Sunday, October 16, 2011

T Minus 1 Day, 6 Hours, and 22 Minutes to blast off!

Whipple Procedure Before and After
Well, the moment we've been hoping, praying, fasting, and wishing for is fast approaching.  At 6:00am Monday morning, I report to the Huntsman Cancer Institute for surgery to remove my tumor.  About 2 weeks ago, I started to get really apprehensive, but thankfully, that phase has given way to anticipation and almost excitement to get this show on the road!  The "Whipple" Surgery is very complex and is definitely major surgery.  They will remove a good portion of my pancreas, my pancreatic duct, part of my small intestine, and anything else that is cancerous.  They will do biopsies all through the procedure to check for cancer cells and remove any surrounding tissue that may be affected.  They will take out a section of my small intestine and reroute the portion of the remaining pancreas to the end of the small intestine. (see before and after diagram above). Sounds messy, huh?  Luckily, I'll be snoozing through the whole thing!  Consequently, it will take somewhere between 6 to 8 hours (7:30am-3:30pm).  I'm told to expect to be in the hospital for 7 to 10 days, and recuperation at home will be 6-10 weeks.  I have great confidence in my surgeon, Dr. Sean Mulvihill and his team, (which is very comforting).
 http://www.huntsmancancer.org/research/cancer-investigators/mulvihill-sean  I feel very peaceful about this and know that the Lord will guide me through it.
  I'll try to post something (or more realistically, have someone post for me) to let everyone know how the surgery goes and how I'm doing.
  Thank you all for your fasting and prayers. I truly believe that without them, my journey would have been so different.  I am completely humbled by your faith and love. Kindness after kindness received from family, friends and strangers overwhelms my mind and heart.  I only pray I can live my life in such a way that shows my gratitude for each and every blessing.
  Please know that I love you all so much and hope to see you soon!
 

2 comments:

  1. Our prayers are with you! Love you.

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  2. Sue and family,
    The McNeil family members are praying for you and your family. We pray the Lord's blessings to be with you. We love you. Also, Taylor(Elder McNeil) sends his prayers to you as well. His letter said that --you are the Best! And one of the great ladies he knows. Hugs and Prayers to you.

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