TACE and hospital learnings.......

On my way home from the TACE surgery at UM. Once again an excellent experience at UM Hospital. The surgeon flooded my one liver lobe that had the four tumors in it and will do the other one in about a month if there is shrinkage or slowed progression. They inserted a slurry of pellets that are 1-3 microns in size into the vascular systems of the tumors. These small pellets clog up the blood flow in an effort to starve the tumors. Feel like someone punched me in the ribs and a horse kicked me in the back but got some good pain killers!!!

So what do you do when you have returned home from your TACE procedure and you wake up at 4:00 am in excruciating pain. You sweat profusely and can't breath because the knife in your liver stabs you each time you breath in.

Them you go back to your friends at UM Hospital so they can put you in another morphine drip. After two days they can now talk about managing the pain on oral drugs so that you can go home again!!! Have to admit the smile has not always been on my face but Mary says the real me is starting to come back.

Thanks to everyone for all the prayers. Your love and concern has been most gratifying.

Disconnected and set free at 1:00 pm on Tuesday!!!! Praise God in all things.....

What did we learn:

1-Pain management is critical because once it gets out of control it is so much harder to get in front of.

2-When in pain don't be so noble as to not ask for pain meds as the consequences can be serve.

3- Learn how to ask for help from those who love you.

4-Let those who love you know when they are hovering and it is not helpful but can actually can cause pain.

5-Realize that life on narcotics can get pretty weepy and you need to understand that. Now I understand when I met my good friend Fr Tod Laverty OFM at Henry Ford Hospital with liver cancer and returning from his ordeal in Italy before he died. He said to me, "Don just tell the parishioners that I am a little weepy but that I am OK with it all." Now I understand what he was telling me. 

6-When you have a disease that is going to end in death then the side effects of a treatment that "May cause death" don't seem to  be so stark anymore.

All will be well and in the end all will be well...........