Hi friends! Well, looks like we have another surgery to look forward to this coming Monday (6/15) at 12pm. I’ve had increasing fluid buildup in my lung lining (pleural effusion) that has led to getting it drained twice a week and getting over a liter of fluid each time. Not only is it just uncomfortable (and sometimes flat out painful) to get it drained, but it causes coughing and shortness of breath in the times between drains.
So we’re going to back to the surgeons table for another go at a solution. This time we’ll be doing a pleurodesis, which consists of putting me under general anesthesia, inserting a tube in my lung, and spraying TALC powder (I kid you not, like baby powder) throughout my lung lining. Then the lung lining will adhere to the lung so that no fluid can get in the space anymore. If you want to read more about it, this site does a good job of describing it: http://www.bmc.org/thoraciconcology/treatments/Pleurodesis.htm
It means about 4 or 5 days in the hospital to keep the tube in and also to stay on morphine (it can be a pretty painful procedure). Best grandma ever, Norine, will stay with Desmond for the week that I’m out. I told Desmond and he was so excited that his Nana is coming for a week that he could care less that I’ll be in the hospital. I’ll have plenty of time to update Facebook next week to let you all know how it went. If you want to come visit, please reach out Colleen at cofarley@starbucks.com to coordinate. She’ll be able to keep track of how I’m feeling and if I’m up for visitors.
Send any good juju or love my way starting 12pm on Monday. Hopefully this will lead to a lot of relief in my lung!
xo