Recent Images...For Fun

What I Should be Doing and What I am....

What I should be doing right now is unpacking boxes that are filling our bedroom....what I am doing is watching The Moment of Truth on Fox and writing this post! I am really waiting for American Idol which is my guilty pleasure and I almost never get to see it.

I am just wasted after today. I spent all morning with Matt meeting with one of my surgeons, Dr. Ghandi and all afternoon meeting with my pulmonologist, Dr. Morlock, then picking up CT Scan films and Bronchoscopy slides for my second opinion meeting with a new surgeon, Dr. Chang in Ann Arbor next week, then meeting with Dr. Ghandi again to review the CT Scan slides.

What you see below is one slice of a series of many of CT scan films. It is all digital and when you look at the CD on a computer it is interactive...very cool! If you look at the lower portion of my right lung (pictured on the left side) you'll see an irregularly shaped black object....this is the bugger!

Today Dr. Ghandi told me that he'll remove the entire lower lobe of my right lung. Whew! I am actually feeling really good about all of this. I am past the scary freak-out stage and am feeling glad that this is all getting figured out. 

The details:

1. The surgery is called a Thoracotomy or Lobectomy.

2. I will have one rib removed, then the muscles spread and the lower lobe removed.

3. A few of my lymph nodes will be removed for testing.

4. The surgery lasts 3-4 hours.

5. I will spend 1-2 days in the ICU following the surgery and an additional 3-4 days in the hospital.

6. There is an 8-10% chance of a secondary lung infection after the surgery.

7. I will have drain tubes and be on Morphine via IV drip. The pain medication will gradually decrease to Vicodin and then to Tylenol over the 6 week recovery.

8. Once at home I will be in serious recovery in bed for 3 weeks and for 3 weeks beyond that I will not be allowed to pick up anything weighing more than 8 pounds!

9. Most of the pain should be gone by the end of the 6 weeks though some still feel a bit of pain for months to follow.

10. We can try to conceive again within 10 weeks of the surgery...or as soon as I am feeling up to the prerequisite activity! ;)