Hannah’s Journey

Subject: Hannah's Surgery Went AOK

Hi everyone,

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Just a quick note, Hannah's surgery went well. The time used for the procedure was less then 3 hours. Although we arrived at the hospital at 6:30 A.M. and the surgery did not start until 3:00 P.M. we were overjoyed with the actual results.

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The purpose of the surgery was exploratory in nature. The goal was to look for abnormalities that traditional tests ie.. CAT Scans, MRIs, Bone Scans will not detect.

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I refer to this procedure as “insurance surgery”. It has been clearly explained to Becky and I that the need to physically inspect both lungs, only the left was inspected during the first surgery, is very important to the long term success of Hannah’s treatment. By inspecting this sensitive organ for possible cancerous nodules, the doctor team can take proactive steps to eliminate these nodules hence to take another step, other than chemo, to “insure” a better chance for a remission.

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The surgical method was entering from Hannah's back. Instead of breaking a rib bone for access, they separated the bones. This will shorten her recovery period and hopefully reduce a lot of the pain and discomfort that she experienced from her last surgery (March on the left lung). The surgeon physically messaged the lung and lymphnodes, searching for any hard or abnormal material. The surgeons sense of touch provides significantly greater discovery than the traditional tests that I described above.

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During the procedure, the surgeon removed one abnormality from her lung and has sent it out to pathology. Our hope is that it will be diagnosed as scar tissue from a former illness and not cancer. The results will be available in approximately one week.

Hannah was in an intensive care POO (post operations observation) recovery unit for only one day. This evening she was moved to a standard inpatient room and will be in this unit for the next 1-2 days.

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This morning, 14 hours after major surgery, Hannah was up taking a short walk within the care unit. SPECIAL NOTE: at this point I would have raved about her quick healing ability and her determination to beat this illness. In actuality, she cut a deal with the surgeon. If she followed all the protocols and got up and running fast, she would be allowed to go to Happiness Is Camping next week. That’s like dangling a raw T-bone steak in front of a hungry lion.

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Bottom Line: Both Becky and I are very happy with the results of the surgery and are very proud of Hannah. She retains her pleasant, yet sharp and whity, attitude even under what must be considered very uncomfortable conditions.

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Thank you all for your thoughts and support of Hannah and our family during this difficult time. This whole ordeal is not easy. It controls our family in direct and subtle ways. Without your help and support we would all be facing other issues that have the possibility to compound the stress and distress that exists.

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There are some very special friends that have lent a helping hand recently. A special thanks to you.

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Bill and Becky