We took advantage of the time after the January project ended to take a break and spend some time at Disney, where we celebrated Dave’s birthday. Our trip would take us from there to Bradenton, where we supported Dave’s sister Wendy as her husband underwent a heart valve repair. And then back to Faith in time for Cathy to begin her pre-op appointments and have her lumpectomy surgery.
And so it begins.
And so it begins.
Dave looks out at the savannah from our room at Animal Kingdom Lodge Let’s Do Disney
We had planned it before all of the diagnoses and doctor’s appointments. It was a getaway that we timed around Dave’s birthday to just relax. Despite all the appointments, none of them managed to spoil our 2 days. We stayed 2 nights in Animal Kingdom Lodge and were royally treated to some upgraded rooms and a bountiful seafood buffet meal. We watched the animals out of our window, soaked in a jacuzzi tub and took a culinary tour with some scrumptious samples. We deliberately did not plan to do any park visits, and that made for a relaxing, refreshing birthday trip.
We had planned it before all of the diagnoses and doctor’s appointments. It was a getaway that we timed around Dave’s birthday to just relax. Despite all the appointments, none of them managed to spoil our 2 days. We stayed 2 nights in Animal Kingdom Lodge and were royally treated to some upgraded rooms and a bountiful seafood buffet meal. We watched the animals out of our window, soaked in a jacuzzi tub and took a culinary tour with some scrumptious samples. We deliberately did not plan to do any park visits, and that made for a relaxing, refreshing birthday trip.
Cathy is crowned Strawberry Queen at the Parkesdale farms in aptly-named Plant City. Rather than heading straight back to Faith, we headed further west to arrive in Bradenton on the day of Dave’s brother-in-law’s heart valve surgery. It was very successful, and we stayed long enough to give Wendy some support during his first day in the hospital. We were shooed off the next day, as she was focusing her time on her Dave, and we needed to head back to Jacksonville to prepare for Cathy’s surgical appointments. On the way back, we stopped at a Farmer’s market to pick up some of the season’s first strawberries – and some strawberry shortcake.
Cathy's pre-surgery prep involved picture-taking in this machine, looking for lymph nodes. Prepping for Surgery
Cathy’s lumpectomy surgery was scheduled for February 5th. However, given the family history of breast cancer, the surgeon wanted genetic testing done to ensure the breast cancer genes did not have the abnormalities that would indicate an inherited tendency for breast cancer. If that were the case, a mastectomy would be the safer surgery to perform. The timing was tight. The average turnaround was 7 days, which would be the Friday before the surgery. The results didn’t actually arrive until early Monday morning. To our relief, they were negative. That meant the schedule of appointments on Monday and Tuesday would go as planned, with the surgery on Tuesday afternoon.
Cathy’s lumpectomy surgery was scheduled for February 5th. However, given the family history of breast cancer, the surgeon wanted genetic testing done to ensure the breast cancer genes did not have the abnormalities that would indicate an inherited tendency for breast cancer. If that were the case, a mastectomy would be the safer surgery to perform. The timing was tight. The average turnaround was 7 days, which would be the Friday before the surgery. The results didn’t actually arrive until early Monday morning. To our relief, they were negative. That meant the schedule of appointments on Monday and Tuesday would go as planned, with the surgery on Tuesday afternoon.
This is the table where the Savi scout procedure took place. You can use your imagination to see how it was done. The first stop on Monday morning was to implant a radiofrequency marker, called a Savi scout, for the surgeon to use to locate the tumor for removal. Then we went to a pre-op meeting with a nurse to receive instructions and answer questions that might impact the anesthesia. After a blood test and an EKG, we were done until the next morning.
The results of the "Lymphoangiogram" shows the location of the sentinel lymph node (small white dot). Arriving at 8:30 Tuesday morning, Cathy started her preparation for the first procedure, which was an injection of radioactive material to determine the location of the sentinel lymph nodes that would be removed during surgery. (They will be tested to determine if the cancer has spread.)
Some visitors arrived to be with Dave while Cathy was in surgery. After completing that procedure in late morning, it was a few hours wait until the orderly came to take Cathy to “holding” at 2:15. The surgery started about an hour later, and Dave was getting an update from the surgeon by 4:30. All went well. The tumor and some tissue around it were removed (incision 1) along with 3 lymph nodes (incision 2) and a port was implanted (incision 3) to allow for chemo and Herceptin infusions over the next year. After a longer than normal wait in recovery, we finally headed home around 8pm. Dave stopped to pick up some dinner for Cathy and then dropped her off at the RV. He had to go back out to fill a prescription and then pick up some ice from the kitchen for ice packs.
It was a long day for both of us, and we were grateful to crawl into bed.
It was a long day for both of us, and we were grateful to crawl into bed.
Cathy a couple days after surgery. It was all a good news story. The pain on the 2nd day was minimal and required only a little Ibuprofen to manage it. There will be more testing from the surgery, which will confirm what form of treatment going forward.
There had been one more test before the surgery that was actually pretty cool. Cathy had an echocardiogram to establish a baseline for her heart's function to compare to later tests during her chemo and Herceptin infusions. This is basically a sophisticated ultrasound of the heart, and, as Dave said, it proved Cathy had one. (Oooh. That was a dangerous thing to say.)
There had been one more test before the surgery that was actually pretty cool. Cathy had an echocardiogram to establish a baseline for her heart's function to compare to later tests during her chemo and Herceptin infusions. This is basically a sophisticated ultrasound of the heart, and, as Dave said, it proved Cathy had one. (Oooh. That was a dangerous thing to say.)
Faith Work
Work continued on readying the apartment for the couple arriving in the Spring before, during and after our trip. There was tile laid in the bathroom. And Cathy worked with Home Depot to finalize a design for kitchen cabinets. A new closet was framed and doors prepped and painted for re-hanging. With only a little more than a week before the next project starts, the drop-ins are trying to make as much progress as we can before our attention turns to the Beyond 90 house.
Work continued on readying the apartment for the couple arriving in the Spring before, during and after our trip. There was tile laid in the bathroom. And Cathy worked with Home Depot to finalize a design for kitchen cabinets. A new closet was framed and doors prepped and painted for re-hanging. With only a little more than a week before the next project starts, the drop-ins are trying to make as much progress as we can before our attention turns to the Beyond 90 house.
