For those of you who are not as familiar with the events of the past few months, I will try to give a brief summary.
Near the end of January, Linda began to experience a severe cough. The cough was soon accompanied by a sharp "headache" in her forehead and in particular above her left eye. Within a week or so, the headaches were accompanied by recurring nausea. After numerous visits to various doctors with no change in symptoms, Linda's PCP ordered a CT of her head and blood work. During the first week in March we met with the PCP to review results. The CT of the head was clear, but the blood work showed slightly elevated liver enzymes. The doctor performed an in-office ultrasound of her liver, and noticed some small growths. He ordered an MRI to be performed.
When we returned from the doctor's office, Linda's nausea and head pain increased dramatically. This continued through the night and into the next day. Fearing dehydration, we checked into the ER at Naples Community Hospital downtown. Based on symptoms and early test results, the ER recommended admitting her to the hospital.
On Monday, March 5th, Linda had numerous tests performed. These included a liver biopsy, MRI of her head, and numerous other scans of her chest and abdominal area. Based on these tests, the doctors feel that Linda has some malignancy in her liver and they think it came from elsewhere in the body. Unfortunately, they have not been able to identify the type of cancer or where in her body it originated. They need this info to develop a treatment plan. Based on the inconclusive lab tests, the samples have been sent to Johns Hopkins for further analysis. Apparently Hopkins is considered the gold standard for pathology labs.
While we continue to wait for the results from Hopkins, the hospital here has performed a second liver biopsy as well as some other tests.
Based on the recent events and the limited information that we have, Linda and I have begun the process of trying to move to another facility that may offer more enhanced capabilities in the area of cancer diagnosis and identification. We are currently working with the admissions department at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa. Unfortunately, we are learning that this process can be cumbersome and challenging.
As we continue to work through this journey, I will do my best to provide daily updates on this site. Despite my best efforts, I have been unable to update all of you individually on an accurate and timely basis. Hopefully this will help.
Linda and I are both tremendously grateful for the outpouring of love, support, and prayers from her vast fan base-I'm not kidding. It's quite a group.
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