I am out of the hospital and a little lighter in the abdomen without a gallbladder.

Shortly after my last blog post, late on Christmas evening, the surgeon who took over for the emergency room doctor visited my hospital room to convey that he and his colleagues, after more discussion, are 99% sure that I need my gallbladder removed.

In the time from when I completed all my various tests in the EF, was admitted to the hospital, and finally settled in my room, a small team of surgeon’s reviewed all my previous CT scans and determined I have had an enlarged gallbladder for some months now. They speculate that I had so much else going on that my body just ignored the symptoms of the inflected organ with developing / developed stones. (At some point in the not-too-distant past, I had a pea-sized stone, but passed it)

Now that most of my primary cancer and post-gastrectomy issues resolved, my body woke up to the issue with my gallbladder.

Therefore, no more medical testing was required. The remedy: remove the gallbladder forthwith!

The plan was a straight-forward 60-90 min laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The surgeon’s would start with a small incision near my belly button and then make three small incisions along my rib cage on the right upper quadrant of my abdomen. They would cut out the gallbladder and ensure the bile duct from my liver was clear so it could take over the missing organ’s functions.

But, when has anything been straight-forward with my care and treatment as of late?

After a 4-hour procedure, the surgeons removed the gallbladder, but in a more traditional slice-you-open approach as I had so much scar tissue from my gastrectomy, the laparoscopic approach was not successful.

So, now I am home with another abdominal scar and only pain from the healing cut to bother me. (I am waiting for an issue with my appendix so the doc’s can complete the abdominal Bermuda Triangle they start with the first two surgeries)

Luckily it was only a 2 and a half day stay in the hospital. Just in time for me to get home before my mother-in-law jumped on a plane back to Italy. She has been helping us for the last six months while I went through treatment. It was such a blessing to have her help as my wife and I went back and forth from the hospital literally hundreds of times over the past 180+ days.

No more body drama! Now is the time for me to physically recover, and my family to return to a stable living pattern.

Now that 2019 is closing, I don’t want any more hospital stays. No more nights filled with stabbing pain. No more infusions of toxic miracles to beat back my cancer. Only healing and good times ahead.

2020 is going to be a great year! I can just feel it…

“[…], mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a letter. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Apologize. Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Be kind. Be gentle. Laugh a little more. Express your gratitude. Welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love and then speak it again.”

Howard W. Hunter

Beautiful words I try to live by.

I would like to say I am sending this Christmas message as I am snuggled under a blanket in my home with my family around me.

Rather, I am sending these well wishes from my hospital bed at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, MD…Merry Christmas to me 😞

For the last week or so, I thought I was beset with the flu, since it touched everyone else in my family. I was vomiting, diarrhea, no appetite, fever, fatigued, etc. But I also had weird abdominal pain on my right side right around the ribs.

After a couple of days, all the symptoms cleared except for the fatigue and abdominal pain. The pain wasn’t as strong, so I figured it was just going to take a little more time. The fatigue remained.

Today, I had no appetite for our Christmas breakfast feast of Mickey Mouse waffles, eggs, bacon, and hash browns. The same held true as lunch approached.

In the place of hunger were violent dry heaves.

I told my wife something wasn’t right and we should go to the hospital. I should note, in fairness to my beautiful bride, that she has been wanting me to go to the hospital for a week. I finally relented.

After 8 hours in the emergency room, a chest and abdominal x-ray, ultrasound of my liver, gallbladder, and pancreas, and, finally, an abdominal CT scan, the doctor’s aren’t 100% sure what is going on as I don’t fit any textbook diagnosis for serious liver conditions, choledocholithiasis (gallbladder issues), or pancreatitis.

The ultrasound and CT scan show I have a gallstone, but it is not a concerning one.

However, the CT scan did also show my gallbladder to be enlarged and presenting thickening of the walls. I’ll have to do one more test in the morning to determine if it is the gallbladder…the remedy: remove it.

On a positive note, the issue does not appear to be cancer or gastrectomy related, as all of my other hospital visits revolved around these issues. Yeah, me!

However, it is another hospital stay. Another set-back to full recovery. A little while longer before I will be “me” again.

More to follow. Until then, reread the quote that started this blog post and strive to be a better person this Holiday Season and into the New Year!

First reports are often wrong.

A mentor shared that with me a number of years ago to teach me not to go crazy or overboard with the first pieces of information flowing in during a crisis or stressful situation.

This past weekend once again reminded me that I need to slow my roll.

After arriving in the Walter Reed emergency room Saturday afternoon, the first reports started flooding in from the ER doctor and the attending surgical resident.

My CT scan and subsequent x-rays showed that one of my stents migrated from my esophagus to my upper small intestines. There was likely still a leak from my initial gastrectomy with infection build-up between my liver and spleen.

It was recommended that would undergo a procedure the next day to reposition the migrated stent, add a third stent, and place a drainage tube in my abdomen to remove the fluid buildup that could lead to sepsis if not cleared out.

