Post of post surgery x2

Blank space to confuse the masses.

Dan has been in the hospital six days, but it feels like six weeks to his family.

The surgery on Jan 2 took six hours. The vascular surgeon came out of the surgery optimistic. He got a rather good portion of the clot from the most occluded areas in his abdomen and groin, and samples were sent to the labs to determine if there was cancer cells present.

The doctor did not mess with the renal vein and the clot present there. This means Dan's kidney didn't take a hit, and Dan will not need dialysis while in the hospital.

The IVC is nearly completely closed due to scar tissue from the surgery last year and is most likely the main culprit behind the clot.

Edit: the lab for the clot in the iliac vein was positive for metastatic clear cell Renal Cell Carcinoma.

We have a lot of questions regarding the remaining kidney and its bad vein, regarding the IVC and its periphery veins and future issues it may cause, and regarding Dan's future health. Not a whole lot of answers given to us yet.

But for now, Dan is growing stronger each day, woke up looking and feeling much better than the first go around, and is on a good track to being home soon. His parents have visited every day, and Maggie when she feels like it and is up to smell.

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Spinal Surgery

...play it again, Sam. On Saturday, Maggie turned 40 and Ayla turned 9. On Wednesday, Elyse makes a gingerbread house at school and on Thursday, Ayla does. Friday is crazy hair day! And also on Friday, Dan will have spinal surgery to de-bulk the tumor that has grown in his lower vertebrae. Can you guess who's not feeling the spirit of the season? Debilitating pain aside ... I have no witty follow up to that. Dan's been in pain for several months, and being Dan, is working through it. Hopefully the surgery will help, but like all the others, it's not an answer to his cancer. Dan will be in hospital for a few days before returning home, where he's expected to have a 12 to 16 week recuperation. Reach out and say hello, send your thoughts and love, and I do believe someone mentioned puppies? The girls want a kitty. I'm partial to gold fish. Thanks for all your support, friends and family, especially my mom Terri who is here as emotional and kid support and as primo tr...

2023 Update

... There hadn't been an update back in December, so here it is now: surgery for the tumor in Dan's spine was delayed/cancelled the day before it was to happen, by choice. The tumor is not growing, nor is it shrinking. It is considered stable, due to the increase in dosage of medicine that Dan is taking. Since it is stable, the surgeon doesn't want to do surgery yet. The hope it that it will start to shrink. So attention turned to dealing with the pain the tumor was causing. Today, Dan received a nerve-blocker shot, steroid based, in the nerve that is being affected by the tumor. Within a few days it should begin helping with the pain. We hope to see him sleeping better, and up and moving a little better. He'll likely still limp and need the cane to get around, but if the pain is mitigated a bit, then we'll be happy.

Yeet the Deets

Enough vague booking, here's the details. Dan's surgery tomorrow is postponed, until at least January 2019. Dan will have to be fully healed and back on blood thinners and stable before the vascular surgeon will want to go ahead with the surgery. He'll be home Friday, hopefully, and his only job for the next two months is to recuperate in peace and quiet (if Maggie has any say in the matter). Hematoma's take 1-4 weeks to heal, and he's likely on the longer end due to the severity of his. He's currently unable to stand or walk for any length of time. Hematoma's need rest, elevation, icing and compression to heal, so we'll be busy with Netflix and chill with feet raised. This is unfortunate news, and despite this complication and the forewarning of a likely postponing, we weren't ready for a delayed surgery date so far in the future. It means both Maggie and Dan are off of work for longer than planned, creating a bit more stress in the ...

Dumo Cell Carcinoma

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