Pathology Report

Mom had an appointment with Dr. Robison yesterday in which he reviewed with her the results of the pathology report on the tumor. Mom had them make a copy of the report to take home, but I don't have it in front of me, so there may be things that I miss or get completely wrong.
The tumor was identified as a probable ovarian carcenoma. It was confirmed to have been about 12 cm in diameter. The lymph nodes that were extracted tested positive for malignancy, as did the cell wash that was performed during the surgery (a cell wash is a sampling of the fluids that circulate in the abdominal cavity). The tumor was classified as a poorly differentiated "clear cell" tumor, which Dr. Robison indicated was one of the more aggressive tumor types. The size of the tumor, involvement of the lymph nodes, and results of the surrounding tissue testing for malignancy led to the cancer being identified as stage 3 of 3, which means it is in the third sub-stage of stage three cancer (i.e. Stage IIIc). There is a lot of information on the net that describes how this determination is made.
Mom has been recovering well and is up and walking for longer periods of time. In fact, she showered, and did all the necessary walking to get to the doctor, wait in the doctor's office, and visit with the doctor before returning home again. A record for life since surgery!
She has an appointment with Dr. Schoel (sp?), the oncologist, next Monday morning at 8:45 am. Dr. Robison told Mom to expect a recommendation of treatment that would involve chemotherapy, radiation, or both. Mom is going to listen to her own heart very carefully about what treatment path to take, and is very open to a variety of treatment types that have the potential to put the cancer in remission without inducing severe suffering and loss of quality of life.

Heading Home

Mom is going home today! She will be discharged sometime early this evening and heading back to home base. Ade is staying over again tonight, so she'll get some good time with Mom tonight at home. We're planning to have someone at Mom's house to help with meals and other things full time for the next couple of days until mom regains enough strength to get around a little better. Right now, the journey to the bathroom and back is a journey of epic proportions. :) Mom really is doing great and none of us have been able to coax a complaint out of her yet. We're looking forward to getting to spend some good time with her over the next days and weeks.

A Shocking Experience

The heart doctor felt that they needed to find a way to get Mom's heart rate back down to a normal range before she goes home. They took Mom in to get a ultrasound on her heart to make sure there wasn't any pooling of blood in her heart. After finding all well there they have now taken her to shock the heart to see if that will reset things. She was put to sleep for the procedure but they say when she wakes up she will probably experience some pain. This may postpone her check out date but we have not heard yet.

A Light-Hearted Visit from Susan and Bisel

It always lifts Mom's spirits to get visits from those that she loves, and she is especially happy to get visits from her sisters and their families. Today, Susan and Bisel made the drive from Logan to come and see Mom, and we had a great visit with them. They both always bring a smile wherever they go, and it was fun to sit and chew the fat for a couple hours. We learned that Aunt Susan has very few baby pictures of herself that she knows of (and one that she was pretty sure is of her is apparently disputed as not being her :) ). We also got to hear some good catch-up stories about their kids and how they are doing. Audrey, we'll understand if you want to start packing heat after your experience at the gas station!

Flowered and Showered

Mom was able to get her first shower in several days today. I didn't think she was really smelling that bad, but she certainly enjoyed getting clean and fresh again. :)
Her room is quickly becoming flower central, with buds and well wishes from lots of friends, family, and others that want to show Mom how special she is to them. Here she is, modeling the new spring look, entitled "Flowered and Showered."

What's Black and Blue and Red All Over?

So a funny thing happened on the way to surgery last Monday. As they were prepping Mom to take her down to the 2nd floor for surgery, they needed to start an IV. There was a nurse intern on hand and they asked Mom if it would be OK if he started the IV for her, to which mom asked "Is he really good. Do you think he'll do a good job?" Well, I haven't met a nurse yet that would say something like "Heck no, I wouldn't even trust him to give my cat an enema," so she responded with something like "he's really good. It will be fine." The poor nurse intern was shaking and nervous, so we all excused ourselves before he started working with any live needles. Needless to say, that didn't turn out so well. Mom ended up with a golf ball sized bolus of blood pooling in her left forearm, and no IV.
What was even funnier, though, was that we then took her down to surgery where one of the more senior nurses gave her a poke in the other forearm in hopes of starting the IV, with the same result! A big ball of pooled blood immediately popped up. So we pulled in the big guns. The nurse anesthetist that was going to be putting mom under for the surgery was good enough to come and start the IV. Slick as slick.

Now, several days later, all those IV misses and other pokes for blood sampling have Mom looking like someone who belongs in a battered women's shelter. If you look close in the pictures, you can see the honking big bruises on her arms.

A Good but Speedy Heart

Mom had a relatively restful night last night in the hospital. The pain medication seems to be doing its job and allowing her to rest and recover.
Her heart has been racing along at about 130-140 beats per minute for at least the last several days, and at first everyone just thought it was due to the pain and stress that her body was under, but even now after the surgery when the pain is well managed, her heart is still speeding in a construction zone where the fines double. The doctors haven't yet figured out what is causing it but they are trying a few things to see if they can identify the source of the problem. The current thinking is that the problem originates in her thyroid gland, so they are diagnosing and attempting treatment along that path. Today was the earliest possible day she could have gone home from the hospital, but she is still feeling pretty fragile, and until they get this racing heart under control, she will probably stay there. Tomorrow will be the earliest she will come home.
Mom has had a steady stream of visits from friends, family, and co-workers, and has really enjoyed having people that she loves come for visits. Her room is starting to fill up with flowers and get-well wishes and she is getting to see just how much she means to so many people she has met and gotten to know. Thanks to everyone for your continued thoughts (and actions!) and prayers.