Back Live Again
In Lexington, KY

I’m back in Lexington today at the Markey Cancer Facility where June has been for the last month. Ernie picked me up at the airport and we were back at the hospital by 11:30am.

Mother is doing well and adjusting to her medications and gaining mobility each day. I’ve seen and learned the procedure for elimination of fluids from the pleural cavity utilizing the Denver Externalized Pump Chamber. We extracted 150cc of fluid during the procedure. This procedure will need to be performed at least once a day. It’s really no big deal to do and only takes five minutes or so. June’s pain level this morning was Level 2, which is “Hurts a Little”. By this evening after walking about and sitting up for awhile it increased to LEVEL 7 “Hurts a lot”. Then mom remembered to call for her pain medication which was overdue. Twenty minutes later all is good. The antibiotics mother must take cause nausea which makes it difficult for her to eat anything. Sometimes just bringing the food tray into the room will incite the nausea immediately.

June is slowly being converted to oral medications in anticipation of her departure on Monday. No more I-V’s till she gets home and returns to the antibiotic regime that will be required five more weeks.
We are unsure when mom will be released from the hospital on Monday, but everything is still looking good at this time. Depending on the time mom is discharged, hopefully early in the day, we will leave as soon as we get everything packed. If it’s too late in the day, we will leave early Tuesday. Depending on mom’s comfort level we will try to make it home that very day.

Two Days to Departure

Tomorrow I will return to Lexington in preparation to return my parent’s to Newnan. June has been given the go ahead to leave the hospital as early as Monday morning. Ernie has some errands to run early Monday; we should depart as soon as he is done. We are planning a two day trip unless things go exceptionally well. I guess there’s really no need to get in a big hurry at this point. We should be back home no later than Wednesday.

Mother is in good spirits tonight despite she has been nauseated part of the day. June is so hungry, yet the thought of food makes her ill. June had a craving for loaded potato soup so Ernie went to O’Charley’s to get her some. Mother will require six weeks of IV antibiotics after she returns. As far as what the future treatment options are I do not have a definitive answer at this time. The one thing I feel fairly certain about is they will not be returning to Lexington for treatment. Any follow up or treatments will be conducted nearer to home. Emory University will likely provide some of the services. A home health nurse will visit their home on a frequent basis to provide June's aftercare.
We ask all of you to pray for our safe return and June’s expedient recovery.

Come one, come all to Relay for Life on May 5th here in Newnan, GA. Mother and Ernie have plans to be there and have practically planned their homecoming around it. There will be a grand celebration that evening and you will find it a memorable experience. There will be many cancer survivors celebrating life that night and it's something you may never forget. I will have many family members represented there as survivors and caregivers. Our family has really been affected by this disease but every one of them stand tall and strong in there own personal battle as well as supporting and lifting up others who are faced with their challenge against cancer.

Final Countdown
Going Home

I spoke to Ernie this morning and he said he had a lot of news and he wanted June to tell me. Its official, June and Ernie are on the final countdown to departure from the hospital and Lexington, Kentucky. Let’s hear it loud and clear, hip hip hooray! I have heard it from the source and they have been given the all clear, barring no unforeseen circumstances. June and Ernie will be making travel arrangements to return home on Monday May 1st or Tuesday. Travel method and arrangements are in progress and a bit uncertain at this time. The good news is that it is just a few days away. We are seeking a buddy pass for June if anyone has one or knows where to get one. Angel Flight is a consideration, but we’re unsure how capable mom would be getting in and out of the plane and how comfortable the flight may be. The other option is just to get in the car and drive home. June did not favor that idea very much, as it would be at least a two day trip. Of course they would not be driving themselves, I would fly back and drive them home.

I spoke with mother tonight and she sounded much better than last night. We were laughing and talking about this unbelievable journey she’s been on. I guess we've all been on it together. What a ride! As the plans evolve I will let you know when and what to expect.

June’s Up and Running
Well not quite...

