Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Here we go again....

Well, it's been over a year since I wrote what I had hoped would be the final post on this blog. Unfortunately, we have discovered that while mom may have bested Multiple Myeloma, another contender has stepped into the ring, trying to have a go at her..

Here's the latest news in a nutshell...

Sunday afternoon, mom and I had planned to go shopping, but I received a call from dad saying that she wasn't feeling well and had decided to go get checked out at our local ER. Mom has been doing really well since the days of MM, so her not feeling well kind of threw me. Mom just doesn't get sick.. and when she does, it's a doozy.

Still ,we weren't too worried as all her symptoms seemed to point to gall bladder issues. You must understand that the war between our family and gall bladders is legendary. The gall bladders attack each of us one by one, taking us down in a storm of pain and belching... but we rise victorious. We just find a nice friendly doctor and ask that the gall bladder be removed far from our bodies to be stored in some glass jar at some remote medical facility never to hurt us again. In fact, Mom and Mike are the only ones who still have their gall bladders. The gall bladder battle is so insidious that it crosses blood lines and even attacks family by marriage. My sister in law is fighting her own gall bladder even as I write this.

So my point is, gall bladder, not such a big deal.. We've all been there, done that!

And yet, mom's gall bladder seemed to not be so simple. The battle lines there were just not quite as clear, so it was decided that further investigation would be necessary and our little local ER moved mom to the big city hospital across town.

Still, we weren't too fazed. We were certain we could deal with any gall bladder issue.. We had experience on our side.

The big city hospital put mom on the oncology floor.. you know, the one reserved for cancer patients. I was almost thrown at this point, but mom offered that this was simply a precaution due to her history with MM and she actually appreciated it. I bought this explanation and pushed away any creeping anxiety.

Monday came and tests were performed. Unfortunately, the big test, the deciding test, the test that would change our little world as we knew it was ordered wrong and we had to wait until Tuesday to take the test and hear the results.

My brother, Mark, was with mom and dad when they got the results and he began the task of informing us. I am grateful that he called my husband Jim first, instead of me. Jim came to where I was working and was with me when I learned the news.

Cancer had returned.

But it wasn't the same cancer. Multiple Myeloma is still being held at bay. This was a new enemy. Cholangio Carcinoma.

A tumor was growing around the bile duct and eventually completely blocked it, causing mom's liver to quit functioning properly. This was causing her symptoms and dealing with this blockage became the priority.

On Wednesday, mom, who by now had taken on the hue of BigBird, underwent a procedure that completely and successfully unblocked her bile duct. Her liver could now do it's job! Not only is the duct draining into the small bowel as is it's job, but mom is sporting a new accessory bag where her liver is draining from her side. This is just temporary, but it's needed to get everything back in order.

The doctor's chose not to do a biopsy of the tumor during this procedure because they didn't want to traumatize the liver more than necessary. Instead she will have the biopsy tomorrow and get a matching tube and bag for her gall bladder.

This morning, she was all pink again and feeling better. Her bilirubin levels were normal, which is glorious word when dealing with what we are dealing with. The immediate danger has passed, but we still have the rest of that nasty tumor to deal with.

The biopsy tomorrow will confirm the Cholangio Carcinoma diagnosis and I'm praying it doesn't. But no matter what... mom says God is in control and together they beat Multiple Myeloma..and that same power, that same grace is still with her. I have no doubt that this new contender will be knocked out in the first round!


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