Back to Tulsa...

I spent a wonderful morning with Regina at our favorite tea house before she took my Mom and I to the airport to leave for Tulsa. Regina has to work and take care of Brittany, so my Mom is helping with my care.

On Thursday and Friday, I went to the necessary appointments to schedule chemo and fortunately my blood counts stayed high enough that I was able to get my first chemo on Saturday.

Home With My Family At Last!

I really cherished the four days I got to spend with Regina and Brittany. I was not up to doing much besides just enjoying our time together. We also enjoyed visits from our family and friends.

Squeezing In an Unconventional Treatment Before Flying Home!

Our flight to Portland does not depart until 1:00 PM, so I decided to

visit a Tulsa Health Clinic for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. I was placed into a chamber which was pressurized to 1.5 atmosphere with 100% oxygen for 60 minutes. Hyperbaric Therapy has many uses, but I am undergoing the treatments to stimulate blood production. My blood counts have never recovered from the previous chemotherapy and radiation I received in 2008 & 2009. Low blood counts (white blood cell & platelets in particular) have prevented me from undergoing any further conventional chemotherapy treatments.

Finally Released

Late Tuesday night after the surgery, I developed a significant temperature which indicated an infection due to the stagnant bile entering my bloodstream. Intravenous antibiotics were immediately administered while blood samples were being cultured. I would have to stay in the hospital until I had a normal temperature for 12 hours minimum. My fever finally broke at 5:00 AM on Thursday morning and I was released later that afternoon with a five day prescription for oral antibiotics.

I was scheduled to receive chemotherapy today, but its not going to happen because I cannot receive chemotherapy until after I have completed the antibiotics.

We have decided to return home to Portland during this five day intermission.

Stint Surgery

In order to eliminate the biliary drain bag and re-establish bile flow, a stint will be installed at the location of the common bile duct blockage to reinforce the duct so that it can drain properly. Unfortunately, the surgery did not go as planned. The proposed coated stint would not fit my anatomy and so an alternate uncoated stint was used. Worse, when the biliary drain was removed the interventional radiologist realized it had been placed through a portal vein or artery, a very serious problem that could not be fixed during this surgery.

In order to complete the surgery, the drain was re-installed and capped off until a later procedure could be scheduled to repair the portal artery or vein. I will stay in the hospital for 24 hours for observation and be released on Wednesday.

Lazy Weekend in Tulsa

Instead of returning to Portland as previously planned, I decided it would be wisest to spend the weekend in Tulsa recuperating from the surgery and making sure I did not have any infections. Unfortunately, this would mean I would have to miss Brittany's children's musical at our church. She had a lead part & sang a solo.

The highlight of the weekend was the Sunday morning service at Victory Christian Center & lunch at a Thai restaurant. My Mom & I spent the rest of the weekend taking short walks on CTCA's nature trail & relaxing at the center.

Pleurx Abdominal Drain & Biliary Drain Surgery

At 3:00 PM, I checked into the CTCA hospital for surgery to install a pleurx abdominal drain & separate biliary drain. I decided to have both done at the same time, so I could speed up the timeline until I could receive treatment & to avoid separate recovery periods.

The surgery began with the installation of the pleurx abdominal drain to deal with the recurrent ascites (excessive accumulation of abdominal fluid) that has recently developed. The drain is a soft, semi-permanent catheter which was installed by CTCA's interventional radiologist just below my bellybutton. I will be accessing this drain by myself at home every other day and will hopefully be able to minimize my discomfort as well as frequent trips to the hospital to drain the fluid by puncturing the peritoneum. The surgeon was then able to drain 3 liters of fluid with the new drain.

He then proceeded with the installation of a biliary drain which was placed at the center of my right side ribcage. The drain consists of a small flexible rubber tube catheter placed into my blocked common bile duct (the passageway for the bile to flow from the gallbladder and liver). The installation of the drain did not go smoothly and required several attempts due to my uncommon anatomy. The tube will be connected to a drainage bag for several days for monitoring and then will be removed once a stint is placed at the blockage in the bile duct (separate surgery).

Despite the difficulties installing the drain, the surgery was completed successfully in about 2 hours. I woke up from the anesthesia in horrific pain, causing my body to go into shock. I was shaking violently for over 30 minutes before they were able to gain control. Fortunately, I only remember bits & pieces of that time. I will stay in the hospital for 24 hours for monitoring & will be released on Friday.