After two weeks of being bed ridden, June was helped up to her feet today with the aid of the physical therapist. She said her legs were like rubber as she held onto the walker for support. Mom felt so weak that the effort to stand zapped her of the little bit of energy she had in reserve. She says she just feels tired and is feeling somewhat weary of the battle. This is what they will work on over the next few days. Getting her strength to a somewhat normal capacity and getting her confidence back. Mother is eating more, although she said it’s not her favorite thing to do. Ernie related to me that he felt they had a couple of good days and he was encouraged by June’s progress.

My parents are starting to use the words “going home” quite a bit more often now. The physical therapist and Ernie have set the goal to be home by next week in time for Relay for Life. This would put a lot of pressure on mom to work extra hard to get ready for the trip home. June has shown an incredible amount of inner strength in this entire battle she’s been going through. Most of you know this didn’t start thirty two days ago. Anyone who has been in the hospital for an extended period of time can testify to the recovery and the work that is required to get back to 100%. Given that June has had nine major operations in the last month she is doing quite well and getting better everyday. Everyone, please keep your encouragement coming; June will need all you can give. I might say that you have all done a great job at it anyway, and it is so appreciated.

She's Done, Done it Again!

Mom’s done it again!
This morning I spoke to Ernie and things were still looking pretty bleak.
Mother had come out of the recovery room about 9:30 pm last night. They have closed her incision with staples once again. The orthopedics have concluded their work. The next step will be physical rehabilitation. June was pretty much out of it is what Ernie said. Through the night she was experiencing hallucinations or something like it, due to a combination of medications. Ernie was finally able to reach the doctor around 2:00 in the morning. At least he was able to pester the nurses enough to get them to get in touch with someone. They gave mother some type of drug to reverse the effects of what was occurring.

At 5:30 today Ernie called and said mom was back with us and everything was looking GOOD! We didn’t speak too long, but long enough to know that mom was looking, sounding and feeling good. She was also quite hungry, and was munching out on Pringles of all things.

All of you, who have been faithful and prayed relentlessly have made this happen. The Lord has heard you and has answered your prayers. I know He gets the praise but without your prayers, thousands of them I’m sure, this would not have been possible.
There are more hurdles in the future and we will take them one at a time.

I will be speaking to mother tonight and will update her condition when I hear from her directly.

Thirty Days
And Counting

June has waited to go into surgery since 9:00 this morning. At 5:45pm Ernie called and said mother was finally heading into surgery. Mother has been sedated all day and has not offered much conversation to Ernie. It’s hard to tell how long this surgery will last. They will be closing her up tonight. June has had her incision area packed this week to offer easy access for the irrigation procedure.

Ernie is planning to spend the night at the hospital. He has already made his bed at this writing. He said he will call when mom returns, just to give us an update.

I’ll let you know more when I hear more. Say a prayer if you will and let’s hope this is the beginning of the end of this trip to Lexington. Keep the faith.

Good and Bad

June has had decent day this Monday the 24th. The heart specialist has concluded that June’s chest pain was probably from medication or panic. The operation was very stressful and lacked good coordination from the various teams involved. He has detected some minor heart disease, but not enough to worry about at this time. The orthopedic came in this morning and said tomorrow they will do the final irrigation of the wound that had become infected last week. He felt this procedure would be assurance that the infection had been contained and eliminated. He concluded that by Saturday he will be through with his part of June’s treatment and he should release her to Dr. Ain, the oncologist. There will be additional physical rehabilitation this coming week barring no unforeseen circumstances. As we all know that is subject to change at any time. This will be the ninth surgery in almost thirty days. Tomorrow evening at 5:30, June and Ernie will begin their thirtieth day in Lexington.

Mother has become a little irritable with some of the staff. They just do things that they should no better than to do. When they come in to change the bedding, they will move her tray table away and then not return it to a location where she can access her phone, water and her other necessities. Mom has not been up very much over the last week and has not been up to walk at all. For several days she was in an infection control environment. This required all personnel and visitors to don mask, gowns and frequent hand washing when entering or leaving the room.

