Blown Away

Wow, I don’t even know where to start with this update, but here it goes!  On Veterans Day, our veteran got some disappointing news.  Last surgery, the doctor took a spot off of Jim's left middle knuckle.  I said it was a surgery in the previous blog post, but it really was more of a deep biopsy.  When the staff analyzed it in the office that day, it appeared to have clean margins, but barely.  The doctor sent it to the lab, just to be sure, which turned out to be a smart decision.  As Jim's luck would have it, the margins were not clean and another surgery in that location was imminent.  Dang it.  Surgery was scheduled for Wednesday, November 18th, fifteen days after his previous procedure.  

The night before Jim's surgery, Spokane was hit with a massive windstorm.  Like most of our community, we lost power and also lost part of a tree that night.  We woke up in the dark on Wednesday, wondering what to do.  Jim tried to call the doctor's office and was unable to connect.  Since school was canceled, we packed up the kids and headed out.  The dermatologist did not have phone service or internet, but they did have power and were able to do the surgery.  It took two layers to get clean margins on Jim's knuckle, leaving a deep spot.  At first, the doctor was ready to do a graft and then decided it wasn't necessary.  That was a huge present!  Jim's stitches are tight and he has to really baby that hand, but avoiding another graft is a blessing.  The graft he had a few weeks ago is healing well, thank goodness.  Also, there was a spot on the pointer finger of his right hand that required a fairly aggressive biopsy.  We are waiting for results now.

Jim's left hand.  11/22/15.  Healing graft on pinky finger from 11/3/15.  Latest surgery on middle knuckle.

Jim's left hand.  11/22/15.  Healing graft on pinky finger from 11/3/15.  Latest surgery on middle knuckle.

After surgery, the boys and I took Jim out to our standard, post surgery lunch.  Due to the fact that most of the city was without power, the restaurants were overflowing with hungry guests.  We did get a table downtown and maybe overate a little in preparation for a simple meal at our powerless home that night.  Then, we returned to our cold house and built a fire.  

Post surgery beverage!

After the last surgery a few weeks ago, Jim had an uncomfortable, but minor reaction to his pain medication.  He woke up several times feeling quite itchy.  The doctor changed his medication, which was definitely better, but still left him feeling uncomfortable.  Due to his reactions, the doctor prescribed another new med.  Once we had Jim tucked in by the fire, we set off to get his prescription.  The first drug store we tried was completely dark.  So, we headed up the road to the next store, only to find the same scenario.  We decided to go a little further and see what we could find.  It took us a long time to go a few blocks as the stop lights were all out and traffic was heavy.  After quite a while in the car, traveling a very short distance, I thought it was best to check in on Jim.  Unfortunately, we were unable to get the medication that first night.  Jim spent a rather cold night at home with the medication that made him only kind of itchy.  UGH.  The following day, he headed to work and I packed up some things.  It didn't seem like 52 degrees was a great temperature for any of us, but we were all hoping for as much comfort as possible for Jim.  Luckily, my parents had power and were ready to take us in for a few days.  Recovery was much easier with a warm bed, a real meal, and finally medication that helped with pain and didn't cause any discomfort.

We are home now, feeling a little guilty having power while so many are still in the dark, but so glad to be back.  Jim's next surgery is two weeks away on December 7th.  The plan for that day is to address the spots on Jim's right hand.  Hopefully his left hand will be functional enough by then.  I'll keep you posted!

Although this surgery was quite an adventure, we are so grateful to so many loved ones.  We are extremely thankful to our neighbor who spent Wednesday limbing the downed pieces of our spruce and hauling branches away to the dump.  That was the nicest surprise after surgery!  Thank you to the neighbors who have been raking our yard.  I know it has happened at least three times in the past weeks, but probably more.  Thank you to the neighbor with the gas hot water tank who made it possible for us to sneak off to surgery clean.  I was dreading showing up with my greasy, crazy hair.  OH, and thank you for the hot coffee!  I know the line at Starbucks was insane as no one had power that morning.  Thank you to my folks for taking us in, feeding us, letting us drink the good wine, and so much more.  This has been a tough road, but much easier with the love and caring of friends and family.  We are humbled and grateful.

Crazy #8

Today marked Jim's 8th skin cancer surgery.  As I scrolled through Facebook this morning, I read so many thankful posts from friends and family.  I reflected on that and briefly thought I wasn't thankful for a darned thing.  I even considered posting something snarky and sarcastic about being thankful for cancer.  Perhaps I was indulging in a bit of a pity party, but luckily I realized it could be so much worse.  We really do have so many reasons to give thanks.  Truthfully, I am extremely thankful for Jim's medical team.  His doctor is absolutely amazing.  He always listens to our concerns, takes the time to discuss options, and every single time makes decisions that best address Jim's medical needs while balancing his personal concerns.  Today, and so many other days, I am very thankful for our wonderful doctor and his skilled and compassionate staff.  Of course, we are both so thankful for our circle of support.  Our friends, family, neighbors and coworkers have been amazing.  Thank you to all of you for your kindness and caring.  

In today's procedure, they removed a spot of cancer that was nestled between Jim's pinky and ring fingers on his left hand.  This is a spot that doesn't naturally have a lot of excess tissue, but also was the site of his first surgery and was a little thick with scar tissue.  Those factors made us pretty nervous he would require a skin graft.  As we feared, he did need one to close the site.  UGH!  The donor skin was taken from Jim's upper left arm.  Additionally, they addressed a spot on the middle knuckle of Jim's left hand.  The doctor's suspicions of cancer were confirmed, but luckily it was not too deep.   A third spot on the outside of his palm was removed and will be biopsied.  The doc thought that was pretty small and that if it is positive he is very hopeful the margins will be clear, requiring no further surgery.  

Afterwards, Jim was ready for grub!  We enjoyed the magic time before the local anesthesia wore off with lunch out.  It always seems like a tiny bit of a reward to spend some time together and relax once the procedure is complete.

Jim celebrated surviving another procedure with a Stella...
or maybe two.

Of course, T3 was on the menu for me. 

So... time to relax with good pain meds.  Jim's next surgery will be on his right hand on December 7th.  Five weeks to heal before we go back for more!