Dr. Drill and Fill

You remember those from your childhood?? There was this plastic head and you were the dentist...you molded teeth good and bad and had tools to clean, fix, and pull....well every time I think of Ray's surgery and the procedure they do basically make me think of that...Ok...side tangent! Well Ray's was scheduled to be in here @ 9am. So he went to work this morning about 4am. At about 740a the phone rings its IMC and they want Ray...I say he is not available and she proceeds to say "We know we told you to be in here at 9...but the OR is asking if you can be in at 815a! That was the time Ray was supposed to pick me up at home so we could safely arrive to the hospital by 9am. Off I go a racing to throw things together (I had vegg'ed thinking I had some time to decompress) call Ray in a flurry of activity and get some fire under his buns....but due to Ray's strong work ethic he wanted to finish imputing the dispatch stuff! SO my honey!!! He arrived at 800am at the house we were gone by 803am....arriving at surgical check in at 817am!!! Good thing we didn't have ANY traffic and the one lone cop we saw luckily didn't see me speeding down the road! We got checked in....Ray managed to have his blood drawn and a separate IV...A huge step for him...then we settled down to wait.....he was off to the OR about 10am. We said our good lucks and loves at the door and then headed down to the waiting room. I had only been there about 20 mins when I was told by my Mom that there was Dr. Scott....my heart jumped into my throat...I knew that if he was out ALREADY that they had found it to be involved in the tissue and such...got up to meet him and he chuckled and said "Relax....I am here for another patients family that I just finished up" WHEW!! We all chuckled about that....then settled down for FARKLE! playing and card playing (it really does make the time go easier) about 1100a we got a call from the OR that said they were going to continue with the "Drill and Fill" and the doctor should be out in about an hour and half. Around 1:08p.m. he did come out. And explained that everything went well and Ray held up well. And although the amputation is still not off the table he felt comfortable doing the temporary fix and letting Ray heal some then we can discuss other options as needed down the road! So it was drilled, cleaned out, liquid nitrogen put in to freeze as many cancer cells as he could, another plate inserted with another screw (for the non-union) issue and rod stabilization. He also took an aspiration of Ray's bone marrow from his hip to inject into the bone to promote healing. And finally filled with bone cement. Ray did better this time in recovery not trying to escape the bed!! We moved to the 11th floor and have a great view of the east side of the valley. Ray spent most of the afternoon very groggy and incoherent....People started to disperse so he could rest. Finally about 6pm the nurse decided he was a little TOO groggy and they lowered the pain meds a tad....he was able to be alert and actually ate a dinner of turkey and potatoes and broccoli (and later a contraband brownie!) It took him a while and I had to help feed him and remind him to chew :o) But after that he perked up even more....he talked with this brother and a few friends via the phone and is now settling down again for a bit...the only thing left to tackle tonight is a "nature call" we have till about 11pm for the "visit" other than that he is antsy to get out of bed and "walk" with a walker but he has to wait for PT and so far not a sign of them....I am not sure what the doctors orders are on that...last surgery Ray needed to stay in bed till the next morning. At the rate we are going it might be that way this time as well. I have so many to be grateful for. I am grateful for mine and Ray's family for all the support they give. Also for the help my family is giving to keep our girls happy and safe....also the dear friends who have help hold my hand and give us emotional support as well! Thanks for all the prayers THEY DO WORK! More to come....love to all!

Its back to square one time...

I know its been forever AND a day since I updated here.....I have been overwhelmed with emotions, with the festivities of the season and plain just in denial....if I didn't type anything then maybe *just maybe* it wasn't real! ::sigh:: so much for that......Well here we are on the eve of Ray's surgery and I will give a brief of what we know so far. We know for certain that there will not be an amputation tomorrow. After our doctors visit today we chatted with Dr. Scott and he said he doesn't like his patients going under NOT knowing a plan....is the leg gone? will the leg stay? kinda thing. We did have another x-ray done and unfortunately the tumor has grown again since the last x-ray (darn aggressive thing anyway!) So we (Ray and I) with Dr. Scott on board came up with a game plan. Dr. Scott is a little concerned that the tumor not only is IN the bone but AROUND the bone like last time (tissue involvement type of thing) IF that is the case tomorrow when Ray is opened up he will take a biopsy and close him up. At that point we will do one of two things A: schedule a surgery in the near future for a leg amputation slightly above the knee. Dr. Scott says the prosthetic works better with a artificial joint (aka knee) plus it will give a greater chance of having clean margins. or; B: we will do nothing and let it run its course and treat pain and so forth accordingly. Our choice as of right now definitely leans to choice A. BUT after we find out for sure we will have another heart to heart and find out a time line of life expectancy with just letting it run its course. Ok...next IF it doesn't have tissue involvement we revert to a surgery tomorrow where he will drill out the tumor in the bone take an aspiration from the hip of bone marrow to inject into the bone to promote healing and use liquid nitrogen to try and freeze as many cancer cells as he can. Then fill up the hole(s) with bone cement. He will also at the time secure the rod that may be causing some of the pain and be wobbly. So in a nutshell that is it for now....I promise as things develop I will keep it updated I know we have tons of family, loved ones and friends who are praying and wishes us well and want that update. Thanks to all those who continue to support us. We love you all! HUGS!