There may be light at the end of the tunnel yet. I am still hopeful mom and Ernie will be home before Relay for Life on May 5th.

I am also proud to present to Ernie, the Five Star Husband Award for outstanding service and dedication to his wife during these most difficult times.

Another Wild One

Today has been about the worst day mother has spent since she has been in Lexington. June has now had eight surgeries in twenty eight days. A day ago the plan was to do the procedure for irrigation of the wound on June’s back on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday. By now as you may suspect that was not the way it happened. Early this morning the surgery group came and moved June to the pre-op area, preparing her for another irrigation and debridement of the infection. They forgot one thing, the pain meds. She knew they were supposed to administer them to her, but the weekend crew was not aware of it or at least promised her they would give her the meds in pre-op, didn’t happen. Mother was one miserable person. She told me it was the worst day she has had since she’s been here. Scary is what she said. Ernie had called a time or two and told me she was out of it and terribly uncomfortable. After June returned from the recovery room, she was experiencing chest pains. Dr Mueller, a really nice and compassionate doctor, who has been mom’s number one ally since she’s been here immediately called in a heart specialist. June was then admitted into the UK side of the hospital and a heart monitor was put in place. By 3:00 the heart doctors had concluded that there was not a problem with her heart. They are unsure what caused her chest pain, but were going to continue to monitor her through the night.

I spoke to mom tonight and once again she had come through this day successfully and was in good spirits. She told me that her hip joints were returning to the way they were a week ago Friday when she was discharged from the hospital. Saturday mom and Ernie actually had a good day as well. Ernie said he felt June was returning to normal. They had anticipated mom would be in tremendous pain and would probably not be up to communicating with anyone. That turned out not to be true.

I wish I could tell you what was going to happen next but I don’t think anyone can predict that. June had dinner tonight so that means there will be no surgery in the morning. Mother sends her love to each of you and is looking forward to speaking to many of you as soon as she is able.

My Oh My
What A Day

This morning about 9:00am I received a call from mother, she was upset. I asked her what was going on. She said she would be having surgery tomorrow morning, which would be Saturday. She explained the procedure and implied she could not go through with it. June had told the doctor she couldn't go through another surgery. Dr. Shaeffer assured her that she could go through it and she must. He convinced her that the surgery would not be near as bad as the one a couple of weeks ago. I did my best to assure her that this was a good thing and I felt confident it was necessary and would be good for her comfort and progress. Not thirty minutes later she called me from the gurney and told me they were going to surgery at that moment. She seemed a little more at ease at this time. By 3:00pm Mother had returned from the recovery room. I made a call to Ernie’s mobile phone and mom answered. Amazingly she sounded really good from just coming out of surgery (This is the seventh procedure in twenty three days). The purpose of this procedure was irrigation and debridement of the fluid and infection found during the previous day’s ultrasound test. The procedure entailed returning to the incision on Junes back and entering at that point to flush the hip joints of the fluids and infection that had accumulated, and then insert a wound vac drain tube. During the procedure the orthopedic discovered mom had a screw loose. It’s not what you think. No comments to that effect please ;-). Actually it was a screw that had been placed in her hip joint to support the bones that had been debrided of the cancerous areas in the earlier surgery. That was also a good thing to find. Unfortunately they will need to do this procedure again on Monday, and possibly Tuesday. Dr. Shaeffer was adamant that June would see a vast improvement in her health by the middle of next week.

June and Ernie confided in me later that they had both had a sudden unexplainable peace about everything that had occurred today. My Aunt's Jackie and Martha also had a moment of peace during the day much like what mother and Ernie had experienced around the same time. My aunts and I had been planing a trip to Lexington throughout the day. Our intention was to leave right after work.

With the peace my parents had found and the impending severe weather in our path, we aborted our trip to Lexington tonight.

