Mayo--Surgery updates

Tom added a Facebook update this afternoon because he's impatient 😂 I wanted to wait until we had PET scan results back before making a blog post.  Again, it's clear we process differently!

Tom had bloodwork and a CT scan on Monday.  Bloodwork looked great--CA 19-9 was at 15 which is well below the "normal" of 35!  His CT scan was also stable per the radiology report we could see.  We met with Dr. Truty's team early Tuesday afternoon and he confirmed what we saw--everything was looking great.  He asked Tom if he was ready and told him he'd see him early on Friday morning.  

Consents were signed for blood transfusions--Dr. Truty reported it's a 50% chance he'll receive blood, during the surgery itself or post op.  They also reviewed and signed surgery consents.  Unless something crazy unexpected happens, he will be removing the original 5 (pancreas, stomach, spleen, gallbladder, and 3 ft of small intestine) but they added an addendum in the event they need to remove the left adrenal gland and a small portion of his right colon based on tumor and blood vessel location to ensure everything is clean and clear.  

Tom will be the first case of the day on Friday and we've been told to expect at 530 or 6am arrival time.  I asked Dr. Truty if I should expect an 8-10-12-14 hour day and he said "YES!  It will take however long it takes and I won't rush any part of it."  I'm certain I will update at some point that he's still in surgery, but don't be surprised if there isn't any posts until later in the evening.

Dr. Truty shared that Tom will have an epidural (like for birth) for pain management, some nerve blocks, and a pain button.  So hopefully the initial pain will be well controlled until he's ready to wean down.  He encouraged us to plan for a full month (2 weeks in the hospital and 2 weeks local in Rochester) assuming no complications and be pleasantly surprised if it's less.  The 3 main complications they watch for:  Bleeding, Clotting, and Infection. 

Getting his GI system back up and functioning will also be a challenge.  He's warned us to expect GI issues (ie significant loose stools) initially and it will take a bit of time to get managed after the massive rebuild in his abdomen.    

We also met with the oncology team who will be managing the follow up scans and such primarily.  They typically do a CT scan roughly 1 month post op, so we are hoping they will do it prior to us coming home (unless he gets to come home super early into recovery)

We just saw the PET scan results pop up in his portal this evening--and its all good news.  The tumor isn't showing as active and there was no new areas of concerns anywhere that was scanned.  
Surgery should be moving forward!  

There are still significant risks during the surgery (10% chance of dying on the table), immediately post op (20% chance of fatal complications), and long term around recurrence and quality of life concerns.  However, this is Tom's only chance at a curative outcome.  We will take all the good thoughts, vibes, and prayers heading our way on Friday and throughout the month of May as he recovers and we navigate the post op world.

Thanks to all our family and friends for love and support during this journey.  It's crazy to think we started this a year ago and are about to start a new chapter again.