Robin is Back in the hospital - 5/31/05

 
FYI, Robin is back in the hospital. She had an infection in the right wound, and she agreed to the doctor's recommendations for intravenous antibiotics as a quicker to cure the problem.

Robin saw her oncologist, Dr. McClure, yesterday. She went over the pathology from Robin's mastectomies, and described the next course of treatment. Robin will receive 6 weeks of Radiation, five days a week, and she will receive four additional chemotherapies (different chemicals, though). Neither therapy will start until the infection is gone, and the two therapies will run consecutively. McClure said that the probability of cancer recurrence is greater than 50%. Robin was pretty upset by this information, but she seems to be doing better.

Dr McClure decided that we needed to go from her office to the surgeon's (Dr. Mason) office because of the infection. Dr. Mason discussed the options and Robin agreed that she should expedite the end of the infection by intravenous antibiotics. If it does not improve in 48 hours, Dr. Mason will "Debride" (pronounced, "Dee-Breed" meaning, "the surgical removal of lacerated, devitalized, or contaminated tissue") the wound. She is fine otherwise, except for lack of sleep. If all goes well, she should be out on Thursday afternoon.

Larry

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The Drains are Out - May 26th

 
Nothing earth-shattering has occurred since Robin left the hospital. Robin's pain has been manageable (thanks to Vicodin), and she has gotten stronger day by day. She has been through a few bouts of depression, but has been able to turn it around and return to her normally optimistic outlook. Robin saw Dr. Mason, her surgeon, on Thursday May 19th and again on May 26th. The first time, he removed two of the four drains, and everything looked pretty good. On May 26th, he removed the other two drains. Her wound on the right side appeared to be infected, with redness surrounding the cut, so Dr. Mason prescribed a new antibiotic and told us to call him if it did not improve in a few days. Robin is scheduled to see her oncologist, Dr. McClure, on May 31st. At that time, we will learn more about where we go from here.

On Monday, May 23rd, we were visited by a lady (I am SO sorry I cannot remember her name) who gave Robin some books and tools for therapy and life after Mastectomies. She is a volunteer who has also had mastectomies, and has been trained by the American Cancer Society to help others with the recovery process. The main concern seems to be avoiding lymphedema, a swelling of the arms. The lymphatic system is another circulatory system in the body, and lymph nodes act as "filters" to collect foreign material, like bacteria and cancer cells, to prevent them from reaching the blood stream. After the lymph nodes are removed, the drainage from the arms can be incomplete, causing swelling. This is a common problem after mastectomies. If you see Robin, encourage her to do her exercises!!! We do want her to keep playing the piano!!!

Robin's parents, Johnnie and Hal Gilbert have been here from North Carolina since the surgery, and have helped tremendously with taking care of Robin. That's actually an understatement. They have been a Godsend. There is nothing like a mother for taking care of a sick child, no matter how old she is, and Johnnie has a special gift for helping the sick. Johnnie emptied the drains and meticulously documented the volumes, and she sewed pockets inside some shirts, so Robin could carry the drains without them being taped to her belly. Hal has helped with cooking and cleaning (and revived our dying garden). Many of our friends (or as we call them, "Our Texas Family") have helped us with meals, flowers, and uplifting visits and phone calls. There is no way we could ever repay the love and kindness we have felt during this traumatic experience! I wish we could, though. Thank you all!!!

I'll close for now. We will be going to John's graduation ceremony shortly, and it will be Robin's first public outing since the surgery. This weekend will test Robin's endurance!

Once again, thank you for your prayers and support. Keep up the good work as we move into the next phase of recovery.

Love,

Larry and Robin

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Robin Left the Hospital!!! - 5/15/05

 
Once more, this will be short. There is not much to report except that Robin (finally) got released from the hospital. The blood transfusion boosted her blood counts enough that she was not woozie when standing (at least, not anymore woozie than she usually is). Her surgeon, Dr. Mason, inspected the drains and the wounds, and determined that they looked good. (I must say, his definition of "good" is different from mine).

Robin will see Dr. Mason on Thursday of this week. It is possible that two of the four drains will be removed at that time. I will write more after her appointment.

Please continue to keep Robin in your prayers.

Thanks for your prayers and support,

Larry and Robin

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Late News - 5/14/05

 
Well, Robin's blood levels got worse instead of better, so the doctor ordered a transfusion for her. He expects this to help her get back to normal. Her drains are less bloody and becoming clearer, which is a good sign. It also looks like they are beginning to slow, which also is good. She is eating and appears fine except for light-headed feeling when she sits or stands up. Anyway, the upshot is that she will remain in the hospital another day.

I will write more later. Please continue to keep Robin in your prayers.

