Erin had her chemo port surgically put in today and her lymph node test. The team used dye in the lymph nodes to track if and where the cancer might have spread. At this point, I have no information on that part of today. Due to Erin's rare heart condition, the anesthesiologist had to be very careful with the medication given. Both anesthesia and anti-nausea medications can aggravate her specific heart condition. Near the end of the surgery, there was some trouble with her heart rhythm. The team and her really amazing doctor had anticipated this being a possibility and were ready to fight it. They gave her medication to reverse that effect and are now watching her overnight at Sacred Heart in Spokane. Her doctor told her dad and I that keeping her overnight is really a precaution to watch Erin and make sure the anesthesia is completely out of her system before she returns home. Her doctor also said she was fairly certain Erin could have returned home tonight and be fine, but both she and Erin's cardiologist thought this would be the safest choice. Additionally, this will get the on-call cardiologist to check in on her tonight and make sure she is recovering safely.
A disappointing new development from today's heart incident is that the team will have to be fairly conservative with anti-nausea medication and will need to be extremely careful with anesthesia. We were all heart broken to think that Erin might be facing chemo treatments without the optimal anti-nausea meds, but are hopeful her team can keep coming up with ideas to try.
We attended a chemo class before surgery this morning and learned many tips about how to cope during the process. I'll post more later, but I know things like natural ginger ale (the fancy stuff from Huckleberry's), mints, hard candies, tart candies, and juices may be helpful. It truly sounded like things one would try to battle morning sickness during pregnancy.
Please continue to keep Erin and her family in your thoughts and prayers. I will touch base with her family and post as often as I can in the next few days.
P.S. Erin's surgeon felt chemo would begin within 7-10 days. That was communicated to us prior to surgery. I am not sure if that time-line has been or will be amended due to today's activities. I will post as soon as I know.
ReplyDeleteKim, thank you so much for keeping us updated. This really means a lot for those of us out of town (and in town, I'm sure). We will keep sending prayers from VA.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness the surgery went well! Kim thanks for the updates. I know for me, and probably everyone who is far away, we are anticipating every post.
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