Time for Surgery

The rest of our summer seemed to pass by in a blur. We went to Holden Beach with Wil's side of the family for a week. Holden is our happy place. It was so nice this year being able to enjoy it fully unlike last year where I had restrictions going on the sand and then being on a liquid diet.

We have continued to have chemo every three weeks and it was time for a CT scan. It had been 4 months since my last one. Since I'm allergic to the contrast, I have to premedicate with oral steroids and Benadryl to avoid having a reaction. 

The CT scan has to be at a hospital and not outpatient because of the risk for a reaction. The Kernersville hospital is our favorite, despite having to drive a few extra minutes. We have no trouble using my port instead of a typical IV and the staff is amazing there. The nurses remembered us when we came in, and I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. They reassured us that they loved my infusion shirt (thank you Teal Diva for this) and our humor. 

Per usual, Wil found two people that he grew up with there. One is a doctor and Wil got to share with the nurses some embarrassing stories about their childhood. 

 Unfortunately, about two minutes after getting the IV infusion of the CT contrast, my face start to itch. I notified the techs who brought the radiologist right in. My airway wasn't affected and was given IV Benadryl. The itching subsided some until about 30 minutes later when it got worse and my chest felt heavy. I got more IV Benadryl and took a nap. The nurses told us that sometimes they end up admitting a patient overnight for observation, which thankfully we didn't require. 

We were educated that there is a chance to have a rebound reaction 6-8 hours after the initial allergic reaction and to have my Epi Pen ready. Again, thankfully, this wasn't needed. A scan that normally takes about 2 hours ended up taking 5 hours. It was an exhausting day for Wil and me both. We are still waiting to find out how to get scans in the future safely. The more you are exposed to an allergen, the worse your reaction can become.

We met with Skinner on 8/5 to go over the results and to get chemo. We had a mixed bag of results. The good news was that the areas around my organs (bladder, intestines, etc.) were all stable and showed no growth. The bad news was the tumor in my fat near my bellybutton had grown. The game plan is to have surgery on 9/17/24 with Dr. Skinner and a general surgeon, Dr. Hunter- to remove the growth and possibly put mesh in to help prevent a hernia in the future. This will be done at the main hospital and will be at least one overnight stay. It will be a 6-8 week recovery time.

To say that I'm not looking forward to surgery is an understatement. Not a fan of anesthesia, pain, hospital stays, and having restrictions. But I am very glad that the tumor is in a spot where they can remove it without having to completely open my abdominal cavity. Chemo will have to be on hold to allow me to heal and the exact time will be determined depending on how invasive the surgery ends up being. 

 A huge praise is that the kids went back to school this week. Wilson is starting second grade and Parker is starting her first year at Calvary. She will be in transitional kindergarten and she is very excited to be at the same school as her brother. They both have amazing teachers and we are excited to see what the school year brings.

What a difference from Kindergarten to 2nd Grade!

Prayer Requests: 

 1. For peace and calm in the waiting. 

 2. For the surgery to go well, for it to be as minimally invasive as possible, for a short hospital stay, and easy recovery. Praise that we have a great surgical team that we are confident with. 

 3. Pray for Parker and Wilson and their school years to go well. For them both to understand the surgery and have no fear around it.