July 30, 2013 Another month is coming to an end, where does the time go? Brian’s Iowa City appointments were moved up a week as his chest tube appeared to be coming out. We went to the GRMC emergency room and they did an xray to be sure that he was not in any danger and secured the tube with new stitches. We then went to his Iowa City doctor where they did a CT scan and it showed that the hole in his lung had repaired itself!!! YEAH! They then removed his chest tube and covered it with a band aid. Wow, a hole into your chest cavity and all it gets is a band aid. He then went to the back specialist and was told that he no longer had to wear his turtle shell. BUT, he would have to wear a “Miami collar” for the next 6 weeks. This “Miami collar” is a fancy name for a “C” collar but is blue in color. He has another appointment with the trauma team this week where he hopes to find out how much longer he will have to be off work. He is still very weak and isn’t gaining weight like he thinks he should but he is showing great improvement every day. Boredom has hit him hard but he has no endurance to be able to do much of anything. I think he naps a lot when I’m not around but that’s ok because his body still has a great deal of healing to do. I did have a return appointment with my back surgeon this week and once again he assures me that my back pain is due to arthritis and bone thinning. He did the best he could with what there was to work with. The cancer had eaten away much of the bone in which he repaired. His suggestion was to try a back brace. It will be on the same basis as a turtle shell but not as big and bulky. I will be able to wear it under my clothes and only wear it when needed. At work for example when I am at a desk most of the day or when I will be walking long distances. I am going to give it a try and hopefully it will give me some relief. If not, I will learn to deal with it. We feel very blessed for all the positive news that we have received in the past couple of weeks and are very hopeful that it continues. I do ask that you continue to keep our family in prayer as we have recently found out that another family member will be fighting a significant medical challenge. I again am asking why but as a person close to my heart has said, “Everything you go through, good or bad, happens for a reason. You may not understand it at the time, but when God is ready, he will reveal it to you.” This is my life line and I’m holding on tight. As a final note, thanks again for everything! CANCER SUCKS AND GOD IS GOOD!
Posted on: Wed, 31 Jul 2013 01:24:34 +0000