On the Mend

Good news!  Mike met with his surgeon on Friday (September 10), who doesn't want to see him again until December.  Everything is looking good.  He is supposed to schedule a follow up appointment with his oncologist to discuss long term plans for remaining cancer free.  He also goes back to work this Thursday after a 3-month leave.  Things are looking great so we are all happy.  Thank you for supporting him through this experience!

Back Home

Mike was released from the hospital on Friday.  He is recovering well at home.  He'll be on an IV treatment for 14 days.  Unlike last time, however, these IV treatments will only last 30 minutes, rather than 5 hours at a time.  Thanks for continuing to pray for him.

Day 60

Physical therapy has been going well and Mike is getting some of his strength back.  His vision is fine but his speech is still slightly impaired, particularly when he is tired.  He has a doctor´s appointment today, so we will post another update after that.

Day 51

Mike had a follow up appointment with the surgeon yesterday.  She said he's still on the right road to recovery.  He's been meeting with the physical and occupational therapists, as well as doing exercises on his own.  Thank you for continuing to keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Day 43

Mike had a good follow-up appointment with the surgeon today.  She said he is doing well and on the right road. 

His drain tube was taken out (he's so happy about this).  There's a small infection around the drain site, but he's on antibiotics for three days to clear that up.

He has some fluid accumulating through his abdominen, but it is different than the fluid that accumulated near the liver which put him back in the hospital.  The surgeon said this fluid accumulation is normal and part of trying to get everything in his system back in balance.  Mike is going back in for an ultrasound this afternoon and a procedure that will drain the abdominal fluid.  (It's not uncommon for liver surgery patients to need to have 2-3 of these procedures during their recovery).  The ultrasound will also check the flow and pressure in the liver.

Mike has been having some speech issues, but those appear to be clearing up as well.  He has another follow-up appointment scheduled for next Friday, but if he feels well, continues to eat well, and has good physical therapy sessions, he has the liberty to cancel that appointment.

This is very good news after a stressful month, so we are all thankful!  Thank you for keeping him and our family in your thoughts and prayers!

Day 42

Six-weeks post-surgery and finally we have an update on the physical therapy situation.  A physical therapist went to the house yesterday to access Mike's strength. The therapist will be coming to the house 2-3 times a week to help build his strength back up.  Mike's personal goal is to get as much strength back as possible by September 1.  When the physical therapist is not around, Mike has exercises he's supposed to work on 2-3 times per day.

Day 39 Post-Surgery

No updates yet on in-home or out-patient physical therapy.  Mike is still pretty weak, but he's able to eat three meals a day.  Thank you for keeping him in your thoughts and prayers.

Back Home

Mike has been back home since Tuesday afternoon.  He's hanging in there.  We are still waiting to hear how the physical therapy is going to be arranged.  Mike has been good about getting up on his own initiative and walking around the house, sitting up, etc.  Many thanks for keeping him in your thoughts and prayers.

Hospital Day Eight

Mike will be discharged from the hospital today.  Unfortunately, Anthem did not approve an inpatient physical therapy rehab program.  Someone is trying to arrange an outpatient physical therapist to come to the house, but that hasn't been worked out yet.  Fingers crossed.

Day Twenty-Five

Mike is hanging in there.  His blood pressure has been low and he is back on IVs, but the surgeon and nurse practitioner still insist he is doing alright for the surgery he underwent.  As far as comparing him to other patients who have undergone similar surgery to get a gage on how he is doing - it's impossible.  His case has been so unique from the start that the surgeon says he is not following any of the normal protocols, even in recovery.  So, instead of saying he's doing well or poorly, they just say he is doing alright, all things considered.

Mike has another appointment on Friday and he is hoping to be off the IV for good by then.  Thank you so much for keeping him in your prayers - he needs them and appreciates them!

Day Twenty

Mike is off the IV as of today, pending results of a blood test that should be available Monday.  He is able to eat three small meals a day, which is an improvement.  He is experiencing more pain in his abdomen now that his pain medication has been cut back.  He is still very weak, but his doctors believe he is doing alright for being nearly three weeks post-surgery.  His next post-op has been scheduled for one week from Friday.

Please continue to pray for him during this difficult recovery.  The prayers definitely helped while he was in the hospital, and he needs them to carry through this next stage, which is both mentally and physically challenging.  Thanks so much for your continued support!

P.S.  His home computer went on the fritz following a lightning storm a few weeks back, so he hasn't been able to read or respond to any e-mails (neither has Karen for that matter).  We share blog comments with him, but if you have e-mailed him or Karen and haven't received a reply, that's why. 

