Back to the Grindstone

Today is Scott's first day back at work!  For a 12-hour shift.  Please pray his neck and shoulders don't get too sore and he has the energy to make it though.  He's supposed to go back in tomorrow too, so we're hoping he does alright.
Also, a special thank you to everyone who covered his shifts until this point so he could rest as long as possible!  We are very, very grateful for you :)

The Next Step

We had Scott's follow up appointment yesterday, and as usual for us, we had some good news and some dumb news.
The good:

• Scott is healing fabulously.  The surgeon is very happy with how the incision site looks, Scott's range of motion, and advancement of activity.  In his opinion the surgery just couldn't have gone any better!  So, thanks everyone for all those prayers!
• The lymph node that we saw on ultrasound and CT back in October, which was the primary indication for surgery, was no longer a lymph node at all really - just a big old ugly tumor.  It was definitely time for it to go and we are all glad it's out.
• The left-over thyroid tissue which they removed was all negative for cancer.  We glad for this and think it's better to have it out and leave no doubt in our minds.
• The enlarged lymph node they suspected higher up in his neck (close to the base of his skull) was negative for any cancer.  In fact, they removed about 23 lymph nodes from that area as they were trying to get to this one specifically, and all of them were negative.  However, this leads us into the not-so-good news.

The Bad:

• The fatty tissue that was surrounding the lymph nodes which were close to the base of his skull was interspersed with medullary carcinoma.  
• It would be prudent to continue exploring various forms of treatment and we aren't done yet.

This is a big bummer for us, but we're diving into the next step.  The docs are all rather confused as it is unusual for cancer to spread through the fat in this way.  It would make more sense in our piddly minds for it to keep spreading through the lymph nodes as it has done so far - where it has an understandable blood flow and lymph flow and we can see why it easily travels throughout.  But no, Scott's already confusing and rare cancer has to get even more weird.
We've searched case reports and are pouring over the research, but unfortunately nothing similar to our situation has been published and nobody we've talked to has a clear cut answer.  The next step that our surgeon recommends, and which some new research is recommending, is that we move onto a type of radiation just for Scott's neck.  Since there are no tumor borders, the cancer in this area isn't something we can just go in and cut out as we've been doing with everything thus far.  Also, we wouldn't even know where to start (besides just harvesting every last little bit of fat from his neck which would be silly) as none of this showed up on any of the scans.  We are also running into the concern that if we just leave it, and it continues to grow and spread, each neck surgery we have begins to carry greater risks.
SO, in the next week hopefully, we are meeting with Scott's endocrinologist, as well as a radiation oncologist, to further discuss treatment options.  We are also consulting with our specialist in St. Louis to see if he has any other ideas.  I have finals next week and am working on my 20+ page paper for another class due after the weekend, so our plates are getting a liiiiiiittle full.  Also, Scott goes back to work on Saturday and we're hoping that all goes well.

Bedlam!

     We are two-weeks postop and Scott is slowly improving each day.  He is progressively needing fewer and fewer pain meds, and we're now slowly starting to work on physical therapy for his neck which is pretty stiff and sore.  As long as he gets his daily nap in and has a couch or bigger chair to sit in for the majority of the time he's good to go.  After sitting in a regular chair or standing for a while, his neck still starts to get pretty sore and tired from holding his big head up.
     Scott did pretty well on our trip to and from Oklahoma this weekend and although we were hesitant about going and had our doubts, we're glad we did now.  It was great to see everyone and a nice change of scenery.  We flew into Tulsa on Thursday and got to spend some time with Scott's family and see some other friends.  On Friday evening we drove up to Stillwater and spent the night there with friends.  Saturday afternoon we headed out to tailgate.  It was COLD!  We are so glad the rain passed through in the morning and didn't stick around for the big festivities!

All bundled up at the tailgate

So fun to see good friends!

     The Oklahoma State victory made our trip up there even more worth-while and it was great to watch the game with everyone!  We stayed outside at the tailgate with several others and didn't go into the stadium, as Scott would have been miserable in the bleachers or standing for that long.  We were much happier in our giant chairs and wrapped in blankets outside under the tent watching the game on TV.

Yes - both of us fit into that one chair quite comfortably.  No I am not that tiny - the chair really was just giant.

     We drove back to Tulsa on Sunday morning and were able to do brunch with some of our besties in town that we never seem to be able to get enough time in with.  We got to meet the newest addition to the group, two-week old Levi, and had such a great time catching up on all the latest!

    Our trip home was uneventful and it was pretty exciting to come back to our fabulous house which we are still thoroughly enjoying!  Scott's follow-up appointment is tomorrow, along with lab draws to make sure his thyroid and calcium blood levels are behaving.  We should have more news regarding pathology from the surgery after all this, so stay tuned.  

PostOp Day #2

This morning the docs came in, stopped the PCA, took out one of Scott's drains and wrote discharge orders.  Pretty exciting stuff, except he had a nasty migraine that was making him really nauseated - we think it might have been from the dilaudid in his PCA, but who knows.  Fortunately we got a bunch of anti-nausea/vomiting meds in his IV before they took that out and it held him over until we got home.  Once home he was able to get a really good nap in and his headache finally went away.

We've been lounging around moving back and forth from the couch to the bed.  A few neighbors have come to visit and we've been catching up on all we missed over the last few days. It's SOOO nice to be in the new house!!!!  Scott's parents and younger sister are still here (the rest of the family flew home on Tuesday) and we all have tons of room to do as we please.  Such a big change from our little shotgun house down the street!  The thing I love the most right now is that all the walls of our master bedroom are insulated and since there is carpet in there, it is so quiet when you're in there with the door closed.  Scott can happily nap in peace while we carry on our noisy lives out here in the main living space, cleaning and continuing to move things in from the other house.  Such heaven.  

PostOp Day #1

Thanks for all the texts, visits, and prayers everyone!  Scott is doing well today!  They got a PCA (pump that has dose-controlled strong pain medicine that he can push a button and give himself every 10 minutes or longer as needed) going for him right away after the surgery yesterday which was very helpful!  His pain has been very well controlled and we are so grateful for that!
Nausea and vomiting has been the issue.  He spewed all over himself, the floor, and just barely missed his recovery nurse after surgery and then it continued for the rest of the evening.  They got lots of anti-nausea/vomiting medicine on board and finally we were able to get everything under control around 11:00 last night.  Sorry for those who were affected by this! (A few queezy guests definitely weren't expecting that) Fortunately it hasn't bothered him today and they were able to advance him to a regular diet for breakfast.  So far he's keeping it down and feeling fine.
He has two drains in still and is very sleepy and rather gorked out..  We are so glad he was able to get some good sleep last night, and I'm glad I stayed here overnight.  Waking up about every hour silencing beeping pumps and alarms and getting stuff for him, compounded with my lack of sleep over the last few days, has turned me into somewhat of a zombie though.  Also, the three-foot love seat available for me made for an interesting sleeping situation.  I'm going home to take a nap here in a little bit and that will hopefully help.
Come visit if you want and are in town.  I doubt we'll be getting discharged today.  And thanks again for all the love and support!  We really, really appreciate it!