3/18/08

Surgery was a Success

Pam is temporarily on assignment and Bill will be blogging in her place (I apologize for the obvious drop-off in writing quality).

Surgery day was a success. Pam went into surgery about Noon . She was in very good spirits and her waiting room team (her Dad, Step-mom, Aunt Joann and husband) was far more tense than Pam. We were also greeted in the waiting room by Nancy McIntyre - it was great to see her and her smiling face was a welcome addition to our pacing.

First, Pam had her sentinel nodes mapped and removed (on average there are 2.5 sentinel nodes or between 1 and 5). Pam has/ had 3 and all were removed which was anticipated in advance. The very best possible outcome for today was node negative results. Thus far, the nodes are negative! Thanks for the prayers!

The node testing is a critical staging factor which suggests progression or lack progression of the cancer. It will not affect the chemo/ treatment plan but is a vital data point. We will know officially in a week if the complete pathology verifies the operative pathology. So, there is a chance of false negative, but we can only hope that they stay negative.

The rest of the surgery went well and as planned. Before the plastic surgeon went in, I told him to, "have a good surgery". And it seems as though he did. The staff and both surgeons were superstars today and should be commended for their bedside manner and grace (we also heard that the female Beaumont staff would pick Dr. Dekhne as their personal surgeon which was nice to hear). Pam also got her port put in for the chemo which happened with some arm twisting (thanks to the Oncologist push). This will allow Pam to avoid another surgery in the next 2-3 weeks prior to chemo.

Pam is very tired and kicked us out so she could sleep. She finally made it back to the short-stay recovery room at about 6pm or so. She is in a lot of pain and commented that, "it feels like I did hundreds of bench presses and then had my chest run over by a car."

I want to thank each and every one of you for all of the help, messages, cards, gifts, prayers, donations to the 3-day, meals, play dates, etc . This support has been wonderful and uplifting. It is truly overwhelming to know we live in a place where such kindness and love exist. It makes us feel like anything is possible.

Last, Pam is the number 1 fund raiser in all of Michigan and Nancy's Naught Nockers is also the number 1 team for the 3-day walk. Thank you so much to all of those who have donated. You are awesome! We know it is a worthy cause but also your way of supporting Pam during this very temporary fight. The generous donations and unbelievable response to this effort has been amazing.

Pam should be home tomorrow morning - the next critical stage is avoiding Nathan's head butts and crazy antics. I think we can handle this after today.

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