July 22, 2008

The girls and I decided that maybe the best way to share information and updates on Bill might be by creating a blog.  So, this is my first attempt at moving into the world of high tech.  Hopefully, as I get a feel for this, I will get better at blogging.

As you may or may not have heard, we are currently in the hospital for the 4th time since his first surgery on April 28.  It has to say the least, been a very long and weary spring and summer.  I think we've been home for about a total of four weeks since the surgery.  Each time we go home, we think, this time it's going to work, but not yet.

This last time, we had been home for about a week, and he was feeling good and even eating quite a bit.  Unfortunately, he began having terrible pain late on Sunday night, July 13, so on Monday morning we came back into the hospital for X-rays to see what was causing the pain.  We discovered that he had a small bowel obstruction and he was immediately admitted.  After several tests we were told that the obstructions were more cancer.  

Bill has metastatic melanoma, a recurrence of the melanoma that was taken from his leg back in 1980. We, as well as the Drs., are finding it hard to believe that after 28 years of being cancer free, it has returned.  But, this seems to be the case.  The mass that was in his stomach was melanoma, and now they think that there is more in his small bowel.  

He had a second surgery on Friday, July 18 for what they thought was going to be a bowel resection, to remove the masses in the bowel.  But as it turns out, the mass was scar tissue caused by the first surgery, not cancer, however, he has tiny little polyps which they suspect are melanoma all throughout his small intestine.  The Dr.  was not able to remove all of these polyps, too small and too many, so it looks like chemo is our next step.  As if this was not disheartening enough,  he had to have a third surgery on Saturday, the following day because he was bleeding internally.  Friday night his blood pressure plummeted and he was in terrible pain, it was pretty scary.     So on Saturday they opened him up again to stop the bleeding.

He seems to be recovering well, we've moved rooms three times since Sunday, each time into a less intense setting.  Today, he was able to get up out of the bed and sit up in a chair for a good while.  Tomorrow the goal is to begin walking a little.  He's a fighter, and we just keep fighting.  

The girls are spending some extended time with us this week, which of course is wonderful and definitely lifts our spirits.  We hope things continue in this positive direction and we can go home for a while before beginning chemo.  We have an appointment with the chemo Drs. on August 12, his birthday.  Maybe we'll have some good news.  

We want to thank everyone for the incredible support and prayers.  Family members and friends have been so wonderful pitching in to do things for us in so many creative ways and we have received so many cards, phone calls and emails expressing  concern and well wishes.  It helps knowing you care and are keeping us in your prayers. 

I will try to keep you posted through this blog as often as possible, but please don't stop calling or checking in.  If you call home and we're in the hospital, it may take a while for me to return your calls, as I don't always have time to check the voice mail on my "shower runs" home, but I will get to them eventually and we really appreciate your checking on us.  

Right now we are in Norton's Hospital on Chestnut in room 4A01, but that room could change tomorrow so if you want to visit you may want to check first.  I don't expect we'll be discharged for a while yet.  

Please keep us in your prayers.  We sure miss the way things were, and are hopeful we'll be able to return to a more normal life style soon.  Keep in touch, Holly

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