Love and thanks,

Larry and Robin

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Mastectomies and Pathology - 05/14/05

 
Robin's Mastectomies and Pathology - Written 05/14/05

I only have a little time, so this will be short.

Robin had her mastectomies on Thursday, May 12th. Dr. Mason, her surgeon, removed both breasts and the first tier of lymph nodes on both sides. He said the surgery went bout as planned, taking about five hours. They moved her to a room in Christus St. John's hospital in Nassau Bay (Houston, across from NASA/JSC).

Robin's parents, Hal and Johnnie Gilbert, arrived Thursday and have been a great help and a great source of comfort for Robin. Many of our "Family in Christ" were there for us throughout this difficult day. Alexis stayed with me from the time we arrived at the hospital until late that evening. Mrs. Gerken, a volunteer at St. John's and "renegade" at St. Luke's, checked on us and asked Sr. Edwin to find out how things were going in the operating room. Fayellen picked up Hal and Johnnie at the airport, and picked up John from school. Eileen brought us all food that evening (and had to go back to work afterwards). In addition to all that support, there were many concerned "family members" called to check on her and many others were praying for Robin and her surgeon. I know God heard those prayers.

Robin was pretty doped up the rest of that day. She was better on Friday, but her blood counts were a little low, she had a very low-grade fever (about 99.2) and she started puking (technical term for throwing-up) about noon. Based on these minor issues, Dr. Mason decided to keep her under observation another night. If her blood counts are better today, she should be allowed to come home.

We got the pathologist report late Friday. The dissection showed that the margins around the cancer were good. The lymph nodes on the left side, where the Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) was located, were found to be negative for cancer. GOOD NEWS. Since IBC is so aggressive, we expected to see some spreading there. On the right side, the breast contained a 1.5 cm tumor, and about half the lymph nodes from the right side were found to be positive for cancer (meaning that there was some spreading of cancer. We do not know for sure what this means in terms of treatment, but we suspect there will be additional chemo, at a minimum. We will need to speak to Robin's oncologist (Dr. McClure) to find out for sure. Robin has an appointment with her on My 31st.

I will write more when I know more. I'm headed back to the hospital now. Please continue to keep Robin in your prayers. It feels like we are over the hump, but the journey is not done yet.

With love and thanksgiving for all the prayers and support,

Larry and Robin

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Some Good News - 05/11/05

 
Robin just heard from her thoracic surgeon. He said the biopsy of the node between her heart and trachea showed no cancer.

This is a good sign, though not conclucive, that the cancer did not spread too far from the original site.

Please pass the word.

Please say a prayer of thanksgiving and pray for successful mastectomies tomorrow.

Thanks,

Larry and Robin

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Out of the Hospital - 05/07/05

 
Robin is out of the hospital (for a few days). They released her before noon. She has been eating without puking for several meals, so the crisis has passed.

The hematoma is about the same; the doctor said it will take about two weeks for that lump to dissipate.

The doctors also confirmed that we would not get any test results until at least Monday (maybe Tuesday).

I'll let you know when we get those results.

Larry

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Robin's Hospital Stay - 05/06/05

 
Another quick update regarding Robin's hospital stay (after the biopsy of the lymph node between her heart and trachea).

Robin stayed in the hospital a second night because she continued to be very nauseous all day long, losing everything she ate about two hours after eating. A doctor came to see her and said that sometimes diabetic people have issues with their stomach getting "lazy" when the person is under stress. In this situation, food cannot pass from the stomach, so it eventually comes back up. He ordered a prescription for her. I don't recall her getting the prescription, but apparently she did because she seemed to hold down a little food from her "dinner" of soup and crackers. She looked and felt 100% better by the time I left, and they should release her today if she is still doing well.

The hematoma did not get any bigger, but it didn't seem to shrink either. Apparently, it will take a while for that lump to dissipate.

The nurses told us that we would not get any test results until at least Monday (maybe Tuesday), because the analysis is not done in the hospital. We were disappointed, to say the least.

I'll post more when we get those results.

Larry

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Quick Update on Robin - 05/05/05

 
This is just a quick update regarding the biopsy of the lymph node between Robin's heart and trachea.

The thoracic surgeon said that he did not see anything that indicated cancer to him, but he sent the samples to the lab for more detailed analysis. We are not celebrating yet, because this type of cancer is deceiving. The doctor said we might get preliminary lab results today, but the full report would probably be available on Monday.

He kept Robin in the hospital overnight because she had a hematoma above the incision (a hematoma is a pocket of blood formed under the skin from a broken blood vessel). It made a lump that looked like she had swallowed a golf ball. She was also very nauseous all day long, losing everything she ate about an hour or two after eating. They wanted to keep her under observation overnight and should release her today if she is doing better.

I'll post more when I know more.

Larry

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