Finally - a plan!

Well, after a long day of meeting with doctors and completing more tests and pre-operative procedures (we began at 10am and didn't walk out of the hospital until 5pm!), we finally have a plan in place! I will be "going under the knife" at 10am on Monday to have a segment of the upper lobe of my left lung removed. If all goes well, I will have minimal loss of lung function, but there's at least a fair chance that the surgeon may have to remove my whole upper lobe, which would reduce my lung capacity by an additional 15% past my already reduced functionality. Even if that ends up being the way things go on Monday, I will still have at least 50% of my pre-cancer lung function, which they tell me is better than many lung cancer patients. The surgeon doing my surgery does these procedures all the time, mainly for lung cancer patients, but he, my transplant doctor, and me all feel like this is the best way to eliminate the tumor and give me the best chance of having a successful stem cell transplant.

I will be an inpatient at Dartmouth from Monday until at least Friday, and will have a chest tube in until sometime Tue. or Wed. while I'm in the hospital. Once I'm discharged, I will recouperate for at least a few days in Claremont before returning to Waldoboro to complete the recovery period. The plan now is for me to begin my stem cell transplant 4 weeks after this surgery, which means it would begin on Mon. Feb. 18, and I would be admitted (yet again!) at Dartmouth for that on Fri. Feb. 22. I will then be an inpatient for about 2 or 2 and 1/2 weeks, and will need to remain in Claremont after discharge for an additional 4-6 weeks.

For right now, please pray with us that:
1) the surgeon would be "at the top of his game" on Mon. morning, and that he would be able to simply and easily remove the tumor without having to take the whole upper lobe.
2) the recovery would be quick and uneventful, and that there would be no infections or other complications.
3) we would continue to rest in the peace that comes from living in the love of Jesus and the absolute sovereignty of our awesome God.

We'll update again as and when there is news to share. Thanks for continuing to check in and keep up with our unexpected journey!