Day Eighteen

Happy Birthday, Mike!  Today we celebrated his birthday and he said he was thrilled to be able to celebrate another year.  Mike's appetite has been improving slowly as his sodium levels go back up.  He seems to have more energy today and is walking with a lot more spring in his step.  The surgeon said he probably felt so bad last week because his sodium was so low, but now that it is getting back to normal, he's feeling better.  He's still getting an IV transfusion every afternoon.  He has another post-op scheduled for later this week.

Day Sixteen, Part II

One very important detail was omitted from the earlier post (sorry!) - yesterday the surgeon said that the pathology reports on the tumor show that the margin was good and they are confident that they removed all of the cancer from his liver!  Please pray that this is true and that Mike remains cancer free for the rest of his life. 

The surgeon called Karen today to discuss the results of Mike's latest blood tests.  It's good news!  His sodium levels are almost normal!  His protein levels are normal, which is good because protein will help the liver heal.  His platelet count is up to 91,000 from 36,000 immediately after the surgery - platelets help clotting.  He's not anemic, either, so his iron levels are looking good.  This is a major improvement from his pre-surgery levels, which were practically non-existent.  In sum, the surgeon thinks everything is going to start turning around after today. :)  Mike is doing better today - you can tell he doesn't feel good, but he's doing a lot better than he was the last few days.

Dr. Maluccio, the surgeon, is going to call back tomorrow to check in.  She is a rockstar.  She has been so hands-on and personally involved in the case.  We are very grateful for her guidance, follow up, and attention.  For being one of the foremost liver surgeons in the state, her personal involvement has been so impressive.  She's been able to put a lot of our fears at rest - definitely a God-send during such a trying time.

Day Sixteen

The surgeon said Mike is doing alright for being 2 weeks out from such a major surgery.  She even took all his stitches out yesterday herself - 54 or 56 in all.  She took more blood and is going to keep monitoring his levels.  He has lost 12 pounds since Sunday.  He still sleeps a lot and doesn't eat much, but Karen is trying to make sure he gets 4 Ensures a day and proteins like scrambled eggs and shakes.  He has no appetite and says everything tastes bad - the surgeon said this is also normal and it might be 3-4 weeks post-surgery before he actually develops an appetite and his taste buds get back to normal.

His birthday is coming up and the family is having a little luncheon on Monday in his honor.  We'll try to post pictures so you can see for yourself how he is doing.  He doesn't look anything like he does in the pictures in the sidebar. 

Thank you for keeping him in your prayers! 

Day Fourteen

It's now been two weeks since the surgery.   Please keep Mike in your prayers.  He's not eating well and doesn't have much energy.  Mike was put on a sodium IV transfusion at home last night, and is going to start another one this afternoon.  He'll probably be on a 5-hour sodium IV transfusion each day for the next 8 days.  Low sodium is concerning because it can cause dehydration and also affects the heart and other organs.

Tomorrow he meets with the surgeon to find out what the long term recovery plan is going to be.

Rough Patch

Mike's recovery has hit a rough patch.  A home care nurse checks in on him every other day and his test results are causing some concern.  His blood pressure has dropped and his sodium levels are extremely low.  Tomorrow the nurse will give him a sodium transfusion.  He doesn't feel well and hasn't been able to eat much. 

He has a follow up appointment with the surgeon this Friday.  In the meantime, prayers would be much appreciated.  He looks and feels a lot worse than he did last week while he was still in the hospital.

To the HP crew that sent him a Kindle - he received it yesterday and is really touched by the gesture.  Once he starts feeling better, it will get a lot of use.  Thanks so much!

Day Eleven

Mike has been discharged and is back at home!  Thank you to everyone for keeping him and our family in your thoughts and prayers.  They have definitely been appreciated.  We will continue to post updates relevant to his  recovery, but probably not every day from now on.  Thanks again!

Day Ten

Mike was supposed to be discharged from the hospital this afternoon.  However, the doctor who ordered the discharge left before signing the papers (yes, really), and the resident on duty refuses to sign them in his place.  The first doctor and the surgeon have been paged, but it's not likely either will show up at the hospital to discharge him.  It looks like it is going to be Monday now for sure.

Day Nine

Mike is still in the hospital - hopefully he will be discharged tomorrow.

We would like to send a big thank you to the ladies of Urology of Indiana (where Karen works) for buying two huge baskets full of groceries and making several meals for Mike and Karen to enjoy when he gets home from the hospital.  We are just so touched by the thoughtfulness and the support throughout this whole ordeal.

Day Eight

Mike is not going home today.  The surgeon came by and said she wants to keep him a few more days to get his fluids in balance.  Everything else looks good, he's eating better, and he continues to get his strength back, but she just doesn't want to send him home with an IV.  He is OK with this.  So, he might get discharged on Saturday or Sunday - we just don't know at this point.  We'll let you know!

P.S.  He had a DQ shake on Wednesday and said it was the best shake he ever tasted!