The Servant's Quarters

3:18 PM - Wow. What a difference a day makes.

A little while ago, Dr. Israel met with my father and me in a conference room off of the Ready Room. The surgery was a lot more involved than expected. The initial lymph node, the one closest to the site of the cancer, tested positive. Rather than sitting still and waiting for us to remove it like it should, the disease made a break for it and tried to get to other parts of my Mom's body. As a result, the surgeon removed all of the lymph nodes on my mother's right side. They're in the lab now, and it will be two or three days before the results are in. If more nodes are positive for cancer, my Mom will have to have her right breast removed.

The good news is that the original tumor has been removed. There was no involvement with the chest wall.

Mom's going to be in recovery for about an hour before moving up to a hospital room for the night. Nothing else to tell, so I'm closing off this blog entry.

Thanks for your prayers. Please keep them coming!

2:00 PM - Okay. Now I'm a little bit scared.

The nurse just came out and told us that the surgeon is still working on Mom. The reason that the operation is taking longer than expected is because they are taking additional biopsies. The only reasonable conclusion I can draw from that is that there are additional sites where it appears the cancer has spread. At least, it's obvious that the cancer is contained in one place.

Man, this really stinks.

God, help us.

1:16 PM - I'm back in the saddle. Had a lunch of pizza and cheese sticks. Yum.

We were in fact taken into the Ready Room right after my last entry. Mom was doing okay. She wasn't totally comfortable, but she looked like she was holding up okay. We met Dr. Israel (How's that for a name?), her surgeon. He seemed pretty oblivious. He acted like he hadn't heard of her or knew anything about her case until that moment. He asked her if he had seen her at his office. (As he was a substitute for her regular surgeon, he hadn't.) I comfortd myself with the idea that with social skills like that, he may have been homeschooled. (rimshot)

The only thing we know is that Mom is going to definitely have one lymph node removed for testing. Originally, her oncologist told us that she would have two removed, so we're taking this as a sign that there is very little chance that the cancer has spread.

The operation is supposed to last about an hour, so we're expecting to hear anytime.

While I'm waiting, I'm now watching All My Children. All right!!! My favorite soap opera. I used to watch this show all through college and into my married years. I notice two things immediately: 1) Due to the characters that I still recognize from previously watching this soap and the cliched/recycled storylines, following the show is no problem and 2) This show stinks horribly. I mean, it is really bad.

11:44 AM - I'm going to sign off for now. I suspect that we'll be taken in to see Mom soon, so I want to get the computer packed up. Nothing new since the last update.

I'll be back on early in the afternoon with more information.

If any of our friends or family are reading this, don't forget the comments section. Let me know if you have any questions.

11:29 AM - Here's the latest:

The nurse just stopped by and said that Mom is doing fine after her second procedure. She should be back up in the "Ready Room" in a few minutes. Hopefully, we will get a chance to see her before the operation.

11:16 AM - "If you see a man with a handbag, you may think that he's gay. But these days, you just don't know" - Barbara Walters

Thanks, Barbara. Nice to know you're in my corner.

AND IT'S NOT A PURSE. IT'S MY COMPUTER BAG. IT'S MY MOBILE OFFICE.

The gals are talking about who the biggest wimps are in the music industry. A recent magazine rated James Taylor as the biggest wuss muscian. (Sorry, Rita. I know he's one of your favorites, but he's a sissy.) One of the ladies just said that her husband is a proud girlie man, and she thinks it's sexy.

I have entered a parallel universe.

11:01 AM - oh no

It's The View!

For the love of Heaven, someone change the channel!

PLEASE!!!!!!!!

10:47 AM - What am I thinking??? I've got the greatest book ever written on my Pocket PC - the Bible! The Holy Scriptures should provide me with enough fine reading to be entertained, challenged, engaged, etc. for the afternoon.

Thank you, God, for modern technology. I've got the Word and an entire library of dictionaries, commentaries and references on a device the size of a large wallet.

10:43 AM - Monday on Martha, Matt Lauer packs a suitcase.

I'm not kidding.

Matt Lauer is going to come on and teach viewers the proper way to pack a suitcase.

