Health issues

DH has been having level 10 pain in his gut. Monday he is scheduled for exploratory surgery. Hope that they find the cause of this pain. It started in October. He has seen a surgeon, gastroentrologist and oncologist. A 2nd surgeon opinion and surgery has been scheduled.

Please pray for DH. He fears the worst.

Results of Second Biopsy

Benign.

Now what.

We don't know why the lymph nodes are enlarged.
We don't know why he has nausea after eating.
We don't know why he has no appetite.
We don't know what is causing the ridge from his belly button up that extends 2 inches from it's norm.

We do know that he does not have an infection.
We do know that the EGD (ie run a scope down the throat into the stomach) only found a small hiatal hernia.
We do know that something is wrong.

Now another appointment with the surgeon and options that need to be explored.

Please continue to pray for all cancer and dementia patients, their families and caregivers.

Second lymph node removed

The surgeon removed a second lymph node from DH left underarm yesterday. He also did an endoscopy of the stomach and esophagus. There was a large swelling under the original surgery and he removed lymph fluid.

The endoscopy revealed a small hiatal hernia and nothing else. The second lymph node did not have any external signs other than it was enlarged as the first one. We will get the results Friday morning.

DH also had the triple culture test of his blood. They checked the culture at 24, 48 and 72 hours and there is no infection. We are ruling one thing out at a time.

Please continue to pray for cancer and dementia patients and their caregivers, families and friends.

Bless you today and every day.

Today is Friday...

It seems that 1 week can be forever. Tuesday is DH outpatient surgery and we will get the results next Thursday or Friday. It seems to be an eternity. The doctors are so certain that DH has cancer. So far they have not been able to prove anything. I am sublimating all my worry in my work and my crafts and reading gentle books. I do not know what else to do.

Of course I have turned my worry and concern over to God (my choice of a high power) but at the same time there is an empty feeling where the worry should be. I do not know how to fill the empty place. I know you would say fill it with God. I am trying.

Please keep praying for all cancer and dementia patients, their caregivers, families and friends. Your prayers make our lives easier to handle. God Bless.

Results of surgery

DH had a lymph node removed from his groin on Monday, October 18. The biopsy results were benign.

The surgeon and our primary doctor still believe that cancer is present so a second surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, November 2 to remove a lymph node from his right arm pit. We will probably hear the results of the biopsy on Thursday or Friday.

DH is not sure whether to be worried or not. I did all the worrying last time. This time I will leave it in God's hands. Having been through it once, I know what my options are.

Last night DH told me that if the biopsy came back positive for cancer he was not going to go through chemotherapy. "What have I got to live for?" was his basis for making this decision. He no longer hunts, rides motorcycles or scuba dives. He has no other hobbies and is bored with life.

I cannot argue with his logic or the results of it. Since lymphoma is so easily curred or at least put into remission with chemotherapy I do not understand his decision, but will abide with it when the time comes.

Please keep praying for all caregivers, dementia and cancer patients and their friends and family as they pass through the various emotions that go with these diseases.

God bless.

It is not a hernia

The Cat Scan returns indicated no hernia.

However, the lymph nodes along the left side from the groin up were enlarged. Only the pelvic and lower body were scanned.

Monday, October 18 DH had a lymph node removed and it is being biopsied as we speak. Results should be available Wednesday or Thursday.

The doctor is talking about oncologists appointment this week.

Please continue to pray for all caregivers, dementia patients and families and friends of both.

Antibiotics

After my call to our primary care physician a script was phoned in to the pharmacy for DH. I don't know if it is making any difference.

Yesterday I offered to make him his favorite mac and cheese dinner. 10 minutes later while the macaroni was cooking he asked if I had finished his sandwich for supper. Now this is really a short term memory problem.

If this keeps up I will have to put DH back on the Namenda, with doctor's approval, and see if it helps. Something is going on here and I cannot put my finger one it.

Tomorrow we see the surgeon for the results of the Cat Scan. It was of the abdomen and pelvic area. Then we will take the next step.

The technical term for the bulge in the front of DH belly is Diastasis Recti which is a separation between the left and right of the rectus abdominis muscle. It looks like a ridge, which runs down the middle of the belly area. This separation can cause lower back problems. The outer-most abdominal muscle that separates is the support system for the back. When it separates, it weakens the support system for the organs in the front and weakens the support system for the back causing low back problems.

Surgery may be needed if a hernia develops that becomes trapped in the space between the muscles. In general complications only result when a hernia develops. Unfortunately operations have a fairly high failure rate over time.

Exercise may help improve the condition. An exercise called the Tupler technique exercise is used. It exercises the transverse muscle and the recti muscle at the same time.

Also a splint, which is a long scarf-like piece of fabric will pull the muscle sides closer together. An abdominal binder could help ease the pain and prevent additional damage when doing especially strenuous activities.

The Cat Scan will show if a hernia is present.

Please continue to pray for all dementia patients, their families and caregivers.