused when something woke me at 6:25. It was my cell phone buzzing, and it was Ray calling to tell me that his "team" had been by and he wasn't going to be discharged today. I don't know whether that was because he's still got an air leak or because I pitched a fit yesterday when somebody mentioned that some people go home with their chest tube. We are not going home with a chest tube! I feel a fit coming on just thinking about the possibility!

And that's about the extent of the news. At this point, it's just a matter of sitting around and letting nature take its course.

And, Tibby, my cold subsided a couple of days ago. I still have some very minor congestion, but seem to be OK, except--of course--for being so tired. Last night, I got down to the ER entrance, where I get a taxi to go to the motel, and discovered that I didn't have my purse, so I had to hoof it back across the hospital and up to the fourth floor and then back down to the ER entrance. I was literally dragging my tracks out by the time I got to my room about 9:30. I think I may go "home" early tonight.

No Release Today

The morning news is that Ray still has a "leak", so he won't be released today. I think the word "leak" means pretty much the same thing in this context as it did when he had the biopsy, i.e., that a small amount of air is leaking from the lower lobe, and they know this because when he coughs, the tube in his chest "gurgles". (Don't you just love all this precise medical terminology?!!)

So, his orders for today are to walk as much as he can, and I must say that we're fortunate that Ray is so motivated to stay in shape, because we weren't very encouraged this morning when a Physical Therapy person showed up for the first time and offered to get a walker so he could take a stroll down the hall. Instead, Ray popped out of bed, paused long enough for me to tie his gown so his rear end wouldn't be exposed to the world, and took off down the hall with the PT guy bringing up the rear. The PT guy was really impressed, while I was thinking, "My goodness, a less motivated person would have to stay another week!"

Anyway, the word is that he will be released tomorrow or Wednesday, and as soon as we know when, he will move over to the Red Roof Inn for an overnight stay to ensure that we can handle everything out of the hospital. Our friends, Cliff and Anne, will be coming over to see that we're fed and get home safely.

News on Mr. See and his lung transplant: It turned out that the right lung he was supposed to get was damaged and could not be used, but the left lung was implanted last night. I saw Mrs. See this morning and she said they had been warned that something like this could happened, and that he would be able to manage fine with one lung, so she was delighted ... and also exhausted. She said she was also very happy with the doctor who did the transplant, even if she wasn't Dr. Jones.

OK, that will probably be it for today, unless something unusual happens. But I will post tomorrow when we know more about release time.

It's Sunday Night, and We Wanna Go Home!

Ray didn't get much sleep last night because some several members of his roommate's family were on the other side of the room calling friends and other members of the family to let them know the good news: that Mr. See was expecting a set of lungs as soon as the weather cleared enough to fly the lungs to UVA. Today, though, for most of the day, only Mrs. See was there still waiting the arrival of the precious gift. Then, just after lunch, the anesthesiologist appeared to explain to the Sees what to expect, including the fact that our doctor, David Jones, would not be doing Mr. See's surgry after all, but rather that it would be done by a woman doctor who had come to UVA from another transplant team at another college; that they would replace the right lung first and then the left; that the surgery would take 10 to 12 hours; and other details intended to remove some of the fear of the unknown for the family. Then Mrs. See started helping her husband prep for his surgery, and around 3:30, a whole herd of people streamed through the door to reassure Mr. and Mrs. See that their support system was at hand. At 4:00 PM, Mr. See and his entourage disappeared down the hall toward the Operating Room. The Sees still need our thoghts and prayers. so please join Ray and me in sending positive energy to this couple. I will try to find out tomorrow how things went for the Sees.

Ray had a pretty good day today in spite of being tired,and was delighted that most of the tubes and wires attached to him in one manner or another, were finally removed. Now the only tube left is the chest tube which is draining fluid from the chest cavity where the upper lobe of the left lung was removed, and that tube will probably be removed tomorrow.

He's been eating good, and he sat up in a chair most of the day, and wandered around the halls of 4 West one time. Tomorrow we'll have to walk some more, because--instead of coming straight home from the hospital, we've decided to bring him over to the hotel where I'm staying where we'll stay one more night. This is a recommendation made by a friend who had to return to the hospital after arriving home when a complication arose. We still don't know when he'll be released from the hospital.

OK, that's it for tonight. I forgot to mention that I'm pretty tired, too. More tomorrow.

Later the Same Night

Late this afternoon, a man--with his family in tow--showed up to share Ray's room. He's supposed to be getting a two-lung transplant tonight. The nurses said it was the last bed available in the cardiac/lung wing. The nurse who came in to draw blood said she would be praying for "a perfect match". Sounds to me like a good thing to do. His name is Ron See and his wife's name is Kay. You've done so good for Ray and me, let's see what we can do for Mr. See, eh what! Thanks so much for the gift of your caring and love.

