Today was the final bout of tests (as of now, and hopefully no more).
Jerry went in for his biopsy this morning at the crack of light and was in there for about 2 hours. They can't say much about how they think it went - you know Doctors and their vague ways, but we should have some results back by Monday..Tuesday at the latest.
For now, Jerry is at home resting and catching up on sleep. Reports from mom and dad say he's in good spirits and just extremely tired. He'll be home until they decide on surgery next week.
More later if anything changes.
Friday, December 5, 2008
A Trip Home
Today was a pretty good day... the final hours of the afternoon being the best of all for Jer.
After the surgeons and the doctors consulted each other this morning and went over the results of the upper chest scan, they did decide to postpone surgery until next week, in the meantime they are doing a biopsy of the lymphnodes in the chest tomorrow morning (Friday) and the pathology results for that should be available by Monday. We are stiill planning to run a PET scan, and a full body bone scan - with any luck we can get one or both of those done tomorrow (Friday) afternoon, if not which ever of the two scans is not completed Friday afternoon will be done Monday or Tuesday - its all about scheduling. So we should have results for all 3 test then by Monday, Tuesday at the latest - we're guessing at this point that surgery to remove the tumor in the liver will likely not take place until Wednesday at the earliest. The good news is Jerry did get to check out of the hospital today and other than for the remaining tests will hopefully not have to return until the surgery is scheduled and get to spend the weekend at home.
...Showers at home, no medicinal smell, no nurses/doctors poking and proding at all hours and of course: home cooked meals prepared by MaryFace..... (I think I heard the jubilent cry of Jerry when Tuna Patties appeared on the menu) ....ahhh... the life.
After the surgeons and the doctors consulted each other this morning and went over the results of the upper chest scan, they did decide to postpone surgery until next week, in the meantime they are doing a biopsy of the lymphnodes in the chest tomorrow morning (Friday) and the pathology results for that should be available by Monday. We are stiill planning to run a PET scan, and a full body bone scan - with any luck we can get one or both of those done tomorrow (Friday) afternoon, if not which ever of the two scans is not completed Friday afternoon will be done Monday or Tuesday - its all about scheduling. So we should have results for all 3 test then by Monday, Tuesday at the latest - we're guessing at this point that surgery to remove the tumor in the liver will likely not take place until Wednesday at the earliest. The good news is Jerry did get to check out of the hospital today and other than for the remaining tests will hopefully not have to return until the surgery is scheduled and get to spend the weekend at home.
...Showers at home, no medicinal smell, no nurses/doctors poking and proding at all hours and of course: home cooked meals prepared by MaryFace..... (I think I heard the jubilent cry of Jerry when Tuna Patties appeared on the menu) ....ahhh... the life.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
More Tests To Run and a Brief Respite
As the blanket of snow fell over Kansas City, we got the latest update on Jerry tonight:
Well- the doctor finally made it in to see Jerry tonight about 7pm after his transplant surgery. While he was only in there for a brief time, he did give him a lot of information on what is to come in the near future.
First, Jerry has to have a bone scan on Thursday just to ensure that nothing has metasticized (sorry if I spelled that wrong) - the doctor is positive it's good and that this is just a precautionary measure to dot their "i"s and cross the "t"s.
Secondly, it looks like they want to run a biopsy on Jerry's Lymph nodes as one of his is swollen. Again, the don't seem to think this is anything, but want to rule out EVERYTHING before they continue down the surgery path. They don't seem to think that Cancer or tumors have spread anywhere else, but they are playing it on the safe side just to be sure. Unfortunately, they need to find time in the hospital schedules to get him in to do the biopsy - it might be tomorrow, it might be Friday. At any rate, they can not move forward with the surgery until the results from the biopsy come back.. and that will take a few days. Monday will be the earliest they would have results back from these tests.
Sooooo... no surgery this week. It is postponed until next week sometime - mid/late week - all depending on when the biopsy can be done, and when the tests come in.
On the PLUS side with all of this, it looks like they may release Jer for a few days after he gets the biopsy done and until the results come back - WOOHOO! Jerry was very excited for this bit of news as it means he is sprung from the hospital for a few days- for sure over the weekend he'll be resting at home. :)
.... be sure that Jerry enjoyed his pain meds this evening as he thought of sleeping in his own bed and in his own house even if for a brief period....
