The First News

We wanted to keep everyone updated on Jerry, and since we are in the "digital age", we thought we would give this Blog a try. Hopefully, everyone will find it as informative and useful as our initial thoughts.

For those of you that don't know the whole story, Jerry had been experiencing back pain for about the last week or so. Didn't think much of it, as he had been moving furniture, learning a new job and holiday stress (yes, we all have it). However, as Thanksgiving week went on, the back ache got worse and he was not his usual self - although, he put up a valiant effort at it.

Monday morning Jerry went into the hospital ER as he was still in extreme pain and his back wasn't getting any better. They ran a full battery of tests on him from blood panels and urine tests to CAT scans and MRIs. All came back clear and fine ... yet the doctors still didn't know what was causing his pain or how to fix it. They kept him overnight for observation and to run additional test this morning (Tuesday).

Today, the doctor came back with the news of what was causing Jerry's pain: He has a tumor the size of a softball in his liver, and they believe it is cancerous. It has apparently burst on its own and is bleeding internally - although, apparently not bleeding that will harm Jerry in any way. Due to the size of the tumor, they do not want to wait and do a liver transplant - too much time due to Chemo and such to shrink the tumor before doing a transplant - so they have opted to perform surgery and will remove about 60% of his liver. They seem very positive with this option, and while there are complications (as with any surgery) the ones associated with this operation range from 1-2% I'm told.

The doctors will be running some additional tests on him over the next few days to prep him for the surgery and make sure everything is in good condition for the operation. As of now, they are planning on doing the surgery either Thursday or Friday afternoon. We won't know more until Wednesday mid-day. The surgery will take approx. 7 hours and once complete, will require Jerry to remain in the hospital for approx. one week; with rest at home following for about 2-3 weeks - all could change depending on how quickly/slowly Jerry heals.

Jerry will be in the hospital for about the next week or so as they prepare him for surgery and then as he recovers from surgery.

We will keep everyone updated on this as we get any news. Please check back regularly for more news - and you are welcome to post comments/thoughts/prayers for Jerry on this site as well.

Thank you and know that Jerry loves you all (yes, he does!) and we love you as well.

God Bless and Stay Strong,
Sherri