Not a positive prognosis, with implications of a couple-week hospital stay.

I was devastated at this news.

Why? Why so many set-backs? I just made it through chemo. I was doing everything the doctors asked of me.

Then the call went out to family and friends alike to pray and fast for me. Two of my best friends came and administered a Priesthood blessing of comfort and healing.

In the blessing, I was reminded to stay strong, not to lose faith, trust in my doctors, and that I would be healed and made whole.

Sunday afternoon came and the decision to conduct the procedure was delayed until Monday so the lead Gastro-intestinal doctor could be consulted, along with my primary oncological surgeon. Seemed like a fair decision.

Well-wishes flooded both mine and my wife’s phone and email. We knew lots of prayers and fasting focused on our family.

Then, everything changed Sunday evening.

My oncological surgeon visited my room. He turned the proposed game plan on its head and kicked it out.

His assessment: yes, a stent had migrated, but both stents should just be removed…permanently. There is (and was) no leakage on-going. The “fluid” that the previous medical team was looking at was non-existent. In removing my stomach, the anatomy of my digestive track has changed and would be hard for someone not intimately familiar with my case to interpret CT scans or x-rays properly. In the end, he believed the stents did their job and protected the perforation in my esophagus to heal. The pain I was experiencing was simply the jagged edges of the stent scraping their way down my small intestines as the muscle were just doing their job trying to move stuff down the line.

Hope was immediately restored!

With his words I was reminded of my mentor’s caution. And I also knew that the prayers and fasting on my behalf made this all possible.

Monday came and I underwent the GI procedure.

Upon waking, I was immediately aware that I was pain free. A stark departure from my last GI procedure when I ended up in cardiac arrest due to the excruciating pain caused by the newly placed stents.

The second thing of which I was made aware is that my perforation was completely healed.

Hallelujah! A Christmas Miracle!

Everything my heart desired came to pass. All those prayers and fasts help deliver what I really wanted. The stents removed and my perforation closed.

On Tuesday, a nasty Swallow study confirmed my esophagus was completely healed.

Wednesday morning I was released from the hospital.

This cancer journey has tried me and my family more than I ever thought I could be tested. Irrespective of the pain and suffering, I have tried to remain positive and upbeat. It has not always been easy. But how could I not be positive knowing I have so many people rooting for me to succeed and heal?

Again, I am eternally grateful for the support my family and I have received from so many friends and family.

This has been a team effort!

I still have some healing to do…chemo keeps reminding me that it is still flowing through my veins.

Regardless, I am on the path to a complete recovery.

I know this to be true because I ate pizza today and it was wonderful!

It all started with hiccups.

For the better part of the last month, a sharp cramping pain has dominated my life…actually, more specifically, my diaphragm muscle just under my rib cage on the left side of my abdomen.

The pain quickly escalated to a persistent, sharp stabbing sensation that erupted into torture anytime I took too deep a breath, uncontrolled cough, full-bellied yawn, or ,you guessed it, simple hiccups.

I quickly met with my surgical team; but they dismissed the issue as straightforward spasms to be treated with muscle relaxers…which initially helped.

However, while devouring my Turkey-day “sampler plate”, my abdomen felt like it rebelled against me.

The stomach pain (my daughter says I can’t say stomach or tummy pain anymore because I don’t have one…I’ll have to improvise an alternative descriptor) eventually became overwhelming enough that I had my wife take me to the emergency room at Walter Reed Bethesda.

Shortly after arriving at the ER and a morphine shot or two later, the pain was relatively under control. Just as quickly, I endured a CT scan and a couple of x-rays that revealed I was eating more than turkey on Thanksgiving day!

Needless to say, my stents have “migrated”. Taken a vacation. Gone on strike. Malfunctioned. No worky no mo’.

So, starting on Monday – when the medical A Team arrives – we will work with the doctors to determine the best way forward.

I am so grateful for the immediate outpouring of love, prayers, fasts, and support as me and my family deal with this latest setback.

In fact, within hours of getting to the hospital, two of my best friends drove all the way into DC just give me a Priesthood Blessing of healing and recovery. So much love; so much support!

Also, many friends and family fasted on my behalf to give me, my family, and the doctors added strength and guidance to do the right thing for my health moving forward.

My heart is full from all the love and appreciation poured out towards me today.

I am especially appreciative for one of my daughter’s best friends, who during Church today, stood up in front of her congregation (a couple hundred people) and shared her testimony of Jesus Christ and the power of the fast…and that she was fasting for me!

I was overwhelmed with emotion to know that this beautiful, eight-year-old little angle did all that for me. I am moved to tears of joy every time I think of her sweet action. This memory remains imprinted onto my soul and I will be eternally grateful to her and her parents.

Though unplanned and unwanted, this latest hospital stay will not stop me. I know I have the support of so many to see me through to a full and healthy recovery.