And Away They Go

March 26, 2006

Mom and Ernie left for Lexington KY http://www.visitlex.com/ today for assessment and evaluation of treatment options for her ongoing battle with thyroid cancer. As many know she has battled courageously for 9 plus years. There have been many obstacles along the way, and she and Ernie have gone through them together never showing any signs of defeat or any thought of giving in to this disease. They were determined last week that they would drive themselves to Lexington on Sunday March 26th. Several people offered to drive them but they refused and felt confident they could make the trip on their own. When they refused to allow us to help them drive up there, I thought of contacting Angel Flight, http://www.angelflight-ga.org/ a service to fly ambulatory patients to their treatment facility, free of charge. I called Annie Joe, a close friend, and asked if she could assist with this. She has been a leader in the cancer support group http://www.cancer.org/ here in Newnan, GA http://newnan.com/newcomers/and knew exactly who to call. This process usually takes a couple weeks of planning. To our surprise a cancellation occurred and they were able to get a flight out on Sunday. They would be departing at about 2:00 pm EST. Aunt Jackie picked them up and we met them at the Newnan-Coweta airport http://www.coweta.ga.us/Resources/CCO.html just 5 miles from their home, which meant no drive to Atlanta. What a relief! Annie Joe, Hank, her husband, Judy and I were there to see them off. They flew on a 6 seater Bonanza single engine plane. The pilot Lee Davis, a well trained volunteer, polite and very professional did a great job to make them feel comfortable. The flight was about 2 hours long. They arrived around 5:00 PM, rented a car and made their way to the St. Agnes house. www.stagneshouse.org St. Agnes House is wonderful place where patients are able to stay for a reasonable cost, about $8 a day, during their recovery and after treatments at the University of Lexington hospital.

Monday March 27, 2006

This day was spent shopping! Originally they would have been traveling this day. As it turned out Mom and Ernie had a day to relax before the testing began on Tuesday.

Tuesday March 28, 2006

Early Tuesday, Mom had a CT scan performed. Dr. Ain www.ukhealthcare.uky.edu/web/phys/6208.HTM would be evaluating the scan and would then plan the treatment options he felt would be successful. The areas of concern were her hip joints, lower back and lungs. The CT scan may reveal additional areas of concern as well. Later that day she would return to meet with Dr. Ain, to determine what he found during the scan. Their were some positive findings. Some of the nodules http://www.pulmonologychannel.com/spn/ in June's lungs were no longer present. The doctor could not explain this and revealed he had nothing to do with their disappearance. At this point things seemed to be going pretty well. June would then see the orthopedic surgeon on Wednesday morning.

Wednesday March 29, 2006

Oh what a day this has been! June saw the orthopedic surgeon this morning about 8:00AM. He determined there was cancer in the ball joints of both hips, a golf ball size tumor on her sacrum (this is on the lower back near the tail bone) and 2 or 3 other areas. These cancerous areas will require surgery to remove and deter their continued formation. The CT scan also revealed a fluid build up in the pleural cavity, a space between the lungs and rib cage. This was the cause of the chest pain June had been experiencing over the last few weeks or more. One of her lungs was collapsed the other severely distressed due to the fluid build up. The pressure was so great it cut off the air, blood and oxygen to the collapsed lung for quite a period of time. The fluid was also applying pressure to her heart. The doctors were totally amazed that June had been able to do all that she had been doing over the course of the last few days with this condition. Most people are incapable of even getting out of bed let alone walking about with a collapsed lung and the kind of fluid build up she has. They attribute her ability to do what she has because her lungs were in good condition from not smoking and a clean living environment. They will need to insert a tube into the plural cavity to allow the fluid drain away slowly over the next few days or weeks. Because the fluid will continue to build up due to the cancer, the tube will remain in place for a while. Dr. Ain placed her in the hospital http://www.ukhealthcare.uky.edu/ immediately. He forbid her to even go back to the house. The orthopedic was rather adament in saying that until the lung situation cleared up the was nothing he could do. This was quite an upsetting moment for both June and Ernie. As soon as the lungs return to a functional capacity, they will schedule the surgery on the hip joints most likely. The doctor told her to keep all of her weight off those joints as much as possible. A fall or severe jarring could fracture the joints and the condition and pain would worsen. Tonight Mom is resting well. She is in good spirits, and as usual displays strength and courage as she takes on this challenge. Ernie had a rough time this morning, but has shown great resilience and courage during these trying times. He went back to St. Agnes House www.stagneshouse.org around dusk. Friends and family, we appreciate all of your love and concern. Continue to pray that God, will glorify himself and answer our prayers that June may be healed and remain comfortable with her condition. She is faithful and believes He can heal her.