Today, I spent most of the time at the hospital doing pre-op procedures for the surgery I will be having this Friday, May 8th (East Coast US time).
Thankfully, I am told that I have the two best surgeons in New Jersey for this type of operation.
They will be removing most of my esophagus and then my stomach will be pulled up to join the remaining 3 or 4 inches just below my neck. This is major surgery for 6 or so hours.
Without complications, I am expected to be in hospital for about a week followed by a recovery time of 6 weeks or more.
The good news is that the CT and PET scans I had last week showed that there has been a significant reduction in the size of the tumor after the chemo and radiation treatment, and I might add, the prayers of thousands of saints around the world, a factor conspicuously absent from the medical reports.
By the time some of you will get this I will probably be out of surgery. Please continue to pray anyway for minimal or no pain and a speedy recovery.
I am very grateful to have had several weeks of re-gathering strength after the chemo and radiation. I have been walking several miles a day to get in as good a shape as possible for this surgery.
My appetite has returned and I have gained back 5 or 6 pounds after losing about 18. This will all help me get through this next phase where I will lose weight again due to the disruption of eating habits.
It remains to be seen how I will be effected in the long run, but one thing is for sure, the way I eat will be different for the rest of my life.
Lots of letters, cards, emails and calls and support are coming in. I love to reply personally to each one of these. However, please forgive me if you don't hear back from me for a while as I am expected to be down for the count for a few weeks, but I will respond to you eventually!
Prayer Point: Pray for minimal pain and no complications from the surgery. Also, that the tumor will be found to be dead and no more chemo will be needed.