Dawn's Tribe

(Today’s mood music above, click to play)

Friends and Family, 

We just returned from our one week post surgery check up with Dr. Kendrick and have a glowing report.  There are two key things we learned today; 1) The pathology report came back with additional adenocarcinoma, however, everything was in situ — meaning stage zero / pre-cancer just like the previous biopsy.  2) All indicators our medical team watches post surgery are in line with expectations.

In short, we confirmed we caught this before it became invasive and I am recovering quite nicely.  

I am the most grateful person walking the planet today.

Random Observations

1.  I am surrounded by wonderful human beings.  Between the flowers, treats, offers to drop meals off / run errands / do anything we need and consistent flow of kind words I am truly blessed.  You have all reminded me how to make a person feel special when they are working through a tough time.  This is a lesson I will never forget.

2.  I am wired for constant activity and don’t relax easily.  I have a completely different perspective on working now and am finding I miss being needed.  Thankfully, the dogs have kept me distracted each day — apologies in advance if I greet you the next time I see you with a scratch behind the ear and in “doggie talk”.  I need to remember how to act around humans again!

That’s it for now, I’ll report back after our final checkup with Dr. Kendrick on October 24 (PS:  He had his cowboy boots on again today, gotta love that guy!)

Love, Hugs and Gratitude,

Dawn

(Push the play button above for today’s mood music — this is my dancing-when-no-one-is-looking song)

Friends and Family, 

I was released from the hospital before lunch this morning, on schedule and without major complications.  Dr. Kendrick shared that I had a reaction to the antibiotic that was administered during surgery, however, after a dose of Benedryl I was back in business.

The good news is this….we were prepared for up to four procedures this morning depending on what Dr. Kendrick was seeing as he began, we only ended up needing two; a total hysterectomy, and the extraction of both sentinel lymph nodes in that area — as a precautionary measure.  A preliminary biopsy was conducted on everything that was removed today with a great result….no invasive cancer to report.  The next step is to meet with Dr. Kendrick next week to obtain the Final Biopsy result.

Out Takes / Things we Thought Were Funny

• There were three different teams on my case (anesthesia, surgery and prep folks) all of which would roll into my room before surgery asking the same basic questions.  One thing they do every time is ask you to repeat back to them what procedure is going to be done today.  We thought it would be hilarious to tell team 2 and 3 that we were there for breast augmentation, simply to see the look on their faces.  Fear not, we did not do this (see I can act my age!)

• When I was about to be wheeled in to the operating room one of the nurses looked up at Patrick and said “OK, time for final hugs and kisses” at which time I said “but you barely know each other”.  They laughed, I was proud of my quick thinking.

• My main nurse went to lunch yesterday and her stand in was on call when I rang for some pain medication.  This nurse went above and beyond by not only giving me morphine (there are two other non narcotic options for pain), but also came packing a cherry popsicle.  I told Patrick when the main nurse came back I was going to tell her that “that nice lady gave me Morphine + Popsicles, how can you top that?”  We did not do this one either.

As you can see, despite the serious occasion we did find some ways to lighten it up a bit.  I will be on heavy pain medications over the next week or so, dialing down to over the counter medications for the long haul.

Thank you once again for your prayers and warm wishes.  I’ll check in again next week with an update on that final lab test.

Wishing you love, hugs and dancing days (ain’t nothing wrong with that),

Dawn

(click the play button above for the mood music this evening)

What a week!  I will confess to feeling guilty for taking yet another week off of work to whisk off to wine country before surgery (so much to do, so little time), however, we fought the urge and had an incredible time together in California.  We made new friends, hugged Doug, Julie and that sweet puppy Shelby, enjoyed world class food and wine, dressed up in costumes like teenagers and managed to harvest a plethora of cocktail party stories for the next time we all gather.  It was truly Worth Every Moment.

Alas, now it is time to face the surgery music.  I picked this Bob Seger song tonight because I appreciate how it truly brings home to me that feeling of giving it your all each and every day and then — Moving On.

So — we’ll let Bob take it from here.  Thank you for your continued prayers and wishes — because of you we found this early and will be Turning the Page tomorrow beginning at 8:00 am.

Love, Dawn

Collective sigh of relief friends.  I am thrilled and blessed to report that I have been downgraded to pre-cancer (adenocarcinoma in situ).  This means that we caught it before it became invasive.  Dr. Kendrick is has recommended a preventive hysterectomy, scheduled for 8am on September 18.  He will obtain a preliminary biopsy of the uterus and cervix at this time as well as a sentinel lymph node test.  Assuming both of those tests come out negative we will be in a great position and will only be in the hospital for one night and will fully recover from surgery in 4 to 6 weeks.

To say we are relieved is an understatement.  

Right now I feel grateful.  Grateful for the gift of a loving husband, a talented medical team, prayers and well wishes from friends and family, an unbelievably compassionate work family….and Vikki’s recent example of how to stay positive even in the face of scary stuff.  

We are not done with this episode quite yet….but the tribe has cause to celebrate today!

Hugs and love to you all….I will check in again on the 18th.

