Kisses, Rubber Bands, the Black Beast, and Our Sweet Tye

I am sorry I haven’t posted for a while. It has felt good to just be us, and with no new updates, the days slipped away.

Today was a busy day. Brian had yet another surgery. If you recall, I had found a lump on his back in early April that we have been monitoring, and following a clean set of scans on May 14th, we decided to go ahead with removing this spot before it grew roots and overstayed its welcome.

So came the kisses…and not for me! Brian was quite impressed by the nurse anesthetist’s abilities to start an i.v. without making him pass out or throw up. Brian has always hated this part of getting ready for surgery and tests. She was smooth, and had the i.v. set without Brian even knowing. Before I knew it, he had asked for her number and was offering kisses. Ha!

Then came the loopy meds. It is amazing how fast those kick in. He had closed his eyes, and I asked if the meds were working. Not yet, he slurred. Then I waited a minute and asked what he was thinking about. He replied…just getting the rubber bands ready. What? Since his hallucinations last summer following IL-2, and learning of his pirate adventures (and the sad fact that he will not share his buried treasure with me), I have come to enjoy these moments and go with the flow. Ready for what?...I asked. His response…I’m going to shoot rubber bands at them when they come back. Perfect! He was down for the count, and they were off to the O.R. with my watch reading 11:14 a.m.

I barely had a chance to gather my things and get to the other side of the hospital to the waiting room, when I was already being paged to meet the doctor. I booked it to a consultation room, and within a few minutes, Dr. Miller emerged to discuss the success of the surgery. My watch read 11:50…whew! I have to say, Dr. Miller looked in much better shape than when we visited after Brian’s last surgery in Feb. (which was 6+ hours). He said the wide excision went well. The optimistic Jenni peeked out and asked what he thought about the lump…do you think it is melanoma? His response…positively…it is black and ugly. He felt he got a wide enough margin that this spot will be taken care of. I kept that hope that this might have just been a cyst, but was not surprised.

Why is it so hard to find black bracelets for melanoma when the disease itself is black? Several cancers have their own color, and I have yet to understand the connection…maroon, lime green, orange, pink, purple. I’m pretty sure these cancers don’t show up in this rainbow of colors. But melanoma, by gosh, is actually (but not always) black. On the other side of this thought, these colors provide survivors with a way to bond, show and get support, and raise funds for research, so a designated color is nice. I wonder if I could find a new, stylish brown bracelet that changes to black when exposed to u.v. rays, either outside or in a tanning bed. Brown is a popular color lately, and that tanned look seems to be irresistible among so many. I wonder how many would go for the brown/tan look if they knew it could turn coal black in the form of melanoma. Oops…I’m getting on the soap box. As with anything, our society often lives life as if we are invincible and aren’t affected by such rare things.

Rare? The Skin Cancer Foundation estimates that 2007 will see nearly 60,000 NEW melanoma cases, and about 8100 fatalities. That would just about wipe out Maryville, which doesn’t seem so rare to me. In Maryville alone, I could name several who have had a melanoma or melanomas (plural) removed. Brian’s dad has had one removed, as well. Often that puts these people as stage I or II. And just stating facts, Brian was once a person who did not have melanoma, then a stage II, then progression to stage III and on to stage IV. Most often with melanoma, it is not IF the cancer returns, it is WHEN. Oftentimes, this will indeed mean that the stage I or II patient will live out a long life without having a recurrence that threatens their life. And even better news, melanoma is considered almost 100% curable.

IF FOUND EARLY…seems to throw Brian out of that category. But we continue to pray that staying on top of the disease ups those chances even more.

We were on the road from Columbia by 3pm, and it was great to get home tonight. Brian is feeling great, and looking good too. Tye crawled up on the couch with Daddy and hugged him, and said...I missed you, Daddy. It was the first time Tye has really acknowledged us being gone (which was hard). It was precious!

Brian is in the clear until his next set of scans, scheduled sometime around June 26. He also had his drain removed today. I should have said that first, because he was so ready and excited about it. Tomorrow is 16 weeks since his surgery, so as of today, he had a drain or two or three coming from his abdomen for the past 111 days! He is free and plans to sleep on his stomach for the first time in months! There is a great risk of infection and fluid build-up, but we weighed his options, and decided to go for it. Dr. Miller hopes that Brian’s body will reabsorb the fluids and be done with this issue. If not, he’ll have another drain put in at a different site, which will be a clean start. This drain was getting to the point of terrible pain at the entrance area, plus was likely causing recontamination. So we pray for Brian’s continued good health always, but particularly in the next month, as his pancreas works to heal itself.

Brian will be home with us this summer, and we are looking forward to some special time together as a family. I will try to post something on the website each week. We would love to hear from you.

In Christ,
Jenni

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12