Dilation and Bottle Caps

All has been well since my last post.  Larry is working full time and feeling pretty good.  However, for the past month he has noticed that swallowing seems a little "tight".  He had heard of other patients getting "stretched" to help with this feeling.  It's called "dilation".  I called the surgeon's office to find out more and they scheduled an endoscopy for Friday (November 4).  The surgeon sent a camera down Larry's throat to check things out - everything looked great and he did the dilation.  Larry's got a sore throat, but that will go away in the next day or two.  It was reassuring to know that everything looks good - all the way to the small intestine!  Next visit is early December.

Now to explain the bottle caps.  My co-worker, Lynne, has been collecting bottle caps for her artist cousin who uses them for art projects.  I have been donated caps for a while.  Over the summer, the artist came to our local science museum to make a mural.  When I saw a photo of the finished work, I thought I recognized unique caps that came from Larry's feeding tube bags.  Yesterday, Mike and I went to Imagination Station to check out the mural.  Sure enough, Larry's purple caps were part of the project.  I've attached a few photos to show you.  The mural is 12 feet long by 8 feet tall.  A great way to recycle plastic caps!

12x8 mural

Big purple lids are from Larry's feeding tube bags.

We recognized cream cheese lids, milk caps, detergent caps...

shampoo caps, pop caps

and more.

All Clear!

We (Larry, me, Stephen and Mike) were in Cleveland Thursday for Larry's follow-up appointments.  The day included bloodwork, chest x-ray, CT scan and three doctor visits.  All tests results were good - No Evidence of Disease (NED).  We didn't expect anything different because Larry has been feeling pretty good.  He's still not back to his full energy level, but back to work full time.  Larry will need to return every three months for two years, then every six months for a while.

While there, I stopped up to visit George while Larry was having the CT scan.  George is undergoing the post-surgery chemo and radiation.  I was honored to have George read me one of his poems and sent me home with a signed copy - Thanks, George.

The day ended with our angels, Pete and Laurie.  We met them for dinner in Westlake.  Good friends, good times, good food.  We are so blessed to have met Pete and Laurie! 

The weather was good until we got close to home, then it rained so hard we could hardly see.  I was driving about 40 on the turnpike with my flashers on - everyone was going slow.  Almost missed the exit.  Two miles later - dry pavement.  Weird.

Pat

Almost 10,000 E-Mail Messages!

Larry went to work last Thursday and Friday for a trial.  Before he officially declared that he was ready to go back to work, he needed to see if he had the stamina for a day in the office, so he went in for those to days to get passwords reset, start sorting through e-mail, etc.  He had almost 10,000 e-mails!!!  (Last day of work was January 28 - 6 months = 10,000 messages.)  The test run was successful, so he is OFFICIALLY BACK TO WORK as of Monday, 7/24.  WOOOOHOOOO!  This week he is working 10-3 and after three days is very tired.  He may need another week at part time, but the goal is to be full-time very soon.

Other than the continuing fatigue, everything else seems to be back to normal - or as normal as it can be after the surgery he had.  All wounds are healed, taste buds are working normally, no complaints of offensive odors that no one else finds offensive, appetite is good.  We will be in Cleveland for several appointments in mid-August - all routine follow-up appointments.  I'm guessing we'll be on a 3 month schedule for the next year then appointments will be less frequent. 

I'm not sure I have ever explained the surgery Larry had, so I'll give a brief explanation.  The standard surgery to treat esophageal cancer is called "esophagectomy".  Most of the esophagus is removed along with the top quarter of the stomach.  The remaining portion of the stomach is pulled up to reattach to where the esophagus used to be - 2 to 3 inches below the base of the neck.  So the stomach is now a tube, so can no longer hold and entire meal - so several small meals are recommended.  Patients who have had both esophagectomy and open heart surgery say that esophagectomy was harder on them than the open heart.  I am still amazed at how well Larry did following such a major surgery. 

Enough for now.  There probably won't be another entry until mid-August after the appointments.

Pat

Another Milestone!

Larry had his central port removed today at our local hospital.  Local anesthesia and dissolvable stitches were used.  No follow-up required.  Larry just needs to keep the incision dry for a few days. 

This is the last procedure for Larry !!!!!!  Next steps are return to work and periodic check-ups.

Thank you all who are still following Larry's story.

Pat

Bearcat Adventure

Wednesday evening (7/6), we travelled to the University Cincinnati for freshman orientation (7/7-8).  Larry got around campus on a rented electric scooter.  We're all grateful that he was able to participate.  Even with the scooter, he was exhausted by the time we headed back to hotel.  We had hoped to stay in town for a couple extra days to see the sights around Cincy, but it was too much for Larry.  We settled for a stop at Dave & Busters (arcade) on the way home.  Stephen signed up for his 1st quarter classes and is very excited about started on his college adventure. 

Pat

Outback and Fireworks

Great progress since the last time I posted to the blog.  WOW - over 10,000 visits to our website! 

On June 25, we hosted a graduation party for Stephen.  The boys did a great job helping get ready for the party and Larry did a great job letting the boys do all the physical work.  We all enjoyed seeing family and friends.  By the time everyone left, Larry was exhausted.  Rest up Larry, we're doing it again next weekend.

Outback Steakhouse was our destination for dinner on Saturday.  Larry and I shared a meal and appetizer.  We were both more than full.  Larry's appetite seems to be returning and foods are tasting "almost normal." 

On July 3, we hosted our annual fireworks party.  Again, the boys did all the work.  Larry seemed to have more energy this time, but still very tired by the end of the night.  Larry's angels, Pete and Laurie, drove in from Cleveland.  It was great to see them in a non-medical setting!

Larry is scheduled to have his central port removed on Monday.  He is napping less and seems to be stronger with more stamina.  His goal is to return to work before the end of July.  WOOOHOOO!!!!

Pat

Seaweed and Silver

Did I get your attention with that title?  I'll explain.

Early last week when Larry was hospitalized for the infection, they did a procedure to "open" the wound.  What they really did was make a deep incision where the feeding tube had entered his body.  About  1.5 inches long and 1.5 inches deep.  YIKES!  Since we've been home, a nurse has come in twice a day to "pack" the wound with gauze and cover it.  I kept my distance for these visits (distance = in the other room).  Well, between Larry and the nurses, they decided that it was time for us to do this ourselves.  Thursday was the last nurse visit (they will be back in a week).  As of Friday, we're doing it now.  They switched us from gauze packing to something called SilverCel which allows us to change it only once per day.  SilverCel looks like gray felt and is made from seaweed and silver.  Apparently both contain natural antimicrobial properties that help promote healing. 

Pat