I wonder if anyone I know is having surgery on Monday. I don't think I can miss that segment.

Sigh. Only a couple of hours before the afternoon soaps begin. YES!!!!

10:40 AM - Why didn't I bring a book? Have I gone insane?

10:37 AM - Fire alarms are going off here while I type this. After a few anxious moments, a nurse announced that this is only a drill.

Some signs around the waiting room saying, "We'll be testing the fire alarms later so don't panic" might have been nice.

No new news. Mom's still off somewhere having who knows what done to her.

10:00 AM - YES! Martha's on, and she's promising lots of "fun summer ideas."

Please shoot me now.

The nurse just stopped by to tell me of a change of plans. Since Mom (apparently) took so long in Nuclear Medicine, the staff is taking her directly to her next procedure - The Pre-Op Examintion with Needles and No Pain Medication. Hopefully, we're still on target for a noon surgery.

By the by, if anyone's reading this who would like to comment, please use the comments option at the bottom of this post. I can even respond in the comments section to your comments. I just thought I would comment on that. I assume that those reading this blog are limited to my family, but if any of the thousands and thousands of people who read this site but never comment or send e-mail to let me know want to chime in, please feel free.

Come on. I know you're out there.

please?

9:23 AM - Nothing new to report. Haven't heard a thing from Nuclear Medicine. Hey, I know! I can tell you that both Dad and I have used the restrooms. Right out there in the hallway with no locks on the doors. That made me amazingly nervous. I'm not sure I entirely trust my fellow human beings to knock before entering. That distrust probably comes from living in a household of young boys.

Regis and Kelly is on the tube right now. Do people really watch this junk? Yesterday, Kelly rescued a baby bird that had fallen out of its nest. Today, the bird is a guest on her morning talk show. Awwwwwww. Isn't that cute? Wait. The birdie pooped while Kelly was trying to feed it a piece of bread. Look. Kelly's threatening Regis with the poopy tissue. Several poop jokes ensue.

Man, when is Martha on?

8:13 AM - We just left a brief visit with Mom in what I guess I would describe as the "Ready Room." She was on a hospital bed dressed in her gown and waiting for her day of operational fun. Nothing had been done with her yet, so she was fine but very nervous. A little after 8:00 AM, a nurse arrived to take her to Nuclear Medicine for the first procedure of the day. So far, so good.

One potential bit of good news - It sounds like Mom has the option of staying the night if she needs the rest and comfort for the post-op pain. She isn't going to be required to stay the night.

6:57 AM - I'm going to try to keep an ongoing blog post of what's happening at the hospital. After some initial frustration at not being able to find a data port or a wireless connection, I was pleased to see that my Sprint cellular card is working just fine. Thank you, Ford. So, I should be able to update the blog and get some work done.

Isn't technology a wonderful thing? I'm feeling the love.

Here's what's happened so far - Drive to the hospital was uneventful. Parking was mildly confusing. Mom had been told to park in the North Visitor Parking Structure. When we pulled up to it, there was nothing but a badge reader and a button that said "Push for Assistance." What we didn't know is that the button was what actually opened the gate so you could park. We had to watch someone go in before we realized that the button should have been labeled, "Push to Open Gate."

It took only a few minutes to get checked in and find the surgical waiting room. Not a bad joint. Hot coffee. Vending machines. A lot of TVs (all tuned to the same channel). Tons of magazines. And one old guy sitting on a scooter who we'll call "Dad." (Since he's my father. Duh.) I think I'll be able to live here for a day.

The nurse has already told us that this is going to be an all day affair. Count on it. In about in hour, Mom's due to be filled up with radioactive dye. (The comic book fanboy in me is wondering if she'll at least get any super powers out of the deal.) Then, she'll be going into her pre-op torture session when the site of the cancer is identified with needles. No pain medication for this one. Yikes. Finally, it's into surgery at noon.

Hey, I just noticed that there's an electrical outlet right behind my chair that I can use to power my laptop. That's a blessing. Hopefully, everything else will fall into place that easily today.

# posted by Tim @ 7:00 AM