GREAT NEWS!!
This has been quite an eventful last six months for us as Rebecca's health has been in question. As you are aware she had a stroke and has been challenged with esophageal cancer. We have some great news which I will get to below; you can scroll to the end to read it. But first I thought I would recapitulate the events of the past several months, especially for those of you who may have been just added to or missed an edition of our newsletter due to my error.
In the middle of the summer Rebecca had a routine endoscopy by her local GI specialist. He spotted something that he thought was not quite right in her esophagus and referred her to a specialist at the OSU Wexner Center. When we finally saw him in August a biopsy revealed carcinomic cells. This was not totally unexpected as she has suffered from the pre-cancer condition called Barrett's Esophagus for a number of years due to her GERD. But it still was jarring news. The GI / cancer doctor at OSU scheduled her for another treatment with radiofrequency ablation in mid-October.
At his second treatment in October the doctor removed more cancerous cells but was unable to get all of them due partially to Rebecca going into Afid during the procedure. The pathology report showed that some cancer was left. Yet another session was scheduled for mid-January.
We knew this would be an inconvenience for our stay at the winter home in Mexico but we were certain we could handle it with minimum difficulty. It would be a quick week back up to Columbus and return to the sunshine. We don't have many winter clothes at the condo but enough for a short trip. We had prepared for our departure to the condo at the normal end-of-October time shortly after the procedure but the doctor said it would not be a problem.
Then unexpected events intervened. First Rebecca complained of pain around her neck as if she had mumps. A trip to the ER in Zanesville and an overnight stay showed she did not have mumps - they were not certain what caused the problem - but that she had some ventricular arrhythmia; a small pill seems to have taken care of that. The reason for the neck pain, perhaps some swollen glands?, was never determined but seemed to subside. So off we went to the airport for our annual trip south.
At the hotel the night before our flight I needed to arouse Mrs.T for some medications. For a few seconds I thought she was not awakening from her nap quite normally. After trying to get her to respond and her falling down I realized that something was really wrong. I went to the hotel desk and they summoned the airport EMTs who took her to the nearby Mt. Carmel Hospital. Indeed she had had a stroke.
She remembers very little of her time at the hospital. Initially she was somewhat disoriented and could not recall many basic things, especially with dates, birthdays, etc. She isn't always too clear about those things but this was obviously abnormal. I could tell that, although understandable, her speech patterns were not quite the same. And she struggled for words more than normal. Worst of all she could not swallow properly. An MRI confirmed that the stroke focused on the part of the brain associated with speech and related actions. The right side of her body was somewhat weaker. They started physical, occupational, and speech therapy. But swallowing was still the big issue. If that reflex did not develop properly there could be major consequences. But overall she was recovering quickly.
Initially they installed a feeding tube down her throat but it did not work properly. They attempted to insert throat tubes multiple times without success. And there was worry that they might further exacerbate her cancer. Other alternatives were considered, mostly unpleasant ones involving outside feeding tubes and so forth. Finally her swallowing started and discharge from the hospital was possible.
Unfortunately there is no good inpatient rehabilitation facility in or about Zanesville. And the nearest such place was full. So Mrs.T was placed at one of the Ohio Health hospitals in Columbus. There she received the full range of intense rehab services. She continued to progress rapidly, but not completely, physically. Her 'occupational' skills also progressed nicely. Finally her swallowing and eating went from a diet of soft / mushy food to almost regular fare. After two weeks she was discharged with recommendations for additional outpatient therapy - which is available in Zanesville.
While we were still in the north we thought it might be possible to do the third cancer procedure so we would not need to make another trip. However stroke protocol directs a three month wait until a significant medical procedure. The anaesthesiologists in particular declined to authorize Mrs.T's procedure short of that timeframe. So we were back to the original schedule. Rebecca was distressed that we would need to wait.
We arrived at the condo mid-December about two months later than normal and all was well. We prepared for our return to Columbus in mid-January. We found a great doctor and therapist in Bucerias for Rebecca to continue work on her post-stroke problems. She has continued to make steady progress to the point that she was able to scuba one day although essentially as a beginner. She is working on her balance so she can return to horse riding.
We returned in mid-January, a week before this newsletter, and Rebecca's treatment went fine with one hitch. She had an excess of scar tissue which made it somewhat more difficult for the doctor to remove the remaining cancerous area. He was not sure he removed everything and said we would need to wait for the pathology report. We started thinking about what other types of treatment might be in the offing. And the doctor inserted a stent to keep her constricted esophagus open. This put her back on a soft / mushy diet again for a month. And unfortunately scuba is out until the stent is removed. We scheduled another trip back to Columbus to remove the stent in February.
THE NEWS: The pathology report came back negative; Rebecca is cancer free and does not need any more treatments at this time. And we can have the stent removed in Bucerias saving time, money, and lots of stress. She will go back for another exam when we return in early April. We will continue to work on stroke therapy which is still a long-term situation.
That should bring you up-to-date regarding Mrs.T's health issues. We are grateful that everything is turning out very well. Perhaps this was a bit more information than you needed but many folks have been asking about her and I thought too much would be better than too little.
We want to thank everyone for their support and prayers. The folks here at Jacarandas have been especially helpful. Most special is fellow Pool Princess Brenda - a big thanks for the mashed potato 'Cancer Free Cake' (R, Luis, Brenda)
Hope you all are in good health and enjoying your winter.
Greetings from sunny Bucerias.
Dan and Rebecca
www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com
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