Small Discovery

It now appears the doctors have discovered some of the issues concerning June's pain and fever. The ultrasound has revealed a fluid pocket in her left hip joint. They initiated a drain and have already drained about 55cc of fluid from that area. It has continued to drain through out the day. They have found some infection in the other hip joint. June has been receiving antibiotics since she re-entered the hospital Monday. Now they can focus on the exact strain of the infection and mother should start feeling some relief immediately.

I spoke with mom tonight at length and she really is maintaining a good attitude through all of this testing. The kitchen has still been a sore spot with her. Even when she requests certain types of foods, meaning nothing sweet, they just can't get it right. She likes sandwiches and salads for lunch. Can you imagine sugar on green beans? All in all this has been a pretty good day. Mom sat up in the chair for quite a while today, about three hours or so. The orthopedic surgeon will be in to see her in the morning to discuss these issues. The best case senario for getting out of the hospital will be later next week.


I sure hope they can be home for the Relay For Life on May 5th here in Newnan. Most of you know how active June has been with this oganization and how important the event is to her. Please attend and support your local Relay For Life organization.

Now for a special puzzle message from June and Ernie, please click the link below, complete the puzzle and add a comment. http://five.flash-gear.com/npuz/puz.php?c=v&id=1367798&k=42557748 Sometimes the link loads kind of slow. Just refresh or try again.

We thank all of you for hanging with us in this battle of life. You are all remarkable.

Not Much Change

I spoke with mom and Ernie this morning and they are doing fine. The doctor had come by and said they have not found any infection thus far. They have been able to control her temperature with tylenol. They said that was a good thing. It appears the temperature fluctuations are post-surgical and stress induced. They insist that mother call for her pain meds at the exact time needed and not to wait for the pain to become overbearing. That would help stabilize the extremes of pain she is experiencing. They would be doing an ultrasound this morning, running additional test and checking for other sources of complications. There has been a hint that the hip joint may need to be placed, that is still not a fact as of yet. Pleural fluids continue to be drained every other day or so.

I do not believe they will be leaving Lexington this Friday (21st) as I thought last week. Ernie said that he would let us know if and when he felt there was an urgency for any one to come to Lexington. Currently, they're satisfied that things are OK and they just need your continued prayers.

Stable At This Point

Mother was readmitted to the hopital last night. There is some type of infection causing the fever. They are running cultures to determine the cause. They've run a CT scan and are awaiting Dr. Shaeffer to review the result.

I spoke to mom and Ernie this morning. They were both doing well and once again felt that they were OK and did not need assistance at this time. June was in good spirits, her voice was strong and her pain was being controlled.
More later...

EMERGENCY ROOM
Special Report

Ernie just called, he had to take June to the emergency room around 4:45pm. She has a 102.7 temperature. June has not been admitted back into the hospital as of yet, but she is being tended to in the ER. Ernie had no information as to the cause of the temperature increase, only that the home health nurse had checked it earlier and it was on the rise, and that he was to check it later. If it continued to rise, he was to take her to the ER and that is what he did. I will provide an update as soon as I know more.
Latest Update
As of 8:00 tonight, June will be admitted to the hospital. ER doctors have provided no information to Ernie. He seems frustrated with them, but having been there I understand the way it works. Nobody can say anything. The doctor in charge must speak to the patient or next of kin. It will probably be sometime in the morning before we know more.

Ernie said early indications was an infection or inflammation in the front incision. They will administer antibiotics and pain medicine. Dr. Shaeffer, the orthopedic will do an assessment in the morning.
Ernie said mom was experiencing pain in her thigh to hip and was not able to put her weight on it as well as she had been able to previously.
I'll let you know more tomorrow.

Easter Sunday

June and Ernie spent the day at the St. Agnes House. Their Easter dinner consisted of fine dinner prepared by Krogers. It may not sound like the best thing in the world, but that is just what they wanted. June’s sisters left Lexington Saturday and Shari returned home Sunday. Mom was so pleased that the girls had come up to help her settle in. So now mom and Ernie are adjusting to the things that will be required for her after care. Ernie has taken on some of the duties of a home health nurse. I asked them both if they would need help this week and they were both totally confident that help was not needed at this time. They assured me they would let me know if any thing changed. I know many of you are equally concerned about them, I guess we just have to wait for them to let us know when they want help. Once they return to Newnan I’m sure any help will be appreciated.