Ray is in a Room

When I went downstairs at the motel this morning, I was told that it would take 30-45 minutes to get a taxi. Probably because there was at least an inch of snow on the ground and it was steady coming down. A couple (the wife had had a heart catherization yesterday!!!) were checking out at the same time, planning to drive to Smith Mountain Lake (down the windy, mountainous I81 near Blacksburg!!) so they offered to drop me off at the hospital. I took them up on their offer to bring me to the hospital, and for their generosity, told them they were crazy to be driving to Smith Mountain Lake in this weather. The wife said, yeah, that's what their son told her. (Just what I need: somebody else to worry about.)

When I got to the PACU, Ray had had a "bath" and was feeling pretty good. He said they had taken him off the pain pump, and soon, he hurt so bad, he said I was right, that he SHOULD take the pain meds BEFORE the pain got bad, so he called for some. He also said he had tried to get up during the night by himself to use the urinal, and soon discovered that this was not a very good idea, just as I had told him. So, I said, is there any chance that you might start--sometime soon--paying attention to what I tell you. He said he would, but it sounded to me like he had stuck out his hand, palm-side down, and wriggled it from side to side. I assume you know what that means!

He was moved from the PACU to a room on 4 West about 11:30 AM. First order of business? Find the channel with a basketball/football/soccer game. Everything was then in order.

I'm not going to post his room number, because we're not going to be here long enough to receive cards or flowers, and phone calls are problematic because he's in a double room. No roommmate yet, but he may have one soon.

The biggest problem we have now is that I'm coming down with a cold, and I'm frantic to NOT give HIM a cold! What the hell can you do about a fledgling cold? I'm already taking about 500 mg of zinc and would take more if I had it. The nurse gave me a mask to wear, and I'm washing my hands frequently. Please put a big prayer for NO COLD on your list.

Some of you have mentioned that you weren't able to post a comment. Apparently you need a gmail account or one of the other communication items in the profile list. OR, click on Ray's picture, then click on the Mail link on the left and send him an email message.

OK, that's it for now. I probablY won't post again tonight unless something really exciting happens, but please send email though the mail link, and I'll be sure he sees it before I leave tonight. Thanks for keeping up with us. It means so much to us.

Today was a GOOD Day!!!

After talking to Dr. Jones last night after Ray's surgery, Ken and I sat around for a couple of hours waiting to hear that he was out of recovery, then went on over to 4 West where he was supposed to be taken. They gave us the number of his room and told us we could wait in a patients' day room at the end of the hall until they brought him in and got him settled. An hour later, we were still waiting, so I went to the nurses' station and was informed that he wasn't going to be brought to 4 West after all, that they were going to keep him in the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) overnight. So we scurried over to the PACU and the nurse said she was keeping him sedated because he was very restless, but she woke him up to see us. He seemed to recognize us, but he was high as a kite, so we bid him goodnight and returned to our motel because Ken was leaving at 4 AM to drive to Dulles to catch a flight to the West Coast.

After a mostly sleepless night, I returned to the PACU about 8 AM, and there was the patient, sitting up in a chair with a gap-toothed grin. He harrassed me the entire day; that is, he had a really fun day. No pain to speak of, and by the time I left tonight, many of the tubes he'd been tethered to earlier in the day had been removed. He still has a drainage tube in his chest and heart leads attached here and there, and he's not moving very fast, but he's actually using his pain pump, and is in good spirits. He's still in the PACU, not because he needs to be, but because there's no bed available for him on 4 West.

I don't know where he'll be in the morning when I go back to the hospital, IF I get back to the hospital. It's supposed to start snowing tonight, so it depends on whether I can get a taxi to take me over to the hospital in the morning.

So anyway, the thoughts and prayers are still working, so please keep them coming. We're not quite home free. Much love and many thanks, Kay

8:15 PM & Surgery is Over

Dr. Jones just stopped by the waiting room to tell Ken and me that everything went well. He was able to remove the upper lobe of the left lung thorascopically (that's with the three little holes) instead of having to make a major incision. This is good news, of course, because Ray will recover so much more rapidly.

We left home this morning at 8 AM, planning for 1 PM surgery that didn't start until 5:15 PM, so I'm just about exhausted, so I'm going to stop with this short posting.

Ken and I will stay here until they bring Ray to his room, then we'll go on back to the Red Roof Inn, because Ken has to leave agt 4 AM tomorrow morning to catch his plane back to the West Coast.

Will post more late tomorrow. Love and gratitude to all, Kay

Ray taken to OR at 4:15 PM

Looks like it's going to be a very long day!

Boy, Am I Dumb!

It's currently 12:50 PM, and they haven't even called Ray up to pre-op yet. So don't expect a post on results until late.

Surgery Tomorrow @ 1 PM

Ray has to be at the UVA Hospital in Charlottesville, VA, at 11 AM tomorrow (Thursday, Jan 28). His surgery is scheduled for 1 PM, but may be later, of course, and will last 2 or 3 hours unless some complication causes it to last longer.

Ken, our oldest son from Pacific Grove, CA, has been in DC since Monday evening, and is on his way to Fredericksburg from Dulles Airport right now (Wed, Jan 27, 3:20 PM), so at least we'll be able to have a nice dinner and visit with him, and sleep in our own bed tonight before we go over to Charlottesville in the morning. Ken will stay with me tomorrow and overnight in Charlottesville.

