Update for March 24, 2009 (from Ken)

Today was a good day.  Pam did not lose her cookies once all day.  Her color is great, and she actually walked to an atrium and sat in the sun . . . with her five IV's dripping into her medicines, liquids, carbs, proteins and fats..

 

The doctors also came up with a plan.  They have set her surgery for Thursday of this week, in the evening, which will take approximately two hours if all goes as planned.  They hope to shave the cage by 20-25% to lessen the risk of friction with the back of Pam's throat, they will catch the shavings with sponges, and "irrigate" the rest away with anti-bacterial rinse.

 

The docs hope that they won't need to build any more structures, but won't know for sure until they get in there.  They still may do more bone grafting from her hip to the back of her neck.  There is also a plan to move some of her throat muscles to act as a shield and barrier between the remaining cage and the back of her throat, to protect the closed area.  The docs feel she will not need a skin graft in the back of her throat, but can close her up with the remaining skin and tissue, which is also great news.  All these plans can change on the fly once they open her up, but we are excited that the doctors are so optimistic about how the plans are falling into place.  In the words of the head surgeon, "the stars are aligning" which we understand is a good thing.

 

Pam started the heavy duty pre-operative medications tonight, which will increase daily.  The doctors have their team set, and were very excited about their plan, which is really reassuring to see.  We have met and like all the doctors on the team.  The last doc we will meet is the anastesiologist, who is really the key to keeping Pam alive if the tumors act up.  So we are looking forward to meeting that person.

 

Pam is in good spirits.  She smiled a lot today, and now I think is feeling better about the game plan for Thursday.  The end is in sight, so we have a goal and something to shoot for, which makes the days have purpose.

 

After surgery, Pam will have a feeding tube for seven to ten days, which she's not excited about, but we are just trying to get through the surgery.  Take one challenge at a time.

 

I'm going to try and get some sleep.  Thank you all for your support  . . please keep it coming.  We love you all.  Ken.