Twofers!

Today we went to Brigham & Women's Hospital to have my Power Port removed.  It is a simple day surgery procedure.  We left early; we wanted to be sure to be on time.  The traffic was beyond heavy.  It took (perhaps) longer than any other drive into Boston.  When we got there, a half hour late, I signed in and was immediately brought down to pre-op.

I was concerned about my stomach feeding tube and potential infection (that was an issue at St. Vincent's Hospital) and told my surgical nurse.  The surgeon had a simple solution.  "Why don't I just take that out too while you're under sedation?  I won't even charge extra!"  Ann said go for it.  Normally, the tube comes out without sedation or pain meds - literally yanked out and covered with a dressing.  I was concerned that we were making a decision without my oncologist's approval.  The surgeon paged Dr. H. who said sure go ahead and remove it.   I have an appointment next Wednesday at Dana-Farber with my Nutritionist and Swallow Therapist; they were supposed to authorize the tube's removal.  They work for Dr. H. so no toes are stepped on.  (Don't I worry about this stuff too much?)

The procedures went smoothly and quickly.  I really liked the surgeon, she is compassionate and has a sense of humor.  All the nurses and anesthesiologists were nice, too.

So now I'm portless and tubeless and just a little bit sore.  I have to take it easy for a few days while I heal.  The port is just an incision.  The tube is an open hole the size of the tube.  It will scab over and close on its own.  Both have dressings.

My job now is to continue to eat, not lose weight, and slowly broaden the variety of foods I eat.  I'm looking forward to sandwiches, but bread (being dry) is one of the last foods I'll be able to eat.  Next Wednesday, the Nutritionist and Swallow Therapist will give me more suggestions on where to go (and how) food-wise.

I went into work yesterday and spent a few hours getting my workstation updated and more, my brain updated.  Getting back into the swing of things will take me a while, but I'm ready.  Next week, if I'm healed sufficiently, I'll start going in for afternoons daily and work my way back into a full day's schedule.

Thanks everyone for your support and comfort.  It means more than I can say.

Love...

Richard