Jackie captured some moments on film of the day June left the hospital.

After Twenty Days

June Leaves UK Hospital

There was not much change on Thursday. June continued with the physical therapy and her strength has improved. June’s sisters, Jackie and Gwenda drove up from Newnan and are spending a couple of days with the folks and Shari. I think they may be planning a party. Shhh….

Friday at 4:00pm June left the University of Kentucky/Markey Cancer Center. Ernie brought the car over to the hospital. Mom found entering and exiting the car was much easier than she expected. June and the welcoming family went over to the St. Agnes House and the party began. There were flowers, presents, cards and all sorts of good tidings when she arrived. She conveyed that even though she had been apprehensive about leaving the hospital, she was quite comfortable and happy to return to the house with all of her family. I should have a few pictures in a day or two of todays event.

Mother has a doctor appointment next Friday the 21st. We should learn at that time if they will allow her to return to Newnan or if they will need to remain another week. Everything is looking really good for an early release. A home health nurse will be by to check on her during the week. If everything remains on track, they should get the Ok to come home. They are unsure how they may return, could be Angel Flight or I may fly back to Lexington to chauffeur them home. Never the less this is a great day!

Another Fine Day

I spoke with mom tonight and she continues to gain strength. June is getting more mobile each day. June has moved about the room and hallways without any tubes attached. IV’s, catheter, pain drip have all been removed. The best news of the day is that the fluid buildup in her pleural cavity has decreased exponentially. The pleural drain pump had been disconnected three days ago and they only drained off about 50cc of fluid today. That is about the normal amount produced and contained within the pleural cavity. Upon arrival in Lexington, you may remember, she was producing gallons of fluid. A week ago tonight she had just got out of surgery and was completely helpless and suffering miserably. The doctors now feel she is overqualified for in-house rehabilitation. So again the plan has changed and June may very well be discharged from the hospital by Friday the 14th. A home health nurse will come by three times a week and check on her and do the physical therapy there at the St. Agnes House. Ernie and Shari are able to provide assistance when the nurse is not around, such as sitting up and rolling onto her side. Mom’s pain is much more tolerable now and they are using time released medicine to control the pain.

Several of the thyroid patients have returned for follow-up appointments here in Lexington and have come by to visit June in the hospital.
Mother has asked me to share with you that she feels that all of your prayers really have made a difference. I told her I had know idea how many prayer chains and prayer warriors must have been praying for her these last few weeks, but I would say literally thousands. She is confident God has answered your prayers and that is the reason she is doing so well. June feels there have been angels with her the entire time.

God Bless You All!

Work, Work, Work

June is continuing to gain her strength as the PT nurses work with her to achieve full mobility again. It is apparent to the doctors she will need about two weeks of rehabilitation before she will be allowed to return to Newnan. Mother is eating well, feels pretty good, does have a rough night now and then, but overall she is doing quite well for what she has gone through. She spent quite a bit of time up today and actually walked with her walker across the room and out into the hall and back. June is pulling from deep within to accomplish these seemingly simple tasks we take for granted. Everyone seems pleased with her progress up to this point. Step by step, day by day June battles to win the war against this disease. It wont be easy, but I know she will give it her all.

Friends and family, you have made such a difference in her recovery, by the the love and support you have shown, believe me.

Never, Never Give Up

I'm pleased to tell all of you today that June's progress has continued. She was able stand, sit in a chair for about an hour and (drum roll please) she walked across the room with a walker. The applause are deafening, yea! I sure wish I could have been there for that! Now, the nurses are worried she may be staying up to long. Tomorrow they will continue to teach her how to get out of the bed safely, lowering and raising herself out of the chair and walking with the walker.

