Post Op Update

Well, I'm finally getting around to updating you all on my condition and surgery experience -- thanks to good 'ol pain meds. First off, Cedars Sinai Hospital was amazing. I loved the staff, who proved to be my biggest advocates, helping me in more ways than I'd even ask for. Here are a few of my nurses. I wish I had a snapshot of my Drs. Bilchick, Washington, & Green. I knew I was I was in good hands.

What was expected to be a 4 hour surgery resulted in 7 hours. My blood counts were dangerously low and they couldn't even begin until I had had 6 transfusions: 4 units of red blood cells, 2 units of a clotting agent, and 1 unit of platelets. (each unit equals about 1 liter). When all was said and done, Dr. Bilchick had removed my gallbladder and 40% of my liver -- 11 tumors ranging in size of 0.2-5.0 cm. Most of the tumors were already dead or in the process of dying. We don't know for sure if I'm cancer free at this point, but Doc says he removed all that he could see, trying to be very aggressive. In fact, he wondered if he was too aggressive, given my blood counts. The day I was released (Apr. 20th) he admitted that he was scared he had done too much. My counts weren't back to normal, but I was improving faster than they expected.

I spent 3 days in ICU and 4 days on the 8th floor.



And here I am, 5 days at home post-op. Eric can't believe I'm posting these photos. Not a pretty sight. I've been pretty miserable. It seems that hot baths are my only reprieve from the pain for a short while. I was grateful for several hours of feeling good last night to attend the derby races. You can see from the photos that I'm still pretty swollen, though the edema has gone down considerably. My main focus now is to control the draining that continues to seep from my incision. I'm soaking through towels within no time at all. On that note, I'm grateful that Doc was able to use my same incision from my 1st surgery.



Thanks to Kim, Tiff, Mom & Eric for your visits that brightened my days in there. Thanks to all the young women leaders who continue to step up and keep the program running in my absence. Thanks to all those who have blessed our family with meals, love & support. I love you!!!