Hi folks,
I should have done this sooner, but I haven’t looked up much yet this week.
Mom is doing great. The tumor was almost three times as large as thought, but it “came away clean” in surgeon-talk. She lost about 22 inches of her colon, but the remaining sections were successfully re-attached.
She sat up in a chair for 3 hours on the day after the surgery.
3 days after the surgery, she walked her first lap up and down the length of the floor.
By all accounts, her recovery was exceptional; her pain was under control, and she had no “hot spots” of infection. The 4th day, the surgeon brought her even better news. They had sectioned and biopsied everything, and outside of the tumor itself, there was no sign of cancer anywhere.
She is home, resting comfortably, almost back to her regular routine, cooking, doing light laundry, watching lots of Judge Judy. She will receive one precautionary round of what is described as “light chemo”, because the tumor had breached the colon wall in one small spot. She has been told that her treatment will not cost her any hair, and that most patients don’t experience any sickness beyond a general sluggishness.
We could not have asked for better results. Thanks to all of you, you’ve been an absolutely wonderful support during this time (and all the time, really.)
dfk