Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Hope Next Exit

It has been a long time since my last blog entry...............I think I am averaging an entry per month at this point which is pathetic but life is very hectic where I sit. Things went quickly through the first three doctor visits but then we hit a standstill. I think the reason for this standstill is twofold:

1)There was such a big disparity among the first three surgeons that we were left very confused with how to proceed, and

2)I really believe Crea just needed to get through the Holidays, pushing all of this talk of cancer to the back burner. Christmas time, and the Holidays in general, hold a special place in our hearts. These times are even more incredible with little children so, for the sake of savouring Jaden's 5th Christmas and Thalia's 2nd Christmas, we did not discuss the decision needing resolution. It was also nice to have Tiana around. She is 18 now and off being an adult so I know Crea wanted to just enjoy the moment. It was hard for me but I just let it be.... trusting all would be well.

After the Holidays, we determined to go back to see Dr. Adashek. He was the first surgeon we visited and the one we felt most comfortable with. We returned to see him at Cedars Sinai and informed him that we had been making the rounds getting multiple opinions. His response.....which for me confirmed he was the right surgeon........was to hold a mock roundtable pretending to be the other surgeons. He gave the arguments for their stance on the approach that should be taken concluding that no surgeon was wrong.........it was just a matter of opinion. It was amazing to see him take such a neutral position simply to help us in making our decision.

Shortly after the visit, Crea confirmed she wanted to use Adashek and then we went into a holding pattern waiting for the hospital to confirm a surgery date. When confirmation came back, February 24th was the day..........the day we never thought would be here again.........the day my wife would be operated on to have cancer hopefully for the last time. It is the sequel you never want to experience.

Crea immediately had to make multiple pre-op appointments. The first was with the endocrinologist for a general physical, EKG, chest x-ray, blood work, etc, etc. All went fine with this appointment so it was on to the next which was an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor. This appointment was to evaluate her vocal chords to confirm she was okay for surgery. I was not able to attend this appointment but learned she had to have a small camera inserted up her nose to ultimately help view her throat...........not very pleasant sounding.........and not very pleasant according to my lovely wife. The results again concluded that surgery is a go. On another note, the camera was left in and now she can take photos when she blinks her eyes. Just kidding, of course, but I needed a moment here.

So........here we are. It is February 23rd as I type this entry. My wife is an amazingly strong woman and is holding up very well with less than 24 hours to go. Immediately after confirmation of surgery we shared some tears.............not really ones of fear necessarily.......more sadness that it all has to transpire again. For me, I wish I could do more. I wish I could go in for the surgery on her behalf. I can't and that makes me sad. We are confident that all will go well. Despite 3 very different opinions on the approach for the surgery, all 3 doctors shared the opinion that Crea would come out of all of this just fine. If there is one point I would want them to agree on.........they picked the right one.

We will arrive at the hospital at 10am on February 24th. At 11am there will be an ultrasound to mark the cancer to make life easier for the surgeon during the operation. My wife will also have some machine hooked up to her that alerts the surgeon if he accidentally touches her vocal chords. One of the risks to this surgery ties to harming the vocal chords leaving her forever hoarse. I guess there could be worse outcomes but I can't focus on those. I want my wife to come out on the other side of the surgery cancer free. I want her voice to be unharmed because she has been through so much already and she deserves everything to be fine. For me, I just need my wife.

Thanks for all the support from friends and family. It has been amazing. A special shout out to the Twitter world who have shown kindness to myself (@run2savelives) and my wife (@createrese) when, in the real world, we are virtually strangers. Six months ago, if I was asked if you could have great friends in people you have never met, I surely would have replied it was not possible. Today, there are many people I have never met that I would consider great friends and would go out of my way to help.

I will try to keep folks in the loop on February 24th via Twitter and Facebook. The day will be primarily one of sitting and waiting and hoping and praying. I take comfort knowing I am not in control and believe God will let the day play out according to his plan. I only ask that on February 25th, my wife is home and cancer free.

If you would like to help me honor my wife's battle you can click on the link above or go straight to my Team in Training fundraising page at http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/lavatri10/4mywife .

If you are in Los Angeles on March 6th, I am throwing a party/fundraiser to celebrate a healthy wife and to help raise funds to ensure a cancer free world for our kids or our kid's kids. I am calling the event 'Hope Next Exit'. You can click on the link below to get more information or hook up with me on Facebook

Hope Next Exit - http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=1049301005&k=Z6AUZ5V2U2TF6BD1QJ3ZUUR2UUIB42YLQPDYF&oid=352347581336

Thanks for reading.