Xoxo

Dawn

PS:  I recommend blasting the Frozen soundtrack if you ever feel down.  It worked for us this morning….how can you be moody when Ana wants to build a snowman?

Friends and Family, 

This has been week of extremes to be sure.  Monday and Tuesday Patrick and I participated in an assessment of the Walt Disney World parks and resorts through the eyes of our guests experiencing the highs (e.g., fireworks viewing from our own private table and bay window in Mexico at Epcot) and the lows (wading through the sea of humanity when the Magic Kingdom closes).

Then…

Today we hit the road at 4:30 am for my 8:00 am surgical procedure.  Life is indeed like a box of chocolates.  

Fate Delivered us a Scuba Diving Anesthesiologist

I am thrilled to report we have a new guy to our favorite Doctor List…..Dr. Louis M. Guzzi, our anesthesiologist.  Dr. Guzzi is an avid scuba diver who has also been to the Great Barrier Reef.  Right before his magic potion put me under I was able to tell him about the time we lost a part of my regulator on the reef and managed to get it back from a random diver the very next day (at least I THINK I got through the whole story….and as I think about it, at least I THINK that is the story I was telling).

Medical Update 

All three procedures went well; cold knife cone biopsy, hysteroscopy and a Dilation and Curettage (aka D&C).  I was miles better coming out of anesthesia today than my last surgery and feel good all things considered.  I have been given a prescription for pain and nausea, Patrick is off to fill those for me now (many points have been earned today).  

Patrick talked to Dr. Kendrick while I was in recovery and was told that he secured 3 samples for the pathologist which will be all we need to design our plan on August 22.

Random Observation Update

 – Dr, Kendrick keeps his boots and jeans at home for surgical procedures.  Today he was in scrubs and tennis shoes.  

 – Dr. Kendrick is no longer single (and I was This Close to telling him about a fabulous friend of mine in Denver).  We learned today that he was married last weekend!  Why he was scraping my insides today instead of sipping margaritas in the Bahamas we do not know, however, I will find out when I pepper him with questions on the matter in our next visit.  Stay tuned for that.

That is all we have for now — thank you again for your interest in our little medical adventure.  The next appointment is the big Results Reveal on August 22.

Love and Hugs to you all,

Dawn   

(Push the Play button above for mood appropriate blog music for today)

Today was filled with surprises to say the least.  First, I thought we were merely TALKING TO our recommended doctor for the first time and second, based on his picture we all checked out on his websites….I thought Dr. Kendrick would round the corner of the office in a typical lab coat with all of the formality associated with the word “oncologist”.  Wrong and Wrong.  On the first point, much to my dismay, I received a Full Inspection if you will…Surprise!  And on the second point, he was not just walking around without a lab coat — he had on jeans and cowboy boots which traveled perfectly with his Alabama accent.  We loved him immediately.  So, we have our guy.

Our next steps are to find the origin of the cancer.  This will take place in my first surgery for this round of “The Medical Adventures of 2014, 2.0” on Wednesday, August 13 (the marketing team truly needs to work on the branding of this procedure as it is referred to as the Cold Knife Cone Biopsy).  This is outpatient, will take place at 8am, and I will be discharged the same day once the anesthesia wears off.  I will be completely out of it for this one…thank goodness.

We will know the results of this biopsy the morning of Friday, August 22.

Thanks to everyone for the continued prayers and happy thoughts — especially Uncle Dale who has apparently influenced the North-Central region of the Christian Motorcyclists Association to lift up their prayers for this one soul.  I am blessed.

Love Always, Dawn XOXO

I was able to meet with my principal care provider today and was referred to a highly regarded oncologyst; Dr. James Kendrick.  Patrick and I are meeting with him tomorrow morning at 8:30 to get his perspective on next steps.  I have provided some links that shed light into his background and patient ratings, all very glowing.  Wish us luck….we are on a mission to find an excellent doctor quickly.  His Care Philosphy is below, so far so good. 

Care Philosophy

https://www.floridahospital.com/doctor/james-e-kendrick-md

http://www.vitals.com/doctors/Dr_James_Kendrick/profile

http://www.healthgrades.com/physician/dr-james-kendrick-ys78l/appointment

Friends and Family, 

In an effort to keep you all up to speed with our latest challenge i have fired up this blog site.  This has always been on my list of things to explore, funny how it came together in 30 minutes this morning…..

Here is what we know as of this writing:  

My diagnosis is adenocarcinoma – while this can appear in a number of organs, mine was picked up during a biopsy of the Female Reproductive System (why do I never get something that you can easily talk about at cocktail parties?).  Sigh.  At any rate, we are dealing with either uterus or cervix as the source location – we will know more once we start the “exploring phase” of our project.  We do not yet know the stage or whether or not it has spread, all of this will become more clear as we work through the next series of appointments.  As I learn more I will keep you all posted.  

Next Appointments:

 – August 4:  Primary Care Physician Consult

 – August 11:  Oncologist Consult

Love and Hugs to you all — thank you for your thoughts and prayers.  XOXO  Dawn 

http://www.cancercenter.com/terms/adenocarcinoma/