June wants REAL food now. They must forbid the kitchen from using spices due to some kind of regulation. She says it's just not good.
If things continue on track they will plan to leave the hospital by Friday. Mom and Ernie will remain in Lexington, at the St. Agnes House until the sutures are removed.

Shari arrived today around 1:15pm. She made her way up from Key Largo, FL and will remain with the folks till Sunday. Still not sure how or when June and Ernie will return to Newnan.

Ernie is feeling much better about his love, June.

Send those comments as often as you like!

Day 15 of a 4 Day Trip

This morning I have returned home from a most amazing journey. This is about as tough of thing as I have ever witnessed and been a part of. You feel so helpless, unable to offer much more than comfort to your loved one, and when that does not seem to work you are left asking yourself. What can I do? The pain and suffering is unbearable for us and is only a fraction of what mother is enduring. As I spoke to mom this morning before I left, I reassured her that her decision to go through this surgery was the right thing to do, and that she was in the battle of her life. She had questioned her decision during the previous days events. It must have been the pain control talking, as this was the first time I had ever heard her speak of doubt. When she was calling out to God, Please help me, please help me! It was heart-wrenching.

Later today, Ernie called and said June's condition had improved dramatically. June may have turned the corner. She has started to eat and drink, which was an absolute impossibility on Saturday. She really had not eaten since Tuesday night to speak of. They have removed the pleur-evac unit and they will not need to place an additional tube in her chest as was once thought. As June gains her strength, the physical therapy will increase allowing her to return to normal activity, and the doctors insist the pain will continue to diminish.

When I left I said, “See ya later.” Gave her a kiss and walked away, knowing it was in God's hands. Ernie gave her a kiss and we headed to the airport.

Days grow longer not shorter.

Mother seems to be diminishing in forward progress. Not really a set back, but slight regression. She refuses to eat, due to nausea. The pain medication causes the nausea. She needs the pain meds to remain comfortable. She need the food to get stronger. She has stomach discomfort which causes pain and an urgent need to go. She has shown some irritability with us when we promote the need to eat or do her breathing exercises.
The physical therapist came by about 3:30. They got mom back up on her feet for a few minutes. That's a couple of times in the last two days. The physical therapist will probably not return till Monday, although the nurses may try and get her up again tomorrow.
One of the lung doctors came by after the morning chest x-ray. He removed the pump from the denver drain (chest tube). Mom, Ernie and I will need to learn the procedures for doing the manual extraction of the fluids from the pleural cavity. These fluids will most likely continue to drain due to the cancer in the lung. The Denver® Pleural Effusion Shunt with Externalized Pump Chamber are designed to provide June with an alternative to conventional therapy in managing intractable pleural effusions.

I will be returning to Newnan tomorrow morning. Sister Shari, I mean my sister Shari will be here on Monday. She has plans to stay the week.
Our good friend John, has helped make our air travel possible. We are so grateful to him for providing this much needed service.

I would ask everyone to continue their prayers for June, seeking comfort, recovery and complete healing from this condition.

PT Begins

Last night was not one of Junes better nights. The night nurse conveyed to us that she had not rested well and that she had been in a lot of pain.
PAIN LEVEL 8 = HURTS ALOT!
The pain control doctor came by and upped the pain medicine and assured her that it was ok to use the button. Just after he left the radiologist came in and took an x-ray of her chest. She cringed in pain as the tech lifted her slightly off the bed to place the film under her back.
The physical therapist came by just as the x-ray tech was leaving. The PT tech's were determined that it was time to get moving. Mom was not eager to take on this challenge, but the tech's were encouraging and explained the need for getting up. Ernie and I decided it was time for us to take a coffee break. Mother made it to the standing position within a reasonable amount of time. When we returned she was back in bed and feeling pretty good about her accomplishment this morning. June will have to do the physical therapy again this afternoon.

