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Saturday, March 5, 2011

Long week ahead - sooo glad I have you guys!!!

This week is gonna change our lives in many ways. We've been waiting for this week, even fighting for this week, and praying for this week.
Monday's gonna be the most important day. We see Dr. Kuhn in NLR to see about the 4 cysts and one kidneystone that John has in/on his kidneys. On one, he has a cyst the size of a tangerine and one the size of a golfball. On the other, he has a cyst the size of a nickel and one the size of a ping pong ball, with a kidneystone about the size of this comma (,). I haven't actually SEEN the cysts of course, but the Internet research pics I've seen are what nightmares are made of. There are lots of kinds of cysts. And we all know kidneystones suck, but can I just say that I have an x-Ray of the one I passed last summer and it was waaaayyyyy bigger??!! Just saying. ;) ha
Anyway, the week from hell starts there, at the 5:00am that I must wake up and get pretty for the day's surprises. Yep. I'm gonna look pretty no matter what. ;)
The appointment is at 7:00am. So if you are going to pray, that would be a great time, and I'd be FOREVER grateful. Really. Seriously.
I'm assuming the doctor will want a CT of his own, even though we have the results on paper from the first. It wasn't done with contrast dye, so I'd imagine he'll want that & schedule that. Now is where I thank God and the Arkansas State Police & Medicare for their excellent insurance and our ability to pay our part. Thank you GOD, thank you Government.

The next steps are unknown. That's what we are so afraid of. We've heard stories of people losing kidneys and staying several days in hospitals, even with benign cysts. God forbid they are malignant.

We've heard that most surgeries are done laparoscopically and the healing time is cut in half.
But those were one-kidney surgeries. He has cysts on both kidneys. Will we have 2 surgeries? How much hospital time? These are questions my feeble mind has to remember to ask.

I could go on all day about how scared he is. How scared I am. All the "what ifs." but for now, we'll talk about Wednesday. Of course our whole life depends on Monday, but, best case scenario:

Wednesday, 5:00am... I'm up again. Trying to pull it together. We are the very first to see Dr. Clift at Springhill for JCs EGD. They'll be running a camera down his throat to his stomach to check on the ulcer that almost took his life in 2003. It bled so much that he lost 11 pints of blood and was transfused before they discovered it and fixed it. He was 30 minutes from making me a widow. Now they check him for bleeders every 6 months to a year, and stretch his poor little esophagus so he doesn't choke on his food every meal. Usually we get a good report and even a photo of the healed ulcer that nearly killed him. And I love Dr. Clift, he's freaking awesome. So, God willing, we will get a good report there and get a Subway and a nap. ;)

I'm gonna break up these two awful days by getting up at 4:00am Tuesday and get all dressed up and made up to go see my family. When I am stressed out, I go see my daddy and mom. They have a way about them that makes things seem ok when they're not. I don't know their secret, I guess it's a "parent" thing; some secret only parents know, but they never fail me. Not ever. And if I am really lucky (or blessed) I will get to see my brothers too. I count those days as REALLY special. That doesn't happen often, so those times are particularly cherished.

So bring it, Week From Hell. I'm not ready, but I will do my best. And that's pretty good, considering.

As for you guys, I'm asking you for prayers for a good outcome for JC. At least an acceptable one. I can't possibly live life without this man. He's my everything.

And after all this is over and done, bring on the boxes. It's time for a reevaluation and a throwing out of things that don't matter and aren't needed. This is my wake up call, and we want to wake up somewhere that we can stay forever. That's not here, so...

Til next time... I love you guys always!

4 comments:

  1. I'll pray that everything turns out to be as simple and easily taken care of as possible. Dr. Clift is a riot. We don't see him much at our surgery center, but he's always been one of our favorite doctors. They always have a rice krispie treat waiting on him when he comes in for his cases. =)

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  2. Do the cysts and the kidney stones have anything to do with his diabetes? I will be praying for you both and hoping that when everything gets back to semi-normal that you find a place to live close to your parents. I think it would do you both a world of good.

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  3. Thanks Jenny! I'm gonna buy a whole box for him!!! He deserves so much more from us, he's so very kind! Did u know he's deaf in one ear? If you ever speak to him, u will notice he turns his head to one side ;) I always get a hug & kiss from him, we've been seeing him 2x a yr for almost 20 yrs. He's like family ;)
    Love you girl!!!

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  4. Thanks Deirdre, you are my rock. I don't really know about the diabetes connection to the cysts but the diet cokes are what I'm sure is the cause of the stone. They said that about mine anyway. But we LIVE on the stuff! ;) they said pickles will help, anything w/vinegar.. He doesn't like them, but they have become my daily food since I passed my stone. It was a MF!! ;) lol

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