OK, that's it for now. Will be posting again tomorrow evening after the surgery. Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and prayers and notes and calls. I can't tell you how much they mean to us! Kay

Next Post Will Be Late on Wednesday, Jan 27

The next big event is lung surgery at UVA on Thursday, Jan 28, but we won't know the time of the surgery until late Wednesday, Jan 27.

If the surgery is in the morning on Thursday, Jan 28, we'll go to Charlottesville Wednesday afternoon, Jan 27, and stay overnight at the Red Roof Inn near the University Hospital.

If the surgery is in the afternoon on Thursday, Jan 28, we'll drive over to Charlottesville that morning, check Kay into the Red Roof Inn, and go directly to the hospital to check Ray in for his surgery.

As soon as we get the information on Wednesday afternoon, Jan 27, about the time of surgery, I'll post to this blog.

Till then, thank you for all the responses we've received from the earlier post today, and check back here in late afternoon on Wednesday, Jan 27 for the next news event.

Our love and gratitude to all of you. Kay

Good News on Colonoscopy

Ray had his colonoscopy at 12:55 PM today, and everything is OK! I can't tell you how relieved we are. This means, of course, that the cancer really is confined to the upper lobe of the left lung, and we'll be going over to Charlottesville for that surgery on Thursday, Jan 28, one week from today.

Our oldest son, Ken, from Pacific Grove, CA, will be in DC that week on business, so he'll be driving over to Charlottesville to keep me company through the surgery, and our middle son, Andy, from Virginia Beach, will be coming over to stay with me over the weekend.

Jamie, our youngest son, in Portland, OR, won't be with us, but not from want of being there. He really, really wants to be there! But he spent a week with us in Florida when Ray had prostate surgery several years ago (and I don't know how we would have managed without him then because my knees were so bad I could hardly walk), but this time, it's his brothers' turn to look after the old folks.

As I said before, keep those thoughts and prayers coming! They really are working!

A Loooooong Day in Charlottesville

We went over to Charlottesville Monday afternoon so we could check out where we had to go for Ray’s 8 AM appointment on Tuesday with Dr. David Jones, the UVA surgeon, who—we hoped—would remove his lung cancer.

What we discovered was that a lot of walking is required (not one of MY strengths), but that--if we got to the West Complex early enough, we might be able to find a parking place. So we got up at 6:30 AM on Thursday and were at the West Complex by 7 AM, and there were parking spaces. We then found a cafeteria in the building and I ate some breakfast. Ray decided to keep going with his “mini-fast”, eating nothing until lunchtime (which turned out to be a major mistake). Then we made our way up to the 4^th floor.

Dr. Jones’ male nurse, named Andy (a good sign), took Ray’s vital signs, then a really nice young new doctor, Paris Butler by name, took Ray’s history. Then Dr. Jones appeared and told Ray that, if a breathing test and stress test came back OK, he would give us a date for surgery.

So, off Ray went for his breath test. After the breath test, which had been scheduled for 9:30 AM, we returned to Dr. Jones’ office where we learned that Ray has very good breathing function, so Dr. Jones will remove the upper lobe of Ray’s left lung on Thursday, Jan 28. He will be in the University Hospital for 4-6 days, and if there are no cancer cells in nearby lymph nodes, that will be the end of it. Except, of course, for periodic return checkups. We won’t know the TIME of the surgery until the afternoon of Jan 27.

After we got the word about the surgery, we learned that Dr. Jones’ secretary had also scheduled a stress test for 11:30 AM, so we went over to the Cardiac Center at the hospital. We were there long enough to make friends with some of the other relatives of folks getting stress tests, and one lady asked Ray’s name and said she would put him on her prayer list.

By the time the stress test was over, about 3 PM, Ray—who, remember, had chosen not to eat breakfast—was starving. As was I, who HAD eaten breakfast. So we went to the eating area, and shot our healthy foods efforts by snarfing down a cheeseburger AND French fries. And it was SOOOOOO good! The next two hours were spent pre-registering for the upcoming surgery. We finally started home a little after 5 PM. To say that we were tired when we got home is an understatement.

Ray’s PET scan from the middle of December had also showed what Dr. Jones calls “a hot spot” at the “caput cecum” in the lower right abdomen, so Ray will also have a colonoscopy on Jan 21 to see what’s going on there. Dr. Jones said that these are frequently false positives and he wasn’t really concerned about it. Let’s hope!

OK, that’s it for now. Next post will probably be after Jan 21^st. Every day, in every way, we’re getting better and better and it’s all thanks to your good thoughts and prayers, so keep ‘em coming!

Some Good News, Finally!

We just got the results back from the CT scans Ray had of his head, abdomen and pelvis last Thursday. They show NO cancer anywhere else in his body! So ... we are changing course and have asked Dr. Paquette to refer us to a surgeon at UVA, in Charlottesville, VA, who operated on a friend of ours 3 years ago, who is still cancer free. Ray now has an appointment to see the UVA surgeon at 8 AM on Tuesday, Jan 12. We'll get back to you after that.

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and prayers, and keep them coming. They must be working!

Kay