The Day After

This morning June new what real pain was all about. She said that this was the worse pain she had ever experienced. Mom was unable to move on her own, and when ever the nurses needed to moved her it was just unbearable. The surgery required incisions on her front side and backside, fairly large in size, about 4-6 inches. June currently has four teams of doctors, so they are continually coming by to check on her. She will most likely be in the hospital at least till Monday. The orthopedic thought she may be able to sit up on the side of the bed by then. He said that the pain will lessen daily and within three days she should be fairly comfortable. They encourage her to use her pain medication often, it is self controlled to an extent, but she says that it sometimes causes nausea if she uses it to much. They have been providing anti-nausea medicine at her request, which helps.

This evening the nurse came by and drew blood samples for testing, as her temperature had risen to 101.8 degrees. They will be running test to determine the cause of the temperature increase. She has still been pleasant and pretty comfortable considering the surgeries of the previous day.

Tomorrow brings a new day and a new set of challenges.
June has asked me to tell each of you hello, and expresses her appreciation for the love and concern you have shown.

After Surgery

Markey Cancer Center Lexington, KY

Last night June returned to her room about 7:00pm. She had gone to pre-op about 6:15am and surgery about 9:00. Needless to say she was exhausted and in quite a bit of pain. The doctors had retained her in the recovery room a bit longer than they initially thought would be required. She was pretty much out of it upon her return. Ernie and I stayed with her about an hour and felt certain she would be ok. She let us know she was alright and that it would be OK for us to go back to the house. June was in no condition to answer or speak on the phone. The next few days should show improvement in her overall health. The internist advised her to keep all of her weight off her legs. Although tonight there was little chance she would be up and about.

We thank all of you for your exhaustive praying today, it worked. We knew not what the outcome would be early in the day, but He worked it out. June will likely be in the hospital another few days until everything is stable and the doctors are comfortable with her condition. She will need to spend another week to ten days at St. Agnes House awaiting removal of the sutures. She will not be allowed to return to Newnan until the sutures are removed and she gets clearance to leave from the doctors.

Surgery Was

SUCCESSFUL!

This morning the staff took June to the pre-operation area around 6:15. This surgery should take between 3-6 hours. The risk of bleeding is significant. The amount of bleeding will determine the length of surgery and the tumors they will be able to remove. Tentatively three tumors will be removed. These areas are on the bone structure known as the pubis, acetabulum http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetabulum and sacrum. They will remove them in that order and will do as many as they can as long as the bleeding remains under control.

Before the operation could begin, a major power outage occurred on the operating room and critical care unit floor. All operations scheduled had to be put on hold till power could be restored. That was not bad enough. The back-up generators did not come online as they were supposed to. All surgeries were put on hold till power returned and they were certain there would be no interruptions. The doctors, nurses and entire staff have been extremely kind, caring, friendly and helpful. They prepped June for the operation and rolled her to the operating room about 9:30am. We had prayer with Mom, before they went to surgery. She remained confident and strong as the preparations were being tended to.

We have just received word that mother has come out of surgery and is now in recovery. Doctors indicate there were no complications and successfully removed the affected areas of cancer. The operation lasted about 6 hours. Early indications reveal she is doing well, but is experiencing lower back pain. She is expected to remain in recovery at least 2 hours or until they stabilize the lower back pain.

Additional information will be provided as soon as the doctors come by to check on June, and assure she is doing well.

Dr. Ain, June and Assistant Kevin

LIVE
From Lexington

I arrived Tuesday morning, met Ernie at the Markie Cancer Research Center. We were both extremely happy to see each other. I can only now begin to understand what it has been like for Ernie to be here this last week, alone. I am thankful my boss allowed me to come up here on short notice. It was the right thing to do at the right time.

