Casey had his follow-up today at his surgeons office in regards to his lung swelling. We were expecting to hear that the swelling had gone down. For in fact it seemed Casey was able to breathe easier and we felt really confident in how things are going. He has been getting stronger and had said he wanted to try returning to work next week.
So that being said, I didn't go with him as we didn't have a sitter. So the word from the surgeon is that the swelling has not gone down. He said at this point its highly unlikely the swelling will go down now, he said Casey is not using that part of the lung now anyway due to the swelling.
This is a diagram of the lungs, the left you can see has 2 sections or what they call them Lobes. That side is fine. The right side you can see has 3, an upper, middle and lower lobe. The tumor had been in his lower lobe. So that lobe was removed. There is a line drawn where it was removed, the swelling is in what was the middle lobe that is now the lower lobe. The writing says "blocked" and its pointing to the area that is blocked. The surgeon said that since the swelling is unlikely to go down now (he has been taking prednizone to try and reduce the swelling) the only option is to go ahead and remove that lobe now as well. He said that if we don't remove it Casey could get pneumonia again or even worse infections that could end up life threatening. This is what Casey told me with tears in his eyes when he got home. Now I wished I'd been at that appointment as I right away had questions. Questions he said he was too stunned to think to ask himself.
So Casey called the surgeons office and said we had some questions and the Dr called him back within an hour to answer any questions we had. Casey had said that the Dr had mentioned his lung function would be about what it is now. Which concerned us a little as we know he's not at full lung function at this time. So here are the questions I asked Dr Downey when he called us back.
Q. Will his lung function really only be about what it is now?
A. No, what he said was that it won't be any worse then what it is now. He said that Casey is still in the recovery phase from his last surgery and isn't back to full lung function yet. Casey should still regain 100% what he had before all this began.
Q. Will it hinder his ability to work normally in his very physical trade job as an electrician?
A. After his full recovery, no it shouldn't hinder his being able to lead a normal healthy life and maintain his job.
Q. What is the recovery expected to be like this time around? (He had said it would be a tad easier)
A. Since he already has the incision in that area then it should actually be easier for him to recover the 2nd time around. He should be in less pain and for a shorter amount of time. He should expect to be in the hospital 2 to 3 days after his surgery and then off work for another 3 weeks or so.
Q. Will there be chest tubes placed again?
A. Yes, every time there is a surgery of this manner there are chest tubes placed.
Q. Will you do another Bronchcoscopy before the surgery again just to make sure the swelling hasn't gone down?
A. Yes, I will take a look at the lung again just before making the cut.
Dr Downey also told Casey that the sooner they do this surgery the better, they will go in the same place they did before. Using the same incision, he said its easier that way and the sooner the better. If they try and wait to do it then the risk of infection is higher but also the area will harden as it heals (and I imagine scar tissue could build up) and make it near impossible to get to it that way. So we have surgery scheduled for Fri. I don't know what time we need to be there yet. The surgery is supposed to start at 12:30pm, so we are sure we'll need to be there at least at 10am for prep.
We have truly been blessed by everyone's kindness and prayers. It has been overwhelming at times (in a good way), we only hope that we can at some point be able to bless others the way we have been blessed. I know people are going to want to know what they can do to help. At this point I think our biggest need will be someone to watch the kids on Fri. I can have my mother in law do it again, but I am concerned that she might be a bit too emotional. She was pretty emotional when Casey told her the update. She will probably like having the distraction of the kids that day. But the last surgery there were a couple times she called me in tears and was extremely worried about Casey. So if there is anyone that wants to come watch the kids for the day. Last surgery started at 1pm we had to be there at 10am and I didn't get home till after 7pm. It would be a LONG day for sure. So that right now is our biggest need, I am going to talk to my mother in law to verify. She might really want to come watch the kids that day for the distraction. If that's the case I'll let her do it.
So in closing, it looks like we will get to enjoy having Daddy around the house for another few more weeks once he's home from the hospital. Which is a positive thing. The kids love their Daddy and we have enjoyed our time together as he's gotten stronger.
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