Hello friends and family, I hope you are all enjoying your summer! Here is a long overdue, and long winded update on mom!

First and foremost, recovery went well overall! Mom continues to heal her muscles and bones but is happy and healthy! She got out of the hospital on Monday April 18th, exactly one week after her surgery. She had been off of oxygen support for two days before heading home and her first order of business was to the grocery store for a big ol’ steak! I couldn’t believe how much she ate that evening, it was great to see! Cariann, Jeff and I teamed up over the next two weeks with myself doing the day things and Cariann taking over at night. The biggest rule we had to follow was mom not being allowed to use her arms to push, pull or lift, or raise them above her head. It’s amazing the littlest things we use our arms for and don’t even think about. Imagine trying to just get out of bed, without using your arms, or even to sit up or down in a chair, or balance yourself. She was given a pillow to assist with this, by holding it snug to her chest, as we helped her up or down, and that just being one part of the process. But as is her way, she was a trooper! 

The first few days home were good, but by mid week she was really struggling with pain. An additional medication was prescribed to help the pain meds be more effective. Unfortunately, this new med also made her very tired and groggy so over the following few days, the little bit of activity she was doing had started to wane. I believe this sent her a couple steps back in progress because by Saturday she noticed she was starting to feel short of breath, where previously she wasn’t. The following Monday, 4/25, the shortness of breath had worsened but thankfully she was already scheduled to follow up with the surgeon that day.  We were told that everything from a surgical stand point was healing very well! However, there was concern that a blood clot was causing her breathing issues, so off to the ER we went. She had a CT while we waited for a room to open up and within the next few hours, she was roomed and told that the CT was clear, no blood clot! They were still concerned about what else could be causing the shortness of breath, so she was admitted for more tests and observation. Fortunately, she was released the next evening with a clean bill of health, but unfortunately, no answer for the decline of her breathing; everything checked out and her oxygen levels were good and stable. They were still able to send her home with oxygen support, and that was a huge relief for her. From there, we just continued to move forward balancing rest with building strength and getting back into her normal routine. After 12 days, mom was doing well enough for herself, Cariann and Jeff to take over my part and I went back home.

The following week, she started pulmonary rehab, two days a week for six weeks. Day one being a class where they teach about the respiratory system, different types of lung disease and breathing exercises, and day two being exercise, which was mainly walking the track and gradually increasing the walking time to build stamina. That all wrapped up around mid-late May, about the time mom was able to start driving again!

The biggest struggle at the moment is her voice, which has been an issue since getting off the vent from surgery. Initially, it is expected of course, but she has continued to have a raspy, whispering voice and can only say a few words at a time before it fades out. It still takes some effort to have a conversation and isn’t long before she has  to end it, which is very frustrating for her. We were told by one of the doctors that there are a few things it could be, one possibility being a frozen vocal chord. I also wonder if the loss of breath support from having just one lung, is a factor, but we will find out more on that August 1st, when we visit the ear nose and throat doctor.

A quick note on Karon; she completed her last chemo treatments during the time I was with mom. It took about a month for the chemo effects to wear off, and she still deals with surgical pain at times, but she is also back to her regular life things, growing her hair back and getting stronger every day!

At the here and now, mom continues to use the oxygen support and walker, and time will tell if these will be permanent necessities. She is free from all the recovery restrictions, and every post op appointment has checked out that she continues to heal well. Also, her hair is coming back beautifully! She does as much as she can tolerate and takes baby steps to keep adding things to that list, including taking off her oxygen for short periods of small tasks or while at rest, and that itself is a great improvement! Cariann and Jeff are more assistive with things at home such as grocery shopping and certain house duties, and I am continuing to be a role in helping with mom’s medical care, but all in all things have mostly returned to normal for everyone. 

This will be my final update unless something significant comes up.  The near future will consist of healing her voice and follow up scans every 3 months for the next year, then once a year after that. We were told of the possibility of an immunotherapy clinical trial, but she doesn't qualify for any of that right now, and wow is that a great thing to hear!!! Please pray that mom gets her voice back, and for every single future scan to be clear of cancer!

We are eternally grateful to God for healing our mom, for providing strength, refuge and for putting you all on our path! We have felt your love and prayers, and could never express enough, our gratitude for the incredible support we have been shown over the months! Prayers, check ins, encouraging messages, cards and flowers, meals, monetary and comfort gifts, a helping hand and elbow grease, close friends and family who provided breakaway opportunities, a comforting hand to hold or shoulder to scream and cry on during the hard things, gracious hospitality when I was away from home, mom's fabulous care teams, and our amazing co-workers!

Thank you for walking with us, for your concern when things were shaky and for celebrating when things turned around! This would have been a thousand times harder without you all!! I asked mom the other night if she has any regrets from this surgery, and before I could even finish my question she said “Oh hell no!” Hahaa! She is alive and cancer free, praise be to God!!!

Please continue to keep mom and Karon in your prayers, for continued good health and happiness and know that we as well send you all the love in our hearts and pray God’s blessings over you!

Take Care,

Tracy