Whew! What a day. We arrived here at UWMC at 6:30AM today for check in. Mom had been told that her surgery time could be delayed if Dr. Mulligan had any emergency surgeries. He had an emergency transplant this morning and ended up going back for surgery prep about 11:45 AM.
Dr. Mulligan just came out and met with Dad, Carmen, Troy and I and gave us the surgery update. Surgery went well. Even though he was trying to stay with a smaller incision, he was not able to. The good news is that he did not have to remove a rib.He did have to remove a bit of cartlidge and a segment of bone to remove the lower left lobe.He said that the tumor was large and pressing on vessels and some breathing mechanisms so it was harder to remove than he had hoped. The new "nodule" we had learned about was about the size of a racquetball. This was a shock as we all invisioned it to be the size of a grape.It had grown to that size in three months.
He stated that if it had been much longer before doing the surgery he would have had to remove the entire lung. He only had about 1 mm wiggle room for the removal.
He stated that the remaining tissue looks healthy and disease free.
We are so grateful for this surgeon. He is meticulous and so cautious and conservative in his approach. He told us that most surgeons spread the ribs to get to the tumor or lung and often break or crack the ribs, but that he chooses to work around all aspects to minimize her pain and recovery.
Mom will be here a minimum of four days.She will have a chest tube in for drainage. Her release from here will be dependant on that progress.Her recovery time will be approximately 6-8 weeks at home. she will be very fatigued as all her calories will go towards her healing.
Mom will be in recovery now for another 2-3 hours and then be moved to the 5th floor NE.
Thank you all for your prayers,texts and calls throughout the day today.
We felt so loved and blessed by you all.
I also want to thank Mom and Dad's friends (pastor/wife) Greg, Lucia and son Alex Anderson as well as friend Steve Grace for their presence. They came up last night and stayed in the same hotel as Mom, Dad and Carmen. They went to dinner together and had a wonderful time keeping everyone distracted from the stress of the day today. They stayed all day and are still here now. They gave up their time to be here and blessed Mom and Dad so very much. We thank you.
Thank you for your prayers and words of love and encouragement.
We will update tomorrow to let you know how Mom is doing after we get to be with her.
With gratitude and love,
Kimberly and family
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5 comments:
Praise the Lord for a successful surgery. We love You Ladeva and Warren and family, though, we don't know your children they are still our brothers and sisters in the Lord. We prayed for you last night in our Bible Study Fellowship and we will continure to do so. Love you bunches.
Ruby Lord
I wish I could be thee to give hugs and kisses all around... you have so been on my heart and mind all day long. So glad to hear that all went well and that we can now start getting Ladeva recouperating. I can't wait for her to be back home so I can come and spoil her to pieces!! Love you guys... thanks for keeping us in the family loop. God bless and praise the Lord!
Dear Ladeva:
Hi little sweetheart:I am so thankful the surgery went well. you were on my mind so much, that I could hardlly sleep last night, but it gave me a lot of time to pray for you and to remember how sweet you are and how much you mean to our family and everyone that really knows you. you will never know how much you are loved. I miss you already, just knowing that you are so faraway. I can't wait for you to get home. I love you very much. Eddie
Hi there,
So glad the surgery is over. I am happy to be among those who love you. You bring out the best in us. I can tell by reading the words from your friends.
I appreciate being able to read this blog that is letting us know your progress.
Let me know what I can do to help. I realize that I am just one of a long line.
Get well love, we have many paintings to do together.
I will share what I have learned with the class...ok?
Hugs,
jeannie
She is beautiful. She is brave. She is loved.
I am so glad your surgery went well! I continue to pray for God's will for you, and that He blesses you daily! You are such an inspiration to me and others.
Much LOVE & Many HUGS to you!
Robin Gardin
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