We had another busy day today and the reality of this difficult and serious surgery is becoming more prevalent. We were off to the Hospital clinic for all the preop things and a few studies and the day ended with meeting the surgeon. Sue is doing good and holding up really well. She is a true Whipple no, strike that TP-IAT Warrier!
We started out in one of the off-site building where Sue spent two hours answering questions and undergoing tests for various studies that are being done for the TP-IAT procedure that involves before and after pain and other things including hospitalizations. They did a test to determine how well her nervous system is considering the amount of pain she has dealt with over the years and see if it might have been damaged in any way. It involved putting her had in hot and cold water and probes touching her skin. Interesting she felt no pain in the cold water. I could have saved them time and told them that as much as she complains about the hot and loves the cold. These studies will go on after the surgery for a year or two. Following the studies, Sue met with the anesthesia doctor and reviewed all the things important for the surgery and after. Also going over all critical information like allergies and other reactive items as well as history. Then she met with the nurse and she talked about the before care and preparations at home what to expect at the hospital in the morning and then it will be nighty night. We talked about what we can expect during the surgery and after and what to expect in ICU, which we pretty much had a good idea about. Then there was lab work. Blood type and crossmatch, sound familiar (TV). Finally, at the end of the afternoon, we met with Dr. Bielman the surgeon. Dr, Bielman did not rush us and answered all our questions and was very energetic about Susan and how she was very positive but nervous about the surgery which is exactly what he expects. Sue was nervous about me because I have a tendency to ask a lot of questions. But I really need to understand and know what’s going on. I have not had the time to meet with the doctor before or do the in-depth research Sue has and I admit, and I told the doctor, some of what I read was not encouraging. But after listening to him and the voice recording Sue made of him explaining things to her when they first met and doing the research I could and getting to know him in his work and success, I really feel now that this is a good thing for Sue and I am excited for her. I did ask a few questions and he answered them including a very important one regarding cancer. He warned us about a very remote possibility which she spoke about before, but what I needed to hear was that in all the cases which include several cases just like Sue only one developed cancer. He then showed us the test results and explained them to us and showed us why in Sue’s case he was very comfortable that she will be successful and health and not a concern in the future. If he thought so he would not do the Islet transplant. With that, we all felt good positive and ready for the big day tomorrow which will start with us being at the hospital at 5, the surgery beginning at 7.
With the day and all the prep stuff done and one daughter here we decided to enjoy the evening a bit and went to visit the largest mall in the country, Mall of America. It was a nice evening and Sue got a Cinnabon bun to enjoy one last time before her sugar-free diet for the next 4 to 8 months.
I wish I could say words that describe how brave and strong Sue has been. All I can say is how much I am so proud of her and what a beautiful person she is for doing this to ensure her life in the future is the best it can be despite this huge hardship now. How much I love her is just not enough.
Remember to pray for her tomorrow.
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Giving Blood
Sue and Dr. Bielman
Sue and I and Mall of America.
