Daddy's Surgery Update (4)

Daddy (a.k.a. Jim or Richard) came through surgery great! I just love his wonderful attitude. Nothing can get him down! Praise the Lord!

Main Prayer Requests:

For complete healing.

For Daddy’s pain to be minimal during recovery.

For the Lord to give Daddy strength to QUIT SMOKING! Daddy has said this is the hardest part of it all.

For an accurate diagnosis of the type of lymphoma.

For Daddy to make healthy choices to aid in his healing (food, exercise, not smoking, etc.).

Sorry for the delay in the update. Surgery didn’t start til almost 5 p.m. and lasted about an hour or so. Then he went to recovery. After that he was moved to his room. We couldn’t see him til visiting hours started at 8:30 p.m. I didn’t get home til about 9:30 p.m. (I just called the nurse at 10:19 p.m., and he’s still doing great.)

1. We still don’t know the type of cancer; however, it still looks like all we are dealing with is lymphoma. We should know what kind on Monday or Tuesday (Hodgkins or Non-Hodgkins). The doctor even said the location of the mass on the base of his tongue is consistent with lymphoma.

2. The doctor said he removed as much of the mass from the base of his tongue as he could without causing problems with his epiglottis. He said the rest of the mass would hopefully respond to treatment and shrink.

3. Daddy is in CCU (aka ICU) but not because he is in critical condition. Instead he is there so that he will get more attention through the night. His nurse has him and only one other patient. We really liked her. When a tracheotomy is first put in, it requires a lot of attention. Sometime tomorrow (Friday) he should get to move to a regular room. We do not know when he’s going home, yet.

4. Daddy looked great when we first got to see him (at 8:30 p.m.), and he was cracking jokes as usual…even though he couldn’t talk! We took a notebook so that he could jot things down. However, he was in a lot of pain which the doctor told us to expect beforehand. He cannot talk right now because there is a balloon in his throat. This is very temporary, but I can’t remember when the balloon will be gone.

5. He is not on a ventilator, but he is receiving air.

6. We don’t know when treatment for the cancer will begin. The doctor wants him to recover from this surgery then we’ll move to that step. He said it will be a week or two before he has his first appointment with the oncologist. Most likely there will be further testing to determine if/where the cancer is throughout his body.

Thank you, again, for all your prayers!! They mean so much to Daddy and to our family!!

Once again, Michelle’s calendar had the perfect verse for today:

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27

Blessings,

Melinda for Richard & family =0)