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When it rains...

Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2022 9:41 am
by claudine
My poor husband :cry:
Just as things were beginning to look up following the reversal! He rode 6 miles on his home trainer Wednesday evening, then we had dinner. Following a bout of clustering, he started to experience back pain, which became extreme during the night. When I took him to the ER Thursday morning he had to crawl to the car, his legs wouldn’t hold him. And sure enough, an MRI revealed a recurrence at L4 (the site of cancer discovery 4+ years ago), and a new met at L3 causing stenosis of the canal.
Because of fear that this would lead to permanent nerve damage, he had surgery almost immediately. We are lucky that the neurosurgeon was available and is a specialist - otherwise they’d have flown him to Seattle or SLC.
Surgery went very well. Cancer tissue was removed, the canal was cleaned, DH is feeling his legs again. Of course it’s yet another major surgery - he’s now got veterbral fusion from L2 to L5, they added screws in L2 to maintain structural integrity - but there wasn’t any other option.
To top it all, his pre op Covid test came back positive!! I’m the only one who’s seen him since his reversal surgery, and I’m negative, so he probably caught it in his first hospital stay... So I’m not allowed to visit him. Good thing we can visit remotely!
I’m not sure how long he’ll stay in the hospital; at least the weekend, probably a bit longer, depending how quickly he can walk again. Then he’ll have to go through the whole rigmarole again, using a walker, wearing a corset, etc...
And of course, the surgeon was only able to remove tumor outside the bone, so DH will need radiation at some point (we may travel back to Portland for SBRT like 3 years ago, that worked well at least for a while).
This damn disease, I tell you...

Re: When it rains...

Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2022 2:53 pm
by roadrunner
Sorry you and your husband are going through this again. Good luck with his recovery from COVID and with the next steps in addressing the cancer. It’s great that the surgery went well and you guys have a plan.

Re: When it rains...

Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2022 4:55 pm
by beach sunrise
Goodness, Claudine!
This damn disease is relentless. You all have stayed on it like a hawk and that is what it takes.

Re: When it rains...

Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2022 6:33 pm
by MadMed
Omg, sorry you and DH had to go through that! This thing is relentless. Hope DH is not in pain and got relief from surgery.

Re: When it rains...

Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2022 7:11 pm
by Sunnycd
So sorry, Claudine. I was here logging in thinking he would be getting better from the reversal and now this…But it’s good that he was able to receive the surgery so quickly and seems that you have plan in place. Much love, Sunny

Re: When it rains...

Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2022 7:24 am
by stu
Sad to read this . He has been through so much and you are doing an incredible job supporting him .
Hope he heals quickly and this can get knocked back down .
Much love ,
Stu

Re: When it rains...

Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2022 9:12 am
by claudine
Thanks guys. I do have a good support network here, but no one can understand what this recurrence means like the people on this forum do. Your strength helps us move forward!

Re: When it rains...

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2022 11:37 am
by Luna18
Claudine wrote:Thanks guys. I do have a good support network here, but no one can understand what this recurrence means like the people on this forum do. Your strength helps us move forward!

I understand perfectly what you are saying. Although I also do have support from friends and other members of the family, nobody knows better what a recurrence means like people on this forum. Stay strong! I hope your husband has a speedy recovery.
Best wishes

Re: When it rains...

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2022 11:57 am
by Bpaint
So sorry to hear this Claudine. Your poor husband. You are such a strong support for him.

Re: When it rains...

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2022 12:01 pm
by claudine
Well, I just got a text from my friend who's the neurosurgeon's PA and it looks like DH will be discharged this afternoon, apparently he's "kicking some butt"! It will be so much nicer for him to be home. He's totally asymptomatic covid-wise, but of course not allowed to leave his room, so they feel that he will recover a lot better at home because that will give him the opportunity to move around a lot more. Yay :D :D :D

Re: When it rains...

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2022 1:19 pm
by stu
Excellent. Send him our best regards .
No place like home .
Stu

Re: When it rains...

Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2022 1:38 pm
by aquarian_asian
best regards and prayers, Claudine. Stay positive and strong.

Re: When it rains...

Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 3:25 am
by Siti
So sorry to read this, Claudine :( You have been such a pillar of strength for your husband. This damn disease!! Sending both of you courage and a speedy recovery to your husband.

Re: When it rains...

Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2022 6:50 am
by DarknessEmbraced
I'm sorry his cancer came back in his mind and he had to go through such a major surgery. *hugs* I hope his recovery and radiation go well. I'm glad that he's back home. Sending healing thoughts for him.

Re: When it rains...

Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2022 9:47 am
by claudine
Thank you! DH had a PET scan Thursday morning (it had been scheduled a few months ago and onc said we might as well go ahead with it, despite recent MRI and CT scans). Results show “ Large expansile lytic lesion in the right lateral L3 and L4 vertebral bodies with associated pathologic fracture and paraspinal soft tissue tumor extension”, and an uptake of 16.2; nothing anywhere else (this was skull to mid thighs). So, no surprise, and it confirms the need for radiation to the bones. We’re meeting with the onc next Thursday to discuss it - I’m sure there will be a lag time while DH heals from his surgeries (back and ileo reversal), but I’m thinking sometimes late Fall? We’ll see. Meanwhile he’s making daily progress - lots of stair work since we live in a split level home with no bathrooms on main floor, and with clustering the poor guy has to go upstairs a lot!