The phrase for today is: Extracapsular extension. Defined as invasive cancer passing through the nodal capsule of the lymph node into the perinodal tissue. In farmer terms, the fluid-filled tractor tire had a leak in the yard and it could kill the grass. That’s what the pathology for Suzanne’s cancer showed. Of the twenty-five lymph nodes that were removed from her neck, two sprung a leak. What that means is not definitive. Basically, there could be a problem down the…
I’ve shared before, I’m a numbers guy. When we had our business, I loved the bookkeeping, payroll, balance sheets, sales, projections, and anything related to the numbers of the business. So it was natural for me to put Suzanne’s illness into a format that I had some control over; a medium that gave me a quantitative value for our life together both now and the future. If you have been reading along since the start, you’ve seen the numbers I’ve…
Her sixteen day journey in patients now changes into a lifetime of hope. Nothing moves at a farmer’s pace in the hospital. Decisions have to go up the ladder and back down before actions occur. Boundaries, a chain of command, job authority, territorial responsibility, and all the other descriptions of how individual employees in such a large organization are forced into little boxes, make it tough for the common person to deal with things happening at such a snail’s pace….
“911 – What’s your emergency?” A soft muffled voice on the line answers “Hurry, I’m being held hostage in room 1320 at Rush Hospital, send a SWAT team quickly” That’s the scene that unfolded before my eyes when I arrived at Suzanne’s room today. Early morning, the ‘Grey’s Anatomy Crew’ did do a scope of the surgery area this morning, took pictures to send to Dr. A, showed Suzanne all that was going on, and made some 8×10’s for the…
When I arrived at Suzanne’s room today and asked how has your day been going, she responded, “just been watching the dandelions grow” The ‘Grey’s Anatomy Crew’ came by and someone asked “has she really been here 14 days” to which Suzanne quickly and clearly answered “YES I HAVE” They all laughed and someone commented “Don’t ask her how many hours it’s been” They did remove the stitches and extra bandage on her wrist this morning for the first glimpse…
So if you were to look up the definition of “Bummed Out” in the dictionary, you would find a picture of Suzanne there. Her hospital stay of 7-10 days will now be 14 or more the way it’s going. Dr. A was actually in this morning, a Sunday, and said “not Monday” but didn’t speculate beyond that. He wants to scope her throat tomorrow to see how things are going, especially the hole in her throat incision. Monday will be…
Just another typical Saturday in a Chicago Hospital. Unfortunately, we have enough experience now that we can say that. I went home last night to re-load, hopefully for the last time. Got my birds fed, did a load of laundry, discovered I have a critter eating cat food in the barn, found Suzanne’s embroidery, packed and on the road I was. Arriving at the hospital, Suzanne was more than ready to see me. Sharing her stories of what all happened…
Today, Suzanne had the rest of the staples removed from her neck incision by the Grey’s Anatomy team. Upon inspection, they noticed that a small area was still open and would report back to the Doctor. Dr. A arrived around 1 pm with his whole surgical team. After looking both inside and out, he shared that this was one of the complications he originally spoke about that might occur. The skin in that area has been recently radiated, poor quality,…
Showed up at Suzanne’s room today just after noon and already missed most of the fun, well maybe not fun but progress. She was all smiles and anxious to tell me all that had happened so far this morning. The ‘Grey’s Anatomy Crew’ were in early as usual and anxious to do something, anything, as the breaks have been put on them most of the week; but today, they got to jump in. First, they removed the staples that hold…
Kind of what we expected, an uneventful weekend. Halls were quiet, with no incoming or outgoing patients and the staff was a little more laid back. Suzanne spent the weekend mostly in her easy chair. When I’m visiting from noon till evening, walking is what’s on tap. Starting Friday with a slow walk up and back to the end of the hallway was her limit but today, 4 laps around both wings were the record. We both knew that today…