Nashville or Bust

Pre-Surgery Update

It’s been yet another hectic week and weekend in our neck of the woods. We now have two bona fide teenagers in our stable. Jameson hit the big 13 last Wednesday and we made sure to take a pause on all medical stuff to celebrate and eat lots of cake. Mmmm…. cake.

Jameson also rolled his highest bowling game ever during team practice — a 176. He’ll be rolling with the high school team next week during their first competition of the season. Woot!

Dave has been feeling really good and enjoying the past few days, even doing some production work this weekend. Mentally that is a great thing as we anticipate the next few weeks to be physically tough.

The surgical biopsy is scheduled for this Tuesday (11.09.10) and Dave will need to stay in the hospital for a few days post. During our consult with the thoracic surgeon, we learned there is no possibility of actually removing any/all of the tumor due to its position up and near the aorta. His mission is to go in through Dave’s right side between the ribs, reach beyond the right lung and extract out a decent chunk of tissue for pathology to examine. (Think 1 cubic centimeter) Unlike the sample from the needle biopsy, this larger chunk will  give everyone the picture and data needed so that this thing can be TYPED and treatment can be best aligned with ailment. It seems like a lot to go through for something the size of a sugar cube but it is something, unfortunately, that needs to be done. Dave is ready. He has a plethora of new head wraps (yes the hair is gone) and a new, favorite zip front hoodie. (I personally like the biker-meets-skater look.) He’s been working hard to keep the weight up (he’s craving pizza and yellow cupcakes sans frosting of all things) and as always, has a strong, positive outlook. He greets each day with a smile and makes sure that we all know how much we mean to him. I think this has really helped the kids to stay confident and calm throughout all of this. Honestly, they have been amazing!

Chemo should start-up again soon after surgery. I’m not quite sure how all of that will work and I’ve learned not to be too concerned about future happenings. All sites are on an easy and successful surgery this week with solid and speedy recovery. Just like Jameson sizes up the pins before knocking them all down in a crash, so too are we going to size up this bad boy tumor before blasting it again. And yes, we will blast it good. ~ Jacqui

November 8, 2010 - Posted by daveandjacqui | Dave, Everyday