We received fabulous news yesterday that John remains in remission with a CEA (tumor marker) of .7! We are so very grateful and thank God for His many blessings. Please pray that this will continue.
We also found out that the broken rib was done intentionally during surgery and it doesn't appear that it needs to be repaired. The oncologist said it was up to John but we haven't asked the orthopedist or thoracic surgeon about it yet. Now that John knows what he is feeling, he isn't really inclined to endure another surgery.
The radiologist that has done all of John's scans called him about a roof yesterday and as he was sitting at what John calls his "Star Trek Command Center" at the hospital, the Dr. pulled up all his past scans and x-rays. He is the one who said the rib has been broken all along and also that John's lungs look healthier now than in the past.
We know we are not the only ones who face challenges and we encourage those of you who are to focus on God's faithfulness. It is comforting to know we are not walking this path alone and that He is there supporting us with every step.
Quote for the day: "If God allowed you to be thrown into a pit, you weren't picked on; you were picked out. God entrusted that suffering to you because He has faith in you. Live up to it. All the way up." Beth Moore, Get Out of That Pit
He is risen! He is risen indeed!
Easter Blessings,
Pam
Friday, April 10, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Troublesome Ribs
As you may or may not know, John has been having trouble the last five weeks with coughing and cold type symptoms. He improved but had a recurrence and saw the Dr. last week who felt he had bronchitis or walking pneumonia. He did the z-pak routine and improved but got a little worse after that finished so called the Dr. again for check.
They did xrays and saw some shadowing in the left lung that could be pneumonia or infection. Anyway, he is on another strong antibiotic and taking it a bit easy but doing ok.
The big reveal with the xrays was that the rib above the two missing ribs is broken. Not just broken but snapped completely in two and separated a full rib-width. We were pretty shocked and that would explain his ongoing pain. We don't know if this was done by the surgeons on purpose and they figured it would heal but something went wrong, or if they were not aware of it, or if it is something that happened after. The after part seems unlikely since he has felt something wasn't right in there since he began to mend from the thoracotomy. We're surprised the CT or MRI didn't reveal it but we were just all focusing on lung tissue and we don't know if those tests would show that type of thing.
We see the oncologist on Monday for the regular check and he will give us guidance as to what we need to do about the rib. Not looking forward to any surgical procedures.
What we really need prayer for is that he will remain in remission. That is the news we want to her from the Dr.
They did xrays and saw some shadowing in the left lung that could be pneumonia or infection. Anyway, he is on another strong antibiotic and taking it a bit easy but doing ok.
The big reveal with the xrays was that the rib above the two missing ribs is broken. Not just broken but snapped completely in two and separated a full rib-width. We were pretty shocked and that would explain his ongoing pain. We don't know if this was done by the surgeons on purpose and they figured it would heal but something went wrong, or if they were not aware of it, or if it is something that happened after. The after part seems unlikely since he has felt something wasn't right in there since he began to mend from the thoracotomy. We're surprised the CT or MRI didn't reveal it but we were just all focusing on lung tissue and we don't know if those tests would show that type of thing.
We see the oncologist on Monday for the regular check and he will give us guidance as to what we need to do about the rib. Not looking forward to any surgical procedures.
What we really need prayer for is that he will remain in remission. That is the news we want to her from the Dr.
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