We went immediately up to the room. She had not returned from surgery at this point. The nurses and staff are careful not to reveal any information about the patient’s status.
Around 1:15 they brought her in from recovery. She looked well, and smiled when she saw me.
They performed an embolization (shut off the blood flow) to the veins leading to the tumorous areas. Thyroid cancer tumors tend to be bloody. This procedure was done to reduce bleeding during the operation scheduled for Wednesday morning. June spent the next six hours flat on her back. She was not to lift her head or legs during this time as this could cause bleeding from the incision, in the groin area where the instrument had been inserted. Mom was hungry by this time but could not eat lying down. By 7:00 pm she was able to sit up and have her dinner. Not 30 minutes after June had her dinner, the nurse came in with the bowel prep solutions. So after being restricted from moving around most of the day, they gave her products to keep her moving around all night. We all talked and I showed her the blog. She read the kind words many of you shared. All in all it was a pretty good day for her.

Now We Know
And Away I Go

Tonight I prepare to drive Lexington KY. They have decided to go ahead with the surgery. Of course this was without the drama of telling June, at 12:00 today she would be going home on Tuesday and then returning about 3:30 and telling her the surgery must be done in the morning. I will be driving June and Ernie's car to them and returning via Delta most likely. Almost everything changes by the hour. It would take an hour to tell you of the changes over the last seven hours. Not to worry, I've got a packet of plans and options. Just have to take them one at a time.

The surgery will begin tomorrow morning by shutting off the blood supply to the tumors located on the sacrum and the pelvis bone. This will prepare the cancerous sites for removal on Wednesday. At least this is how I understand it. Could change. I will post tomorrow as I find out more.
Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go right now!

Come Monday
It'll Be Alright...

Monday we should find out just what the course of correction will be.
A team of doctors will evaluate June's condition and determine what action, if any, they will take. Apparently they rotate a team of doctors each month and the new team has come onboard and the communication between them is a bit sketchy. Regardless, some decisions should be made soon. The lung that was leaking air seems to have slowed but not stopped. This is indicated by air bubbles coming from the drain tube. The fluid from the pleural cavity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleural_cavity has slowed and they have removed the pump. There is hope the lung will reattach itself to the chest wall, important because that will be one of the factors to consider as far as when the surgeries will begin.

June has been recognized by the nurses on the third floor as the patient with the "Best Attitude". Are we surprised? Not the least, we've all known that for awhile. They continually comment on her positive spirit and outlook. Keep up the good work, June!

Ernie woke up Sunday morning feeling rejuvenated, his own words. He could not explain why, only that he had asked God to give him strength and He did.

Again, thank you from our entire family for the care, concern, love and prayers each of you have shared and shown. John

A Bend in the Road
Day 7

Isn't it amazing the twists and turns we experience in life. It can change so fast. Yesterday the plan was to come home to Newnan in a few days. Today brings a new plan. The doctors discovered that there is a small leak in the collapsed lung. Although it has nearly returned to the normal size, apparently a small hole is letting air into the pleural cavity. Not to worry, this is not unusual. It should repair itself within a few days. By Monday we will have a better idea just what the next course of action will be. It seems unlikely June and Ernie will be returning the first part of next week. If the lung has healed itself by Tuesday, they are considering the surgery on the sacrum. http://www.back.com/anatomy-sacral.html This is a delicate surgical procedure and there are risks involved. By doing this operation first and allowing the appropriate recovery time, they will be able to come back to Atlanta for the hip replacement surgery, thus avoiding additional trips to Lexington.
http://www.hipreplacement.com/xq/ASP.default/mn.local/pg.list/joint_id.5/list_id.17/joint_nm.Hip/local_id.5/qx/default.htm

Today, Mom is still in good spirits. She has received some pain control but has not experienced excessive pain. The doctors see no reason to be in pain. Pain equals stress, NOT good. Fluid continues to drain from the pleural cavity, about 4 liters so far, equal to about a gallon plus 1 cup. The food is lousy, her biggest complaint. Down right slop. IE: weak or watery unappetizing food or drink; "she lives on the thin slops that the hospital kitchen provides" .
Ernie has brought her some good stuff from time to time. :-) Ernie went back to St. Agnes House early today; they were both in need of some rest.

Friends and neighbors, keep those cards, comments and prayers a comin'!