Well- the doctor finally made it in to see Jerry tonight about 7pm after his transplant surgery. While he was only in there for a brief time, he did give him a lot of information on what is to come in the near future.
First, Jerry has to have a bone scan on Thursday just to ensure that nothing has metasticized (sorry if I spelled that wrong) - the doctor is positive it's good and that this is just a precautionary measure to dot their "i"s and cross the "t"s.
Secondly, it looks like they want to run a biopsy on Jerry's Lymph nodes as one of his is swollen. Again, the don't seem to think this is anything, but want to rule out EVERYTHING before they continue down the surgery path. They don't seem to think that Cancer or tumors have spread anywhere else, but they are playing it on the safe side just to be sure. Unfortunately, they need to find time in the hospital schedules to get him in to do the biopsy - it might be tomorrow, it might be Friday. At any rate, they can not move forward with the surgery until the results from the biopsy come back.. and that will take a few days. Monday will be the earliest they would have results back from these tests.
Sooooo... no surgery this week. It is postponed until next week sometime - mid/late week - all depending on when the biopsy can be done, and when the tests come in.
On the PLUS side with all of this, it looks like they may release Jer for a few days after he gets the biopsy done and until the results come back - WOOHOO! Jerry was very excited for this bit of news as it means he is sprung from the hospital for a few days- for sure over the weekend he'll be resting at home. :)
.... be sure that Jerry enjoyed his pain meds this evening as he thought of sleeping in his own bed and in his own house even if for a brief period....
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
The Stress Test
Last night, the nurse brought in an EKG maching for Jerry to monitor his heart and let's just say he was a little excited to be getting one: "Cool! I've never had one."
Today, Jerry has had to have what the doctor's call a series of "stress tests". Since the surgery will last approx. 7 hours, they need to make sure his heart and other organs are functioning well and will be able to withstand the "stress" of the surgery. He had one test this mornig and passed it with flying colors! They took him in early afternoon for the second part of the stress test, and he believes everything went well with that too.
Mom has been with him all morning and even brought him a supply of Diet Coke and chocolate donuts so he doesn't have to suffer thru the hospital food! He is very excited to get his tests done so he can eat - as of 12:30 pm he was STARVING!
The doctor says that after they have completed these tests and get the results, they will be able to tell further when they can perform the surgery. Right now, they are shooting for Friday (12/5) afternoon.
Currently, he is resting comfortably this evening, thanks in part to pain meds, and even managed to surf the internet a bit this afternoon. Mom and dad are both up there with him now.
The doctor had to perform a transplant today, so as of 5:00 pm CST there was no update as the doc was still in surgery with no indication of how long he might be. That's all for today.... as of now at least.....
Today, Jerry has had to have what the doctor's call a series of "stress tests". Since the surgery will last approx. 7 hours, they need to make sure his heart and other organs are functioning well and will be able to withstand the "stress" of the surgery. He had one test this mornig and passed it with flying colors! They took him in early afternoon for the second part of the stress test, and he believes everything went well with that too.
Mom has been with him all morning and even brought him a supply of Diet Coke and chocolate donuts so he doesn't have to suffer thru the hospital food! He is very excited to get his tests done so he can eat - as of 12:30 pm he was STARVING!
The doctor says that after they have completed these tests and get the results, they will be able to tell further when they can perform the surgery. Right now, they are shooting for Friday (12/5) afternoon.
Currently, he is resting comfortably this evening, thanks in part to pain meds, and even managed to surf the internet a bit this afternoon. Mom and dad are both up there with him now.
The doctor had to perform a transplant today, so as of 5:00 pm CST there was no update as the doc was still in surgery with no indication of how long he might be. That's all for today.... as of now at least.....
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Hospital Information
Jerry is currently at The University of Kansas Hospital (KU Med).
General visiting hours are 11:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m.
The University of Kansas Hospital
3901 Rainbow Blvd.
Kansas City, Kansas 66160-7220
(913) 588-1227
http://www.kumed.com/
For the moment, he is in room 5314, Bed 2
General visiting hours are 11:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m.
The University of Kansas Hospital
3901 Rainbow Blvd.
Kansas City, Kansas 66160-7220
(913) 588-1227
http://www.kumed.com/
For the moment, he is in room 5314, Bed 2
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
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
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