For those of you who have been following my conversations with Sabina, I wanted to update you on her condition. Sabina has been admitted to Mt. Sinai Hospital in Toronto Canada. Her surgery has been scheduled for March 28th. She is having a total gastrectomy (entire stomach being removed).The good news is the cancer has not spread. A picc line has been inserted to assist her with nutrition as she has lost quite a bit of weight. She is quite depressed that she will be spending such a long time in the hospital. She has a wonderful husband and daughter who miss her very much and are looking forward to her returning home. Please join me in praying that Sabina has a successful surgery and that she will be home as soon as possible.
Thank you.....Dawn
How did surgery go? My husband had a total gastrectomy last year and is still with us, but is having great problems eating and maintaining weight. Has lost over 1/3 of total body weight, and spend 4 months in hospital. I make sure that there are always small snacks in every room, coat and car. he has since retired from work (due to illness) as he found he had no strength even for desk work. He is planning however to drive through country Australia to revisit some of our favourite sites. I am casually arranging for friends to accompany him on the drive. I still work and will join him with our 2 children when ever possible.
Prue
Dawn, I have been reading your encouragement to your fellow cancer survivors. My son was diagnosed with stomachcancer [adenocarcinoma] in July 2004 just 4 months before he had his 38th birthday. The decision was to operate and removed the top 10% or his stomach and his esophagus. He opted for the procedure where they pull up a section of the colon or bowel to replace the esophagus, as that was an alternative offered by his surgeon at OU Med Center. He had hopes it would make for a better lifestyle following the surgery as he was a tall, longwaisted young man. The 3rd day he was in ICU it was discovered his right lung began to collapse, so back on the ventilator. It seemed he had a long healing time and had a couple fistulas develop that leaked, but he fought to regain strength and heal--seemed it took forever as he was in hospital 40 days and 40 nights. At home he recuperated slowly and started chemo in November. A P.E.T. scan in December 2004 showed no sign of cancer growth and we were all thanking God and celebrating. A short time before that we learned with endoscopy that his new esophagus/colon section had closed. So, in May 2005 he had surery to open the three places they found that had scarred down, the one at the top of his remaining stomach really thick and almost didn't get it open. After a couple weeks, he was allowed on fluid diet--not quite the Mexican dinner he was looking forward to, but the best tomato soup he ever tasted! All this time he was on tube feed into his intestine and then they put in a stomach tube during the May surgery so he could pour in Boost or Ensure part of the time. Being hooked to the tube feed for 17-18 hr. at a time was very limiting, but he worked a lot of afternoons. All seemed to be fine, but suddenly in late September he developed a blockage in his intestine. On October 1 [yes, a Saturday!] his surgeon found it was a tumor and the cancer had metastisized all around the abdominal cavity as well. His first comment to his Dad & brother was "There's no "give-up" in here," pointing to his chest! To me, his first words were "I need a miracle!" in a very strong voice for someone just coming out of surgery.
To all who read this, I am so thrilled for those of you who are surviving! Dawn, you are a grand example! My son chose not to be in a testing situation that would take him away from his wife and 3 sons for any time period, but fought it hoping God would answer prayers for him around the world for healing. He died on Dec. 2, 2005, 1 week after his 39th birthday, but only gave in to the ultimate healing, never gave up!