Journal entry by Wendy Cody —
Hello Everyone,
We hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving and enjoyed the holiday to its fullest potential. We definitely know what we are thankful for this year!!
As you all know, Miss Declynn had surgery on Wednesday, November 23rd, exactly one year to the day of when we first learned of the mass in her abdomen. That date will forever be etched in our minds as the worst day yet the best day. We checked into Mayo Clinic at 6:30 that morning and got the ball rolling. They took her back to surgery a little after 8 and that moment of giving your little girl a hug and kiss and telling her you love her never gets easier, but we knew she was in good hands and God's hands. Chad and I then went to the waiting room to await updates on the progress of Dee's surgery and by noon, we had been notified that the tumor was out. Dr. Gargollo and Dr. Granberg did what they do best; they resected her entire tumor. They did have to remove half of her bladder, but if we are looking at the positives of Declynn's cancer, it was in the best spot for resection and her bladder should still have full functionality. Of course, there still might be some hiccups along the way and she still has to endure radiation, but we will cross that bridge if/when we have to. Along with the removal of half her bladder, two catheters were placed as they do not want the bladder to fill entirely on its own and cause a leak; the urethral catheter will stay in for a few weeks post-surgery and the suprapubic one will stay in during the course of radiation as well. They also removed some lymph nodes along the bladder lines to make sure there were no active tumor cells in those, and the results came back negative! We were also informed, though, that an active tumor cell had shown up on her PET scan (prior to surgery) behind her belly button and they did have to remove her belly button and her old scar in order to resect that spot as well. The plastic surgeons were then called in to sew her abdomen back together, and those doctors are just as fabulous. She does have permanent sutures on the outside for now and those will stay in during the course of radiation to ensure that the incision does not open back up. At about a little after 6 PM that evening, we were informed that Declynn was finally in recovery. To say the day was nerve-racking would be an understatement, but we couldn't be happier with the results. And as of right now, all the extra tissue removed during surgery or the "margins" came back negative as well for any active cancer cells. We cannot thank these men and women enough who took care of our little girl.
Declynn has continued to improve every day and today, 3 days post-surgery, she has had all of her IVs removed along with her epidural. She still does not like to take medication orally, but we get through it eventually. She has shown the nurses her spunk, her sass, her anger, her will and her fight and we are still completely amazed by her every day. Not every day is a good day, nor should it be for her, but we always make sure she knows we will always be here for her.
Moving forward, Declynn will begin radiation as soon as possible and that will still be done at Mayo. She will also have to do more chemo due to the active tumor behind her belly button, but we will address that later.
Declynn still has a long way to go in this journey, but with her Sanford Castle family in Sioux Falls and the great team of doctors here at Mayo, we will get through this. But for now, we are going to celebrate this moment for a little bit!
Thank you all so much for the extra prayers for Declynn this week and for continuing to pray for her throughout this journey; we truly believe there is power in them! And tonight, we tip our hat to the keeper of the stars!!!!
All our love,
Chad & Wendy
We hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving and enjoyed the holiday to its fullest potential. We definitely know what we are thankful for this year!!
As you all know, Miss Declynn had surgery on Wednesday, November 23rd, exactly one year to the day of when we first learned of the mass in her abdomen. That date will forever be etched in our minds as the worst day yet the best day. We checked into Mayo Clinic at 6:30 that morning and got the ball rolling. They took her back to surgery a little after 8 and that moment of giving your little girl a hug and kiss and telling her you love her never gets easier, but we knew she was in good hands and God's hands. Chad and I then went to the waiting room to await updates on the progress of Dee's surgery and by noon, we had been notified that the tumor was out. Dr. Gargollo and Dr. Granberg did what they do best; they resected her entire tumor. They did have to remove half of her bladder, but if we are looking at the positives of Declynn's cancer, it was in the best spot for resection and her bladder should still have full functionality. Of course, there still might be some hiccups along the way and she still has to endure radiation, but we will cross that bridge if/when we have to. Along with the removal of half her bladder, two catheters were placed as they do not want the bladder to fill entirely on its own and cause a leak; the urethral catheter will stay in for a few weeks post-surgery and the suprapubic one will stay in during the course of radiation as well. They also removed some lymph nodes along the bladder lines to make sure there were no active tumor cells in those, and the results came back negative! We were also informed, though, that an active tumor cell had shown up on her PET scan (prior to surgery) behind her belly button and they did have to remove her belly button and her old scar in order to resect that spot as well. The plastic surgeons were then called in to sew her abdomen back together, and those doctors are just as fabulous. She does have permanent sutures on the outside for now and those will stay in during the course of radiation to ensure that the incision does not open back up. At about a little after 6 PM that evening, we were informed that Declynn was finally in recovery. To say the day was nerve-racking would be an understatement, but we couldn't be happier with the results. And as of right now, all the extra tissue removed during surgery or the "margins" came back negative as well for any active cancer cells. We cannot thank these men and women enough who took care of our little girl.
Declynn has continued to improve every day and today, 3 days post-surgery, she has had all of her IVs removed along with her epidural. She still does not like to take medication orally, but we get through it eventually. She has shown the nurses her spunk, her sass, her anger, her will and her fight and we are still completely amazed by her every day. Not every day is a good day, nor should it be for her, but we always make sure she knows we will always be here for her.
Moving forward, Declynn will begin radiation as soon as possible and that will still be done at Mayo. She will also have to do more chemo due to the active tumor behind her belly button, but we will address that later.
Declynn still has a long way to go in this journey, but with her Sanford Castle family in Sioux Falls and the great team of doctors here at Mayo, we will get through this. But for now, we are going to celebrate this moment for a little bit!
Thank you all so much for the extra prayers for Declynn this week and for continuing to pray for her throughout this journey; we truly believe there is power in them! And tonight, we tip our hat to the keeper of the stars!!!!
All our love,
Chad & Wendy
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